Our Challenge

I am sure that nobody is reading these, but that is okay. I am writing it for myself, but if anyone is reading this; I am not crazy. At least I am not the craziest person out there. There are a lot of other people that are doing a lot more that what Jerry and I have planned. When you read about the people that have biked around the world, or the Race Across A-Merican (RAAM) endurance race, and they don’t take the short easy route, or the 24-Hour Challenge (record of 502.6 Miles set by Chris Ragsdale), what we are attempting is amateurish. But for us, it will be our challenge. It is not just about a challenge, it is about adventure. It is about spending a couple of weeks on our bikes enjoying the scenery, meeting people, and having a good time before age tells us that we waited too late.

Why do it on a bicycle, you might ask if you were reading this? A young South Korean girl bicycling around the world put it like this,”A car is too fast to see the world, and walking is too slow, biking is just right”. I agree with her. You don’t miss much on a bike. I did this route on my Harley several years ago, and although it was enjoyable, when I ride the same stretches on my bicycle, I see things that I missed on the motorcycle. I have also done several nice backpacking trips, but they would be hard for me today. A hike of twenty miles with a backpack is a hard day’s hike; whereas, twenty miles on a bicycle is a leisurely ride.

This ride will not be a walk in the park for us, but it is very doable. I get more anxious everyday to get started, and I fear that something will happen that will prevent us from doing it. We’re not spring chickens anymore, and you never know what tomorrow holds.