My name is Don Laird and I am writing in regards to and on behalf of Mr. Don Ross. What follows is certainly worth attention and with respect to the details, most definitely remarkable.
I live in Edson, Alberta, a small town on hwy 16 just West of Edmonton. About a week ago I was returning from up North and as I was going through Whitecourt I noticed a guy on a bicycle pulling a BoB trailer. The weather at the time was quite cold as we are in the grips of winter up here and as I ride a bicycle in the winter I pulled over to chat with this fellow for a second.
It turned out this guy is riding his bicycle, with a trailer, through the Rocky Mountains on his way down to Seattle and then on to San Francisco with a final destination of Washington DC. I offered him a place to stay if he wanted it. He took me up on my offer and I spent about two days with him. He is rather unique to say the least.
I learned he was a pilot in Vietnam and left Vietnam in 1972, shaken and profoundly changed. He moved with his wife up to Alaska after his service where he started a bush plane flying service. Don spent the next 25 years flying freight and passengers into the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge on Alaska’s North Slope. In talking to Don I found him to be deeply concerned for the health of both the world in general and more specifically for the health and sanctity of the Wildlife Refuge. Don speaks with a rare sense of conviction and intimacy on topics of climate change, emissions control and peace between nations. His attitude is not overtly militant but rather one of leading by example and quiet resolve. His goal is to draw attention to climate change and to start a national and perhaps international “ride for the planet day”. I very much enjoyed the time I spent with him.
It became obvious in speaking with Don Ross that he had little prepared with respect to public relations and public interaction. I asked him about this and he explained that he felt it best to gain credibility by putting some miles behind him. I feel he has achieved that as in leaving Fairbanks, AK on October 3, 2009 he has chewed up a serious chunk of the rather large piece he bit off. He rides only in the daylight hours and camps out at night using a tent and collapsible woodstove. The temperatures he has encountered range down into the minus 20’s with serious headwinds.
I have arranged for several meeting with the local media and several schools in towns he will pass through on his way south. He will be speaking to 2 schools in the town of Jasper in Jasper National Park tomorrow, November 25, 2009. From there he will be travelling down highway 5 through the towns of Valemount, Clearwater and then into Kamloops, British Columbia. I expect he will be in Kamloops somewhere around December 9, 2009. Don estimates his arrival in the Seattle area to be somewhere around the 20th of December.
Simply the iconic nature of Don’s journey, riding a bicycle almost 9000 kms in the winter at the age of 66, is remarkable. I would hope that this would also be worthy of perhaps a story, some moral support, perhaps some logistical support and perhaps some sponsorship. Occasionally we are witness to glimpse of men and women whose lives and actions are the mirror image and physical manifestation of words spoken by Theodore Roosevelt, later echoed by John F. Kennedy:
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly. So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.”
In closing, Don Ross would be a great story and certainly a person worth helping. He is reluctant to ask for a hand so I will point out some way he could use help.
Media attention would be fantastic, with perhaps one of the big three doing a weekly update on his progress. A magazine story would be fantastic. Meetings with local state and city officials would help. Arranging a “ride along” with bicycle club members and students. Emailing this message around and sending Don emails of support. Anything to help push Don Ross along.
Don could also use some assistance in the form of sponsorship. Andy Corson of Surly Bikes has indicated there may be a possibility of sponsorship in the form of a new bicycle. In addition, Don could also really use sponsorship/help and support for food (dehydrated meals), communications in the form of a cell phone and calling plan, clothing and assistance in setting up a very basic Web site. I spoke to Don about sponsorship and his initial reaction was one of not wanting to beg for help as he had funded the entire trip out of his own pocket to this point. I told Don that support would not be a bad thing to accept.
So, once again, in closing, here is an example of someone who provides us with living proof there is credence to be lent to the notion of “the power of one”...
Sincerely, Don Laird
