The possibility of riding across America is very real. We wouldn't depart for at least 11 months but it seems that planning must begin soon. The first thing to do is to confirm who is going and for how long. I, no doubt, will be riding the whole way. And I will not be riding alone so my ability to pursue this is wholly dependent on the interest of others. Here is the potential crew:
Joyce: My best friend from college, who currently resides in Boulder, CO, where she is working on her masters in Environmental Engineering. We decided we wanted to bike across America together and that we would do it in 2012. We're still on track to make that happen. She will graduate in late May but prefers to start later in the summer so that we won't be doing the whole thing during the hottest part of the year.
Sandy: My dad, the original bike commuter in our family. He has [imaginary] experience riding across America, Europe, and Africa. He is retired but will be the chair of the board at our church next year so the timing is not ideal for him.
Betsy: My mom, the slow and steady bicyclist of the family who was the first to ride Ragbrai and the one to get us all back into it in 2007. She will still have a job next summer so will need to see about working pat-time from the road for a few months. She is the most organized person I know and loves to plan these things. So having her along would be a logistical dream.
Nathan: My brother. He is not into long distance cycling. He rides a fixie around Baltimore and he is pretty good shape given all the cigarettes he smokes. His role would be to drive the sag wagon and carry all of our stuff. And maybe bike some. At this point, he is probably the least committed. He may start grad school in the Fall of 2012 so his availability would be something like June-August.
Ingrid: My other best friend who currently lives in DC. She has a lot going on right now, including working a full time job and going to school to become a nutritionist so she wouldn't be able to ride the whole time but wants to do one or more sections of it.
Joshua: My boyfriend. There is no way in hell he is going to take 3 months off work and ride his bike 3,000+ miles across the country. He wants to continue his career, needs to hold down the fort in DC, and simply doesn't like biking enough. The big draw for him is the scenery and the photographer's heaven we would be exploring. So he may be interested in flying out and joining us for a week or several on a bike or in the car.
And there is me, of course. I need to see about taking a leave of absence from work but it is way too early for that now. I have no idea if this is even a possibility. I need to save enough money to pay rent for three months. And to pay for all the expenses along the way.
Right now, that is all. And I don't think we want it to be too big. Nor do we want it to be too small. Everything is up in the air but it's exciting that way... the possibilities are endless.
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