About 400 people get their mail at the post office in Grand Rapids, Ohio. I am one of those people who dutifully go to the post office and open my personal box with a key to retrieve my mail.

The small post office on Wapakoneta Road is somewhat of a social gathering point, limited to “Good morning,” “How are you?,” “How are the children?,” “Is it going to rain today?” exchanges between box holders.

One day recently was an exception to the daily post office schedule and it became a Sunday column that landed — literally — at my feet.

A bicycle was in the lobby, and a rare assortment of merchandise was strewn near it. That’s when my usual good morning greeting was said, but this time it wasn’t to a post office box holder but to a young man wearing sleek bike riding attire and obviously very busy with his belongings.

Brendan Walsh had ridden the bicycle from his home in Boston and stopped at the post office to mail a package of unneeded things home to reduce the weight on his long ride ahead.

Brendan’s destination is Anacortes, Wash. He left Boston May 13 and has high hopes of arriving at his destination in mid to late August.

Although he has been planning his dream trip for two years, he lamented that he got a late start on the day of departure, and it was followed by three days of heavy rains. 

The long bike ride will no doubt toughen leg muscles and offer some bitter travel lessons along the way, but he has a serious mission for the long ride.

He is pedaling his heart out for St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital and invites interested people to join him on the charitable ride by logging on to events.stjude.org/​bostontowashington.

The 24-year-old has a deep concern for people suffering from cancer and for families who have lost loved ones. 

“Everyone has a friend, relative, or pet with cancer or has lost someone from cancer,” he said. 

His grandmother died from cancer not long ago.

Brendan is traveling solo and stresses that the trip was his own idea, sparked after reading On the Road by Jack Kerouac.

“The book gave me the buzz,” he said.

A graduate of the New England Institute of Art, he is an audio engineer. He will return to his work at Lesley University in Cambridge, Mass., after the bike trip.

He averages 60 miles a day and is delighted on the days when he chalks up 80 miles and can include it in his daily Thoughts for the Day entry.

One of the black waterproof bags secured to the bike holds a tent that he uses most nights, but the night before arriving in Grand Rapids, he stayed overnight with a family in Pemberville, Ohio.

The Pemberville family is associated with Warm Showers, an organization that invites people in circumstances similar to Brendan’s to enjoy warm hospitality, a soft bed, and food.

In addition to all of his friends back home and great parents, he is gathering new friends on the road.

“They let me stay in their homes and cook my supper,” he said. “Such generosity keeps me going and makes me feel worthwhile.”

Brendan said he makes certain every day that he consumes a healthy amount of water and food. His onboard gear includes what he calls “a mountain of granola bars and bananas.”

The box that was shipped to Boston from Grand Rapids was packed tightly with a pair of heavy shoes, a microphone, a wrench, Jack Kerouac’s book, and other items he won’t see until he returns home.

“I love music,” was his explanation for having a microphone with him.

His first downsizing experience because of over-packing was in Buffalo, N.Y. That time, he shipped his guitar, a Thermos, and a coffee press back to Boston.

“I thought I would be making coffee in the press every morning,” he said, adding a smile for the unworkable plan.

Brendan didn’t say he was homesick, but in our conversation he often touched on his wonderful support team, especially his girlfriend Olyvia and their cat Mona Lisa. Olyvia didn’t make the trip with him because she had to stay home and care for the cat, he said.

Despite the days of rain in the beginning of the trip, the scenery has been “absolutely beautiful” since, and the people en route have been very kind.

From Grand Rapids, the route continued into Michigan. I agree that the stop in Grand Rapids was lucky and that Brendan’s description of the “cool, quaint village” is right on.

Mary Alice Powell is a retired Blade food editor. Contact her at: poseypowell@aol.com.

First Published June 11, 2017, 4:00 a.m.