Three for the road — family to bicycle cross-country on a triplet

A Florida family is taking to the road this spring to bicycle from their  home to Washington state to prove “you can do anything.”

Ron and Kate Nunes, with their 6-year-old daughter, Elizabeth, right, are pursuing the cross-country bicycle tour to raise awareness of the need to adopt orphaned children from and funds for a group that offers support for orphanages in China.

They adopted their own daughter through the China Center for Adoption Affairs and will be raising money during the trip for Half the Sky Foundation, a group that builds preschools, playgrounds and other facilities for orphanages in China.

But why bicycle 5,200 miles cross-country — from the Southeast to the Northwest? The Nunes answer that question on their live journal, “You Can Do Anything,” at Crazy Guy on a Bike.

“We've always told Elizabeth that she can do anything. Now we intend to prove it. The goal is to ride across the country from the house where we've lived for almost 3 years in Jacksonville, Florida to our home in Poulsbo, Washington. …

“Why are we doing this? Hmmm…. because we can…. because we want to see our country… because I (Kate) hate cars and don't want to drive across the country again… because we want our daughter to see small towns, meet people who you might not “normally” talk to, smile, wave, have a good time… because it's an adventure… because the only time we really feel “on vacation” is when we are self propelled (hiking, biking or kayaking)… because we want to eat ice cream every day… because… for a zillion reasons but nothing in particular. Just because.”

They've put together a bike tour route that touches on 17 states. They used parts of various bicycling tour maps from Adventure Cycling, including Southern Tier, Great Rivers, and Lewis and Clark.

They'll be riding on a Santana Cabrio triplet with S&S so it can be converted into a tandem. They're carrying all their own gear, which includes a tent and sleeping bags, as well as a stove. This doesn't sound like a credit card motel-to-motel trip, does it?

The Nunes are scheduled to take off on April 1. Don't forget to visit their journal at Crazy Guy on a Bike.