Today was my last day supporting Gary and Matt as they continue their quest to ride their bicycles across America. They have completed over half the distance and I have no doubt that they will be successful. The week went by too quickly and I wish I could continue along on their journey and to celebrate with them when they reach the Atlantic.
It is interesting to hear people’s reaction when they learn that Gary and Matt are riding across the US. The responses have ranged from “my son-in-law did that last year” to “are you crazy?” If riding a bike across the country makes o.jpg)
ne crazy, then Gary and Matt are in good company. There are many organized rides that take riders across this great land and there are many people who ride either by themselves or in small groups. Today as I was waiting along Highway 44 for Gary and Matt to arrive, a bicyclist around 30 years old came from the opposite direction. He stopped to ask about the road. I ask him where he was heading and he said Northern Wisconsin. He grew up in Wisconsin and now lives in California. He left California several weeks ago and is riding home. He is riding by himself and carrying all his gear on his bike. He decided to continue on the road heading north, which was a good decision as there was a strong wind out of the South. Over the course of ride, we have met others on the same quest. I think we all would be amazed at the number of people pursuing this dream.
Now I will agree that riding across the country is not something that everyone can do. One does not get up one morning and decides to ride 3,500 miles from the Pacific to the Atlantic. First of all it takes time, for the actual trip and for the training. For example, from January 1st of this year to the start of this ride, Gary had logged over 4,500 miles on his bike. (I don’t know Matt’s mileage, but I can assure you he has trained hard for this ride.) This averages out to about 24 miles a day. Even with all this training behind him, I think Gary would admit that the ride is more difficult than he thought. They have added rest days, shorten some of the routes, and have “banked” miles to shorten some rides. The second thing it takes is mental toughness. Getting on the bike day after day to ride an average of 100 miles is not easy. The weather is not always pleasant and the roads are not always smooth. The body hurts and wants to rest. But to accomplish their goal, they have to convince themselves each day to get on the bike and ride. At the end of each ride I am impressed with their attitude. Yes, they are tired. But they are in good spirits. After they have had a few minutes to rest, they are joking and laughing and planning for the next day. Larry and I really appreciate this.
On the drive home from Des Moines this evening, I thought about when Gary first got into biking. My first recollection of Gary and biking goes back to January of 1995. I was living in Ankeny at the time and I r.jpg)
eceived a call from Gary. He asked if I would be interested in riding RAGBRAI, the Register’s Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa. I had been biking for about twenty years, nothing seriously, but I did purchase my first Trek back in 1980. I had always wanted to ride RAGBRAI, but didn’t know anyone who was willing to do it with me. So when Gary asked, I didn’t need any time to decide.
Back then, we were excited when we would ride 20 miles. We trained all summer and had a great time on our first RAGBRAI. It was Gary, me and Gary’s friend Chuck Smith on the first RAGBRAI. We found two great support drivers, our friend Dennis Schemmel and Gary’s brother-in-law Paul to split the support duties for us. This ride got us hooked. We have done RAGBRAI around 10 times with a group of Gary’s friends from Texas which is called Cobra39. I have traveled to Texas to ride the Hotter ‘n Hell 100 several times, some more successful than others. (The name describes the ride: a 100 mile ride around Wichita Falls, Texas in August. The temperature most years exceeds 105 degrees by mid-afternoon. Having done this ride several times, I think this does border on the edge of crazy.)
I think it was on our second RAGBRAI that Gary began talking about riding across America. I knew it was just a matter of time. Over the years Gary’s interest in cycling has grown…..and his mileage has increased. Thirteen years after his first organized ride, thousands of miles of training, and countless hours of preparing, Gary is riding a cyclist’s ultimate ride. He also is fortunate to have Matt as a riding companion. Matt bikes as well as he writes.
As I am leaving the team and returning to the real world and work, I want to thank Gary and Matt for allowing me to share in their adventure. I have some great memories from the past eight days. Hang in their Matt, there really is a tail wind. I hope you are able to experience it at least once before the end of your journey.
