Diary

Mileage:  3625 miles  (5873 kms)

Elevation Change:  111,657 ft (34,033 meters)

Weather:  who cares now that we’re inside?

Morale:  Living on great memories

Incidents:  Keep looking at which way the flags are blowing, how wide the shoulder is, etc.

Daily Summary:

Lil, Raymond, and Christopher’s Bike Across the USA

Astoria, Oregon to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Summer 2006

Wow, what a trip!  A great and fabulous adventure that none of us will ever forget.  Actually, it wasn’t one adventure, it was 50 successive adventures.  That’s the only way you can think about it because it such an enormous trip, certainly when looking at it from Oregon.  Even at the halfway point, all we could think of was ‘oh my God, we still have to do all that AGAIN to get there!’.   It is a BIG and GREAT country!  We had days that were so hard we just wanted to sit on the side of the road and cry.  We had days where the sun shone and the wind blew us so well we hardly had to pedal.  (Those were the days that the birds were chirping and singing, too!)   We did it, every inch!  I became a better cyclist, and I grew as a person.  But the most fun for me was watching Raymond and Christopher grow as men and as cyclists.  Raymond is every bit as mentally tough as I am, probably even more so.  He was a machine back there, always pushing, always giving his all, and never did I hear even the slightest complaint or whine.  One day when I could feel he was struggling (you really get good at feeling how your partner is doing after 50 days together on a tandem) he finally said that his legs were a bit tired that morning.  (This was 6 weeks into the ride!  Of COURSE your legs are tired, son!)   Christopher amazed me with the wonderful relationships he built with all our fellow cyclists.  He is so personable, empathetic, friendly, and fun to talk to that everyone loved him.  And he was a strong and consistent cyclist on his own—better than any other 13/14 year old I know!  The ride didn’t exactly go like I expected, but it many ways it was much better than I had hoped.  While a tandem has the disadvantage of being heavier thus slower and harder to pedal, the advantage is that you are a team and really support each other and feed off of each other’s energy.   And to be able to spend all day every day for 50 days with your teenage sons is something truly special in this day and age.   I’m a lucky, lucky Mom!  Now we have to reenter back to normal life.  I find myself always looking at the flagpoles to see which way the wind is blowing, looking at the width of the shoulder on the side of the road, looking at the clouds where the wind is blowing from to evaluate the chance of rain.   I had to make my bed this morning and the maid didn’t come to pick up the towels.  In the picture below Christopher demonstrates how we all feel at the moment!  Thanks for following us on our great adventure!