From Doubt to Belief

May 2016 was a rough month... it rained a lot!

And I mean a lot! It rained 17 of the 31 days in May. That was 11 out of the first 2 weeks of the month! On average, we get 3.78 inches of rain in any given May. This year? 9.79 inches fell on RVA in May 2016.

All that rain made getting out on a bike and getting in my base miles very difficult. Consequently, I have been having some serious doubts about my plans for my Chicago to Seattle bike trip this summer. Will I be ready? Can I do it? Or should I even try?

But as I sit here and write this blog post in early June 2016, I am happy to report that I received a major boost to my (cycling) psyche last week.

I have been doing a lot of my training miles on the Virginia Capital Trail, locally called "Cap2Cap". A somewhat new 12-foot wide asphalt trail only for cyclists and pedestrians. In total, it is about 52 miles long going from Jamestown to Richmond and roughly follows the Scenic Route 5 corridor. In addition, the first ~36 mile section (from Jamestown to Willis Church Road) is part of Adventure Cycling Association's TransAmerica Trail bike route.

On Tuesday, 24 May while at my ~21 mile turn-around point at the entrance to Shirley Plantation on the Virginia Capital Trail, I spotted three cyclists riding west on Cap2Cap. They were carrying gear. When you see a cyclist with rear (and sometimes front) pannier bags, you know they are on the road doing some long distance cycling.

I very quickly caught up and hollered "Where ya headed to?" One guy answered... Astoria, Oregon. And Michael looked it too! Both rear and front pannier bags were loaded to the gills. As we rolled along and yakked, I learned the other two were a couple from the Saint Paul/Minneapolis, Minnesota area. They had all previous cycled across the US together and Sam & Laura were doing the Yorktown to Charlottesville, VA leg with Michael.

I proceeded to try and impress them with my cycling travel exploits. And just as they were getting ready to leave the Cap2Cap Trail (and me!) to find their overnight lodging at a local church, I invited them to instead spend the night at our home. It unfortunately meant an additional ~15 miles for them to get to our house... but they were game!

I then texted Bunny and gave her a heads up... she is one accepting person. BTW, not the first time I have pulled this stunt!!

So... we spent the evening telling bike stories. They got out their maps to show me their route. Having already previously cycled the Northern Tier they already knew my upcoming route and they had a lot of feedback/suggestions/tips to offer.

The most important piece of advice I got was to give myself more time to get throughout the Cascade Mountains east of Seattle. There are numerous 5,000+ foot summits I need to cross to get past them. Enough said.

I mean it doesn't get much better than this for a long distance cyclist. Food, a hot shower, a roof over their head, and company to tell cycling "war" stories with!!!

But for me, on this evening, at this time, and maybe more importantly, they were confident that I could do my bike trip this summer! And that meant a lot coming from these guys! It was just what I needed! We talked until late at night.

Michael is blogging his way across the US and had tons of technology to charge up that night. No wonder his gear weighs in at 80 pounds!!!

The next morning, I made up a batch of pancakes for everyone. A great meal before hitting the road on your bike! Michael needed to catch up on his blog, so Sam & Laura and I with both Vera & Woz walked to see some of the 'hood. About mid-day, they loaded up in the backyard. See Woz getting the zoomies below.

And then we headed out together. Note that I am not carrying anything! Nothing! Nada! Ziltch! Bubkas! I am wearing my Israel Guide Dog Center for the Blind cycling shirt. More on that at some other time!

(From L to R: Sam, Me, Michael, and Laura. I am wearing my favorite Israel Guide Dog Center for the Blind Can Velo

jersey. Can Velo is a play on words... "Can" is yes, "ve" is and, & "lo" is no in Hebrew!!)

I got them back on the TransAmerica Trail north of Richmond in Ashland, VA and rode a total of about ~25 miles with them. Then it was time to say goodbye and head back home. My heart was heavy saying goodbye.

I think their is a kindred spirit among cyclists in general, and long distance cyclists in particular. I was sad to see them go. Jealous of their impending journey, but I knew I had my journey ahead of me as well.

And now, I was starting to believe-- even without all the training I should do-- I too could complete my trip in less than 2 months!

Michael recently uploaded this video of our cycling trip together out of RVA north to Ashland. Enjoy!

UPDATE ON 21 JUNE 2016:

I have only been out on my bike twice in the last 2+ weeks. Got some sinus/cough/upper respiratory crap that I have been fighting. All the positive feelings I got from Michael/Sam/Laura's visit are long gone...

We leave in less than 3 weeks now with our updated departure date. Guess I will be getting in shape on the road... Good thing the first thousand miles or so are kinda flat!!