Why are you riding your bike across the country?

When I first decided to ride my bike across the country - I was hesitant to tell many people about the ride. I didn't want to tell people about the ride, then later change my mind and back out. I wanted to be 100% sure I was going to do the ride before telling more people. Around Christmas I started shared my plan with my family and about 5 friends. Everyone supported my plan. I then started planning for the ride, and around May started telling more people about the adventure. Most people thought the ride sounded awesome. Some people looked at me but really didn't believed that I was going to do the ride, while other asked me "why are you riding your bike across the country?" I have asked myself that question many times.

When I was about 12 years old, a friend - Dennis Escamilla - mentioned something about riding a bike across the United States. I had never heard of anyone doing such an adventure. I thought to myself, one day I'm going to ride my bike across the United States. As I grew older, I still continued to think about riding my bike across the country. In high school I became a endurance runner and thought, " when I get older - I'm going to ride my bike across the country. Years went by and I still would think about that dream - one day I will do it.

In my 30's I started cross training doing cycling and running. At that same time triathlons and duathlons became popular in Southern California. I started competing in sprint triathlons and duathlons events - running was my strength, while I was decent on the bike, and terrible in the swim. Once the again the thought of riding my bike across the country entered my mind. Each time I would say - I'll do that when I'm older.

Years of running long distance took a toll on my body - in my 40's my hip and knees gave out and I had to stop competing in running races. After a few years, I found myself riding a bike again. I was fortunate to start cycling just after the start of the first gravel bike races in the Midwest. I was able to compete in some of the grassroot gravel bike races that have now become the biggest gravel bike races in the world - such as Gravel Worlds and Dirty Kansa / Unbound Gravel. For several years, I was a very competitive age group gravel racer. At the age of 62, I would be racing my last year of competitive gravel racing - then I would retire from racing and live like a "normal person".

I did my last year of bike racing and then had the hip replacement that I should have had years earlier. I was ready to live a "normal life". The problem was that I felt terrible physically and mentally. I was gaining weight, losing strength, and had no adventure to look forward to. I then read one of my daughters favorite books - "The Alchemist." It reopened my eyes. The message of "The Alchemist" is that we should never give up on our dreams, no matter how difficult the journey may seem." Suddenly the the old dream of riding my bike across the country was back in my mind.

I started doing research into riding my bike across the country. The thought of riding a heavy bike full of luggage did not sound fun to me. Then I thought of a new plan - riding my bike across the country with my 91-year -old dad working as my pit crew driving my van across the country. My dad had worked as my pit crew while racing Dirty Kansa / Unbound Gravel, and he was excited about the ride. This would give this father / son team a great adventure to take on together. We then started planning out our trip looking at maps to determine what route to take. About that time, I discovered "The Great American Wheel Race" - a bike race from Seattle, Washington to Washington, D.C., on mostly rail trails. This sounded much more scenic and safer. Soon, I had signed up for the race. But I was not planning to ride in the race division - I would be riding in the sport division a non-competitive division. I knew my dad was going to love this being a social butterfly. I could envision my dad sitting by the side of the trail with an ice chest full of cold drinks waiting for riders to come by and share a drink with. My dad was going to be the most popular person in the race. We would then stop to take side trips and visit family along the ride. It was going to be perfect, what a adventure for me and my 91-year-old father.

In February my family was going to get together for a little vacation. I live in Nebraska, my dad lives in Southern California, and my daughters live in Northern Oregon and Southern Oregon. It is not often that we can all get together like this. As soon as we arrived, I knew something was wrong with my dad. He was having trouble with balance and dealing with vertigo. Just months earlier he was gracefully dancing on the dance floor, now he was struggling to walk up and down steps. The whole family knew that our bike adventure was not going to happen. Dad would not be able to drive the van and help as my pit crew. I sat down and spoke with my dad, and told him my new plan - I would race the Great American Wheel Race, but with no pit crew. Dad was relieved that I would still be able to ride across the country.

On June 9th, by daughter Jackie and my granddaughter Josephine will be at the Seattle Space Needle with me - to send me off on the start of my 3,600 mile ride across the country. But my dad will be there with me in spirit. I'll probably cry for the first mile of the race, then other riders will hear me talking to my myself as I talk to my dad. I will stop to take many pictures along the ride to send to my dad. I know that my dad will spend hours every day watching "Trackleaders" to monitor my progress. It is time for this long awaited adventure - Ride my bike across the country.