Ballard resident Noel Gilbrough, with Bridgett Herzog, Cindy Gilbrough and American Lung Association of the Mountain Pacific President and CEO Renee Klein, holds a check representing the $175,000 raised by the Big Ride Across America.
A 65-year-old mountain climbing and sea kayak guide from Ballard was the lead bicycle rider June 21 at the start of the Big Ride Across America, a 3,300-mile, 12-state trek from Seattle to Washington, D.C.
Noel Gilbrough was the first in the group of 25 on this bike ride of a lifetime to help prevent lung disease and promote clean air.
The riders, ranging in age from 17 to 65, each raised at least $6,000 to participate. At the opening ceremony, a check was presented for $175,000 for the total funds raised for the American Lung Association.
“My wife Cindy and her community of fellow quilters raised most of the money,” said Gilbrough, the fundraising leader at $12,000.
The riders come from 15 states, and will be traveling through Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland before reaching Washington D.C. on Aug. 7.
They will ride an average of 83 miles on the 40 riding days and will be on the road for a total of 48 days. They will travel a combined 80,000 miles with more than 1 million pedal rotations. They also will consume more than 2,000 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and will have burned more than 4 million calories on the trip.
Several riders are planning to post blog accounts of their trip, and links will be available on the American Lung Association Washington website.
