Thirty-one years ago, Doug Thomson rode his bicycle across the country to raise money to fight arthritis, which plagued his future mother-in-law. Now, Thomson’s sons Derek and Dylan are preparing to trace their father’s cross-country bike path and pedal from San Francisco to Seabrook. They leave on Saturday and along the way they’ll be raising money for The Connolly Tough Fund, which supports Concord High principal Gene Connolly and his battle with ALS.
“Connolly did so much for me in high school, he was just awesome, and so I thought this would help give back just a little bit,” said Derek, 21, who graduated from Concord High in 2012. “I’ve seen how much (the Connollys’) lives have changed, how much their house has changed, and I just thought I would love to do this for him.”
To make a donation through the Thomsons go to cyclingtheusforals.com, where you can also see their planned route and (eventually) read their blog posts from the road.
While he was at Concord High, Thomson helped with the televised morning announcements, which is how he got to know Connolly. The two would have lunch together and whenever Derek had a new idea for a video – whether it was filming a video on the roof or pulling a (good natured) prank on a student – Connolly was always supportive.
Those experiences fostered Thomson’s love of video and film, which in turn inspired him to apply to Emerson College, a school known for its communications and arts programs. Connolly wrote a glowing letter of recommendation and when Thomson was put on a wait list, Connolly wrote another letter. When they were told that was too many letters, they made a video and Connolly tried to arrange an interview with the college’s president.
Thomson wound up at Keene State to start, but after three semesters he transferred to Emerson. He played soccer at both schools and majored in film at Emerson before graduating last weekend.
Thomson started giving back to Connolly a few months after the principal was first diagnosed with ALS in July of 2014. That’s when Thomson began a series of interviews with Connolly, creating videos that will become part of Connolly’s recorded history.
“I pitched it to him like there’s this interview thing that I want to do just between you and I, and it was hard to say this isn’t going to be a good ending, but I want your grand kids to know the real you and hear your voice. He was all for it,” Thomson said.
“I think I’ve interviewed him six or seven times now, just any chance I got when I came back from school. In the beginning he could talk obviously, and then a couple times after that he was using the microphone, and then after that it became talking with his iPad. They showed some of the videos where he was talking at his birthday party (on April 15 at CHS, celebrating Connolly’s 60th) and it’s crazy to think that some of the kids that go to that school have never heard him talk before.”
Derek, Doug and Dylan, 18, took a family bike trip just last year, traveling from Naples, Fla., down to Key West. But the idea for rebooting his father’s cross-country expedition came to Derek when he was scanning the slides from Doug’s 1985 trip.
“I just thought it would be really cool to juxtapose those photos with new photos from the same route, and that’s kind of how it all got started,” Derek said. “And it’s a good time to do it because you just graduated, you have no job, no kids, no wives. And I felt like if I didn’t do it I would always regret it and probably never have the time do it again.”
Initially Derek was going with a friend, but he changed his mind when the reality of pedaling more than 4,000 miles hit home. A few other friends agreed to make the trip and then backed out before Derek turned to his brother.
“(Derek) lives in Los Angeles now, so he’s going to be gone, and this could be our last big bang together,” said Dylan, who will be a freshman at the University of New Hampshire this fall on a soccer scholarship. “So I wanted to spend some time with him, and then with everything that’s going on with Mr. Connolly and everything that he’s done for my brother and for Concord, this definitely was something that I wanted to do. And I need to get in good shape for soccer, biking 100 miles a day will probably help out with that.”
As Dylan, a goalie, and the rest of the Concord High soccer team were making their way to the Division I state championship last fall, they always talked about winning for Connolly.
“Mr. Connolly just puts his all into everything and it doesn’t matter who you are or what your family is like or what your background is, he doesn’t care, he’s going to fight for you no matter what,” Dylan said. “That made a huge impact on my brother and so that’s where it started for me. My brother loves that family and Mr. Connolly has embraced him so much, so being able to see that first hand has just been amazing.”
Derek and Dylan will fly to San Francisco on Saturday and begin biking the next day. They’re planning on averaging 70-100 miles per day and traveling through places like Yosemite National Park, Las Vegas, the Hoover Dam, Mount Zion National Park, the Rocky Mountains, Denver, Mount Rushmore, Chicago and Niagara Falls before making a stop in Concord prior to the end point of Seabrook. But they are also planning on improvising.
“Dylan has to be back at UNH July 24, but it’s not like we have a harsh deadline,” Derek said. “I’d like to do it in 50 days, but if we’re going through a town and it’s really cool and we want to spend more time there, that’s what we’re going to do.”
They know it won’t be easy, not with 60 pounds of gear on each of their bikes. But they have plenty of motivation, and they have some history to consult for advice.
“My dad has said the first couple of weeks you’re going to be as sore as can be,” Derek said. “But then after that your body gets used to it and it’s kind of smooth sailing from there.”
(Tim O’Sullivan can be reached at 369-3341 or at tosullivan@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @timosullivan20)