HOLLAND, MI (WHTC) – Man’s best friend, a bicycle and the open road is all a Texas man needed to start a journey back in 2013 that has taken him all over the United States in an effort to support non-profit animal shelters. That’s how the “Where’s Bixby” following took over.
Mike Minnick, 38, does it all for Bixby his 6-year-old border collie mix. Together they travel the road on a Yuba Mundo cargo bike. He doesn’t pedal all the way though, as the electric-assist bicycle picks up the speed when he can’t.
So how did he end up in Holland? Minnick needed work done on his bike and the National Sales Rep. for Yuba told him to head up the coast from Chicago and head to Reliable Sports. Owner Ken Voss was more than happy to help. “Just to realize how far he’s come and how far that dog has been patient enough to sit in the back seat and take that ride with him is quite something.”
Minnick is no stranger to the media. In every town he stops in they are there to greet him and Bixby. More often than not, Minnick speaks for his dog with everything coming from Bixby’s perspective.
On his stops along the way Minnick visits animal shelters. He usually gets the media involved with awareness of dog ownership and adoption. “Bob Barker had it right. The number one way to save as many animals as you can is to spay or neuter your pet. “ Minnick said.
So how does a 39-year-old former smoker survive pedaling on the open road? He relies on the kindness of strangers. “We either meet people where we are at or I’ll put it out on social media with our various pages. A lot of times I just play it by ear. If I don’t already have something set up I go to the heart of town and just start talking to people. If it’s a little later in the evening I’ll go to pub. If I can find the place that has the $2.00 PBR, one beer will usually start a conversation and someone will offer to put us up. It happens everywhere. I really can’t afford hotels.”
Minnick and Bixby are headed to Lansing, Detroit and then Cleveland, Buffalo, Vermont then Maine. Once winter comes he knows it’s time to go South.
The maker and sponsor of Minnick’s bicycle Yuba challenged him on April 24 to break the world record for distance on an electrical bicycle. “I’m giving myself a year to break this world record. “I’m 4,300 miles into the new tour and I want to go over 20,000 miles.”
The thought of going back to Minnick’s previous life as a bartender is terrifying he says. He’s working on a children’s book from Bixby’s perspective. “I don’t see any reason why Bixby cannot be a cartoon character for Disney/Pixar. Dreams come true, but they don’t come true if you don’t chase them.”
Minnick said if he can find a size 13 wooden show in Holland he’s more than happy to pedal the bike wearing them.
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