7/3/5 - Longview to Portland

Here's an interestin' fellow I ran across the other day.
Paul Fortayon, a California High School teacher, left Astoria to bicycle 3,622 miles to Portsmouth, N.H., where he plans to arrive somewhere around Aug. 8.
A mountain and road cycling enthusiast for several years, Paul is using his cross country bike trips to raise "as much money as I can" for the American Cancer Society in memory of his beloved grandmother, Carla "Nonna" Ferro, who died of colon cancer in February.
"Through the years, Nonna told me about the many adventures in her life, and she always told me to take risks and seek new experiences; she overcame many challenges herself when she came to America from northern Italy and made a life for herself and our family."
About 40 other cyclists began the coast-to-coast ride with Fortayon. An additional 39 cyclists are expected to join them along the way as they travel through Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ontario, New York, Vermont and New Hampshire.
Paul and the group traveled about 69 miles the first day to St. Helens and was going to proceed to Welches, and onto Prineville, Ore. He expected to be averaging some 100 miles per day.
"The first leg of this trip has been awesome," he emailed. "Highlights so far have been riding along the Columbia River, riding in the Mt. Hood Forest and climbing more than 5,000 feet, and riding alongside a pack of wild horses for about 10 miles."
Just another guy passin' through town the other day! Didja notice?
Keep your eye on things in town, ya hear? Don't know whatcha might miss.
Tom