Pony Express redux, hold the pony

Two Bay Area locals are preparing to embark on a cross-country bicycle journey from Anacortes, Wash. to New York City raising money for charity. Their philanthropic saga, though, has a touch of the wild west to it.

Inspired by the letter-carrying Pony Express, NoPa’s Jon Therrian along with friend Brian Hill plan on carrying and delivering letters to New Yorkers. And, of course, blogging about it the whole way.

The greatly-romanticized Pony Express lasted just 19 months between April 1860 and October of 1861 but left an important mark on the lore of the American West.

The Pony Express involved hundreds of horses and nearly 100 men comprising a relay team that carried letters across the United States. Carrying letters non-stop, the first trip went from St. Joseph, Mo. to Sacramento in just nine days and 23 hours, a record at the time.

Therrian and Hill plan to embark for points east on May 14. They expect the 3,800 mile trip to take a bit longer than two months.

Therrian has a whole list of reasons for making the trip — adventure, curiosity, lifelong dream — though the ride is primarily to raise money for charity:water, an organization which works to bring clean water to developing nations.

Once the men reach New York, a viewing party will be held at a local café where letter recipients will be able to pick up their mail.

Therrian plans to spend a few weeks in New York recovering from the journey and will be flying home:

“We have good maps for the entire route until we hit Albany. I’m just going to follow the Hudson south and pray I hit Manhattan with battery on my phone.”