Processing this adventure

Our last ride, from Burlington to Revere Beach: 17 miles with just a little ascent

We had a beautiful day for our short ride to adhere to tradition, put our bikes overhead and dipped our front wheels in the Atlantic.

After that, we left our bikes to be packed and shipped home. Saturday's flight left Boston for Milwaukee through Minneapolis at 5:45AM (Bill is looking for a new travel agent ;-)).

It's good to be off the saddle for a few days and let our "sit-upons" (as our British friends say) get back to their normal state and think about the adventure we just experienced. I (Linda) still don't know how to answer when someone asks why we did it, but I think it has something to do with testing my limits and learning from the experience.

So, what did I learn?

1) We have done a fair number of week long trips in the past five years, and I thought this would just be seven of those. It was not. Generally those have had shorter days (60 miles average) and on routes suitable for biking. My biggest challenge on this ride was not the number of miles, climbs, winds, weather (though all of those could make a day long and hard), but the proximity to fast moving traffic. 

The second to the last day was a series of climbs, which I made, but the final descent was a rough road with no shoulder and trucks going 60+. Halfway down I pulled to the side and just couldn't bring myself to go back out in that again. It just wasn't worth the risk to me, so I called for a ride.

My amazing husband and a friend, Greg, climbed back up to check on me and rode back down again. I am in awe.

2) Having said that, most drivers are considerate (99%+), and better in some states than others. We could tell that the drivers in Massachusetts were used to bikes. There is that tiny number though, who seem to enjoy driving close and fast, and occasionally yelling incomprehensible things (really, we have no idea what they are saying, though for some reason the people who yell supportive stuff are very clear). Not sure why they are so angry and in such a hurry that they can't spare the extra 10 seconds to make room for us. And I got a kick out of drivers from oncoming traffic honking to let us know we shouldn't be on the road.

3) More traffic: different semis make different noises. Semi drivers laying on the horn behind you are terrifying. You can hear when a vehicle coming up behind you has made room. Livestock carriers create a tailwind. If it is a gusty day, semis coming towards you create this turbulence that actually stops your bike for a second. Big pickups (generally black for some reason) can be as loud as semis.

4) Cows love to watch cyclists. The little ones run to the fence when they see you coming, and then turn their heads to watch every new cyclist. Horses could care less.

5) I would see signs in the front of rural homes with bible verses that could be unfriendly ("the wages of sin is death"), so it made me smile to see a home with "be humble and kind". A good goal that I still need to work on at age 61.

6) I knew there was a pretty good chance that I would not be able to ride every mile, and I didn't, but I found that my limiting factor was emotional more than physical ability. And I'm okay with that. Sometimes I think fear is the proper reaction to a situation, and my desire to safely get home and see my kids and Oliver overcame any desire to ride to the end of the day.

7) My bike and body held up well. There were a few aches early on, but they diminished as I got stronger, but even the last week it was still tough to sit on a bike seat for 6 hours.

8) The other cyclists. There were some amazing riders in their 70's on our trip. I hope I am still doing this in 10 years. Plus, the riders were focused each day on the ride, not talking about their previous accomplishments. People were so kind. If you had a flat, someone always stopped to help or just be there with you. 

9) You could not focus on anything but the ride. It wasn't exactly meditative, but you had to be in the present all of the time. Every once in a while, though, I would remind myself how fortunate I was to be where I was.

10) I gained a new love for Ohio, my favorite place to ride of the entire trip. Great, quiet country roads and beautiful green rolling hills. 

Anyway, I will still be mulling over this for the next few weeks while I try to keep off the 17 pounds I lost (already off to a lousy start). Thanks for reading our blog!