BY LANCE GAITHER

lance.gaither@bluegrassnewsmedia.com

Cyclist Scott Hanks is currently on the last leg of his 3,206-mile, cross country journey from Santa Monica, California to Virginia Beach, Virginia. Hanks, a Danville native who now lives in California, is making the journey in honor of his mother, Pauline Hanks, and he has a goal of raising $95,000 and getting 95 new mentors for Big Brothers Big Sisters of America for his mother’s 95th birthday on Sept. 15.

“I had a stroke about seven months ago,” Scott Hanks said. “Part of my therapy was to set a big goal; something that would be hard to accomplish. I always thought about biking across the country.”

Pauline Hanks is a resident of Morning Pointe of Danville, and her cycling son stopped by for a visit before continuing on his journey.

“I’m just amazed, I can’t believe he has done it,” she said. “I am overwhelmed. I have three sons. Scott is the youngest, but they are all special.”

Scott Hanks’ wife and son, Kathy and Jacob, are providing support for his trip by car.

“It is a lot of hurry up and wait,” Kathy said. “We leapfrog ahead, give him water, food, let him cool off. Then we do the same thing again.”

The staff at Morning Pointe welcomed Scott to Danville with a display of balloons.

“We just wanted to say thank you to Scott and say congratulations for everything over the last month,” said Morning Pointe Life Enrichment Director Nicole Walton. “He has traveled in support of his mom, and she has been so proud of him. She wanted to do something, so we made a balloon arch and sign to welcome him. We are super proud of him for the traveling he has done.”

So far, Scott Hanks has achieved a little more than 60 percent of his fundraising goal. To donate, learn more about Big Brothers Big Sisters, and follow along on his journey, visit biketomom.com.