And now I turn the support role back to the very capable Larry Hart.
Bob
It is interesting to hear people’s reaction when they learn that Gary and Matt are riding across the US. The responses have ranged from “my son-in-law did that last year” to “are you crazy?” If riding a bike across the country makes o
.jpg)
ne crazy, then Gary and Matt are in good company. There are many organized rides that take riders across this great land and there are many people who ride either by themselves or in small groups. Today as I was waiting along Highway 44 for Gary and Matt to arrive, a bicyclist around 30 years old came from the opposite direction. He stopped to ask about the road. I ask him where he was heading and he said Northern Wisconsin. He grew up in Wisconsin and now lives in California. He left California several weeks ago and is riding home. He is riding by himself and carrying all his gear on his bike. He decided to continue on the road heading north, which was a good decision as there was a strong wind out of the South. Over the course of ride, we have met others on the same quest. I think we all would be amazed at the number of people pursuing this dream.Now I will agree that riding across the country is not something that everyone can do. One does not get up one morning and decides to ride 3,500 miles from the Pacific to the Atlantic. First of all it takes time, for the actual trip and for the training. For example, from January 1st of this year to the start of this ride, Gary had logged over 4,500 miles on his bike. (I don’t know Matt’s mileage, but I can assure you he has trained hard for this ride.) This averages out to about 24 miles a day. Even with all this training behind him, I think Gary would admit that the ride is more difficult than he thought. They have added rest days, shorten some of the routes, and have “banked” miles to shorten some rides. The second thing it takes is mental toughness. Getting on the bike day after day to ride an average of 100 miles is not easy. The weather is not always pleasant and the roads are not always smooth. The body hurts and wants to rest. But to accomplish their goal, they have to convince themselves each day to get on the bike and ride. At the end of each ride I am impressed with their attitude. Yes, they are tired. But they are in good spirits. After they have had a few minutes to rest, they are joking and laughing and planning for the next day. Larry and I really appreciate this.
On the drive home from Des Moines this evening, I thought about when Gary first got into biking. My first recollection of Gary and biking goes back to January of 1995. I was living in Ankeny at the time and I r
.jpg)
eceived a call from Gary. He asked if I would be interested in riding RAGBRAI, the Register’s Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa. I had been biking for about twenty years, nothing seriously, but I did purchase my first Trek back in 1980. I had always wanted to ride RAGBRAI, but didn’t know anyone who was willing to do it with me. So when Gary asked, I didn’t need any time to decide.Back then, we were excited when we would ride 20 miles. We trained all summer and had a great time on our first RAGBRAI. It was Gary, me and Gary’s friend Chuck Smith on the first RAGBRAI. We found two great support drivers, our friend Dennis Schemmel and Gary’s brother-in-law Paul to split the support duties for us. This ride got us hooked. We have done RAGBRAI around 10 times with a group of Gary’s friends from Texas which is called Cobra39. I have traveled to Texas to ride the Hotter ‘n Hell 100 several times, some more successful than others. (The name describes the ride: a 100 mile ride around Wichita Falls, Texas in August. The temperature most years exceeds 105 degrees by mid-afternoon. Having done this ride several times, I think this does border on the edge of crazy.)
I think it was on our second RAGBRAI that Gary began talking about riding across America. I knew it was just a matter of time. Over the years Gary’s interest in cycling has grown…..and his mileage has increased. Thirteen years after his first organized ride, thousands of miles of training, and countless hours of preparing, Gary is riding a cyclist’s ultimate ride. He also is fortunate to have Matt as a riding companion. Matt bikes as well as he writes.
As I am leaving the team and returning to the real world and work, I want to thank Gary and Matt for allowing me to share in their adventure. I have some great memories from the past eight days. Hang in their Matt, there really is a tail wind. I hope you are able to experience it at least once before the end of your journey.
And now I turn the support role back to the very capable Larry Hart.
Bob
