Sunday, August 16, 2015

Ground Zero

The ultimate destination of Bike Trip America was One World Trade Center, also known as Ground Zero. We reached our destination yesterday afternoon. Interesting that our worst day, as far as reaching our time goals, was the last day of our journey, but in our defense, as riders, it wasn't our fault that we were two hours late. Let me describe our day, which actually began the previous day when the Fishkill welcoming ceremonies included the announcement that we would be riding to the boat ramp at Beacon to dip our front tires in the Hudson River. They had already arranged for us to be met there by local press and members of the Beacon American Legion chapter. Our police escort was expecting us to follow that route, as was the photographer who would be riding with us all day, and that meant riding out to Beacon, then back to Fishkill to connect with our original route. That added several miles to an already long day, and put us 1 1/2 hours behind our scheduled start. We felt obliged to go along with the plan, which had been hatched by Fang Wong, a former National Commander of the American Legion. Fang Wong was the same one who had helped organize the welcoming ceremony at the World Trade Center at 3:00 pm.

Anyway, we dipped our tires in the Hudson River. 


From there, we had a State Police escort, accompanied by the Fishkill American Legion Commander. That resulted in a somewhat slower pace than we needed to make up for the lost time. Plus, the route took us up Tarrytown Hill, which had segments with as much as an 18% grade and lasting nearly a mile. When we passed Sleepy Hollow cemetery, I almost felt like stopping, hopping over the fence, and just ending the ride right there ... or maybe taking a Rip Van Winkle nap and finishing the ride in another 100 years. 

We stopped for lunch in Elmsford (I think) in Westchester County. One of the NYSP escorts was so impressed by our efforts on behalf of Operation Comfort Warriors that he bought our lunch for us. We sat outside a deli while eating, and local merchants came out to visit with us and to donate to the cause. Not counting the NYSP donation of lunch, we collected $95 in donations without even lifting a finger! 

After lunch, we picked up a long section of bike trail, so the NYSP escort took Pat and the support vehicle down to Yonkers, where local police (NYPD) were available to guide her to the World Trade Center. Meanwhile, we pedaled onward in 90-degree-plus temperatures, followed a maze of bike trails and roads, and finally found our NYPD motorcycle and cruiser escort! Fang Wong had gone as high as Mayor de Blasio in order to get permits for a police escort and a group gathering at the World Trade Center.


We rode through the Bronx, getting stuck in a traffic jam on the way, across the bridge and crossed into Manhattan, then climbed the hills around the Cloisters museum, downtown through Spanish Harlem, then across the island to the bike path along the Hudson River. Once we reached the bike path, we dropped the NYPD cruiser, but still had the two motorcycles in front and in back of us. Due to the Saturday crowds on a hot summer day, we had to keep to an easy pace, which meant that we had a lot of other cyclists joining us, asking why we had a police escort, and we had time to enjoy the scenery ... the Highline, the Intrepid aircraft carrier, midtown Manhattan, and then we had the new One World Trade Center tower in our sights. 

The final approach to our destination was punctuated by the excitement in Jonathan's voice when he said, "Look! I see my father. There he is, right there!" I was glad that I was wearing my shades ... I was more emotional, more sentimental than I care to admit, but that's how it was. Bryce's dad came running over to direct the NYPD escort, and we rode up onto the sidewalk and through the crowds of tourists, finally stopping in front of a large American Legion banner, and a crowd of around fifty, diminished from what it had been earlier because of our late arrival. The TV cameras had already headed back to the studios to catch the evening news with other stories, but still, there was a sense of being celebrities. There was an honor guard. There were photographers, and speeches. There was the permit that allowed us to have a large rally at the World Trade Center. We were presented with medals and plaques to honor us for our service to the cause, and as usual, there were donations. At the end of the day, we were just below $20,000, nearly double our initial goal of $10,000 in donations. Since our fund-raising account will stay open through September, we should easily double our initial goal.

We were quickly moved along to where Pat had parked the support vehicle, right in front of the World Trade Center courtesy of NYPD. We packed our bicycles onto the back of a car that would take our bikes directly to a bike shop for shipping home, and packed our gear in the back of the support car so that we could enjoy New York with just our "civilian" clothes. We posed for one last shot as a team before an exhausted Pat drove off, headed back to the West, and the rest of us headed off with Fang Wong to a banquet provided by the Chinatown American Legion chapter. 




Incidentally, we had to wear our Bike Trip America tee shirts all day because we had a photographer along with us for a forthcoming film about our trip. As a result, we were hot and perhaps a bit dehydrated on our last day, and also, I didn't have any pockets, so I was unable to carry my smart phone and camera. The pictures above are all from Bryce's camera, and from Pat, as are many of the pictures that have appeared in the blog. 

I also want to thank the parents of the boys for entrusting their boys to us for the summer, and for supporting our final day. On the right, in the picture above, you can see Ryan's mom, grandmother and grandfather; and wearing the purple Bike Trip America shirts are Jonathan's mom and dad; and Bryce's dad.  

