Cyclist Passing Through Next Week

A couple weeks ago I saw this article about a middle school teacher planning to ride from Seattle to St Louis to raise money for a scholarship fund named for a young man who died of cancer.

Long bicycle rides don't deter St. Jacob resident Tom King. A Collinsville Middle School physical education teacher, the avid cyclist is used to long country roads.

But it's the longest of country roads that has him most excited - he plans to ride about 2,500 miles from Seattle to St. Louis over six weeks this summer to raise money.

The goal is to spark publicity for a scholarship he created to honor Caleb Zarzecki, of Troy, who died of cancer in June. He was 15.

The scholarship is for a Triad High School senior next year, when Caleb would have been in 12th grade.

I emailed Tom with an offer of home-cooked meals and a comfortable room. He was grateful but he's staying with an aunt who lives in the Greenacres area. He leaves the Seattle area on June 21.

You can follow him on his blog. He plans to do an average of 70 miles a day so we might see him pulling into Spokane Thursday evening.

I've given him some route suggestions for passing through here. Any suggestions for crossing North Idaho besides the Centennial Trail, I-90, Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes and back on I-90?