Jesse Joins the Party

Michelle had finally convinced me to join the merry band of brothers and sisters on their southerly ride down the European continent.  But it took awhile for me to finally say "yes."

Part of my hedging my bet was a series of early rides to see what kind of shape I was in.  Spoiler alert:  Not very!  I hadn't done any serious riding this past year, spending more time on the tennis courts instead of on the road.  And, truthfully, I just wasn't feeling much like doing another long ride.

But Michelle was persistent and eventually wore me down.  That and the fact that, as I started taking the idea of potentially doing a long ride again more seriously, I was doing longer and harder training rides to get to the point where I finally felt comfortable with the idea.

It was around that time when I finally committed to doing the ride that I had a conversation with my son Jesse.  As we talked about current life and things to come, the topic of the European bike trip came up.  Jesse's first reaction was, "Wow, that sounds great Dad!  Can I come along?"

Halle, Jesse, Samantha and yours truly.

I always love doing things with my kids, whether it's a night in the City taking in the latest Shakespeare-in-the-Park play in Central Park or doing a cross-country road trip.  So my initial reaction should have been, "Yes, I'd love you to join me!" Instead, it came out more as, "Jess, I'd love you to join me in this ride, but are you prepared to ride 75+ miles each day for over three weeks? And, especially while you are running your college-prep program for foster kids all summer long?  When will you have time to train?"

The silence at the other end of the phone betrayed his answer.  But, Jesse being Jesse, he had a totally different solution to the situation that I hadn't anticipated.  "Well Dad, what are you doing for a SAG (Support and Gear) van?  Who's going to drive that?  Couldn't I join you by doing that?"  [Jesse knew about the SAG vans from all my previous cross-country rides in which there have been two vans supporting all the riders; one to carry spare equipment and all our luggage, the other to carry water, snacks, sunscreen, etc. for all our pit stops along each day's ride route.]

A typical ABB SAG van with luggage/equipment trailer.  Our BMW "SAG van" will be much smaller.

I went on to explain that, not only were we going to be riding at least 75 miles each day, we were also doing this as a self-supported ride.  In other words, we were going to be carrying our own clothes, gear, etc. We had all agreed that we'd be riding touring bikes, built heavier and usually steel-framed as opposed to our standard carbon-fiber framed road bikes.  Each touring bike comes standard with extra gearing to allow for greater maneuverability for uphill climbs and into the winds, and has a strong frame to support panniers, those saddle bags that straddle the front and back wheels of a bike.

Again, Jesse came back with a quick reply.  "Well, wouldn't you all much prefer to have someone following you with all your bags?  I'd be happy to do that."

The idea of not having to buy a touring bike and, rather, allowing us all to us our regular road bikes was way too inviting to pass up.  Equally, was the idea of having Jesse being able to join me on this summer adventure.  I shot off a quick text to my fellow riders about the idea.  In no time at all, I got all their replies.  It was unanimous.  We would rent a van and Jesse would be our support system along the ride.

Fast forward a few weeks and James, our host and initiator of this bike tour, decided it would just be easier for us to use his BMW X5 SUV instead of renting a van in the UK and dropping it off in Portugal.  Throw a couple of bike racks on top of the car and we're set.  Jesse has confirmed his driving license is valid in the UK and Europe and insurance is covered as well.

So while the riders will all be arriving in Manchester in the next couple of days and we'll be focused on re-assembling our bikes and doing some short rides around the countryside to ensure everything's in working order, Jesse will be taking driving lessons with James to ensure that he's totally up to speed, so to speak, on driving from the opposite side of the car on the opposite side of the road.  I told him I'm giving him a bunch of post-it notes to stick on the dashboard as reminders, while we're in England, to enter each roundabout from the left, NOT the right!

Tomorrow, Jesse and I fly out to Manchester.  In the meantime, I've got to pick up my boxed bike from the shop, get cash and run the last of a couple of errands.

More in the days to come.

Checklists and Packing: Two days and counting

"Welcome back my friends to the show that never ends.  We're so glad you could attend, come inside, come inside." (Karn Evil 9, from Emerson, Lake & Palmer's album Brain Salad Surgery ....way too many years ago.)

For those veteran readers of previous trips, glad you're back.  To those new to my cycling missives, a warm welcome.

There are days when these blog posts will be technicolor travelogues of my cycling adventures.  Other days, they might be ramblings on the state of the nation, of politics, or just stream of consciousness blathering.  Ya never know what's going to come out of my mind.  But, then again, that's half the fun!

So sit back, relax, brew of cup of your favorite tea or coffee, or crack open a beer or pour yourself a glass of wine and read on dear friends.

Laid out all my clothes, gear and essentials.  Now the trick will be to get all of that into one medium-sized suitcase.

A bit of background for you folks as this isn't one of my normal "let's travel across some part of America that I haven't seen before" rides.  How is it that I'm riding through much of Western Europe and the UK (long before the Brexiteers decided to push for their "Leave the EU" referendum, I can still remember my Aunt Dorie, born and bred and British to the core, remonstrating me when I was seven or eight years old, reminding me that the UK was definitely NOT part of Europe!)?

As many of you will recall, I've done a number of shorter AIDS, MS or diabetes rides around various parts of the country; fundraising rides usually between 3-6 days in duration and between 180-500 miles in length.  More recently, I've done a series of rides, run by America By Bicycle, that have included riding up the Mississippi River from New Orleans to Minneapolis, riding across the country from San Francisco to Portsmouth, New Hampshire and, most recently, riding down the Atlantic Coast, from Maine to South Carolina (owing to both work requirements and an impending hurricane, the trip would have gone on to Florida).

On those last three rides, I've had to pleasure to know and ride and become friends with three of the ride leaders, Gene and Jane Emborsky and Michelle Sahli.  Michelle, who used to live locally in the metro NYC area and I have gone on to ride the New York City Century together before she moved to Flint, Michigan to accept a professorship in epidemiology from the University of Michigan.

Michelle, Jane, Me and Gene.  My buds for the past three rides.  Never have I met more dedicated and fun people to ride with and to be led on such adventures.

[And, lest anyone think these folks aren't in cycling shape, know this.. those three are just coming off finishing up leading their most recent cross country -- 3300+ miles trip!  I happened to be nearby up in Vermont doing my last days of hill training -- a paltry 600+ miles of training in all -- when I stopped by the motel of their third-to-last day in Latham, New York to say "hi."]

Michelle, Gene and Jane, in turn, also befriended one of the riders on those cross-country adventures, James Kemp, who happens to live in the UK.  James, it turns out, also has a home in the Algarve in Portugal and, being the crazed cyclist that he is, decided one year to ride from one home to the other. James then mapped out his ride and, over time, has convinced his fellow ABB riders to join him in another go at that trip.  Michelle, being the ride leader that she's been for a number of years on ABB bike tours, started rounding up additional suspects to join in this party.  That's where I came in.  Michelle, through texts, e-mails, phone calls and drinks when we got together in person, finally cajoled me into doing this ride.

So here I am.  Stay tuned.  More to follow.