What happens next? The blog will continue periodically as new pictures come in, and when there are important or interesting updates to our trip. A book may be in the works. Bryce and I have both been asked to do articles, and presentations may be organized. Also, the American Legion is doing a film about our trip, and it was suggested that maybe a feature-length movie could be made. So we can play the game of "Who's going to play the part of ...." (fill in the name of your favorite rider or support driver, Legion Commander, WarmShowers host, etc.). 

As mentioned earlier, our bikes are already on their way home. Mine is actually going to my son's house since I'll be collecting my wife, Wyn, on the west coast, then we'll go meet our new (and only) grandson Owen for the first time. Pat will be driving back to Gearhart, where she'll be happily reunited with her black lab Annie, who is perhaps as demanding as our bike crew, but less stressful because Annie wags her tail with glee and all demands are unconditionally forgiven. Ryan will be completing his senior year of high school in Hillsboro, Oregon. Jonathan will be holding down the fort as a junior at Astoria High School. And our fearless organizer Bryce will be completing his senior year of high school at a boarding school in Canada. Like I said, I'll keep you posted via the blog and via FaceBook when anything related to the bike trip transpires.

And thank you for having faithfully followed our journey across America. 

Saturday, August 15, 2015

Friday, August 14, 2015

Greasing the Skids

This morning, we were met outside the American Legion Hall in Hudson, NY, by the New York State Police. They rotated crews, keeping a car in front of us and a car behind us as we zoomed down the east side of the Hudson River along both rural roads and freeways! If you don't know the countryside along the Hudson, it is hilly, but full of wonderful history. Not only are there numerous pre-revolution buildings, but also we went through Hyde Park, passing right past Franklin Delano Roosevelt's home, past the Vanderbilt estate, and past the second drive-in movie we've seen on our journey. Jonathan assures me that there are only five drive-in movies in the US, and that makes two that we've seen during our bike ride! Only trouble is, they don't operate during daylight hours, and there's nowhere on a bicycle to hang the speaker, even if they were operating! Oh, well, guess that will have wait for another trip. We then went past the Culinary Institute of America, but didn't even stop for lunch. We went flying right on by!

Anyway, today's segment was not necessarily about the ride. It was fairly straightforward ride, albeit a bit physically demanding -- mostly because all the teen-aged legs in front of me insisted on trying to keep up with the police cruiser in front of us, regardless of my aching legs. Right now, I'm reading "The Boys in the Boat," and found that we were cycling right past where the national rowing championships took place, in the Poughkeepsie yacht club to Hyde Park area, giving new life to the book.

When we arrived in Fishkill, our destination for the day, the State Troopers were joined by a sheriff on a motorcycle, so we had a motorcade tooling along the turnpike. The sheriff would block intersections, and the troopers kept cars out of our lane. And since we were on the TV news the night before, and in the local newspapers, a lot of people driving past recognized us, so we were constantly having to wave or otherwise respond to honking cars. Then we turned off the main highway, and shortly thereafter, we heard cheers and applause, and looked towards the left to see a large marquee tent and a crowd of people, a camera pointed at us, and large American flags waving in the breeze! The American Legion, the local politicians, the local media, the Hyatt Hotel and Cracker Barrel Restaurant, all were waiting to greet us. As we pulled into the Hyatt parking lot, the applause got louder. We were celebrities!


An event was awaiting us, and we were center stage. We received proclamations from the local US congressman, from the State Assembly, from the Duchess County council, and speeches from the American Legion and others. We received gift bags, and most important, further donations for Operation Comfort Warriors. After a rousing rendition of God Bless America, the boys were ferried to Cracker Barrel in a vintage Army jeep, and I got a ride from one of the event speakers, Janice Ragazzo.

We are staying in suites donated by the Hyatt, and had a chauffeur-driven limousine (the limo driver was a local councilman and funeral director) to the best restaurant in town. Everything was donated.


So how do we follow up a day like that? Well, I can guess. We have a police escort all the way to the World Trade Center. We have other cyclists joining us. We have a crowd awaiting us at One World Trade Center.

I regret two things about tomorrow. After the ride, we will be done with the bike riding phase of Bike Trip America, and I've been so enjoying myself and the ride. And after the ceremonies at WTC, Pat will be leaving to start the long drive back to Oregon with her friend Ruth Anne. We will miss Pat. She is one of the key links on our team. When she is gone, and when the kids are joined by their families, and I begin my own trip homeward, a joyful episode of my life will be over. It will be time to revise my bucket list and start setting new goals.

Thursday, August 13, 2015

"Let Us Go, Then, You and I...."

Tonight, we are in Hudson, New York. That is "Hudson" as in Hudson River, and that means that NYC is just down the river from us. One more night on the road! This morning, we had a police escort again, this time making sure we got out of Amsterdam safely. A cruiser in front, and a supervisor behind us until we got onto the canal trail.


Just wanted to reassure you, we are NOT riding with handcuffs on!

