A Defining Moment in my Life

The most defining moment in my life actually spanned several weeks. Fifty-three days to be exact, from August 1 until September 22, 2005. Within those seven weeks, I learned more about myself, my strengths and my weaknesses than I have in any other seven weeks in my life. My learning wasn’t confined to internal learning either, as I also learned a tremendous amount about this country and the people in it.

Bike4peace is a non-political non-profit grass roots group whose two main objectives are protesting the war in Iraq, and lessening our dependence on foreign oil. If we weren’t so dependent on foreign oil, we would not be in Iraq right now. Bike4peace was started by Ron Toppi, an avid bicyclist who also runs a community non-profit bike shop in Everett, called Sharing Wheels.

On that first ride, there were three of us that rode the entire way, Ron, Jesse Card, and myself. The general theme for the ride was: “If we can ride our bikes all the way across the country then you should be able to ride across town.” Sadly, because of educational commitments I was only able to go on that first ride, though the ride has continued every year since, and will continue until there is no longer a need for it.

The distance of the ride was a little over 3500 miles and we rode between 60 and 90 miles a day with a couple of days over 110 and a couple that were just 50. We had hosts in most of the towns we stayed in and they were an extremely diverse bunch. The hosts ran the gambit from a sheep rancher, gays and lesbians, anarchists, organic farmers, suburban folks, quite a few churches, and even nuns to name but a few. They all had one common purpose though, and that was to do what they could to help the planet and our ability to live on it.

It is a journey that tests both your physical and mental limits. Every day brings its own set of challenges, from a 6% mountain grade to maybe a day of riding 80 miles on mostly flat featureless countryside. There’s a reason that they call Montana, “The Big Sky Country,” you know. You are amazed at how much you can actually accomplish on a daily basis. It is also a test for your mental abilities. When you are tired, and the last thing you want to do is push down on the pedal, it takes an amazing amount of mental energy to go on until you get that next wind, which is coming, it always comes at some point.

It is also a ride of beauty and wonder. You feel as if you are blazing new ground, kind of like the pioneers and explorers of long ago must have felt. The roads that we take across the country are mostly two-lane backcountry highways. We get to see the country as no one else. Again, it harkens back to the pioneers on their horses. Only our horses are made of metal and require us to provide the power for it. Every time you crest a hill, it is a new adventure. “What are we going to see over this hill? Who are we going to meet in the next town? What are our hosts for the night going to be like?” There are so many questions that could only be answered by pedaling on.

As you head east, the country begins to age and the landscape and architecture slowly begin to change. In Montana, it appears as if the land is stuck in the 19th century. Old farms and towns dot the landscape and you can almost see the old-time prairie schooners as the pioneers push west. In the Midwest, it also looks like the 19th century, only a slightly different one. This 19th century is the one that had farm lands and towns and cities, not the wild west appearance farther west. In Pennsylvania, the towns and building are from the 18th and 17th centuries. In Maryland there was a plaque in front of a house that said the house was built in 1610 and had been occupied by the same family ever since. That floored me because I am from the West that lives a more temporary lifestyle. By the time I was 13, I had lived in five different houses in two different towns. I cannot even fathom growing up in a house that my family had been in for over four hundred years!

In Pennsylvania, we get onto the Allegheny Trail, a rail-to-trails project that extends from Pennsylvania into Maryland. It is mostly flat with a 4% grade at most since it is an old railway. We got onto the Allegheny Trail and then entered a different time and place. Here, riding among the trees, the trail dappled with sunlight as it filters down through the tall trees, one forgets the outside world and all the problems and stress that entails.

In Maryland we got onto the C&O Towpath Trail. It is a path that donkeys walked on and pulled barges on the C&O Canal. It runs most of the length of Maryland at 184 miles and ends in Washington DC. Because it was a canal for barges, the C&O Towpath has a 2% grade at the most and has a series of locks to raise and lower the barges. After we got almost to the end of the towpath, we met up with the Potomac River. We had the canal on one side and the Potomac River on the other. Most of the canal was empty of water and grown over, but every once and a while, there would be a portion of the canal that worked, including working locks.

What I got mostly out of the ride on these two trails was how neat it would be if there were enough of these trails that you could ride your bike all the way across the country staying mostly on trails like those two. There are miles and miles of unused railroad beds in this country. With a little work and a little money, these abandoned railroad beds could be changed into a rails-to-trails project.

There is no other way to see this country and meet the people this up close and personal than to do it from the back of a bike. Everyone we met along the way, even in the supposed ‘red states’ were very positive and supportive of what we were doing. People would see our bikes all loaded down and that would start a conversation about what we were doing, where we were going and why.

Along the way, I learned a couple of valuable life lessons. I found out that this Red States and Blue States idea is a fallacy that was created and is perpetuated by the media for ratings. If everyone agrees, then what kind of news story is that? Even though we spent a lot of days in Montana, one of the supposedly “Red States” I did not meet anyone that was against what we were doing. People in this country have a lot more in common than they have differences.

Another thing that I learned is that there are a lot of people in this country who think that their vote doesn’t count and so they don’t participate in the election process. After speaking to literally hundreds of people across the country, I realized that most of these people that don’t participate feel the same way; they are what I call the “Silent Majority.” The best and only way to change the political direction of this country is to participate in the election process.

For me this was a once in a lifetime experience, something that very few people get a chance to do. I might do it again, though it will never compare to this first time. The sense of pride that you feel as you conquer each new task is beyond measuring. As the days and nights slip away you also realize that riding is getting easier. You also learn little tricks on how to pace yourself and most efficiently ride.

I would encourage anyone that has the opportunity to ride along with these guys. Anyone is welcome to ride as far or as short as they want. They can be met in any city along the way and you can hook up with them there and ride to the next town, next state, or all the way to DC if you want. I know that when I took the trip in 2005, I lost 40 lbs. and was in the best shape I have been in since my early twenties, and I was 46 when I took the trip and about 40 lbs overweight. That alone is a good enough reason to take the trip.