And they’re off.
John Pittman and his son, Jeff Pittman, took off on bicycle Friday from the Falls International Airport toward St. Louis, Mo., to raise money for the Children’s Museum in Denver.
The pair, from Denver, Colo., will ride from International Falls to Venice, La., in three intervals to raise money for the museum.
“We thought we’d do this and make it something that is more than fun for us,” John said of raising money for the museum.
John is an owner of Fransen-Pittman Construction, which is the general contractor for an addition being built at the museum. Because he enjoys riding bike, John decided to turn an adventure into a money-maker.
“They do so much with just a little bit of money,” he said of the museum. “So far, we’ve raised $7,500 to $10,000, and that just goes to them.”
And then Jeff jumped on board.
“I had a vision to tag along and had a gut feeling I needed to come for the company and the support of my dad,” he said. “Plus, I enjoy riding.”
Jeff, who works for his dad, said he only has a week off from work and will travel about 500 miles before heading home to Colorado.
Way back when
John is no stranger to lengthy two-wheel treks. When he was 16 years old he rode his bike from Washington D.C. to New Orleans.
“Last summer, I bet Jeff and put a couple thousand miles on our bikes,” he said. “I’ve always enjoyed riding.”
The father-son duo started considering a route to take for an extended bike trip and John looked at Borderland for inspiration.
“I had never been to this part of Minnesota before,” he said. “And I heard it’s beautiful.”
But he was quick to admit, “I guess I didn’t think there’d still be snow on the ground at the end of April.”
The pair will break the almost 2,000-mile trip into three parts. The first leg will take them as far as St. Louis before taking a break until the fall. Then, from St. Louis, they will travel to Memphis, Tenn., and next spring will finish the journey in Louisiana. They chose the seasons they did to avoid heat and mosquitoes.
“We’re hoping to raise close to $50,000,” John said.
John added they will travel about 80-90 miles per day and camp along the way.
“We’ll probably stay at a motel every fourth night to charge batteries and shower,” he said with a laugh. “I’m sure we’ll need a shower.”