We went through Rotterdam, through Holland, through Herkimer, through Schenectady, Albany and Rensselaer, south along the Hudson until we reached Hudson. Lots of hills, lots of narrow roads. And tomorrow, since the roads are still just as narrow, we have door-to-door police escort from Hudson to Fishkill.

In Hudson, we had interviews from three newspapers, plus a television story that appeared on the Albany CBS news. Even bigger events are planned for the next two days, but they will be revealed as they unfold. For tonight, we have a lot of cub scouts and boy scouts staying with us, and they are adoring Ryan and Jonathan, who are inspiring them with notions of what they can do with their own lives as they grow up.


We have grown so accustomed to meeting local, regional and state officers, and getting generous donations from Legion chapters, that it will be hard to stop riding once we reach NYC.

Pat's friend Kit, back in Gearhart, wrote this little dittie for me for my birthday yesterday:  "Oh Donnie boy, the bike, the bike is calling---from bend to bend and down the mountainside. The trip is quickly making you much younger, oh Donnie boy, oh Donnie boy, oh what a ride!"

To that, I add the following:  "I shall wear the bottom of my trousers rolled....Shall I part my hair behind? Do I dare to eat a peach?...." 

Stay tuned to find out what else is in store.

Wednesday, August 12, 2015

Connecting the Dots

When I first contacted our ride leader, Bryce Nurding, I knew nothing about him or his planned trip except for a couple of dots on a map -- Astoria, Oregon, and New York City. When I said that I was interested in riding with his team this summer, he said "Yes," with no questions asked. He needed an adult male rider, and it didn't matter that I'd be turning 70 this summer, but it did help that I was a combat veteran. I didn't know at the time that Bryce was a 16-year-old with a dream. Then he sent me a spreadsheet that listed every town we would be staying in, where we would be staying, whether we were being given meals or not, how much elevation we would have to climb each day, the total mileage to date, plus the date and the number of days on the road. Projected onto a map of the United States, that equaled 59 dots.

Eventually, those dots got fleshed out, and the lines connecting them became maps on Strava.com, a route tracking application for cyclists, runners, and other athletes. Once I learned how to use Strava, I was able to zoom in on individual routes, research road conditions and alternate routes, and occasionally Bryce would consider changes to the route he had plotted since he was 15 years old. Most of the segments were consistent with Adventure Cycling routes, MapMyRide routes, and even Google Maps. The routes then had to be transferred to a Garmin cycle computer. Fortunately, Bryce is good at reading the Garmin, because the screen is unreadable for someone who wears distance correction lenses and polarizing sunglasses. Somehow, we manage to navigate every day from start to end, sometimes changing courses on the fly, and sometimes following bike trails that do not show up on the computers. It must work. We have managed to get from Astoria, Oregon to Amsterdam, New York, three days from our destination.

This morning, we had breakfast at a small cafe in Little Falls, thanks to the American Legion and the Chief of Police. When my breakfast was delivered, it was magically decorated with lit candles, and with one huff of breath, my personal wish for my 70th birthday came true...a bicycle trip across America! Jonathan captured the moment on digital film.


On this trip, I've come to realize that I'm a lot healthier than most 70 year old men. No arthritis. No crippling illnesses. No obesity. No smoking. I can even keep up with three teenagers all the way from Little Falls to Amsterdam! And in another couple of days, I'll be following them (or leading them) into New York City! See you there?

Tuesday, August 11, 2015

Chasing Rainbows

You know how rainbows are formed ... the sun reflects off of raindrops. That requires two elements: sunshine, and rain. This morning, we only had one of those two elements, and it wasn't sunshine.

The day started in Syrheated upacuse, where we stayed with WarmShowers hostess Keri Vito. She recommended a breakfast restaurant called Malts, since we wanted to get out of town early, and Malts opened at 7:00 am. The food was good, but maybe going in first thing in the morning was not the best time for them. I don't think they had the stove warmed up, and the waitresses were in no hurry, so the slow service was a bit of a damper on an otherwise good breakfast. But the real damper was the weather. Soaking rain. We had to pull out the rain gear for the first time, and rode all the way from Syracuse to Uttica without once seeing anything but pouring rain. Pat asked what we wanted to do for lunch, and we said, "Somewhere warm and dry." So we found a small pizza restaurant, feasted, and rode on.

The sun finally came out as we were approaching Herkimer, our original stopping place for the day, then we had a fast descent into Little Falls. There, were met at the outskirts of town by the chief of police and his assistant chief, and they led us into town with the lights flashing, through red lights and stop signs, across a bridge over the river and freeway, finally stopping at a beautiful boat house along the Erie Canal. Nearby, there is a 41-foot lock, and the main branch of the canal can be navigated from Syracuse to Albany, finally emptying into the Hudson River. Our route tomorrow will be along the canal again ... a wider path than the adventuresome trail we followed yesterday. And hopefully, the trail will be bathed in sunshine!

