Welcome to Seaside

While my nose was buried in a book the man next to me said, "Welcome to Portland!" I was shocked to see that outside of the airplane window were these BIG mountains, that still had snow on them. The man wished me luck on my adventure and off we went. While at breakfast my parents and I were talking about my route. The man next to us joined in the conversation curious to know more. It was incredible how many people wanted to know about my journey and how quickly my adventure was spreading to the public. Pencils of Promise blew up Facebook and Twitter with encouraging posts. My friends and family continued to wish me luck. I assembled my bike and re-packed my panniers to make sure I had everything. My parents and I explored Seaside and Astoria for a bit. Then I had two great conversations. The first was an interview with Kaelyn from 303magazine.com. We had a nice chat about my trip and she is excited to write an article about it. Then I talked to Gene Gurkoff, the founder of Charity Miles. We talked about my trip and Charity Miles is going to sponsor 10 cents per every mile that I ride. (I encourage everyone to download Charity Miles, and work out for Pencils of Promise. They will sponsor 25 cents per mile if you are running or walking as well as 10 cents per mile that you bike. It is simple and it is for a great cause!) Now I am waiting for the rest of the Trekkers to join me in Seaside. From there we will go to Seaside International Hostel and then grab some dinner. We will assemble our bikes in the morning and go for a 30 mile practice ride. Saturday morning we will dip our tires in the Pacific and begin our trek to the east. This entire ride will be a mental struggle as we face different terrains, but luckily every time I feel like giving up I will have an image of a big smile. That smile will belong to a child somewhere who is seeing their classroom for the first time. That smile and my goal of building a classroom will be my motivation to get through the tough days. Please continue to donate at www.pedalingforpencils.stayclassy.org and continue to follow my blog which will be updated regularly by my wonderful mother and the letters I write to her detailing my experience.