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?