In May 2025, Mike is crisscrossing Western Pennsylvania, visiting the most "extracted" countryside in America: starting with the beaver trade that provoked the French and Indian War, through the coal mines, oil wells and gas fracking of today.
A Keystone is the central stone at the summit of an arch -- the piece that supports the whole and holds it together. Likewise, Pennsylvania, the "Keystone State", has long been America's political fulcrum. Mike will explore the social history of working class laborers that mined the coal and manned the steel mills to understand why they have shifted political allegiance over the last generation. He is using the effort to raise money for cancer research at Dana-Farber supporting his regular Pan-Mass Challenge (PMC) fundraising. Donations, large and small, are welcomed and can be made via this link.
8 days and 550 miles of riding, taking in the sights and the history along the way.
