One of the unforgettable characters we met during Biking Across Kansas this year was Andrew Dickson.
He was the Scottish cross-country cyclist who learned about goatheads the hard way — by suffering numerous flats in two tires perforated with the pesky thorns.
B.A.K. essentially adopted him, and he tagged along with us through much of the state until our routes parted in the Flint Hills.
My son and I had the opportunity to talk with him in Ness City, the day after he joined the tour. While he described some experiences of his bicycle tour, he also told us a moving story about why he was making the journey.
He repeated the story to the 800 B.A.K. cyclists who packed the auditorium at the Ness City venue that evening. [See “Flat tires lead to lucky meeting at B.A.K.”]
Early Onset
Andrew was making the cross-country tour in memory of his wife, who had fallen victim to Early Onset Alzheimer's. Although uncommon, it is a devastating disease, not only to the patient but also for the caregivers.
Andrew and his wife had been helped by Alzheimer Scotland. While he continued to volunteer for the charity after his wife's death, he wanted to do something more, so he embarked on this fund-raising bicycle tour.
So far, he has earned the equivalent of about $3,500 for the charity. The donations came from people back home and people he met on the road in this country. You can read about Alzheimer Scotland here. Andrew Dickson's donation page explains more reasons why he decided to raise funds.
Sheer luck
The series of coincidences that brought Andrew and B.A.K. together is nothing but sheer luck.
He had pulled off the road near Scott City to check his map and picked up some 50 goatheads in his front and rear tires, ruining the tires and the innertubes. He stopped at a nearby house to ask if he could camp in the yard. He writes in his blog, BikingAcrossUSA:
“….they tell me the 'Biking Across Kansas' event started today and the first
overnight stop is 3 miles away in Scott City . Not only that but the
event includes a mobile bike shop. HAPPY DAYS. Steve very kindly took
me and all my stuff into town. My two new tyres and inner tubes were
bought from Bicycle Pedaler
run by Ruth and her husband 'Doc' and I settled in at the campsite in
the local park along with several hundred other happy campers. But none
as happy as me, as a rather tricky situation with punctures has been
resolved in half an hour.”
Scotland Ferry
Andrew started his trans-continental bike trip at Cape Flattery on the Pacific Coast in Washington state and intended to complete it at Scotland Ferry, a wharf landing for a ferry to Jamestown, Va.
He ended up going all the way to Virginia Beach, returning to Scotland Ferry, then wrapping things up in Washington DC on July 15.
He's a very personable fellow, so he met lots of folks along the way. His blog has day-to-day experiences and details about his route.
We're glad he reached his destination safely and hope the bicycle tour fulfilled his expectations.
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