Yesterday, our press release went out to Mennonite news and media channels and most church conferences in MCUSA. The text of the release is available on the vision page.

A discussion forum as has been added to the website. All participants should register a user name and begin posting your thoughts and questions that relate to this project. I put up two starter threads: one to gather different people’s perspectives and another to discuss gear needs for the trip.

It would be cool to get many people involved in the forum beyond the immediate participants of the trip. To register, click on “Register” at the top of the forum page and follow the instructions.

Don’t forget to keep putting miles on your bikes. By the training schedule, this upcoming week should total 35-40 miles. On Wednesday, Drew and I had a nice ride through the rolling hills of Lancaster county to Elizabethtown, PA, tracing out our Lancaster-Souderton route in reverse that we will ride on August 23.

Thanks to Brett Lehman of western PA who has donated a pickup truck cap for our use this summer. We’re still looking for a trailer to be either donated or bought at a good price in or around Portland, OR.

We are beginning this week to contact churches across the country to set up our connections as we ride. If you know persons who would be good for us to contact (or are one yourself) in specific locations on or near our route, send an email to Alicia at alicia@bikemovement.org.

I keep hearing that there are more people planning to ride than are listed as participants. If you are planning to join even for a short section, send your bio and photo to info@bikemovement.org we’ll add you to the array.

It’s now less than two months until we begin riding in Oregon. Keep training everyone… and it would be a good idea to get your flight tickets soon before prices rise at the last minute. Also, I posted a page on the site about flying with bikes.

Tim Showalter designed and posted a fine training schedule to get in shape for the ride this summer. It’s reasonably presented and everyone is strongly encouraged to get some miles in before we start in July.

Also, note the planning needs tab added highlighting some of the support needs we are still looking to fill.

We need to build a diverse group of riders. At the moment, most are from the east coast of the USA and have a connection to EMU. Email us if you are interested in riding or might know persons who would have interest in being a part of this project, even for a short time.