The idea of fundraising for the American Heart Association (AHA) came from Peter. He and his late brother, Nick, rode and camped together until Nick had a stroke that made him partially paralyzed. Later, Nick died from a stroke related complication. If Nick were alive, he would have joined us on this trip. Peter wanted to ride this trip in honor of Nick by raising fund for AHA.
This idea resonated strongly with me. I have had atrial fibrillation (afib) for years. This is a common problem for many cyclists, including professional racers, possibly because of overuse of our hearts during hard rides. But this is also a common problem for many who do not ride. I describe my specific problem and how I overcome it in a separated article. In general, heart deceases are number one cause of death in the world. I fully support Peter’s fundraising idea. He set up an account of GoFundMe for AHA. Our families, friends, people we met on the trip, and total strangers have donated. We still have a long way to go to reach our target.
Chidong Zhang's WA2MA Bike Trip 