August 3 – 79 miles from Brattleboro, VT to Manchester,
NH. Winding, forest lined roads;
lush, water-lilied bogs, quiet New England towns; colonial era, white clapboard
and black shuttered houses; generally smooth roads; and warm, partly sunny
skies all day (despite thunderstorms all around - they managed to avoid us the
entire day.) The day also included the steepest climb of the trip (16% for ½
mile), which was now handled relatively easily, and another chance to go
downhill at 50 mph. A delightful ride which everyone agreed was one of the best
of the trip.
In the evening was the farewell banquet, this being the last
night for the group. 7 of us had
been practicing a few musical numbers, with me as the accompanist on guitar –
parodies on “Wake Up Little Suzy”, “Cheeseburger in Paradise”, the Eagles “Take
It Easy”, and two that I wrote, to “King of the Road” and “Me and Bobby
McGee”. The climax was a
serious/comic version of “America the Beautiful” (now “America by Bicycle”)
closing with over-the-top dramatic, 7 part harmony. Other riders provided comedy – an essay (4th
grader style) of “what I did on my summer vacation”, and a fine, 8 verse
limerick, read in fine English accent by our Brits. The group loved it all - applause was thundering and
everyone roared with laughter.
They demanded an encore – in particular my “King of the Road”, which was
a litany of inside jokes mentioning close to half the group. Lots of fun. Then the program moved to the serious portion, farewells (1
to 3 minutes each) by every member of the group – see comments below. We got to bed late – after 11 – and had
to get up by 5 AM for the final day.
August 4 – the final day – 57 miles to the Atlantic Ocean at
Rye Beach, NH.
Another fine day for riding, and with such a short ride, a
generally leisurely pace, though I, like most, found it hard to ride below 16
mph. At 11 AM, we all met up at
the Rye Junior High School for a final group photo and start of the final farewells. Then it was a police-escorted (with
lights and sirens) mass ride for the final 3 miles to the beach, where we were
met by friends and family at about noon.
We ended with dipping our wheels in the Atlantic, lots of hugs and
handshakes, a few tears as we said goodbye to friends, and generally an
emotional celebration. The final
group event was to pour a liter of Pacific Ocean water, collected at Astoria,
OR, into the Atlantic, done by my 70 year old roommate, George. Then the trip ended, 3,839 miles
(for me) and 51 days after the start.
Following the beach, Carolyn, Brad and Mairead, who had met
me at the beach, took me out for a celebration lunch in Portsmouth, NH. Then we drove to our home in Brewster,
Cape Cod, where Amy, Brad and Mairead cooked a wonderful steak dinner, eaten on
our deck as the sun set over Elbow Pond.
A fitting end to a wonderful trip.
Thoughts: The
End of a Group
By the time most people get into adulthood, they have been
part of one or more close-knit, bonded groups. This could be any type of group – a sports team, a group
from summer camp, a college crowd, a project team, etc., etc. Invariably, close knit groups come to
an end, often at a specific point in time. And often the end is marked by a closing event – a final
campfire, a retirement dinner, a graduation party or, in this case, the
farewell banquet in Manchester on August 4.
As experienced adults, we all pretty much know what to
expect. There will be speeches,
toasts, sharing of stories, inside jokes, and generally food and drink
(especially of the alcoholic sort, to liven up the party.) At some point, group members will trade
phone numbers and email addresses (if not done already.) They will make promises to stay in
touch, to get together, often with some tentative plans. You will hear statements like “my house
is your house,” “if you are ever in my area, be sure to look me up,” etc. The speeches and toasts are also
predictable, generally along the lines of, in this case, “the riding was good,
the scenery was wonderful, but it was the people that made the trip.” And of course, there will be thank yous
to all, especially those who have helped you or with whom you particularly
bonded.
During the farewell dinner in Manchester, all played out as
expected. Every rider got their
brief time – 1 to 3 minutes – to say their thanks and share their
thoughts. Everyone tried to be
original, interesting and if possible humorous - we can’t simply say
“ditto”. And if not original or
funny, for not everyone is a good speaker, then at least convey sincerity. Of course, some people are really good
at this ritual, and indeed this was the case in Manchester. The best were quite witty or spent
their 2 minutes relating a moving incident others may not know where someone
helped. However, things did get
repetitive by the time we got to the 30th riider, and, inevitably,
some folks ran on at the mouth.
But overall, it was a good session, and everyone appreciated being able
to say their piece.
As for me, I followed the rules, starting out with a parody
verse of Willie Nelson’s “On the Road Again” (as my guitar was at hand from the
previous performance): In the bush
again; I saw four guys back in the bush again; They must be making music with
their friends; What else would they do in the bush again?” Hey, it was a common experience when
out there on the road – when nature calls miles from anything, bushes are your
best friend. It got a nice
laugh. Then I went on to say how I
was inspired by all the riders who overcoming some trauma in their life, using
this ride as a way to clear their minds or at least give themselves space. As I think I mentioned before, most of
the riders were in this category, many overcoming physical traumas, like
accidents or most often cancer, and others overcoming life crises, such as
death of a loved one, job loss, divorce, frustration with careers, or in one
case, a marine who lost a buddy while on active duty in Iraq. The remarks were sincere, and I think
well received.
Now, the funny thing about this farewell process is that,
while emotional and sincere, we all know that there is a basic phoniness in the
process. There is essentially no
group after the event. Despite
promises, hardly anyone will keep in touch beyond a few weeks, very few will
see other group members again, and there will be almost no future visits or
reunions. Even the oft stated maxim that “it is the people we will remember
more than the scenery” is wrong – in 6 months, we will look at the pictures and
ask “who was that?” while we will continue to recognize the plains of South
Dakota and snow-covered peaks of the Cascades. So despite appearances, we all know we are not being
sincere.
But this can never be said, and all but the most unaware
follow the rules. And we feel good
about the process. A well-bonded
group coming to an end needs closure, a way to move from present to past. In our culture, this is how we do it –
a process of creating, as my son Brad puts it, “early onset nostalgia.” It is a ritual, a rite of passage (of
the group), and such rituals are important in helping us in the transition to
the next phase in our lives, whatever that might be.
So the 2008 America by Bicycle North Tour group had closure,
according to our customs. 43 of us
riders and 7 staff members made it all the way from Astoria, OR to Rye Beach,
NH – plus 7 other riders who joined us for the last segment from Niagara
Falls. According to Mike Munk, the
group leader, and all the staff, this group was one of the best in AbB history
– relatively few cliques, no overt anger and no breakdowns, mental of
physical. Remarkably, and for the
first time ever for any large AbB cross country ride (over 20 riders), 100% of
the riders settting out for the full journey made it to the end, and there were
no major injuries or accidents.
It was a good group.
Most riders were pleasant and many were a real pleasure to ride with, to
dine with and to talk to. I was
glad to be part of this group, and glad to play my part in making the group
work – most notably as the group musician, the “guitar man.” We had our ritual, well run and moving,
and we got closure. It was a fine
Amen, and now I and the rest move on to whatever is next.
