We’re here, in Washington, D.C. after 48 days of cycling with rest, or is that rested cycling, or was there REALLY any rest at all?  Well, whatever, we’re here now, LOOK OUT DC!!!!

 At the start of the Big Ride, one of the participants asked me if I would be interested in attending Mass each week.  She was pretty sure we could find an opportunity, based on our ride schedule and rest days.  At first I was a bit hesitant, not knowing how it would complicate what I thought might be an already complicated schedule.  I couldn’t have been more wrong.

Not only did it bring a piece of home and familiarity to me, it also brought me peace and comfort.  So far the services have been inspirational and fulfilling, and I honestly feel safer, knowing that I am under the blanket of my parent’s daily rosary and my fervent prayers to God to keep the mosquitos at bay.

On July 5, I honored my parent’s sponsorship by riding with their names displayed on my bike.  It would also have been my brother Sean’s 49th birthday (he passed away in 1997 – he was only 38 years old).  For some reason it was a very emotional day for me, probably brought on by fatigue and possibly some unresolved grief. 

When I attended mass the next day, I felt emotionally spent, and though I tried to pass it off as fatigue, I knew that I was going through something that was life changing and transformational.  The mass ended and I was still feeling burdened by my feelings, particularly those feelings of grief about my brother’s untimely death.

As I was leaving the church a man passed me carrying a little boy in a baby carrier.  The little boy was simply beautiful, wide eyed and smiling.  I asked him if I could take their photo – he seemed pleased.  As he was posing for the photo I asked him the baby’s name.  I was simply floored when he replied “Sean”. 

Now I am at the end of the ride.  I have attended Sunday services for 7 weeks and have found great peace and comfort in spending time with a community that seems familiar and accepting.  Funny, you can walk right in, participate in the Mass and the Eucharist and leave without asking for anything in return.  It’s not a bad deal.  In return I have received more than I have given, no doubt about it.

My friends Jack, David and Tom visited me when I was overnighting in Rapid City, SD.  We went for dinner, took a few photos and hugged goodbye.  Before they departed they gave me a rosary – a gift that I will cherish forever.  Yesterday, Father McFaddin, from Philadelphia, PA blessed my rosary for me.  Tonight I will say the rosary and pray for all of the 36 other bicyclists and 3 support people that have traveled across the US with me.  I will pray that their journey will continue and that they will find peace and happiness for the rest of the days of their lives.  I would hope that our paths will cross again and for some reason, if they do, I know that we will have a lot to talk about.

Thanks for keeping me in your thoughts during this journey.  It’s been the trip of a lifetime!

Many of you know how much I love dogs.  I am not at all particular about the breed, the size or even the disposition, as long as they are not biting me.  I was lucky to meet all kinds and breeds of dogs on this journey…

Here are the Dogs of the Big Ride Across America, 2008:

Valentine (Burton, OH)

Jo Jo (Gailihm Look Alike)

Buffalo

Goats

Sheep

pygmy goat behind bars

Prairie Dogs

llamas

2 Horses and a Foal - Road to Hardin

long horn cows

Weird cow or goat?

Bridge Swallows

Moose

Duck Family

Mountain Goat

Osprey in Nest

Wild Donkeys

Giant Snapping Turtle

Antelope

And finally, a crowd favorite… 

Oreo Cows

You’ll also notice that some people really don’t have a THING for animals, so they display animal facsimiles, probably thinking they serve the same purpose as real animals.  Sometimes these fakes are even used to LURE people to their location – I mean, c’mon, World’s Largest Prairie Dog!  I wasn’t fooled for a minute!

Here are some examples:

Flat Panel Oreo Cow

Spotted Horse (cafe)

Fake Long Horn

World's Largest Pheasant

Ebie - BRAA Mascot

World's Largest Prairie Dog

Really, who are they KIDDING???

