Man’s cycling trip on Route 66 for cancer charity evokes memories of late son

Once upon a time, a family in Michigan had a small boy named Kevin. Kevin’s favorite movie was the 2006 Disney-Pixar animated film, “Cars,” the story about a fictional Route 66 town of Radiator Springs.

The family vowed to take Kevin on a real-life Route 66 trip. But Kevin contracted neuroblastoma cancer when he was not quite 3 years old, and the family put the trip on hold because of the treatments. Kevin fought cancer for 3 1/2 years and died in 2013.

Next Friday, Mark Linder of Paw Paw, Michigan, will embark from Chicago to cycle the entire 2,400-mile length of Route 66 in honor of his late son. He also hopes to raise $10 in pledges per mile to give to DC Strong, an organization that supports families with children who have cancer, and CureSearch, a children’s cancer research group.

Linder told WOOD-TV he thought Kevin would be with him in spirit during his Route 66 journey:

“I’m hopeful that he would be a little bit proud, and I think that he’d be happy. I think he’d wanna ride with me for sure,” Linder said. “I think he’d be there pedaling his little heart out right next to me.”

Here is the rest of the TV station’s report:

The Linder family will go with Mark in a support camper. He told Fox 17 he plans to average 80 to 120 miles a day, finishing the trek at the Santa Monica Pier by July 20.

Linder’s website is here. He or his mother-in-law plans to post updates from the Mother Road.

(Image of Kevin and Mark Linder via Ride 2 End Pediatric Cancer website)

4 thoughts on “Man’s cycling trip on Route 66 for cancer charity evokes memories of late son

  1. What a worthy cause to ride for. Unfortunately, I could not find a place on his website to follow their progress. That would be an excellent addition.

  2. There always seems to be someone traveling Route 66 for one cause or another. This one appears to be one of the more worthy I’ve heard about. I sincerely hope he is able to meet his $10/mile fundraising goal. I hope everyone reading this will go to his website and put up a $10 donation. Heck, that’s not much more than the daily Starbucks!

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