Former Federal Way City Councilman Jack Dovey has embarked on a cross country bike ride with his daughter, Jeneca, from Washington, D.C., to Portland, OR.
The two are posting updates of their travels on a blog (doveybiketrip.blogspot.com) and found themselves outside of Hannibal, MO, on June 26 when The Mirror was able to briefly talk with them on the phone.
“This is just something my daughter and I have been working on and talking about for years, and when she got back from the Peace Corps, she decided to do it,” Jack Dovey said from the road. “It’s a great father-daughter bonding trip.”
The elder Dovey said that both he and Jeneca didn’t really train for the trip, but rather have gotten in shape on the trip.
“Everything’s going well now. The first couple of days were a little rough,” he said.
The former councilmember described what the trip has been like so far, saying it’s been enjoyable every step of the way.
“You’re riding along these roads, and you come into these small towns, and people’s porches are focused on the road, and they wave at you and come talk to you,” he said. “The smells are amazing, the birds are amazing, the colors, red, yellow…the wildlife you see. The wind’s blowing in your face, it’s just fun.”
Dovey noted that in many of the small towns he and Jeneca have passed through, a lot of the social activity seems to center around the Post Office. Along with that, he said, there’s been a lot of little diners in the towns they’ve passed through full of friendly people and good food.
Jeneca, 26, who returned from Cameroon after three years with the Peace Corps, said the trip has been a good way to readjust to life in the United States.
“I think it’s helped me adjust back,” she said. “In the city, in Seattle, everything is go go go. Now that we’re out here in the country, life’s a little slower and that’s what I’ve been used to.”
Jeneca noted that they’ve had to experience the wide range of weather that the middle of the country has — everything from thunderstorms one day, to blazing heat without a cloud in the sky the next day.
She, too, has enjoyed the time to be with her dad.
“It’s a lot of great ‘me and him’ time,” she added.
The duo anticipate they’ll be making a stop in Federal Way somewhere around Aug. 2. Follow their adventure online at doveybiketrip.blogspot.com for frequent updates and pictures.
