Projects

Doug’s adventures didn’t start when he was diagnosed with ALS, in 1984, Doug and his best friend Jimmy rode their bicycles from San Francisco, back home to Weymouth, Massachusetts just south of Boston. The trip was the beginning of Doug’s wanderlust.

At 21, it was a trip many would dream of doing but for Jimmy and I it was a trip we had to do. After touching down in San Francisco, we assembled our bicycles right at the airport, pointed ourselves north and were off to Seattle. California’s Route 1 provided a beautiful backdrop for the first days of our trip. And what a contrast we found when we camped atop the snow covered Snoqualmie Pass in Washington state before reaching Idaho and turning north to visit my Dad’s hometown, Cranbrook, British Columbia, Canada. My aunt and uncle took us in for a week’s rest that included a rodeo and a mad dash up Fisher Peak (elevation 9,336 ft.) with my cousin and uncle. Once back on the road, we travelled over Crows Nest Pass as we entered Alberta and then across the flat – and I mean flat – fields of Saskatchewan before dropping back down into the states through North Dakota.

Coincidently, after a brief breakfast conversation with a few railroad workers we found ourselves aboard an empty boxcar on an eastbound 24-hour train ride across North Dakota into Minnesota. Interesting how things like that happen!

We hopped off the train and back on our bikes to cross Minnesota and Wisconsin where yet another mode of transport, the ferry, would take us across Lake Michigan and right into Michigan state. For the second time, we found ourselves heading into Canada as we went across the Ambassador Bridge. In London, Ontario we stopped for night and encountered some very rowdy Scotsmen who were in town for a Scottish games exhibition. Ready to head home, we crossed the Niagara Falls/Buffalo, New York border to navigate New York State. In record time, we crossed Massachusetts and made it to Weymouth on day 42.

After 42 days on the road together, would Jimmy and I do it again? Definitely. But next time with a motor!

True to his word, Doug is at it again with the C2C4ALS Canadian tour.