Soldier's Best Friend gets coast-to-coast support from cyclist

Wednesday, September 3, 2014
Neil Grehlinger, 58, of Charleston, S.C., makes his way out of Sikeston Wednesday after a stop that included a tire repair at Semo Bicycles and stocking up on supplies. Grehlinger is riding from Portland, Ore., back to Charleston to raise funds for Soldier's Best Friend. (Scott Welton, Staff)

scottw@standard-democrat.com

SIKESTON -- A cyclist is gathering a lot of stories on his ride across the country but the one he wants you to hear is about veterans and dogs.

Neil Grehlinger, 58, started on the west coast and is making his way home.

"I'm from Charleston, South Carolina," Grehlinger said. "In cross-country rides there's a tradition that you dip your wheel in the Pacific Ocean and then you dip your wheel in the Atlantic so I'm going to be doing my Atlantic dip at a place called Folly Beach, which is adjacent to Charleston."

Grehlinger's blog chronicling his 4,200-mile trip across the country does include "heartwarming and funny stories" picked up during his travels as he intended but the address, seattletocharlestonviavabiketour.blogspot.com, is a bit off since the original idea to start in Seattle was tweaked.

"I changed my plan and actually started in Astoria, Ore., which is close to Portland," Grehlinger said.

But the main purpose, spreading the word about the Soldier's Best Friend program and getting people to donate, clearly remains the focus.

"Every single entry at the end of my blog I put a link to donate," Grehlinger said.

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