Anyway, the chief of police led us directly to the marina boathouse, where the American Legion and the Mayor were awaiting our arrival, along with others. We will sleep on cots in the boathouse tonight. Here's a view along the canal showing the boathouse.


In front of the boathouse / marina is a pleasant little park that pretty much marks the beginning of our morning ride tomorrow.


After showers and laundry, we went to the Little Falls American Legion Hall for a spaghetti dinner, and yet more fundraising. We were given the reserved head table, and were treated like celebrities by everyone. But alas, the evening had to end. Tomorrow morning, we have breakfast at 7:00 again, then off along the canal path.

Ad "Bikes" to the sign in front of the marina building, and we would be (we are) totally happy!


Monday, August 10, 2015

"Low Bridge, Everybody Down"



If you know the song, then yep, you're right. We found the Erie Canal, and rode the old mule path for about 20 miles on our way into Syracuse, New York. The path was crushed gravel, and where the gravel had drifted into deep piles, the traction was pretty mushy. After about 15 miles, Jonathan decided it was time to let nature alone, so he rode the last few miles to our WarmShowers' hostess in the support car. Here's a wide part of the trail.


The Erie Canal meant 20 miles of no automobile traffic! What a luxury! But the whole day wasn't like that. We had a couple of interesting things happen along the way. First, we had a breakfast with a full host of members of the Avon, NY American Legion Hall. At 8:00 am, right on cue, we lined up in front of the Veteran's Memorial for a photo, then started rolling east on Highway 5. The Avon chapter was very generous with their time, and presented us with a nice proclamation, along with a poster welcoming us to their Legion Hall. They wanted a copy of the photo of us leaving from the Pacific Ocean, and they want another of us dipping our tires in the Atlantic so they can commemorate our visit to Avon. 

We touched the north edges of the Finger Lakes as we rode along, and at one point we lost Ryan and Jonathan, who wanted to ride faster than Bryce and I were going. Only trouble is, they took a different route than we did, and pretty soon we realized that one or the other of us was lost. Bryce had the route programmed into his Garmin cycle computer, so he and I followed that, and settled in for a good lunch in Seneca Falls while Ryan and Jonathan used Google Maps to get from wherever they were, back to wherever we were. Actually, Seneca Falls is a beautiful little city, and quite famous. It was here that Elizabeth Cady Stanton organized the first National Women's Rights Convention in 1850. By the time we were done with lunch, Ryan and Jonathan had found their way back to the correct route. However, they had added several steep hills and seven miles to an already long day, which would explain why Jonathan decided to ride the last few miles in the support car. He still got in an almost 90-mile day! These kids amaze me every day we are on the road!

Anyway, it was a good day for learning a bit of history. Elizabeth Cady Stanton. The Erie Canal. And even a bit of the "Last of the Mohicans." The Finger Lakes district is very pleasant on a warm summer's day. Guess it's a good time of year to see the area. We'll keep our fingers crossed that we can make it all the way to NYC without a touch of bad weather while we're out on the road (or the canal path).

Sunday, August 9, 2015

Raising the Stakes

We had breakfast today at the "Why Coffee" cafe in Niagara Falls. A silly question, why coffee. Because we need it! Anyway, if anyone wants a good breakfast in Niagara Falls, look up the "Why." I had two eggs, french toast, fried potatoes and toast for $4.50. That is why we are under budget on our trip ... finding wonderful places like the Why Coffee.

As usual, we were on the road by 8:00 this morning, and heading straight into the rising sun. The only glitch in the ride today was Ryan's tummy ... he follows a teenager diet rather than a bicyclist's diet, and this morning, it meant that he was worn out and had to ride with Pat for awhile (after 50 miles, which is still a pretty good ride).

It seems like every town we went through had English names, and we saw stone fences and village squares, so we are unofficially rolling into the beginnings of New England. In fact, where we are staying tonight, in an American Legion Hall in Avon, New York, is just a few miles from the farthest northern reaches of the Revolutionary War. When we rolled through the village of Caledonia, I mentioned the Scots, and none of the boys had any idea what I was referring to. I had to explain to them the meaning of Caledonia. Different generations, for sure.

As we approached Avon, we were given an escort into town by half a dozen motorcycles from the American Legion...three in front of us, another three behind us, followed by Pat in the support vehicle, the Legion Commander in his car, and few hapless motorists who became unwitting participants in our parade through town! But it was all worth it! At the Legion hall, we were presented with checks from the Legion Riders, from the local chapter, from individuals, all in all helping us reach our second fund-raising goal of $15,000 for Operation Comfort Warriors. So our new fund-raising goal is now clear up to $25,000. If you are an anonymous blog reader and haven't yet had a chance to donate, you can go at any time to Bike Trip America and click on the "Donate" button. You can be still be part of this. 100% of the funds donated to Operation Comfort Warriors goes directly to help wounded veterans. 100%. There are no administrative overhead fees charged by the American Legion to run the charity.

