South King Fire and Rescue firefighter, wife, begin bike journey across country

Published 10:27 am Monday, September 12, 2016

South King Fire and Rescue firefighter Merrick McGinnis and his wife, Stephanie McGinnis, began their 3,000-mile bicycle journey across the country on last week.

It took them 10 years to plan, and now they have less than 47 days to complete their ride across 14 states. During the trek, the pair hope to raise $50,000 for cancer, ALS and Parkinson’s’s disease – all “because some can’t.”

The couple will split the funds they raise between five charities: the WSCFF Burn Foundation, the Seattle Brain Cancer Walk, the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, the ALS Association, and the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research.

“Both my dad and my wife’s mother have Parkinson’s, and that’s a cause near and dear to my heart,” Merrick McGinnis said before they left. “And then, in the last few years, we’ve had several friends and family that have had different types of cancers, and then some have passed, and that just speaks volumes to us as far as, ‘This is a cause we want to work towards.’ So we decided to choose these five charities for that reason.”

Stephanie McGinnis said a fellow firefighter – she works at the Port of Seattle Fire Department – developed brain cancer, which also affected her best friend.

“We thought this was a great opportunity to bring awareness,” Stephanie McGinnis said. “It’s sobering that many people aren’t here or physically can’t do it.”

But the McGinnises didn’t just decide to hop on their bikes and go.

The Renton residents spent the good part of the year planning their route, which is from Boston to the Seattle area, and even more time training.

“My wife is primarily a marathon runner and I primarily do triathlons, and we’ve kind of abandoned those trainings for mainly just riding,” Merrick McGinnis said. “We did a five-day training ride last month. We went over to the Oregon coast and down to Cannon Beach, back to Portland, and then took the train home from there. It was about 300 miles.”

Being firefighters, they frequently get the opportunity hone their strength and cardio training.

“I think one of the main things is just the mental part of wrapping your head around it,” Merrick McGinnis said. “You know there’s going to be a day when we’re out in South Dakota and it’s going to be hot and windy and you just have to keep plugging along and know we’re doing it for a good reason.”

Aside from keeping a strong mentality, Merrick McGinnis’ only anticipated challenge is the weather, specifically the wind in Montana. Stephanie McGinnis said one of her hardest days will be biking up Mount Rushmore in South Dakota.

The McGinnises contacted fire departments that have stations on their travel route, and they plan to let fellow firefighters know about their cause as they travel. They even planned for the Boston Logan International Airport fire chief to send them off on their journey.

The duo will stay with some friends they met from Peru along the way, but other than that, they plan to stay in hotels in between rides.

To follow their journey, “Because Some Can’t,” visit their Facebook page, “Because Some Can’t.” Donations are being accepted at www.becausesomecant.com.