Summer, ’09 Anacortes to Bar Harbor Bicycle Trip
Monday, May 26
Why do it? Every man’s question. “You’re crazy - lost your mind or what”? “I envy you; wish I could go, I admire what you‘re doing.” A bell-shaped curve it is, like all things. Some like it at home, some like it hot. What’s in a word, an idea, an actuality? - a ride across the nation on a bicycle, a rear wheel in the Pacific, to a front wheel in the Atlantic; with just 4300 miles in between? No pioneers are we though, as our path has been well beaten by many before, following the northern tier map of the Adventure Cycling Association. Still, when it’s you turning the crank, it has the strong certainty of brave new ground.
Point A, Anacortes, Washington. Last meal downtown at Calico Restaurant with well wishers, excitement, sadness, trepidation, curiosity, self doubts; a full meal if any is.
We peddle with 65 pounds of gear, one buggy and an illusion of self-sufficiency. We have ahead of us an undeniable reality, much of which is uphill.
Our goal is Bar Harbor, Maine, by September 1. We should be able to walk there by then and with the world’s most efficient machine to propel us, should be a lark - provided of course, we don’t come to our senses, get struck by a speeding virus or a log truck.
We intend to camp and feed ourselves except for the occasional restaurant stop. We have an expectation of fellow travelers on these high seas, people equally drawn to whatever this means to them.
My companion is David Tisdale, someone who has shared bicycle and boat paddling adventures with me for 36 years and is none the wiser than I as a result. My intent is to shift as much weight into his buggy while he sleeps as I can, and he will do likewise. That’s what friends are for.
Pat Sewell
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