Every so often an ordinary man does something extraordinary that delights the rest of us, and keeps us smiling as we go about our own mundane business.  Let me tell you the story of Chuck Bailey's bike ride:

Chuck is a semi-retired gentleman who works summers at our local bike shop here in Friday Harbor, which is in the San Juan Islands north of Seattle.  (Walk up the hill behind my house and you're looking across the Strait of Juan de Fuca at Victoria, British Columbia.)  Chuck is a superb bike mechanic and also the world's nicest guy; he once came to my house to fix a problem I was having with my own new bike.

One day in late August, I was chatting with Chuck and he mentioned that when summer ended, he was going to quit work for the season, hop on his bike and head south.

That sounds like fun.  How far are you going?

Mexico.

What?  Are you crazy?  If I drove from here to Mexico in my Mercedes SUV I'd be exhausted.

I just want to do it.  If I make it, I make it.  If I don't, I don't.

Chuck made it.  He cycled 1,695 miles in 38 days.

Chuck is 77 years old.

All of us San Juan Island cyclists have been following Chuck's ride on the blog he's kept along the way.  And today, he's our local hero.