Enjoying The Ride

Surreal. Exciting. Bittersweet.

These words describe the day on Friday when we locked our bikes together in the lower deck of the Alaska Marine Highway Ferry, walked up three flights of stairs, and staked our claim on two lounge chairs that will be home for the next three nights as the ferry weaves us through the Inner Passage to Juneau, AK. This ride marks the first time since January 10th that we have taken another form of transportation forward. Oh, we have been waiting for this day. But as excited as we were, we felt a twinge of sadness leaving Jenny and Ontwa, our bikes, in storage for the journey. This wasn't always the case though.

I remember days in New Mexico, bundling up in every layer of clothing I had and still freezing. We would hop into every gas station we passed to warm up in front of the hand dryers and with a hot cocoa.

I remember riding through two weeks of pouring rain. It was back in New England of all places. Of course, spring time in New England made us want so badly to forget the bikes.

And I remember flat #1. I remember flat #2. #3. #4..... all the way through flat #42. Oh, the frustrations.

But all year, we've been telling people that we are riding through all of the lower 48 states, self-supported. So for all of our wanting to leave the bikes behind, we kept riding.

On October 17, we crossed the border into Washington. We made it. We did bike through all of those states carrying all of our own gear.

There was a fleeting moment when we contemplated hitching a ride those last 150 miles to Seattle. After all, we completed what we had set out to accomplish. We could throw the bikes in the back of a pick-up and take a ride, right?  But we couldn't do it. We pushed that thought aside and pedaled on through more cloudy, cold days, until we reached Seattle in time for our presentations.

But even that wasn't the end of our journey. After all, we have been calling this the 50 State Tour. While we weren't planning on riding through the winter to Alaska, our plan was to take the Alaska Marine Highway Ferry to Juneau. But the ferry doesn't leave from Seattle, it leaves from Bellingham, 100 miles north. Again, we looked at each other, wondering if we would let ourselves take a ride to Bellingham, and again, we packed up the bikes and rode on.

Now, the bikes are relieved of their burden as we have finally chosen to strap them down while the ferry takes us North instead of our legs. Our panniers, hanging on our bikes, have been traded out for duffle bags, hanging off our shoulders. A hard, leather saddle has been swapped for a soft, comfy chair. 65 miles a day has been replaced by hundreds.

I sit here this morning, in the warmth of the ship, watching the morning fog roll off the mountains on both the starboard and port side of the ship. I have fallen in love with riding my bike, but I will always enjoy a ride.

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