Mother of cyclist set to finish cross-country trip in his honor

HATTIESBURG, Miss. (WDAM) - On Nov. 13, 2018, James Dobson took off from his hotel in Hattiesburg, ready to continue his cross-country biking trip from New Hampshire to California.

Shortly after setting out, he was struck by a car on U.S. 98 west and was killed.

Now, three years later, his mother, Cindy Dobson, and two of James Dobson’s’ friends are set to finish his tour.

“He would’ve finished this and I just know it’s something I have to do for him, for me, to help ease my pain a little bit,” said Cindy Dobson. “It won’t cancel out the pain, it’ll always be there, but at least it’ll help.”

James Dobson was riding his bike across the country to raise money for children’s caner awareness. He vlogged the entire trip on his Youtube channel, where he spread positive messages and always had a smile.

He called his trip “The Positive Vibes Tour.”

Now, his mother Cindy, cycling friend Tom Mercier and former football teammate Heath Silva have taken off from Hattiesburg headed for San Diego, Calif., to complete the remaining 1,900 miles of James Dobson’s journey.

“I carry a small picture of him with me and I’ll look at it when I start thinking I can’t do it anymore,” Cindy Dobson said. “I’ll just keep pedaling. I don’t care if I have to have one of them pull me, I am doing this ride.”

The group took off around 9 a.m. Sunday morning. They assume the trip will take around three months with the distance they have to cover.

Cindy Dobson says the kind-hearted people she has met since the accident have restored her faith in humanity, and that she would not be able to do this trip without all involved.

“I just want to say thank you to everyone out there who’s getting us across country, said Cindy Dobson. “I couldn’t do it without people donating for gas, for food. I couldn’t do it. So, that means a lot, and I just want to thank everyone out there.”

Donations to the Final Positive Vibes Tour can be dne via each of the trio’s PayPal account, GoFundMe page or their Venmo @TheFinalPositiveVibesTour.

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