We are six miles from the first of the Finger Lakes, and tomorrow we will move past them, going over 90 miles to Syracuse. We have been promised a few big hills along the way, so we are all going to have to eat healthily tonight and tomorrow morning! It will be our longest remaining day, so watch for tomorrow's blog update to see how we fared!

And if you see us on the road, honk or flash your lights or wave at us! Cheer us on! We are on the home stretch, and every mile gets us closer to our exciting finish at the World Trade Center!

Saturday, August 8, 2015

Unbridled Tourism

As many of you already know, we reached Niagara Falls today. Hundreds of tourists, and tourist trinkets everywhere, but the town gets props for not being too tacky. We only had to wait about half an hour to catch a ride on the "Maid of the Mist." Everyone lined up and went through a shed, then emerged on the other side wrapped in a disposable blue plastic poncho. Across the river, Canadian tourists were wrapped in red for their voyage into the mists of Horseshoe and American Falls.


Here, you can just see the minions boarding the Maid of the Mist. We would soon join them for a spectacular view of the falls. If you ever visit, the Maid of the Mist is an absolute must-do.


On the way to Niagara Falls, we ventured through Buffalo after a hearty breakfast send-off from Hamburg. Did you know that there are wild Capuchin monkeys in the trees of Hamburg?


On closer examination, I believe that is Jonathan warming up for the morning ride by climbing to the top of a tree. Incredible!


The ride was not without adventure. At one point, the bike trail we were fo)owing turned into a costruction zone, and we had to portage our bikes over cocrete barriers, across train tracks and up a steep embankment, then hoik them over a high fence in order to follow our preferred route. At another point, we had to ride across one long and narrow bridge, and walk across another in order to reach our destination. A lot of adventure for a short day in the saddle!

Tomorrow  we continue our way across upper New York, heading for the Finger Lakes area. It will be my first visit to that part of NY and I'm looking  forward to it.

Friday, August 7, 2015

The Empire Strikes Back


I'll bet you can guess where we are! One guess. Well, maybe two. We are not at the end of our journey, which will be in New York City. But we are in New York State, and will be for the next eight days as we work our way first north to Niagara Falls, then east, and finally south towards our ultimate destination.

We stopped for the night at the American Legion Hall in Hamburg, New York, after an 80+ mile ride to make us forget about our rest day that we just had in Erie, PA. The Legion met us with several members, including Commander Mark Wilson, plus the mayor of Hamburg, and the Time Warner cable news cameras. Bryce and I did an interview for the television cameras, then we got taken to the Red Roof Inn, where rooms have been donated for the evening, then we go to the Drop Zone, a World War II themed restaurant run by three Legion members, and finally we have coupons for a breakfast at Denny's before riding north through Buffalo to Niagara Falls. On top of all that, the Legion presented Bryce a check for $300 to go towards Operation Comfort Warriors.

The landscape in New York is a lot hillier than we've been seeing, so I'm glad that we only have a 35 mile ride tomorrow, then hopefully a boat ride under the waterfall! We'll leave our bikes behind for that one! Bryce hinted that I should download the new route maps, since they've changed quite a bit since May. For one thing, there are a lot of bike paths, and the route is shorter than originally planned, with a couple of changes to destinations thrown in. Guess you'll just have to stay tuned, and we'll keep playing "Guess where we are today?" Just be glad we aren't wearing lederhosen and red and white striped sox, playing "Where's Waldo?" We are plainly visible, and promise to stay that way!

Thursday, August 6, 2015

The Rust Belt

Rust belt? Well, my knees are feeling like they are rusting up a bit, and I've been tightening my belt, so that equals the "rust belt." Had a shower at the YMCA last night and stepped on the scale. I'm now 168, down from a high of around 186 when I first started training for my bike ride across America. At the end of the day tomorrow, we will have officially ridden for 2,999 miles, and we will be just 522 miles from our final destination, the World Trade Center in NYC.

Erie, Pennsylvania, where we are having a rest day, seems to be trying to pull itself out of decline. However, the only industries in town seem to be Welch's Grape Juice, a harbor front looking out on Presque-Isle, hence a fresh water fishing industry, and the preservation of a whole lot of crumbling buildings. The town's heyday came when it was the main port for shipping goods to Pittsburgh along an Erie Canal extension. To give you an idea of the town, I've included a photo from the tower at the end of the pier, showing a view of Main Street. All the modern buildings are along the waterfront.



And of course, here's another picture, showing a collection of Walleyes being filleted down by the harbor, along with one lonely Brown Trout on the end of the lineup.


