Hello All,
Well, the big day has finally arrived, and I am off on a bicycle adventure across North America. I hope you find my blog site interesting, and if not that, at least occasionally droll with some good pictures. I will try to keep the entries reasonably short and not likely more than one or twice per week, so as not to be too annoying. And I will endeavor to avoid the words “fantastic”, “incredible”, etc. and any techy bike talk. And if you are not interested, please feel free to ignore.
As you know by now, upon my retirement from Pfizer last November, I began planning for a new challenge, albeit one with a short horizon – to bicycle across America in the summer of 2008. The numbers: 45 days of riding, with a day off every 7 or 8 days, for a total of 50 days. The average day involves 80 miles of riding and around 3000 feet of up hill, for a total of about 3650 miles. I am riding with a group run by America by Bicycle, and there will be about 45 people on the ride. We dip our wheels in the Pacific Ocean at Astoria, Oregon, then pedal across Oregon, southern Idaho, Wyoming, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, ferry across Lake Michigan, then continue across Michigan, southern Ontario, New York, Vermont and New Hampshire, ending by dipping wheels in the Atlantic in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. If all goes well, I may then continue for a few extra days (150 more miles) to Cape Cod, to do a final wheel dip at Nauset Beach. While on the road, we will stay at motels, and AbB will handle the logistics – motel arrangements, breakfast, dinners, carrying luggage – and will have a support van to help with repairs if needed. Overall a fairly cushy way to do this type of trip: all I have to do is pedal – well, and get the bike, handle simple repairs, and not bitch when tired and sore.
Needless to say, this is a big physical challenge, considerably more aggressive than anything I have attempted before. Frankly quite intimidating. But it is something I have long wanted to do – to get into good shape, to see the country at a slow pace (after seeing so much of the world a hectic weekend at a time), to see a few places I have fond memories of from long ago (the Snake River canyon, Grand Tetons, Great Plains, etc.) and simply to put my head into a place other than the corporate and political worlds.
For the last 7 months, I undertook a pretty aggressive program to get ready. I logged 3,020 miles on the bike since March 1, and as many as possible before then over the winter. I have also ridden a number of “centuries” (>100 miles), lost 25 lbs, done a lot of strength training, and learned a lot about how to ride long distances without bonking. I bought a new bike for the trip – a Surly “Long Haul Trucker” specifically made to carry big guys long distances over rough roads. A bit heavier than the light racers the spandex rabbit set use these days, but I hope the sturdiness and Kevlar lined tires will pay off in fewer breakdowns, and that my quads will thank me for the extra low gears while going over the Rockies. Overall, I feel about as ready as I realistically could hope for, though of course I could have done more. It is still not easy to ride 100 miles, but I feel confident I can handle anything I am likely to hit. Now the challenge is to see if I can ride the distance day after day. A matter of perseverance.
As I start, I would like to thank those who have supported me in the preparations. There have been many: the team at Brewster Bike who got my bike and put it together, Amber Cycles for the many little repairs during the long training, and friends like Dave Rader who supplied useful advice for long distance riding (which here-to-fore I have done little of). And I suppose I should thank Pfizer for the opportunity to do this – retirement is great, and Pfizer made it possible. Most of all I would like to thank my family for their support, and especially Carolyn, who has been relentless in encouraging me, even though the trip is starting a mere 3 weeks after she had knee replacement surgery (from which she is recovering very well – well ahead of the normal recovery curve, though not without considerable pain.)
So now I am in Oregon. Over the last few days I toured the area a bit by cars to see Mt. St. Helens, the Columbia River gorge, a few Oregon wineries and Portland,and tomorrow I meet the group and dip my whells in the Pacific. The picture is of a typical view from a training ride in Gardiner, where Carolyn has been recovering from the surgery and I did my last 3 weeks of training. As you can see, not a shabby place to train, and perhaps as good a view as I am likely to find in this country. Cheers, and happy summer to all.
John Keith
