Placerville man riding from Canada to Mexico for burned firefighters

RETIRED El Dorado County firefighter John Beaver, with bicycle, poses with firefighters, from left, Jacob Poganski, Ty Dennis, Lucus Shepard and Captain Steve Adams at Station 25 in Placerville before setting out for his ride from Vancouver to Mexico to raise funds for the Firefighters Burn Institute. Courtesy photo

By Cole Mayer
From page A3 | 3 Comments

John Beaver is currently pedaling his way from Vancouver, British Columbia, to the Mexican border, in an effort to raise awareness and get donations for the Firefighters’ Burn Institute in Sacramento.

Beaver, 53, of Placerville is retired from the El Dorado County Fire Protection district and first became involved with the institute during its yearly Fill the Boot fundraisers.

“They provide support, either financial or rehabilitation, for firefighters burned on duty, for those who have received burn injuries,” Beaver said. “They also have a yearly camp for kids who have been burned.” He said the organization is “awesome,” noting that it was started after a plane crash in 1974.

In his own attempt at a fundraiser, he decided to pedal from the top of the country to the bottom with no vehicles shadowing him. “It’s completely self-supported,” he said of his journey, what he calls the Hopes and Dreams Ride. “There’s no shadows. I’ve got camping gear and I’ll camp every night. I’ve got mechanical tools. It differs from a lot of the rides happening lately.”

The ride will take 28 days, he said, and he will take a single Monday off after two weeks. He will end on Sept. 19, having started Aug. 19.

According to his blog, his first day on the road went well, though he did get lost and have to take a detour. He rode about 77 miles his first day.

Beaver will be updating his blog, which can be found at http://www.hopesanddreamsride.blogspot.com/

Donations can be sent to the Firefighters’ Burn Institute at http://ffburn.org/.

Cole Mayer

Cole Mayer started writing for the Mountain Democrat in early 2012. He has written news, features and opinions in the past, and currently works the crime, court and fire beat.

View all my stories Email Me CMayerMtDemo

Discussion | 3 comments

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geni pillowAugust 22, 2012 - 6:36 pm
john is amazing for doing this ride alone and for such a good cause, he has a huge heart. I am proud to call him my friend. My prayers are riding with him,
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geni pillowAugust 22, 2012 - 8:05 pm
john is amazing for doing this ride alone and for a good cause...yeah for him
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Linda HopkinsAugust 24, 2012 - 10:07 am
John has always given to his community. He's been good about blogging so I hope you all will take the time to send him a note and keep him in the loop about what is going on here in Placerville. Cole how about a fill-in story at his halfway mark , it's my understanding that that should be around Crescent City and 10 days on the road.
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