Dan Blake isn’t wired for the easy road.

At 66 years old, the Carbondale resident and former U.S. Marine Corps officer has spent his life seeking out challenges, pushing himself physically and mentally in ways most people wouldn’t dare. But on March 7, he’ll take on something bigger than himself.

He’ll hop on his bike in San Diego and begin pedaling east, tracing a route that will take him 2,941 miles across the country to St. Augustine, Florida. Over the course of 53 days, he’ll endure brutal headwinds, unpredictable weather, and stretches of road so long they seem to disappear into the horizon. Some days he’ll ride 36 miles. Other days, he’ll push nearly 90.

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There will be just eight rest days, barely enough time to recover before climbing back into the saddle. But for Blake, stopping isn’t an option.

“I’m not out here trying to break records,” he said. “I’m just doing what I said I would. Some things you just have to finish.”

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This ride isn’t just about endurance. It’s about purpose. Blake is riding to raise money and awareness for Stroke Onward, a nonprofit dedicated to helping stroke survivors navigate the emotional and psychological challenges of recovery.

It’s a cause that found him rather than the other way around. In 2022, he attended a talk given by Stroke Onward co-founders Debra Meyerson and Steve Zuckerman. Meyerson, a former Stanford professor, suffered a severe stroke in 2010 that left her with aphasia, a condition that affects speech and language processing. In 2022, she and Zuckerman rode across the country to raise awareness about the often-overlooked side of stroke recovery.

Blake listened to their story and felt something shift inside him.

“These weren’t lifelong cyclists,” he said. “They weren’t elite athletes. They were just two people who decided they weren’t going to let life tell them what they could or couldn’t do. And I thought, ‘That’s it. That’s the kind of thing that matters.'”

Though Blake has never personally experienced a stroke, he understands what it means to live with limitations. His brother has lived with disabilities for much of his life, and Blake has always had a deep respect for those who face extra hurdles every single day.

“You grow up seeing that struggle, and it stays with you,” Blake said. “You see someone fighting just to get through the day, and you start to ask yourself, ‘What am I doing to help?'”

But riding nearly 3,000 miles isn’t something you wake up one day and decide to do. It takes months of training, unwavering discipline, and a body that can withstand the grind.

Blake has been preparing for this ride since January 2024, working under the guidance of his son, Danny Blake, founder of Dynamic Performance Systems in Carbondale. His routine has been relentless — early morning rides, weight training, swimming, and long weekend sessions that test his endurance.

Some mornings, his age catches up with him. The stiffness, the fatigue — it’s all there.

“There are days when I roll out of bed, and my first thought is, ‘How the hell am I gonna do this today?'” Dan Blake said. “But then I get on the bike, and something changes. The body remembers. The legs turn over, and suddenly, you’re moving.”

Danny Blake, who has spent years training elite athletes, has no doubt his dad has what it takes to finish.

“He’s been like this as long as I can remember,” Danny Blake said. “If you tell him something’s too hard, he’s going to do it just to prove you wrong. That’s who he is.”

Unlike some cross-country cyclists who camp along the way, Blake won’t be roughing it. He’s traveling with a touring company that provides hotel stays and a chase vehicle stocked with spare parts, a mechanic, and anything else he might need.

“I spent enough nights sleeping on the ground in the military,” Dan Blake said with a laugh. “I don’t need to relive that experience.”

The toughest stretch will be Texas — 19 straight days of endless road, wide-open landscapes, and unpredictable conditions.

“Texas is going to be a mental game,” Dan Blake said. “You ride for days, and it still feels like you haven’t moved. But that’s where the good stuff happens — when it gets hard, and you have to push through.”

His journey has already caught the attention of Stroke Onward’s co-founder, Steve Zuckerman, who remembers his own cross-country ride all too well.

“I wish I were out there with him,” Zuckerman said. “But to see someone take on this challenge for Stroke Onward — it means everything. It proves that what we’re doing resonates.”

Founded in 2019, Stroke Onward focuses on the emotional and mental side of stroke recovery, a piece that Zuckerman says is often overlooked in the medical world.

“People think recovery is just about getting your body back,” he said. “But what happens when you don’t feel like yourself anymore? What happens when your sense of identity is shaken? That’s the part people don’t talk about, and that’s the part we want to change.”

Blake knows his ride won’t fix everything, but if it sparks conversations, if it gets people thinking, that’s enough for him.

“I’m not out here to make some grand statement,” he said. “I just want to do something that matters. If one person sees this and realizes they’re not alone in what they’re going through, then every mile will be worth it.”

He invites the Roaring Fork Valley community to follow his journey and support Stroke Onward. He’ll be posting updates on his company’s Facebook and Instagram pages, @southtownsfinancialgroup.

“Some people run marathons. Some climb mountains,” Dan Blake said. “For me, this is my mountain to climb.”

For those looking to help raise money, donations can be made through his GoFundMe, with all proceeds going directly to Stroke Onward. The fundraiser can be found at gofundme.com/dansrideacrossamerica.