In yesterday's blog, I wrote about how I came to be on the Bike Trip America team. The other three riders, Bryce, Ryan and Jonathan, are all students at Astoria (Oregon) High School. Bryce met a team of Eagle Scouts who rode through Astoria, and was inspired to start organizing his own bike trip. He was fifteen at the time. He started working on a route, and placed an ad in the school newspaper inviting anyone who was interested his bicycle venture to join for a few training rides. He got around a dozen interested teens, both boys and girls. To get the trip sanctioned by the Boy Scouts, he had to reactivate an old Astoria troop and then form a Venturing Crew. They started riding, and started a few fundraising activities. They also selected several charities, and then voted on which one they wanted to support. That is how the ride became a fundraiser for Operation Comfort Warriors. The twelve riders eventually dwindled to the current team of three boys, who knew each other from school, but weren't necessarily good friends. They've done a lot of bonding and team-building on the road this summer. When the summer is over and it's time for everyone to go back to school, Jonathan will be the only one remaining at Astoria High School, where he will be a junior, and will probably be legendary after his epic summer!!! Bryce won a scholarship to attend a college prep school in Canada, so he will be spending his senior year there. And Ryan will be moving to Hillsboro, so he will complete his senior year there.

Pat Wollner is another team member, and is probably more important to the team than anyone else, because she does the cooking, the driving, the first aid, the communications, finalizes the lodging arrangements, and keeps all the boys' families informed. The story of how she got involved is also the stuff of legends. She is an avid cyclist, but had gotten a bit rusty (did I mention the "rust belt"?) and started looking around for others her own age to ride with. She looked up a local website for a group called the "Old Spokes" and saw a ride advertised that was leaving from the Astoria American Legion hall. So she showed up. She looked for the Old Spokes, but all she could see were a bunch of teenagers. She stopped to ask them if they knew where the Old Spokes group was ... the contact name was a Mr. Bryce Nurding. Bryce stepped forward with an apologetic grin, and and said, "I'm Bryce. I just borrowed the Old Spokes website to look for adult riders." 

Pat rode with the teenagers, and chatted, and eventually discovered that Bryce had this grand vision of a trip across America. "Sure, you do," Pat said. The way she tells the story, you can tell that she didn't think the ride would ever actually become a reality. After all, it was a fifteen-year-old kid organizing it. "And when you guys go, I'll be a support driver." Not only did the trip seem unlikely to materialize, but there was another support driver already lined up, plus two other adult riders, neither of them living anywhere near Astoria. Well, to cut a long story short, the other support driver dropped out, the other adult riders had to drop out for various reasons, but the ride did materialize! Hence, Pat is now in Erie, Pennsylvania along with three teenagers and me.

Each of us will have our stories to tell, and for each of us, the story is probably so remarkable as to be unbelievable. One of the boys' mother commented that the three boys probably don't yet appreciate just how special this trip is. I'm sure they don't, but I'm also sure that they will value the memories and the experiences for years to come. So will Pat. So will I. We'll value the memories while trying to forget the aches and pains. 

Wednesday, August 5, 2015

Got an Ol' Mule and Her Name is Sal...

Don't really have an old mule, but we are definitely on Lake Erie, and headed towards the Erie Canal. Today, we rode from Geneva, Ohio (near Ashtabulla) an easy 60 miles to Erie, Pennsylvania...the 11th state we've visited. After a rest day, we'll make it an even dozen states when we leave Erie and head into upstate New York! My reward to myself for the day...I get to take a bad selfie wearing my Hawaii Bicycling League jersey!


The first question we get asked whenever we stop somewhere is, "How did you get involved with this bike ride?" We each have our own stories, so I'll try to tell mine tonight, and perhaps catch you up a little on the rest of the team in tomorrow's blog. 

Barbara Moore first inspired me. I read about her in the newspaper and followed her walk every day as she walked across America. I was fourteen at the time. Barbara Moore went from San Francisco to Washington, DC, in 46 days. That is an incredible feat, and it inspired me to think about crossing under my own power. It just took a few years to get around to it!

I always did a lot of bicycling, and was fascinated by the stories of friends and relatives who had completed or attempted long bike rides, but I never had the time to actually make such a trip until after I had retired. I still dreamed of making the long journey, and this past winter, my wife Wyn said during an idle moment, "What do you want to do, if you could do anything you wanted to?" I realized that the days when I could realistically undertake a coast-to-coast bicycle ride were dwindling, so I blurted out that I still wanted to ride across the country, some day. "Then do it," she said. 

Before she changed her mind, I looked in Adventure Cycling Magazine and went through all the ads from people looking for other riders in the next few months. I found three ads looking for people going coast-to-coast during this summer. That would give me time to get half-way into shape, so I started contacting the three advertisers one at a time. The first one was an Aussie, and he e-mailed back saying that he could not make the trip this summer after all. The second one was Ron Occhiuto, the solo cyclist whom we have encountered twice so far on our trip--once in Richardton, Montana, and again in Clyde, Ohio. I spoke to him for 45 minutes one evening, but wanted to look around for a more structured ride (as if the universe wasn't good enough to structure us running into each twice, both time totally randomly). My third call was to Bryce Nurding, and the rest is history. Bryce needed a adult male rider, and preferably a veteran.

