…. the road went on forever and the ride did finally end!
In January 1995, a good friend and I each bought our first road bike for the sole purpose of participating in RAGBRAI (Register’s Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa. RAGBRAI is a seven-day ride the last week of July that covers approximately 500 miles from the Missouri River to the Mississippi River.) Over the next six months, we trained for a total of 1,500 miles in preparation. The first day of RAGBRAI was 78 miles. I had never ridden that far in one day in my life and I wasn’t sure that I could ride that far. I can still remember euphoria that flushed through my body as I entered the campgrounds in Lake View, Iowa. I could hear the music to Rocky in my mind as I threw my arms in the air to celebrate my accomplishment – 78 miles in one day! I couldn’t tell you anything about that ride, except that I finished.
Thirteen years later, as I arrived at the beach in Plum Island Massachusetts, I can honestly say that I did not experience the same rush of euphoria after riding my bike 3,465 miles across America. And perhaps this was because I never doubted my ability to complete this ride (God willing and the creek didn’t rise) as I had ridden almost 30,000 miles on my three-year old bike when I arrived at the beach in Plum Island. The magnitude of the accomplishment didn’t seem important to me that day on the beach, and it still doesn’t.
I did, however, experience feelings of satisfaction that were derived from the journey itself. The enjoyment of getting on my bike for the 32 of the past 33 days – each day filled with the comradery of friends, the incredible sights of this vast country, the conversations with individuals we met in the thirteen states we rode through, and the physical challenges of the route. It was an adventure that I was able to share with three of my best friends, Bob Loch, Larry Hart and Matt Joseph. For 33 days, they were my “family” on the road. I will never know what the ride would have been had they not been there, and for that I am glad. I finished every day with a smile on my face, even that infamous day in Nebraska with the rain, the 30+ mph head winds and rough roads. I will forever be indebted and grateful to these guys for taking time from their busy lives to share this adventure with me. They have given me memories that I will cherish forever.
And just in case I did not say it often enough in our daily blogs, the support that Larry and Bob provided us was second to none. Their support made our part of the journey simple…get on our bikes and do nothing more than enjoy the ride. The only time we got worried is when we didn’t see the comforting sight of that white SUV looming on the horizon.
The unfortunate part of this ride was that it took me away from Kathy, my wife of twenty-six years. She is, without a doubt, my best friend. There was not a day that went by on my journey that she was not on my mind. She is also the one sight that I longed for each and every day. She fully supported me in my pursuit of this endeavor, and knowing this allowed me to relax and truly enjoy the ride. And, yes, I did miss the rest of my family – Paige, Kyle, Ryan, Meagan and Sammy. (By the way Sammy, I saw thousands of cars on the ride – a few a bit closer than I wanted).
Thanks to everyone who followed our ride via our website. Your words of encouragement, comments, text messages and calls were much appreciated and will always be a part of the ride. In closing, I would like to ask everyone one small favor, please…
SHARE THE ROAD!
