We were on hand today to meet Huell Howser and be part of a the filming of a story about Winters' restored bicycle/pedestrian bridge (that's Huell in the photo inside Steady Eddy's coffee shop). Wheels North will arrive in Winters on the evening of July 4, 2009, and we'll start our second day of riding here on July 5. 
A big thanks to Elle Poindexter and everyone at The Bicyclist! They've filmed a video promo featuring Elle, which you can see at the end of Episode 29 (it's about 9:15 in). 
This past Friday was a great day for us (Eric) -- we married the Girl of Our Dreams, Laurie. She's already signed on as a support worker for Wheels North, so everyone who takes part can look forward to seeing her smiling face at rest stops from Santa Rosa to Seattle. Here's a photo of Laurie on our wedding day.
Today is the Fourth of July, which means two things: 
We recently bought this bike for use around town (it's shown here on our first excursion to the grocery store). It only occurred to us later that it's very much like the bikes that Vic and Ray rode in 1909, right down to the steel frame and the coaster brake. Maybe we'll ride something like this in Wheels North?
Now's your chance to own a custom Jonny Cycles frame for $50--and help support Wheels North! Online sales of chances to win a Jonny Cycles frame have begun ... go to www.wheelsnorth.kintera.org/2009/ and go to the "Jonny Cycles" fundraising page. Good luck!
All of the postcards sent back by Ray and Vic are now online. Go to the Wheels North web site, and look for the postcards link. The first card sent back from Seattle was the one pictured here: the California building at the fair, a logical first place to visit for two California boys.
We've scanned all of the original postcards sent back by Vic from the ride, and have more than half of them posted at Wheels North. Look for a new link from the WN home page: www.wheelsnorth.org
We just picked up a prototype of the Wheels North jersey the riders will be wearing next year. It features the same artwork as our T-shirts (which can be ordered online at www.wheelsnorth.org) on the back, front, and sleeves. The ride jerseys (part of the rider package for each rider who signs up for the entire ride) will include sponsor logos.
The Wheels North secure, online fundraising site is now up and running! Click here to visit the site. If you're a Wheels North rider, you can sign up there and track your donations. If you want to donate to Wheels North and the Histiocytosis Association of America, you'll find easy-to-use donation tools. Direct link to the fundraising site is http://wheelsnorth.kintera.org/2009
We will be using the latest technology to report back from the ride next year: cel phones, digital cameras, computers, etc. Vic and Ray also used the best technology available to them: pen and paper. Along the way, Vic sent back postcards, which we are pleased to be able to present for the first time in high-resolution, full-color scans at the Wheels North web site. We've included clear scans of the backs, so it's now possible to read Vic's original words.
Readers of "Two Wheels North" know that Vic and Ray carried a Billiken with them in 1909. Billiken ("The God of Things As They Ought to Be") was the patron of the Alaska Pacific Yukon Exposition, and they had purchased one of the small ceramic figurines from a traveling publicity show. 
Vic and Ray tread lightly upon the land during their epic ride, and so will we. Wheels North will incorporate a number of practices to reduce the impact of our event on the land, water, and air. Click here for more information on how we will go "green."