I haven't talked much about that part of my life. I was drafted in 1968, and went into the Army as a Conscientious Objector, but still had to serve, even though I was not required to carry a weapon. So I became a medic, and eventually got sent to Vietnam, where I was in the 101st Airborne Division in 1969 and 1970. The army didn't care whether I carried a weapon as long as I did my job, and they ended up giving me an Air Medal with an oak leaf cluster (that means that I acted with valor while in a helicopter that was under fire), and a Bronze Star. I was on the front lines, out in the jungles and living in villages, getting shot at, and patching up my fellow soldiers when they got wounded. I didn't think of it at first, but as I've traveled across the country meeting members of the American Legion, and meeting veterans with disabilities, but some of these wounded warriors are the same sort of people that I patched up and put onto medevac helicopters up along the back side of Hamburger Hill on the Laotian border. Raising funds to help them have a more comfortable life brings my Vietnam duties full circle, in a sense. That is why I occasionally ask people to go the Bike Trip America website and look for the "Donate" button. 100% of the nearly $14,000 we've raised goes directly to wounded veterans. There is NO overhead ... the Legionnaires are strictly volunteers. So, Bryce could tick off every box. I was a cross country rider, an adult male who could pass the Boy Scout background check, and I was a veteran, who coincidentally could patch up any injuries on the road should such a skill become a necessity. Thank heavens those skills have not been needed, knock on wood.

So anyway, that's why I'm on the bike trip. A poet, a bike aficianado, a mentor, a veteran, and still healthy enough to turn the cranks on my bicycle one long day after another. Oh, and retired, and with a wife willing to let me go on the road for the summer. However, I must say, I'm looking forward to having tomorrow as a day off. After all, I still need to have to have the strength to advise three teen-aged boys, even if one of them did just turn 17. To celebrate his birthday, Bryce went to get his hair trimmed, and came back from the barber looking stylishly chic, and more like a 16-year-old than either Ryan or Jonathan, belying his mature age (wink wink).





Tuesday, August 4, 2015

Counting by Two

Last night, we had access to the Internet, but no time to use it. By the time I got around to writing my blog post, I was too far away from the hub, hence no post. So first, what I wrote last night. That is followed by today's info.

This WiFi thing is getting ridiculous. I’ll post this blog when I can, but again, it will probably contain two days worth of information. I’m writing at the moment from Vermilion, Ohio, on the shores of Lake Erie. It was rather an eventful day for three reasons. First, we rode for 81 miles, which is starting to feel almost routine – especially with the tailwinds that we have been picking up as we get the lake effect weather. Last night, we were indoors at the home of a WarmShowers host in Bowling Green, Ohio, and once again, after we were all snuggly indoors, the heavens opened. At about 2 am, there was a thunder and lightning storm like I’ve never seen (or heard, for that matter). But during the day, the cycling weather is perfect, as it has been (knock on wood) throughout our journey.

We set out at nearly 9:00, and navigated our way somewhat haphazardly towards Huron and Vermilion. We went past the William Harrison park, which was significant because Ryan is related to not just one, but both of the Harrisons who were US presidents … Benjamin, and William. Also, it was Bryce’s 17th birthday, so we had a coffee cake and ice-cream themed sox with breakfast, along with three sets of cyclists who had all shown up at the same WarmShowers house on the same night. A forth party was scheduled to arrive, but never made it. And yet another party ended up at a friend of our hosts. Little did we know at the time, but we would find out who that was later in the day.
We stopped for lunch in the town of Clyde, where Sherwood Anderson spent his formative years. Just as we were finishing lunch, we spotted two other touring cyclists, and we waved to them. One of them said, “Oh! Hello again,” and steered across the grass. Remember from an earlier blog how I had a chance encounter out in the middle of Montana with a cyclist whom I had contacted while researching riding options for this summer? Ron, the school teacher from Virginia? Well, here he was again, another chance encounter. Turns out he had been the one who stayed at the friend of our hosts in Bowling Green! Another chance encounter in another park in an obscure corner of America.

It was also the day I was scheduled to meet up with my old high school friend from Colorado, Dan Ferrin, who lives in Ohio and who happens to be an excellent wildlife photographer! We texted and played phone tag “where are you now,” and eventually Dan found us wandering on some obscure in the middle of nowhere. He snapped some pictures of us on the road, then met up with us in Huron during an ice cream break, then again at the Legion Hall in Vermilion, and at dinner. As a result, several very professional photographs will be forthcoming … as soon as we get some WiFi! It was great to see Dan and his daughter, who came along with him. Dan is also a Vietnam vet, so we had a lot to talk about … after all, it’s been something like 50 years since we last saw each other! We knew what each other looked like thanks to our Facebook friendship, but 50 years is a long time. Ironically, I think we have more in common now than we did when we were friends at Basalt High School back when we were closer to the age of our three youngest riders.

More tomorrow, and perchance some WiFi so I can send pictures and upload my blog.


August 4

Okay. It is the next day, and I am another 90 miles down the road! We rode from Vermilion to Geneva, near Ashtabulla. According to our spreadsheet, we are 2,854.5 miles from where we started (out of 3,521.3 miles) and we have just completed day 48 out of 59 days. Day after tomorrow, we will get our last day off!

