The Ride to Remember team has gone international!

Thanks to a great contribution from Eileen in Powell River, BC we are now an international group. Mahalo,  Eileen.

One of the tools to prevent dementia is to keep physically and mentally active, and especially to learn a new skill, language or musical instrument. Well, if learning to blog counts I'm well on my way to a cure. Previous computer navigation knowledge is being tested by Blogspot, but if you're reading this, I guess it working, eh? The "eh?" was for our Canadian brethren so they know that we are fully simpatico with their social mores.

I've posted a great photo of Betty as a young woman that I cockaroached from my multi-talented sister BZ. Such a sense of style, she could fit right in today.

I've been in 'talks' with Charles the editor of Tandem and Recumbent Riders magazine, and hopefully the mag will be following our adventure and fund growth on-line, and perhaps in the print version as well (free at your local cycle shop, BTW). We may even attend the fall convention in the Los Angeles area, if we survive our trek, that is. Charles is also the editor of the Soaring Society of America magazine 'Soaring', so we have aviation in common as well as cycling.

We'll keep everyone updated as we progress. Still in pre-ride planning, long-distance from Kailua-Kona, HI so details are yet scarce ... more latahs.

Join us in our coast-to-coast 'Ride to Remember'

Aloha all - we are up and pedaling to get in 'condition' for our trek.

My wife, Roberta and I are active pre-boomers, recently retired back home to Hawaii after careers on the mainland (Whitefish, MT). The ride will be an unscheduled trip commencing in mid-May and ending whenever we put our front wheel in the Atlantic Ocean, estimated to be late August, early September, 2011. This will not be a dash, but a tour of our country, with stops at points of interest, and hopefully, fund raising activities for the Alzheimer's Association, choosing human power rather than petroleum.

My grandmother displayed undiagnosed advanced senile dementia, and my mother (who passed away last month) displayed advanced senile dementia, but was not diagnosed with Alzheimer's ... she may well have had it, but it wasn't categorized as such. I could be next?
 

SO ... Retirement isn't an excuse to idle! It's time to 'get-out-there' and grab life, adventure, and whatever comes our way as we cross this great country.  We expect this to be a fun ride, a very long fun ride, on a very long bike. We anticipate trials, adventures, some danger, and an exhilarating experience to be shared with as many as possible.

Our Ryan Duplex (now Longbike Gulfstream) tandem recumbent bike will be rigged for touring/camping across the country, starting in Olympic Natl. Park, WA, and terminating at Arcadia Natl. Park, ME, and we will be blogging our preparations, set-up, learning to ride the beast (it's 15' long altogether) and the entire route, from our on-board computer.

We'll be riding our tandem recumbent coast-to-coast along the Adventure Cycling 'Northern Tier' route to keep ourselves active, fit, engaged ... and to bring awareness and generate donations for the Alzheimer's Association.

We'll begin our ride in mid-May this year, and plan an unscheduled tour over the ensuing four (or so) months.

We invite adventurous friends of all ages to ride along at any time, and are seeking pledges, we suggest one cent per mile. Since our trip covers 3,287 miles that's only $32.87. So, tell your friends, and let's multiply the pledges into the thousands!

Join our team and watch the team page for more details as we complete our preparations; planning, rigging our bike, stocking up on gear and supplies, and one day ... weather permitting blogging from the road as we go.

I know we can make a difference with your support! Will you consider making a donation? It’s easy to give online by following the link to the Kitsap chapter of the Alzheimer's Association.

The end of Alzheimer’s starts here – with a gift from you. Thank you in advance for your generosity. Follow the link to visit our team web page, join the team and help in our efforts to support Alzheimer's Association Western & Central Washington State Chapter

Mahalo* for your interest and help

George & Roberta (Kapalili) Smith

* Thank you, in Hawaiian