Drew Mitchell

Name: Drew Mitchell

Age: 28

Residence: Gridley

Occupation: Manager at Corner Bike Shop in Yuba City.

What is your favorite part about cycling? Getting out on empty roads where there are no cars and being able to look around.

When did you become a bicyclist? About three years ago, I bought a cheap single-speed bike off the Internet. About two months later, I signed up to ride cross country — riding 4,300 miles east to west, from Portland, Maine, to Seattle, Wash., in 2011. It was the best summer of my life.

How did you get involved in the long-distance ride? When I started bicycling, I started with 20-mile rides, then doing 80 miles. I couldn't stop. It was very calming.

Other hobbies, interests: Hiking and camping.

What brought you to the Mid-Valley? I have family in the area.

Favorite places to go in the area? I love hiking around in the foothills, the Feather Falls area. I love riding around the Buttes, the north side by the Gray Lodge area.

Where would you retire to visit someday? Mount Everest.

What would you do with a million dollars? I would start an off-the-grid farm — like an organic farm, self-sustaining, in the middle of nowhere.

Who has had a strong influence in your life? My mom. She is awesome.

Tell us about a favorite memory: Rolling into San Francisco as a route leader for my second cross-country ride this past summer. To actually roll into San Francisco — from the coast of Virginia — with everybody happy and safe was a pretty good feeling. Both rides raised money for multiple sclerosis research.

What would you like to see different in the community? I would like to see more bicyclists and more bike lanes, more people out of cars, living healthy and breathing fresh air.