|
|
Sunday, July 30th: Preparing for the ride
This ride began as a dream for us in late spring
and early summer of this year. Corky Cusick, Fr. Jim Klima, and I
have ridden together many times, including six annual rides from Marion
to Lake Erie and back. Corky is a retired gentleman who runs
marathons and goes for long bike rides to stay in shape. He cycled
across the USA in 1995, soon after he retired. Fr. Jim Klima is a
Catholic priest who loves to go on bicycle tours. He has ridden many
century rides (100 miles in one day) and is a strong cyclist. I was
somewhat intimidated about riding with them, because both are faster
riders than I am. Fr. Jim decided to take this trip for his annual
vacation this year, and invited Corky and I to join him.
We rode with Cycle America, a tour group which specializes in
cross-country and national park tours. Cycle America offers a
nine-week ride across America, and allows people to join the tour on a
weekly basis. There were 94 riders in our group, 46 of whom were
riding across the country. The rest of us joined the tour for one
or more weeks. There were also a dozen staff members along to take
care of us. The riders typically rode for six days and rested on
Sundays. Most nights we set up camp at a local school, although
occasionally the riders stayed at campgrounds.
Fr. Jim and Corky elected to ride for two weeks, from Ludington,
Michigan to Lake Placid, New York. I decided to settle for a
one-week trip, mainly because I did not want to be away from my family
for two weeks. I had already ridden the Great Ohio Bicycle
Adventure with my son in June of this year, and hesitated to take more
time off work.
Our journey began with an eight-hour drive from our home in Marion,
Ohio to the starting point in Scottville, Michigan. In a sign of
things to come, it began to rain as we loaded the car in Marion, and
heavy rain continued for most of the trip. Corky's wife Helen and
daughter Julie drove us to Michigan. I read a suspenseful novel in
the back seat as we drove, so the trip went very quickly.
Arriving at the school, we decided to stay dry and sleep on the gym
floor. As we set up our gear, a bird that had flown into the gym
entertained us. The gym was spotless, but each time the bird flew
to a new roost near the ceiling, large clusters of dust would slowly waft
down from the ceiling.
As we arrived, Cycle America staff members and many of our fellow
riders greeted us. The group had come to Michigan via a ferry
across Lake Michigan from Wisconsin the day before, and had been relaxing
around camp that day. After registering, we had a get-acquainted dinner,
and then met with Greg Walsh, the owner of Cycle America, for an
orientation talk. A rider from Pennsylvania had left his cycling shoes at
home, and asked if anyone had a pair of size 8 & ½ SPD shoes that he
could borrow. None of the riders had an extra pair, but the staff
found him a pair at a local bike shop early the next day. After the
meeting, I fell asleep on the gym floor even before the lights went out
at 10:00.
Next page
|
|
