6,000-mile bike tour for cystic fibrosis

Keith Larsen and Rich Gardunia, left, are nearing the end of their cross-continental bicycle tour to raise money for cystic fibrosis, which has stricken several of Larsen's relatives.

The pair started from Dead Horse, Alaska, 250 miles north of the Arctic Circle, with a third person, Sarah Wagstaff. Their destination is Key West, Florida.

A reporter for an eastern Texas newspaper recently interviewed the two, who said their favorites states so far were Oregon for the trees and waterfalls, and Utah for the red cliffs and mesas.

Gear

They carry their gear on BOB trailers and usually fix their own dinners and camp out. Two notable locations — the Navajo Reservation and behind a bowling alley.

Shortly after starting their trip, snow and cold weather detoured them away from a planned trip through the Yukon into Washington. Instead, they caught a ferry from southern Alaska to Bellingham, Washington. Otherwise, they've been averaging about 500 miles a week.

On the website — Alaska to Florida for Cystic Fibrosis — Larsen tells about his cousin who suffered from cystic fibrosis, a hereditary disease that mainly affects the lungs but also other parts of the body. She died from complications of a double-lung transplant. Three other relations suffer from the disease. According to the website:

“For Keith, these wonderful people are the inspiration for the bicycle tour, and the team knows that there are thousands of others who live and die with Cystic Fibrosis, they too will push and inspire the team to complete the full tour.” 

Fund-raising

The bicycle tourists have raised $5,000 so far for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and hope to double that by the time they reach Key West. They reined back their original goal of $100,000.

If you'd like to donate, you can go to the team's Great Strides home page through the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

The two have blog and photo gallery at their website. Sarah's explanation of how to shift after losing the front derailleur is pretty funny. Also, you can read more at the Nacogdoches (TX) Daily Sentinel.