What I Did On My Summer Vacation
By Christopher Bannister
(Automotive and Auto Body Technology Department Chair)
On June 2nd, I flew to San
Francisco to retrieve my bicycle from UPS and begin a cross-country
journey with 90 other people to Portsmouth, New Hampshire. I did
this with a great deal of anxiety as to whether I had trained enough,
was in good enough physical shape, and if I would be able to withstand
the altitude crossing the mountains or the heat in the deserts.
After 52 days on the road, which took me over three mountain ranges,
across the salt flats in Utah and some of the most barren and beautiful
lands in the United States, I can honestly say this was the greatest
trip of my life so far. On June 3rd, I met all of the people I would
eat, sleep and ride with for the next two months. There were 67
people making the trip all the way cross-country with the rest going
only to Utah or Colorado. Most were between 40 and 75 years old,
some in great shape and some in no shape at all. I had trained for
two years for this trip, and on this day I met people who had only
ridden a few times prior to leaving home. I started to feel a lot
more comfortable about my abilities after this meeting. About 30%
of the people were teachers or college professors, 30% were retired
and the remainder had quit their jobs solely to take this trip.
This turned out to be the greatest group of people I could ever
have dreamed to meet. I shared a room with two other guys, one a
4th grade teacher from Fairbanks, AK and the other a government
contractor from PA. By the end of the first week, you would have
thought we had known each other for years. When I left home, I knew
no one else going on this trip; today I have 67 new friends for
life. I kept a daily journal of my experiences and here are some
of my entries to give you an idea of what the trip was like.
Day 1 San Francisco to Fairfield, CA - 81 Miles
Up at 5:00 a.m. for a quick shower
and a group picture after breakfast. Everyone was anxious to get
on the road and we left the hotel at 7:10 a.m. The weather was overcast
and it was only 50 degrees. About 2 miles from the hotel, we climbed
the enormous hill that went up for about a mile. I was breathing
like a freight train by the time I got to the top. In RI, I never
use the small chain ring and in fact thought it unnecessary, now
I know what it is for! After we topped the hill the terrain leveled
off. We rode to Golden Gate Park to dip our rear wheels in the Pacific
to officially start to the Atlantic. It was so cold and windy at
the beach, my Alaskan roommate was shivering. After we left the
beach, it was over the Golden Gate Bridge where we saw Alcatraz
and off to Fulton Lake. We traveled along a beautiful bike path
for about 20 miles and then entered Route 37 East. Once we got on
37 it was 19 miles into the wind. Man, was that a long 19 miles.
Off 37 and up another killer hill with a nice long downhill to the
motel. All in all, not a bad first day.
Day 6 Sparks to Lovelock, NV - 90 Miles
Today was another beautiful day.
The sun is back out, but it is not too warm. We had a great day
of riding down out of the Sierra Nevada Mountains and into the desert.
We rode out of the foothills and 40 miles across the desert, where
there is not a lot of anything. It was pretty desolate out there,
but the views were beautiful. About 4 miles into the ride, we had
to get on Interstate 80 because there were no other roads across
this part of Nevada. A lot of people had flat tires today because
of all the debris on the highway. We had a nice light tail wind
so we covered 90 miles in no time. I was in the motel by 1:30 p.m.!
Day 16 Green River, UT to Grand Junction, CO - 95 Miles
We were told when we left today
that there was not much between these two towns - that was an understatement.
The only other living thing I saw today other than my biking partners
was an Antelope. The day started out overcast and before long it
started to rain. I stopped and put on my rain gear to stay dry;
when I got to the first snack stop everyone laughed at me because
I had a lime green jacket and bright yellow pants. But as I looked
around at all these soggy folks, my only thought was that at least
I was dry. After another 10 miles, the sun came out and I was able
to shed the rain gear. Unfortunately, with the sun came the wind.
It was nice to ride on the dry roads because in the morning all
the little stones on the road were sticking to the wet tires and
I had suffered two flats that I had to change in the rain. At 70
miles, we stopped at the Welcome to Colorado sign for pictures and
we could see the lightning coming in the distance. When I rolled
my bike away from the sign, I notice the front tire was flat, number
3 for today. The rest of the group left me to try and beat the rain.
I fixed the flat as quickly as possible, but by the time I reached
the 80-mile mark, it was back on with the rain gear. When the lightning
got too close for comfort I stopped and ducked under the bridge
over the Colorado River until it passed. I didn't get to the hotel
until 5:15 p.m., so today was a long day. Collectively, today the
entire group had 119 flat tires!
Day 32 Chillicothe to Kirksville, MO - 82 miles
Today was by far the toughest day
of the trip. They had changed the route from the previous year and
this was deemed "The Day of a Thousand Hills". Well, it wasn't a
thousand but it was 110. It seemed like every time you went down
a hill there was another one to go up. The temperatures were in
the upper 90's and humidity was over 90%, which put the heat index
into the triple digits. I stopped in the little town of New Boston
for lunch and to cool off. I rode the last 30 miles alone without
ever seeing any of the staff or support vans. I finally came onto
a small convenience store where I stopped for more water and another
snack. I was almost out of water and very tired, so I stayed for
a while to cool off. The heat out here is really terrible.
Day 50 Albany, NY to Brattleboro, VT - 80 Miles
Today was a beautiful day with clear
skies and warm temperatures. It is really great to be back in New
England and I am really starting to feel like I am back home. Today,
we climbed Hogback Mountain - the view from the top was breathtaking.
You could see Holyoke, MA and Mt. Manadnock in NH. This spot on
Route 9 is said to have a 100-mile view and I believe it. We rode
through the town of Bennington and a few of us stopped at a great
little deli for lunch. We sat outside on the street at a picnic
table. Every biker that came by asked how lunch was and stopped.
Before long there were 25 or 30 cyclists all sitting on the grass
in front of the deli. I bet this is the best lunch crowd they have
had in a long time. We rode into the town of Brattleboro around
2:00 p.m., so we decided to window-shop a little before going to
the hotel. I left my bike in front of a bike shop and when I returned
the front tire was flat. I had picked up a small piece of wire off
the road, and the tire must have been leaking slowly while I was
riding. How convenient for it to go flat right in front of the bike
shop! Well, only two more days and I'll be home.
Day 52 Manchester to Portsmouth, NH - 60 Miles
We all rode to the Rye Junior High
School and met there so we could ride to the beach together. We
all had our same jerseys on and they gave us a police escort from
the school down to the beach. This was about a 3-mile ride - we
looked like a parade going though the neighborhoods. About a half-mile
from the beach, we came up over a little rise and you could see
the ocean, which was a beautiful sight for me. We all gathered on
the beach to dip the front wheels in the Atlantic and to pose for
one last group picture. My wife met me at the beach with a big hug
and she was the best sight of all. Seven weeks is a long time to
be away from home and it is good to see my family again. Of the
67 people who started out 65 made it all the way. There were a lot
of tearful good-byes and champagne for all. What a great ending
for a great trip.
Final Tally
I completely wore out two rear tires
and one front tire, had 8 flats along the way, and completely wore
out one chain, one rear sprocket, one set of pedals and the front
axle bearing on the bike. Total mileage covered 3763 miles. Average
daily mileage 80 to 100 miles. Ten days with mileage over 100 mile
per day, with four in a row in Ohio. And yes, I would do it again
tomorrow!
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