SKOWHEGAN — New York City, here they come.
The three “Boarding for Boobies” boys, who last summer raised $4,200 for breast cancer research by riding their longboards from Ellsworth to Old Orchard Beach, will pick up where they left off beginning June 26.
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For Connor Reeves, 18, and Jacob Weese and Ethan Johnson, both 17, what was a 150-mile, four-day trek in July 2011, will this year be an eight-day, 300-plus-mile trip down the east coast all the way to Times Square.
The goal this time is $8,000 for Susan G. Komen for the Cure.
“It’s double the miles, double the dollars,” Weese said.
The boys said they already have secured donated lodging each night as they board their way from Old Orchard into New Hampshire, then down to Boston, Providence and Connecticut. They will take a ferry boat from New London, Conn. to Orient Point, Long Island, N.Y., then board their way from there into midtown Manhattan, they said.
They plan to skate into Time Square on July 3, where a throng of well-wishers are scheduled to greet them. They have a press agent contacting media along the way — even “Good Morning America.”
Weese’s mother, Elaine Vigue, said her job is to alert all the police departments along the way to make sure the boys arrive safely. They plan to skate 35 miles per day.
Vigue said she doesn’t see any problem or disrespect in the boys using the word “boobies” for their ride for a cure.
“I don’t believe so, and I think especially with the younger generation,” Vigue, 52, said. “It doesn’t matter whether they say ta-ta, breasts, boobies, it’s all the same. It’s a good cause. The guys are doing something you don’t see normal 17-year-old boys out doing.
“Personally, as a mom, I’m proud of the boys. They could be out there into drugs and drinking.”
The boys said they had planned a summer boarding trip last year, and when Jacob’s mother suggested they do something for breast cancer, they said they would. Weese’s aunt, Carla Tibbets of Dexter, is a breast cancer survivor, he said.
During their trip last summer, the boys said they learned a lot about people and their willingness to donate to the breast cancer cause.
“One of the things I learned is that there’s a lot more people than I expected that had breast cancer,” Weese said. “Various people along the trip would stop and give us donations; some said they were survivors.”
They said they found that breast cancer is not age specific — women young and old can get the disease.
Reeves, who lives in Skowhegan, graduated Sunday from Fryeberg Academy. He plans to attend either Berklee School of Music in Boston or Sibelius Academy for music in Finland.
Johnson and Weese will graduate from Skowhegan Area High School next month. Johnson will attend Colby College in the fall, while Weese will study criminal justice at Husson College.
In addition to accepting donations during the eight-day trip, they also will sell “Boarding for Boobies” bracelets for $5 and bumper stickers for $2.
They are accepting checks written to Susan G. Komen For The Cure, care of Connor Reeves, 348 Bigelow Hill Road, Skowhegan, ME 04976.
Boarding for Boobies also has a Facebook page, which will be updated during the trek to Times Square daily via Reeves’ phone.
Doug Harlow — 612-2367
dharlow@centralmaine.com
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