Today we biked from Bedford, PA to Gettysburg, PA… a mere 101ish miles, the final LONG bike ride of the trip to DC.  They call this ride “The Final Exam”.  If I don’t pass I am really going to be P-Oed, here’s why…

No one gave us a study guide AND there was barely a syllabus for this class, because they insisted on keeping us on a need to know basis.  Did we know there was going to be a Final Exam when we signed up for this trip?  NOOOOOOOO. 

What about every other cycling day.  Don’t those count?  What about the days when we got flat tires? Were we being watched then?  Did we change them correctly?  What kind of grade were we given then, huh? 

What if you got more than one flat?  Hey, I had TEN!  Did I get any EXTRA CREDIT POINTS for that? NOOOOOO.

So today, when I had some trouble climbing the 1,000,000,000th hill of the day, did they take that into consideration?  One would hope, right?  Maybe a write in campaign would help – because I am telling you this, I am NOT DOING this ride again… I have other mountains to climb …

To avoid a repeat of today’s route, in search of a passing grade, I was looking for clues all day… take this morning, for example.  We were just about to climb one of the VERY steep, winding, rolling hills.  At the base of the hill, in the driveway of a house located on the side of the road were two youngsters, probably about 12 or 13 years old, staring at us with awe, or was it wonderment or just plain bewilderment – it was hard to read them… I was trying to figure out if this was one of those exam “trick questions”… hey, I’m no dummy!

So when I passed them, I started a dialogue that went something like this:

ME: ”What do you recommend?”

Them: “Recommend for what?”

Me: “For climbing the hill.”

Them, after rolling their eyes: “WALK”.

Obviously, FINAL EXAM auditors.  Don’t worry, I didn’t fall for it, I stayed on my bike.  As I rounded the corner I understood why they recommended walking… Lightweights! THEN, I saw 2 bikes, on the side of the road, with a FOR SALE sign on them.  They must be broken!  OR, maybe they don’t have a GRANNY gear, or maybe they just moved on to another sport.  Think I’m kidding?  Take a look…

I think those kids were jealous of my climbing ability.  I’d better be careful, I still have 2 cycling days left…

I’d better lock my bike up tonight!

OK, here’s a bit of an update.  It’s Sunday evening, August 3, and we have crossed over to Pennsylvania, the Keystone State.  Let me tell you, they have hills here that are not for the weak of limb, bicycle limb that is.  They are lovely, winding and rolling, rolling and winding, and rolling, all day, for miles and miles and miles.  We have been lucky, for the past 2 days have  been relatively easy, low mileage, temps in the mid-80’s, a bit of cloud cover and low winds, mostly at our backs.  These are the bicycling days I DREAM about, when I finish before 6PM, have time to charge my MANY electronic components  before dinner and even have time to think about blogging… that’s right, it takes some thought you know… which of course I should have LOADS of time for, as I am not exactly WORKING right now, but I digress.

Back to the point of the post, which you must be wondering about, right, or you would have stopped reading by now, right?  OK, yesterday we were in Ohio, we were traveling from Burton, OH to New Waterford, OH, we had just come off a rest day and we were in Amish country.   I had charged up all of  the camera batteries because I was SURE there would be endless teams of horse drawn buggies with  big red triangles on the back to photograph and I didn’t want to miss those moments. 

We left camp as a group, there was a cool breeze, a bit of morning dew and plenty of shoulder on the road.  So I am riding along, with blazing speed, because I had a LOT of coffee at breakfast and I have literally “dropped” all of my new bicycling friends because for some reason it was ALL ABOUT ME…

Anyway, before you know it I am looking down this road (by myself) and I see what I think is a cemetery (its surrounded by an iron fence) that is overgrown with weeds.  This I find somewhat disturbing as I think cemeteries are places that should be maintained, so I stop to take a look.  Sure enough, there are loads of weeds, a lake, some buildings and…hey.. what are those surveillance cameras doing there?

