He pedaled 4,000 miles for the whales.

Vincent James fell for whales the way some people fall for music, and for the 50th anniversary of the Center for Coastal Studies — the Cape Cod group that studies and protects them — he wanted to do something that matched the milestone. So he got on a bicycle in Portland, Oregon and rode, six hours a day, until he reached Provincetown: about 4,000 miles coast to coast. By day 15, hundred-mile days had become routine. Wearing the center's name across his T-shirt, he talked whales, conservation and ocean health with everyone who asked about the ride. He has raised nearly $44,000 of a $50,000 goal for the center's research and conservation work, with donations open through the end of the year. "Ride the mile you're in" was the mantra of the trip — one day, one mile, one ocean.