I am driving today to Brookings, Oregon, and will be back before Monday. The trip is around 445 miles, one way, and on the way up I'll not be alone. However, the drive is only part (a small part) of the story.
My very good friend (and PBN co-host), Mike Sober, will be making a trip in the next seven days that can only be described as "epic", beginning in Brookings and finishing in San Francisco (around 400 miles) - on a bicycle. He won't be alone either, as friends and family will join Mike on this second running of this very trip. You see, Mike and a few of his friends traveled these roads on their bikes when they were much younger (25 years younger). As their hair lines (and colors) changed, so too did the very roads and cities - not to mention bikes - they'll be traveling on. I just left the Sober home and gawked over the bikes - lightweight, equipped with the latest gadgetry and oh-so-sexy. In the next week this will be the only transportation this team knows, and their excitement now is palpable (I doubt anyone will sleep a wink tonight). Being around them you almost think you too could join the fun, but for me I know that I lack the conditioning for such a fanciful exercise.
So, for my small part in this, I'll drive these men to Brookings in the early morning, hopefully having dinner at Wild River Brewing in Brookings - perhaps even finding time to stop at Mad River in Blue Lake on the way. I am proud of these guys, slightly envious of their journey and the years of stories they'll have to tell of their week-long adventure. On Saturday (June 7), when all is said and done, we'll celebrate the best way we know how - drinking beer at the world-famous Toronado. If you happen to be in town that night, stop in and buy these guys a beer - or simply shake their hand. They will have accomplished something that most of us wouldn't dream of dreaming.
The Riders
Darek Borba
James Daniels*
Butch Meyer
Mike Sober*
Zack Sober
Jim Troutman
* 25th Anniversary of this very ride.