So, I pull out one of my cameras (yes, I was carrying 2), and start snapping photos of the weeds and overgrown bushes, AND surveillance equipment when I look up, expecting to see the name of something religious, like Holy Angels Cemetary or something, and I see, in big BOLD letters… M I K E  T Y S O N… Are you KIDDING ME?

If you are interested in more information about this pitiful property, here’s a link with more information. 

http://illicitohio.illicitohio.com/tyson

Who knew, paparrazzi and an abandoned celebrity property in Ohio, all in one trip?  I am ONE lucky girl!

I’ll be the first one to admit it, I have a PROBLEM.  I don’t know how it started, I think there might be some genetic influences, but nonetheless, I have a  BIG problem, and it’s name is COFFEE.  Some would say I have an (shhhhh) addiction.

It started innocently enough, in college, as a substitute for amphetamines, which were more expensive AND illegal.  I found that a strong cup of coffee could give me wings, AND brains, LONG ENOUGH to acquire the knowledge needed to not only PASS a test – to ACE a test.  I was on the Dean’s list and NOONE knew.  Not only that, they encouraged the behavior when we would stop for breakfast at 2AM.  Who knew it would lead to this?

Unfortunately for me, I did not take this problem seriously – I didn’t quit, I only curbed my drinking to times that SEEMED more appropriate, like during the morning when others WITHOUT addictions were also drinking it.  I was able to hide the REAL truth from my family AND my colleagues…

UNTIL NOW… I have met an ENABLER!

I’d like to keep her name out of the post, she knows who she is, she has probably a SLEW of other addicts, back in her hometown.  Hell, she even brings her problem to work, everyday.   It’s just pitiful.

Just the other day, we were passing a Starbucks along the way, and all of the sudden she jumped out of the doorway and flagged us down (see photo if you think I am lying).  I am powerless against this problem. 

I can only hope that my family and friends can stage an intervention (of sorts) when I get home so I can gently ween myself onto more healthy beverage options, like chai tea or sparkling water with lemon. 

My life is a mess…

Let’s face it, roads are made for motorized vehicles (cars, vans, trucks, RVs and even motorcycles).  They are designed, for the most part, for safety and efficiency.  They were built, I suppose, to make it easier to get from point A to point B.  They are plowed and salted in the winter (as needed) and they are largely and almost exclusively repaired in the summer.  They can be full of holes, bumps, debris, gaps and sometimes road kill and they are marked so that you know HOW to use the road. 

For instance, there are signs saying DO NOT ENTER when the road is one-way and you, the numbskull, are trying to enter it GOING THE WRONG WAY.  There are lines that tell you the boundaries for your car and there are even specific COLORS that tell you if you can cross the line.  Heck, there are even TYPES of lines that tell you if you can break ALL the rules and pass a car, in the DO NOT ENTER lane, under special circumstances, when the car is going MUCH too slow for YOUR particular needs.  Under most conditions, the road, it’s markings, textures, lines and colors are adequate for travel – in a MOTORIZED vehicle.

OK, let’s talk bicycles.  Remember those contraptions, the two-wheeled variety with sprockets, gears and cables?  The kind that consume only human energy, the noiseless (though sometimes clickity clackity sounding) variety that need a minimum amount of space to traverse from point A to B. 

Remember when you DREAMED about getting a new one for your birthday or from Santa?  Remember when you used it almost exclusively to maintain your independence and mobility?  Remember the banana seat, riding without hands, riding with your brother or sister on the handlebars and remember putting a card in the spokes to transform it from noiseless to sounding like an outboard motor?  Remember how you envied your friends high handlebars and the leopard-print seat covers?  Remember when you decorated them with streamers and aluminum foil for local parades and special events at day camp?  Remember when they were considered a viable form of transportation?  Those were the days.  The days of youth.  The days before your 16th birthday when you needed a way to travel short distances to see your friends, get to school, go the the store for candy or get to baseball or football or basketball practice.

