bicycle across america

When I was a girl I read a magazine article about some people who had ridden coast to coast.

My bike then gave me a degree of freedom greater than I had known before. I’ve never been an especially graceful. Indeed, I’ve been a klutz all my life. But on a bicycle there is a pureness of movement, when the machine and I are functioning as one beautiful organism I feel just as graceful as a ballet dancer.

For the first half of life cycling was a large part of life.

Then came marriage and family responsibilities. Taking the time for the long trip I’ve wanted since reading that magazine article, and the money it would cost to do it… Well it seemed impossible.

Now I am in my 60s and retired and very much out of shape. But my daughter is an adult, my life partner is supportive, the finances are doable and the time is available now that I am retired.

I’ve started riding again. It will be a long time before I am in condition to even think seriously about such a long ride. There are health issues, too.

But its doable. Assuming I don’t fall down and break my hip or something!

I’m not sure if I’ll do it as part of a tour or with a small group but I’m going to do it :)

I did my bicycle ride across America in 2003 and loved it. I didn’t train all that much, maybe 2 or 3 rides of ~50 miles before I left. My first 2 weeks were definitely painful, but it’s much more of a mental challenge than a physical one. Anyway, you can read about my bike ride across the country at www.rideacross.com

I just want to do it. I love bicycling, and America seems like a good place to start. Won’t happen for a few years, I’m sure, but it’s a worthy goal and I’ll gladly step up to the challenge when the opportunity presents itself.