Spent part of Thursday on a notorious truck route but thankfully with a large shoulder. I decided to take the “if you can’t beat them, join them” approach by playing the soundtrack from Burt Reynolds’ “Smokey And The Bandit” and embracing “Westbound and Down”. The best line is at the beginning:
West bound and down, eighteen-wheeler rollin' , we're gonna do what they say can't be done. We've got a long way to go and a short time to get there. I'm west bound, just watch ol' "Bandit" run.
It was the right motivation for this ride and to celebrate achieving our fundraising goal! I owe you my gratitude for your financial support to CRI and moral support for the Thor Tour! In June, we set an original fundraising goal of $25k to be matched for a total of $50k. Through the generosity and encouragement of so many, we increased the goal in July to $50k with a corresponding match. As of August 22 total fundraising has exceeded $100k and still going! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! You will also see in my Strava pics, I also blew through another tire, this time coming down the messy off-ramp. The rip was too big that inserting a new tube would not have gotten me to a bike shop in The Dalles, my final destination on Thursday. Thanks to Sierra at A&M Taxi, she delivered my bike and me to SPR Cycling in The Dalles where owner and character Calvin fixed me up. In addition to being indebted to you for your kindness, I also owe you some riding when I get home for the taxi ride that advanced me 25+ miles without pedaling!
