A Defense of Traveling Cross-Country

Recently, an old friend of mine posited that if I were to not make the cross-country trip, I could probably raise a great deal more funding for actual research. His allegation did carry weight as traveling across the US costs money. And not just a little bit of money either. Firstly, there's the equipment I need for the road. I need a good bike, repair equipment, supplies with which to maintain my bike. Secondly, I need places to sleep and eat. I'll be doing mainly camping and staying with folks on the Warm Showers network (www.warmshowers.org) and that's a whole lot cheaper than staying in hotels and motels every night but it still costs money. Additionally, I need food. Buying from a supermarket and cooking it myself will save a lot of money compared to eating out nightly but it still costs a bit. So I'll need a hammock or a tent, campground dues, food and equipment to cook with. And then you've got all the other stuff that is just part of life. I've got to make payments on my credit card, have money to get back into the swing of things once the trip is over and keep my cell phone in minutes. All that to say my friend had a point that I might be able to get more for research if I don't make the trip across the country.

I can hear you! "How's he going to dig himself out of that one?" you say. Here's why I'm making the trip across the country. I'll be staying at about 60 different locations over the course of the trip. If, in each location, I describe what I'm doing and what ALS is to a dozen different people and gather a collective donation for ALS research of $25, me going on this trip will basically be paid for. If I'm able to gather a collective donation of more than $25, more money will be going to help ALS victims than if I'd stayed at home. So when you give money to me for candy or just funding of my trip itself, don't think of it as "I'm helping Wes go on a vacation." Think of it as "I'm helping Wes reach a larger audience."

And I'm planning to contact every small/moderately sized city's newspaper a few days in advance to organize a story letting small-town America know about Lou Gehrig's Disease and the efforts of The ALS Association in alleviating the suffering of its victims. So sleep easy and know that your donations to my trip are not being used to pamper Wes Rosselet as he leisurely makes his way across the US on an epic vacation.