Well, here I am, an ADULT with a BIKE riding from town to town to get to Washington, DC by August 9th.  I am on a timeline, I did not plan the route and I need to navigate my way, on roads built for MOTORIZED vehicles. 

While almost all bicyclists know how to drive MOTORIZED vehicles, NOT all motorized vehicle drivers use bicycles – though I am SURE they know 1 or 2 people, who are STILL ALIVE that also ride bikes on ROADS built for MOTORIZED vehicles.  I would even venture to guess (though I am a bit out on a limb for this statement) that they either KNOW or are RELATED TO or LIVE NEXT TO or CLOSE BY a kid that also rides a bike. 

Now, if they (the driver of the MOTORIZED vehicle) would pretend that the person riding the bike, on the road built for MOTORIZED vehicles was a KID, would they try to HIT THEM?  Probably not.  Again, maybe a bit of a stretch for some drivers, but I am an optimist and I believe in the goodness in people.

How can road planners help the driver avoid HITTING the bicycle rider?  Glad you asked… Here are some examples of roads that should be used as MODELS and some that should be AVOIDED.  If you haven’t already noticed, I am in favor of SHARING THE ROAD with MOTORIZED vehicles, even though I like the idea of having bicycle paths to get away from noisy traffic (and which, in my opinion, should ban the clickity clackity bike)…

Bike Path along Lake Erie

Road with WIDE shoulder

Road with VERY WIDE shoulder for bicycles

Wide shoulder, marked as Bike Route

Hill with NO SHOULDER for ANYTHING

Shoulders are needed!  Think about it… What if the MOTORIZED vehicle has mechanical problems, a flat tire, sudden illness (the driver, not the vehicle) and needs to stop?  Where do they go?  What about the vehicles behind them? What about Emergency vehicles?  What about the Ice Cream Truck? (sorry, different post…)  Seriously, can you see how dangerous this can be, for EVERYONE?   Can you see how dangerous climbing this hill can be?  In bad weather, even worse!

When I get home I’d like to start a new cause, which YOU can contribute to in your local communities… I am going to call it SHOULDERS ACROSS AMERICA!

Trendy t-shirts to come…

What does a safe road look like, for MOTORIZED vehicle driver and bicyclist?

Road with Posted Bike Lanes

Stay tuned…

Life can be so complicated, don’t you think?  Honestly, just think about the choices that you make, every single day…

What should I eat for breakfast, for lunch, for dinner?  What should I watch on TV?  What movie do I want to see?  What book to read?  What car to buy?  Who should I call?  What thing on my list of things to do comes next?  What will I do this weekend?  When will I pay my bills?  Where will I go on my next vacation?  What job should I persue next? 

Let’s face it, the list goes on and on and on… It’s endlessness is sometimes paralyzing, by it’s very nature, because sometimes you are just plain afraid of making the wrong choice.  For example, what if you watch a show on TV and miss the show that everyone else is watching?  Well, what then?  What then when the conversation starts up at work, and you KNOW it will, about the show?  Do you keep quiet?  Do you smile knowingly, as if you watched?  Well? 

Secretly, I am tired of making all of these choices.  I want my life to become more simple, more like my life is now.  How’s that, you ask?  Well, this is how simple things are now…

We get up and eat breakfast – it’s either hot (instant oatmeal) or cold (boxed cereal).  You can put cream cheese of peanut butter on your bagel, if you are lucky enough to get one before they run out.  The beverages are coffee (it’s good, it’s strong and it’s pressed), orange juice, milk or water. 

You get a cue sheet that takes you to your next overnight location.  You can either sleep in your tent or buy a hotel/motel room.  You eat dinner, the same dinner that everyone else eats.  You do not complain, there is no point.  Surprisingly, this is a stress free environment – no choices, no stress.

I wonder if I would like prison as much as I like this ride… Stay tuned.