As we started to cross Kansas, we started bumping into a lot of people who are riding their bikes across America and there was some point in my ride where I started to think "Who are the kinds of people who would ride across America?"
I still remember the first person I met who was taking the 'big ride'. I was riding through Davis, CA when I saw Mike Bosomworth from Great Britain and it was so exciting to meet someone who was doing the same thing as Jaine and I. Mike was only about 280 miles from his 'finish line' in San Francisco and since that time completed the ride (see my blog 'Who is NOT riding across America?' for more info on how we met).
Mike worked for the British Health Services as a researcher and was raising money for Alzheimers disease. Turns out Mike had an inadvertent but profound effect on how I was to conduct my ride across America in which I will explain in a bit. Mike's riding for a cause.
The next person I met 'on the trail' was Josh Montanero somewhere between Carson City NV and Middlegate NV.
Josh was a 19 year old heading from West to East and was feeling a little blue on a red hot day in Nevada. We got to talking and he was feeling like giving up because he had a brutal ride through the Sierra Nevada (believe me I knew what he was talking about) and he didn't know if he could face climbing the Rockies with all of his gear. Josh was a young man with big dreams and it seems they were about to be dashed. Jaine caught up with us and when she heard of Josh's predicament offered to carry his panniers and serve as a SAG wagon for him as well as me. As we got to know each other, it turned out that Josh had never really ridden bike before he took on this trip. I gave him lots of tips on how to ride bicycle efficiently (most of them from Jeff Verink and Jeff Mueller) and by the time we finished the Rockies at Pueblo, Josh had become quite a confident an accomplished rider. He took on Monarch Pass at 13,000 ft on his own initiative and did 100 mile rides without batting an eye. After Pueblo he's been riding on his own and heading for Newton, KS. Jaine and I are very proud of him and what he has been able to accomplish. Josh is riding for personal accomplishment.
A conversation about Mike Bosomworth by Brother Dave and his bike named 'Jethro' made me re-think what I was capable of doing in terms of distance biking.
Brother Dave asked me "Have you met Mike Bosomworth yet?" I remember being shocked that others on the trail had met the same people I had met, in this case, Mike. "Yes, I did meet, Mike! He's a great guy!" Brother Dave said "Well...not only is a great guy, but man is that guy a beast!" He's doing 80 miles a day to get across the country!" Brother Dave takes a much more relaxed pace and rides all over the country for the pure pleasure of biking.
I met Jan and Martin partway into Colorado. Both are from the Netherlands and most importantly, they are father and son.
Jan is about 70 and is a true warrior. He started in Washington DC and has been on the road for over 2 months. His son Martin joined him in Kansas City after he was able to get some vacation time from his work. Father and son are riding for the bonding experience an epic journey like this can provide to two people who care for each other.
I bumped into Daniel from Germany just after we got out of the Rockies. Daniel had a very high powered job in financial services and was responsible for over 90 employees in a big company. The job stress was tremendous and after many years of a lot of tension he just decided to leave the company and ride across America to gather his thoughts and become grounded again as to what is most important in life. Personally I felt it would take a lot of courage to do that, but Daniel said he had to do it for his own mental health. More power to him, I say! One thing for sure, Daniel really is a true beast. I lifted his bike and it had to weigh at least 150 lbs. To lug that bad boy over the mountains would take real courage, that's for sure. At first blush, one would think a bike ride across America would be about improving one's physical health, but to improve one's mental health and attitude on life is another aspect that can sometimes be resolved on a long ride.
One of the coolest ladies I met on the trip so far was Maggie from Telluride.
We met in the strangest way. I was climbing a pretty steep section of a mountain in Colorado and a lot of cars were driving by. Maggie rode past me in her car and at about a quarter mile up the road, pulled over to check on some problem concerning her car. As I pedaled by, I thought I should stop to see if she needed any help so I slowed down and said "Is everything all right? Do you need any help?" Right away she said "No, I'm fine, I was just checking my car for a strange noise and I figured it out. But more importantly, YOU ARE AWESOME and I am really inspired!" Apparently she saw my shirt and guessed I was riding across America. What was even more cool was what she said next.
"You know, I rode across America on a bike 4 years ago with 4 friends of mine. We started from Maine and went to Washington. We would have never had done it by ourselves but we just egged each other on and convinced each other we could do it. The first 2 weeks were brutal getting in shape but after that it was a lot of fun!" We talked for a while and then she gave me an excellent non-bake brownie she made herself with organic oats and cocoa butter and other good stuff that tasted great and had lots of energy. It was really good and really bailed my butt out climbing the rest of the mountain. Maggie herself is a high energy person...she's a professional ski instructor at Telluride and I'll bet she is an excellent instructor with her positive attitude and enthusiasm. Some people ride across America because they have energy to burn.
Jaine and I met Leah and Cecila at a small town in Kansas. They both hail from Maine and were college roommates at the University of Connecticut. It was lunchtime and we asked them to join us for a picnic lunch which turned out to be a lot of fun. It turns out that the girls are biking across America to go to a friend's wedding in Portland. Leah and Cecila are close friends and figured it would be a fun thing to since both were going to the wedding anyway. Isn't that a hoot! These girls are intrepids and powerful riders and I have no doubt that their bikes will 'get them to the church on time'.
Earlier in the day I met a wonderful couple from Bristol, England who were traveling with Adventure Cycling Association going from east to west and they warned me not to use the Adventure Cycling maps across Missouri. They said the roads were bad, there were no shoulders to speak of on the roads, there were lots of dogs and the traffic was terrible. They suggested I take the Katy Bike Trail across Missouri. When I broached the topic with the girls they said "Absolutely! Do not travel where we came from. Definitely take the Katy Bike Trail. You'll be a lot happier."
Well, I'm digging out the maps and checking out the possibility of modifying our route. It might add about 200 miles to the ride and we'll be free-styling, but it might be safer and more fun in the long run. I'll let you know what we decide in my next blog.
Oh...I almost forgot! There's one more kind of guy that bikes across America, except it's a different kind of bike. Maybe one has to be as tough as this guy to get across the country.
