An adventure on two wheels

Jun. 11—Cycling from Clarkston to Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, may sound daunting to most, but Jolee Nicholas is looking forward to the challenge of pedaling almost 3,000 miles for a good cause.

Nicholas, the 19-year-old daughter of Mark and Michelle Nicholas, is embarking on the cycling journey with the goal of raising $10,000 for the Children's Cancer Therapy Development Institute in Portland, Ore. She's dubbed her trip "Riding for Research," with links on Instagram and Facebook.

"As a young college student, I don't have a lot of extra money to donate, but I do have my health and ability," Nicholas said. "That's why my mission this summer is to bring awareness to the need for childhood cancer research."

The official trip begins Wednesday, but Nicholas is gearing up by participating in the "I Made the Grade" race today. The popular 18-mile event starts west of Clarkston and continues up the Spiral Highway.

When Nicholas heads north for the summer, her father, a math teacher at Lincoln Middle School, and Brent Jacobs, a family friend and math teacher at Lewiston High School, will be accompanying her on the six-week trip. They plan to camp along the way, and the trio have prepared for a wide variety of temperatures.

Prudhoe Bay is as far as the road goes and about 250 miles north of the Arctic Circle. The cyclists expect to encounter all kinds of weather as they travel through Canada and Alaska.

This isn't the first time Nicholas has cycled such a long distance. When she was in middle school, she crossed the entire country on a 4,200-mile trek. Two summers ago, she rode her bike from the coast of Maine to Chicago.

"I've done several bike trips like this, but never for a cause," she said. "Knowing this will help so many people is an amazing feeling. Last summer, my brother had an internship at the (Children's Cancer Therapy Development Institute), and I felt inspired to help."

Nicholas just wrapped up her freshman year at Pepperdine University, where she is majoring in psychology. She hopes to go to medical school next and become an emergency room physician like her cousin, Dr. Nic Carey, who works at St. Joseph Regional Medical Center.

"I fell in love with Pepperdine because it's a Christian campus and known for getting people into medical school," she said.

Nicholas, who is the youngest of four kids, moved to Clarkston 10 years ago. Her tight-knit family lives on the same street as Mark Nicholas' brother, Wes Nicholas, the principal at Asotin Elementary School, and his sister, Lynn Mason, a longtime teacher at Clarkston High School.

Several members of this athletic crew have completed Ironman and Ironwoman competitions, which is something Nicholas wants to do in the future.

Her father said Nicholas has been riding a bike since she could walk, and he has no doubt she's up to the challenge. As their departure day nears, he's getting excited about this next adventure on two wheels.

"There's not many people who have a daughter her age who want to spend the summer with their dad, so why would I say no?" he said. "I didn't want to miss this opportunity."

Her mother will be following the cyclists online and cheering them on from home as she helps prepare for another daughter's wedding.

"I think what Jolee is doing is inspirational and definitely admirable," she said.

More information about how to donate can be found on her "Riding for Research" page on Facebook and @riding_for_research on Instagram.

Sandaine can be reached at kerris@lmtribune.com.