The ride today was brutal. A majority of the day was spend working our way through Cleveland. The roads are not bike friendly, and they are very poorly maintained. As a result, we hit about 5000 potholes, had several near falls, and Ryan's front tire started bulging, and finally blew out. Fortunately, we were two blocks away from a good bike shop, and it was lunch time. While they mounted a new tire and inner tube, we had lunch at the burrito shop next door. They also pointed out that Ryan's pedals were just about to fall off. If they hadn't been replaced, he would have been stuck beside the road until Pat could get there with the support vehicle. It was fortuitous, perhaps, that he blew out his tire. 

It turned into a long day ... more miles than we expected, and a much rougher ride. Why would a state with a gorgeous shoreline not present that shoreline in the best light? Looking at the map, I expected at least 50 miles of bike trail. Instead, we got maybe two miles of decent trail. To top it all off, what we thought was to be our host for the night knew nothing about our coming, so we ended up checking into a Motel 6. Some days are just better forgotten. 

Back to yesterday. My friend Dan came through with some fantastic photos. 


First, we meet the Commander of the American Legion post in Vermilion, Ohio.


Wish we could have gotten all four of us in this action shot, where we were zipping along at around 23 mph out in rural Ohio, but don't think we can photoshop Ryan into the picture. Instead, we do our best rock band imitation below. Jonathan really wanted to stop for a visit when we went past the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, but it was already a long day.


So I think, instead, he will just have to contemplate Descartes (or maybe he was playing Angry Crows when this picture was snapped).


Sunday, August 2, 2015

Simon Says, Part Deux

Last night, it took me an hour to upload one picture, and I had only one bar of 3G network. Oh, well, the best laid plans ....

In case you didn't figure it out, I was going to play a guessing game having to do with this:


That's right. We've moved into another State! After Ohio, we cut through a corner of Pennsylvania, then we spend the rest of our journey in New York State. So Bryce took a picture of the sign at the State line between Indiana and Ohio. What did the other boys do?

Ryan was so excited that he immediately had to take a picture and send off a text.


And Jonathan was rather bemused by the entire process, and was probably trying to think up a palindrome that includes "Ohio" after passing the shade of the last tree in Indiana. Beyond is nothing but flatness for miles to come.


Since we've been having such spotty reception with WiFi and with cell phone reception, we have named one of our favorite stopping places for lunch the "dead zone." When we go through small towns, we look for an old cemetery. It makes for a quiet lunch time, the boys can take a nap if they want to, and believe it or not, we meet some interesting folks -- dead and alive. For example, we stopped at an old cemetery on the Indiana side of the border between Auburn, Indiana and Hicksville, Ohio. The only sign of life was a man who was out among the headstones making repairs, using epoxy and a wooden board as his tools. He was a volunteer who, along with his wife and another elderly gentleman, headed up genealogical studies in the area. He invited us to sit in the shade of the church entry and joined us while we ate.

The church was empty, and had recently been sold, but the cemetery was still in use even though the church had no clergyman and no congregation. Our cemetery caretaker pointed out a stained glass window and expressed the hope that the future owners would realize how historic the old church was. On the east wall was the first GAR window in all of Indiana.


I had never heard of the GAR, so had to look it up. GAR stands for the Grand Army of the Republic, a fraternal organization similar to the American Legion, but its membership was centered around people who had served in the Union army. The window shown above was commissioned by the daughter of a Union soldier, and was probably installed sometime in the late 1870's. Amazing what you can learn when you're sitting in a "dead zone" and start talking to the local residents!

Tonight, we are in Bowling Green, Ohio. The name of the town reminds me of my father-in-law, Wyn's father, Joseph Thomas Aubrey. He was a Welsh clergyman who defected to the Church of England, but when I knew him, he would go every afternoon to the bowling greens, where all the old age pensioners were very competitive at lawn bowling and/or croquet. I'm not sure whether they actually do lawn bowling here in Bowling Green, Ohio, but it's a pleasant memory for me.

To get back to trivia questions, do you know why today was my last day of riding with three sixteen-year-old boys? (Did you know it was my last day?) Starting tomorrow morning, I'll be riding with just two sixteen-year-olds, plus the now seventeen-year-old Mr. Bryce Nurding, our fearless team captain! Happy Birthday, Bryce! Can you guess what Bryce is going to do on his birthday? He's going to cycle for about 85 miles so he can sleep on the south shore of Lake Erie near Vermilion, Ohio. I want everyone to work really hard to make sure we have a good tailwind tomorrow. Make his day easier on him!

Since we were in Michigan and Indiana for such a short few days, I wanted to leave everyone with a pleasant photo of the area. We will soon be seeing all the heavy population of the east coast, so there will be more people and less nature (which should please Jonathan).


Saturday, August 1, 2015

Simon Says

Tonight is a guessing game. First question: why is Bryce taking a selfie?

And since the communication  is so bad at our campsite, I'll make it very brief. We entered Ohio, and we are headed towards Lake Erie.