What motivates me to ride across country?

I was tearing home on my bike from 6th grade at Brown School, my elementary school in Natick, MA where I grew up. I was racing my two best friends, Skippy Halpren and Jimmy Whitcomb, on my red one speed bike -- I wish I could remember it's make. I looked back over my right shoulder to see how far I was ahead when, SMASH! I rode right into a parked car, flew over the top sliding down the hood to the ground in a crumpled heap. This was before bike helmets. Amazingly, I didn't break a bone (I loved milk!). My bike, on the other hand, was a total wreck with a bent front wheel and frame. Jane Benton, my mom's hair dresser who had a hair salon in her basement on Greenwood Road where I crashed, came out when she heard me hit the car.  (This was back in the day when automobile bumpers were made of solid steel with real chrome. There was no damage at all to the bumper or car.) Mrs. Benton took me home. I was pretty beat up and bruised, but at 11 years old, I healed up quickly.

My parents knew how much I loved to ride my bike. Out on Route 9 there was a Raleigh English bicycle dealer. My birthday was coming up. Mom and Dad bought me a brand new, state of the art, black, three speed English bike with an odometer/speedometer. It was the dream bike for an active kid like me. I used to take trips for hours riding all over Natick and the neighboring towns. I hit my top speed of 45mph on a hill in Wayland. I loved it! That was when I was hooked, my passion for biking locked in. That's when the cross country bike dream began to blossom.

In early January of 1983, married to Joan, with no children, we talked it through. She knew it was my dream to make a cross country bike trip. She was great, encouraging me to do it.  I began planning a solo trip from Washington state back to Massachusetts. The biggest blessing in the world kept me from going; Joan got pregnant with Ashley. 32 years of delayed gratification later, raising a family of four kids, completing a career in education, the birth of Annabelle, our first granddaughter, and retirement last June, I leave Saturday morning on Big Blue to fulfill my dream. The passion burns brightly in me. I am so ready to ride after patiently waiting all these years!

Make it a great day!

Up next: Why ride a recumbent bike?