Finishing the Journey ...

2 Wheels 7 States 1500 Miles…

 

This blog is about my mission to finish a bicycle trip that I started in July of 1990.

 

A bit of background …

I bicycled by myself from Oregon to Kansas over about a five-week period in July of 1990. My intention was to finish crossing the entire United States, but I ran out of money and was forced to come home. I promised myself that I would finish the trip one day. Now, 23 years later and temporarily retired, I cannot think of a better opportunity to finish the journey.

Going back to 1990 …

In 1990, The Simpsons made their debut on Fox TV, Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait, and the Berlin Wall came crashing down. Houses cost on average $123,000, a gallon of gas cost $1.34 and the Dow Jones averaged just over 2600. In the same year, a good friend of mine and I made the crazy decision to bicycle across the United States.

I’m not sure why my friend wanted to do this. For me, it would be the adventure of a lifetime. Also, I knew that I would graduate from college in May of 91’ and that looking for a job and starting the grind of a career would be a priority. Looking back, I should have taken more time to enjoy more adventures and worked less. Hindsight right?

In late 1989, the engine of my 71 VW bug seized up and I couldn’t afford to replace or fix it. With no other options at the time, I took the license plates off, cleaned out the glove compartment and left it where it sat on the curb. I never saw that car again. For that reason alone, I became an avid biker. Obviously, this was due more to necessity than to choice. Overnight, my bicycle became my primary transportation. Fortunately, it was much more reliable than my VW ever was.

My friend and I bought touring bikes and all the gear necessary to make the trek. By the beginning of June, we believed that we were as ready as we could possibly be. I gave two weeks notice to my boss at the Calvert House Restaurant in College Park, MD and set my last day as just a day or two before my flight was due to leave. Surprisingly, I was more nervous about quitting my job waiting tables, the job that put me through college and kept me financially afloat, than I was about the idea of cycling across the country. My credit cards were near their limits and I knew that the mountain of debt would be waiting for me when I returned. Despite the bleak financial outlook, I decided for the first time in my life, to be purposely irresponsible and focus on the positives of the adventure that lie ahead. It was a real rush for me and I could feel the adrenaline flowing …

No great idea comes without obstacles ... A few days before our scheduled departure, my friend told me that he was backing out. I don’t remember what his reason was, but I do remember that there was no talking him out of it. My energy and enthusiasm were strained a bit but it did not change my mind. Even though I think he expected me to quit along with him and seemed surprised when I didn’t, I had come too far. And the idea of going back and begging for my job and giving up on what had become a dream was not an option. On July 15^th, 1990, I boarded a plane for Eugene, Oregon and never looked back. Upon landing, I assembled my bike in the airport, caught a ride to the nearest bicycle friendly road and started biking back home.

I bicycled across Oregon, down through Idaho, vertically through Utah, across the Rockies in Colorado and slid down the back of those amazing mountains into the plains of Kansas. You don’t make a lot of friends when you’re only in town for a night at a time and camping on the side of the road, but I saw beautiful things that made me realize how much this country has to offer. I was much stronger for the experience and it forced me to see life a lot differently. It was only just over a month on the road, but I had never felt so free in all of my life.

Unfortunately, the dream of finishing the trip was cut short. Very low on money, I was forced to borrow $500 from my father. The lethal blow that followed came when I lost virtually the entire amount after leaving my wallet at a country market somewhere in Kansas. With debt piling up and no chance of financing the remainder of the trip, I borrowed money for one more plane ticket and flew home. Having biked over 1600 miles, I had made it roughly half way across the country. After taking off, I looked out the window of the plane and made a promise to myself to finish what I had started one day,

 

Today …

I haven’t ridden a bike for any serious distance since that trip 23 years ago. My life changed once I started my career and family. These were good reasons to delay the finish, but the dream stilled nagged at me. The voice grew softer and the reminders less frequent over the decades, but the idea never completely quieted in the back of my mind. After 12 years of building a company from the ground up and selling it, I knew it was time to start the planning for the finish of my trip. 

Along with completing the journey, I thought that it would be a great way to raise money for an important cause. For that reason, I have partnered with the DeCesaris/Prout Cancer Foundation, a locally based foundation committed to finding the cure for lung and ovarian cancer.

 

Tomorrow …

Stay tuned for more on how you can donate to this great cause while tracking my journey from Topeka, KS to Davidsonville, MD.  Thank you advance for all of your encouragement and support. I know that it will be a big part of helping me get back home.

 

 

 

 

(Me in 1990, somewhere on top of the Cascade mountains .... with the Three Sisters Mountains in the background...)


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