So How Am I Gonna Do It

Ok, I announced in my last post that I was riding across the country.  I didn't provide any details.  I just put it out there.

I'm going to follow that initial post with a few more, outlining some of the details.

Route - my route will be the Transamerica  Bicycle Trail.  I will start in Astoria, OR and travel east, ending in Yorktown, VA.  I am planning to average 60 miles per day.  I expect to take somewhere between 2-1/2 to 3 months.

Accommodations - I plan to camp most nights, with an occasional night in a motel to clean up, do laundry and enjoy a real bed.

Meals - I plan to cook most of my dinners and breakfasts, while grabbing lunch somewhere long the road.

I know this isn't much detail, but that's the way I want it.  I wear a compass on my wrist because I always like to know where north is.  I'm a planner by nature.  Normally I would have everything planned out to excruciating detail...I would know exactly where I was staying each night...where I would shop...what I would shop for...where I would refill my water bottles...what and where I would eat...I could go on...but I think you get the message.  Part of this trip is to avoid that natural tendency.  I want to get up each morning, look at the map and get a kinda sorta idea of where I'm heading that day.  I don't want to plan anymore than that.

Let's Do This

I've been thinking about it...talking about it...dreaming about it...planning it...preparing for it...and now "it" will soon be a reality.

In 3 short weeks, I'm taking a leave of absence and pedaling my bike across the country.

The reality of it has not set in.  Even now I can't believe I'm actually going to do it.  But I am!

Stay tuned...

Oh No You're Not

Those were the words that zoomed through my head as I rode home today. I was waiting at a red light when a fellow bike rider came along side and then proceeded to run the light. I hate it when other riders do that because it cast the rest of us in a bad light. I held my tongue and when the light turned green proceeded on my way. It wasn't long before I overtook the "light running cyclist". I said nothing as I rode by.

He must not have taken too kindly to being passed because shortly thereafter he came zooming by me in his lowest gear. He was grinding the pedals and pushing for everything he was worth. I'm a bigger man than that. I'm 50 years old. I'm mature. I've seen too many things in my life to let something like an overweight teenager lull me into a battle of the bikes. NOT!!!!!!

I dropped down a gear and increased my cadence just slightly. I stayed 20 feet behind him. Pushing that kind of gear, I knew he wouldn't last long. Then I saw the signs, he started to sway side to side in the saddle, he shoulders started to slump. I knew his legs were burning and his heart was pounding out of his chest. He looked behind to see how far back I was, what met his gaze did not cheer him - he found himself in a battle - but was too young to realize it was a battle he couldn't win. He stubbornly turned around and threw himself back on the pedals in one last ditch effort that lasted maybe another 10 pedal strokes. I stayed 20 feet behind him. I'm not one to gloat. I'm above kicking someone when they're down. I'm a grown man. I've raised children. I have grandchildren. I'm successful. I'm professional. I'm above petty little teenage rivalries. NOT!!!!!!

He imploded on himself. His pedal motion ceased all together and he slumped over the handlebars in complete exhaustion. Now was the time for me to be the better man. I could ride alongside and offer words of encouragement. As someone older and wiser and more experienced, I could use this as a coaching moment and explain the reasons why it's best to stay in an easier gear and increase his cadence in lieu of pushing a harder gear at a low cadence. After this gentle encounter, he would ride on and be a wiser young man. His life will have been enriched as a result of crossing paths with me. NOT!!!!!

At just the moment he imploded, I dropped another gear and shot by him like I'd been fired out of a cannon. The last I saw him, he was tiny little, minuscule dot in my helmet mirror. I waited until he was clearly out of sight before I gave my screaming legs a break, stopped pedaling and allowed my soaring heart rate to return to normal. I was completely spent physically. It was childish thing to do. I should be ashamed of myself. I had a chance to take the high road, but without hesitation shot down the low one. Now that I'm out of the heat of the battle, I need to stop and reexamine my actions, learn from them and as result be a better man. NOT!!!!

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Eat my Dust

Today as I rode home I passed 225 cars! No - they were not parked. They were on the road, engines running and each one was occupied by their devoted drivers. I, on my self claimed bike path, was the envy of them all as I rode past triumphantly. Bikes rules - cars drool:-)

 

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I Rode My Bike Today - #31

I rode my bike today...to work...passing patches of ice and daffodils...that's spring in VA...7 miles.

 

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