36 States In! We Can Finally Name Our Bikes.

The Naming of the Bikes.

It's about time.

We've biked over 7,000 miles and into 36 states. We've ridden over mountains, across deserts, and through city streets. We've suffered through rain, hail, snow, and heat. We've traversed over smooth blacktop, muddy trails, and unpaved roads. We've spent months fighting the wind. We've dealt with knee pain and sore bottoms. We've fixed 38 flats, gone through 3 sets of tires, and are on our 2nd saddles.

A lot has happened in five 1/2 months and I think it's time our bikes have names.

But I've never done this before and it feels a little weird. I have never understood giving a materialistic thing a name. Adam has named his boats in the past, but besides stuffed animals, I haven't given any of my possessions a name.

So as we prepared and began our 12,000 mile journey through all 50 states, our bikes remained nameless.

Back in February, I wrote about breaking the rear derailleur hanger on my bike in Oklahoma. It was at that moment, when I realized I would go nowhere without my bike, that I considered the connection I had made with it and how far it had already taken me after just a month on the road.

But even then, I wasn't ready to give my bike a name.

Lately, though, I've been giving a lot of thought to the places we've been this year, the situations we've encountered, and the people we've met. The other day, we rode with a newly engaged couple who was doing a two week tour of Wisconsin. Only a week and 1/2 of the tour and their bikes had already been given names!! The Quick (this was the wording on Amanda's bike) and The Mobster (Nick's bike was all black). Why was it so easy for them but still so difficult for me?

I think it was the latest video we posted that really got me thinking. In the video, we showed every one of our state line dances and the first time Adam showed it to me, I cried.

Everything we've experienced this year happened because our bikes brought us there. So I began to think about names for my bike and after a few days, I was pretty sure I had settled on Graceland. I mentioned it to Adam, but could immediately sense his dissatisfaction with the name I had chosen. I wasn't surprised, I felt the same way but had nothing else.

Of course, within minutes, Adam came up with four possible names for our bikes, all more meaningful and better suited than Graceland: Alexa, Jenny, Falcor, and Ontwa.

Here's why these names rock.

Alexa: This comes from the Billy Joel song, "Downeaster Alexa" which my dad always plays for us when we see him perform at Ballous or Penny Lane Pub when we're home. Always reminds us of adventure traveling.

Jenny: Named after Jenny from Forrest Gump. I can't tell you how many times I've heard Forrest Gump references on this trip. "From that moment on, if I was going somewhere, I was (biking)." Or, "Me and Jenny goes together like peas and carrots."

Falcor: The giant white dog-looking dragon in The NeverEnding Story. Pretty fantastic!

Ontwa: After passing three signs in a row reading, in order, "Adamsville," "Christina Lake," (my full name is Christina), and "Juno Lake," (our dog's name is Juneau), we decided it was a sign that we had to name our first child whatever the next sign read.

Ontwa.

Hmmm. I guess if we name one of our bikes Ontwa, we escape the responsibility of naming any children this. We've let these names marinate in our heads for the past week, hoping by now one would feel better than another and we're pretty sure we've made our decision, but we wanted to see what others thought first.

I guess I'm still a little unsure of this whole process. I think after this long, our bikes deserve a name. Has anyone else named their bike? What other things have you named? Chime in and tell us your thoughts on our names.

Christy and Adam are currently in Minnesota. To find out more, check out their blog at http://giveabike.blogspot.com/ or their Facebook Page at https:/ /www.facebook.com/giveabike. To see where they are, you can check out this map at Track My Tour. Christy will be writing occasional stories for Patch as she and her husband make their way through the U.S.

Madison Patch is proud to be the Connecticut sponsor for Adam and Christy's trip. If you'd like to sponsor their trip, visit this page on their website.