By Stacy Parker
Correspondent
OCEANFRONT
As grandmothers do, Carol Ann Marshall of Bay Colony worried when her grandson, Blake, announced that he would be traveling across the United States on his bicycle. But she also admired his motivation to cycle for others in need.
"I'm in awe that he would do this," she said.
Blake Marshall, 25, hit the road July 1 from Yorktown after spending the week with his grandparents in Virginia Beach. More than 20 of his family members vacationed together in Sandbridge, where he dipped his rear tire in the Atlantic Ocean, before they gave him a send-off party.
Through sponsorships, Marshall has been raising money and awareness for Montana de Luz, an orphanage for children with HIV/AIDS in Honduras. He's visited the orphanage on two mission trips through his school, Eastern Nazarene College in Massachusetts. Marshall is a graduate student studying elementary education and works in the school bookstore.
In Honduras, he and other students dug ditches, laid brick and poured cement at the orphanage after a hurricane devastated the area.
When this year's trip to Honduras was canceled due to budget restraints, Marshall launched his own effort to help.
"This whole idea of this fundraiser is I wanted to keep a relationship going between the college and Montana de Luz," he said. "I want to keep people interested and keep the dialogue going."
He spoke to the student body of 700 about his experiences helping at the orphanage and held a fundraising event on campus that raised $1,400 in one night. His goal is $5,000. The money will be used for the orphanage's operating costs, including feeding the more than 30 children who live there.
Marshall, who has become an avid cyclist in Tri-River area of Massachusetts, is traveling solo on his Bianchi Volpe, a touring bicycle. He's carrying about 70 pounds of supplies including a tent, sleeping bag, rain gear, tools, bike parts, phone, camera and a small laptop to document his journey on his blog, http://www.firstgiving.com/blakeon2wheels. He will travel through 10 states and end the journey in Florence, Ore.
Blake's father, Sands Marshall, grew up in Virginia Beach and now lives near Boston. He worked in his family's business, the old Seaside Market on 23rd Street, played in a local band and once built a boat at his parent's house in Bay Colony.
He said he gave his blessing for his son's cross-country bike trip because his parents supported his projects when he was younger, and his son has proven his commitment.
"He was dedicated to training and saving money for the trip," his father said. "One thing about Blake, he sees things through."
Stacy Parker, stacyparker@cox.net
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