Shifting Gears

Season 4. Episode 22. Final Day & End of Adventure Reflections. For those of you who like numbers (as I do), here is a quantitative snapshot to consider: 4,049 miles biked compared to: 2,065 (Pacific Coast, Canada to Mexico ‘23)  2,667 (East Coast, Maine to Florida ’22)  2,970 (Southern Tier, California to Florida ’21) 115,122’ accumulated elevation gain (sum of Strava) compared to: 104,995’ (Pacific Coast)  70,676’ (East Coast) 85,070’ (Southern Tier) 64 days of riding! (and 4 days of rest) 63 miles average per riding day, (past years averages were 53, 72 & 65) 15 pounds weight lost – 8 by Heather and 7 by Mark (Heather should have eaten more ice cream and donuts!) 8 nights with “Warm Showers”, and 5 nights at friends 3 falls – all me. ZERO days of rain on riding days - truly a miracle, and we did pray daily for weather! (a bit of rain on 2 rest days) ZERO flat tires between us – not a miracle, it’s the Schwalbe Marathon Plus tires – and we prayed daily ...

Season 4 Episode 21. Almost last night of camp vibes.   9/19 Medina, NY to Palmyra, NY. 72 miles. 388’ climb. I guess that’s lining up all your ducks in a row. very Heather-like. But also very Heather-like is the duck appears calm and serene above water and nobody sees the constant paddling below water. I see the constant energy Heather expends to make all seem so effortless in running our home life.  I guess I’m one very lucky duck! Have never seen a sign like this. In addition to riding for Team Reeve, I’ve done a little bit of advocacy for the foundation and think about accessibility and travel for those who use wheelchairs and love this fantastic sign. As I am the trip navigator, responsible for route and directions, it’s my duty to make sure that when I make a turn, that Heather if behind me sees me do so. In many instances like the following, rather than stop and wait at the intersection, I ride on and slow down so she will see me when she gets to the intersection h...

Season 4 Episode 20. Don’t count the days, but make the days count.  9/15 Geneva, OH to Erie, PA. 66 miles. 1,141’ climb. Our daily routine includes typically stopping for a snack after 20 or so miles. (Heather could and would ride longer without stopping, but indulges my human need for fuel.) After Rick’s unlimited blueberry pancakes, we rode 28 miles to Conneaut for our morning snack.  With the long sandy beach and  steep hill (picture does not capture the slope), we were just enjoying the view from up high. We were lucky that a local man interested in us told us this the sight of D-Day Ohio. We had no idea. Hundreds of re-enactors from across the US and Canada assemble annually in August (not on June 6) at this site which closely resembles Omaha Beach in Normandy, France. It’s the world’s largest reenactment of D-Day. We must return.  State #10 Overwhelmingly, motorists are respectful, yielding and kind. They go wide when passing and slow down otherwise. But then ...