PORT TOWNSEND — When Bob Lee, a bicyclist from Barrington, Ill., got off the ferry at Port Townsend on Sunday, he blended in with the hundreds of cyclists who travel the coast every week.
But Lee is different.
First is his age — 70 — one that sees many of his peers finding reasons to relax.
And second, Lee is making the most recent of three rides to try to raise $1 million for the American Cancer Society, The Les Turner ALS Foundation (Lou Gehrig’s disease) research and the National Hospice Foundation.
“I’m not a hard-core cyclist, and I am not a fundraiser. I am a pedaler with a passion to help conquer disease and support those living with life-threatening illnesses,” Lee said.
Lee began his solo cycling trip Thursday.
On it, he hopes to travel approximately 2,000 miles from Vancouver, B.C., to Tijuana, Mexico, on the third leg of eventually making a complete circuit of the contiguous U.S.
Called “A Ride for 3 Reasons: Part III,” the bike ride is meant to raise money for the causes that have the most significance for him and his family.
As of Sunday, he had raised $510,048.99 for ALS and cancer research and hospice care.
“I am looking forward to this West Coast route, as it’s a beautiful part of the country, and I will always meet interesting and supportive people along the way,” Lee said.
In 2001, he went from San Diego to Jacksonville, Fla., on his bike.
In 2007, he rode from Jacksonville, Fla., to Bar Harbor, Maine, and then to Anacortes.
During his rides, Lee has blogged about his experiences on the road, including incidents involving a lost bicycle and a cookie factory, visits to roadside memorials and many of the people he’s met along the way.
Donations for Lee’s causes can be made on his website, www.3reasons.org.
Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5070, or at arwyn.rice@peninsula
dailynews.com.
