Nancy here.  Once a year, Joey gives me a platform.

Making the case for human rights is Jeffrey’s passion, whether in court, protesting locally, or cycling around the USA.  Every year Jeffrey and his kangaroo puppet Joey ride to raise money and awareness for the plight of refugees.  It is an admirable cause and endlessly interesting.

This year, we have more concerns about the trip. In addition to the usual worries about texting drivers, bad roads and sparsely populated areas with nowhere to eat or stay, we are now concerned about Jeffrey’s health. Recently Jeffrey wrote about his surprise pulmonary embolism and pneumonia.

Here I am after I took my embolized spouse to the ER.  No use both of us getting pneumonia!

While Jeffrey is recovering well, and today the pulmonologist said his lungs have healed enough to proceed, we can’t count on Joey for much help if things go wrong.

I will be at my usual post at home, monitoring the Ride’s progress on my iPad, where software allows me to locate Jeffrey’s phone every minute.  I will suggest places to stop and rest for the night, routes ahead and weather reports. Hopefully, there will be no emergencies.

Jeffrey, in the shirt our Tennessee friend Barb gave him on the Ride to Nashville, warming up on a stationary recumbent. He’s a long way from the wild Pacific coast.

Jeffrey loves the ride, the planning, the beautiful countryside and talking to people along the way; it a highlight of the year for him.  After nearly 38 years of marriage, I have always admired Jeffrey’s sense of purpose to make the world a better and fairer place.  As Jeffrey and Joey fly to California on February 28 to pick up where they left off and cycle to Seattle, I wish them another terrific and safe adventure.

And you can go along!

Please follow Jeffrey’s blog at rideforhumanrights.com where you can sign up to receive the nightly posts-from-the-road automatically.  An encouraging comment is always appreciated at the end of a long day’s ride.

And, if the spirit moves you, please make a donation to help the cause.

And now, with love and support, please join me in saying Bon Voyage to Jeffrey and Joey.  May the Santa Ana winds be at their back, may the California, Oregon and Washington drivers be careful and may Jeffrey be strong as you pedal up the western coast.  Most of all, may you come home safe and sound to your loving wife, family, friends and supporters, who will be waiting for you, ready to hear more stories.