Desserts and Other Carrots Along the Way

The team hit 3000 miles this week, which was memorialized with a picture on Blue Mountain Lake.

I’m short of the 3000 mark because I’ve had to take some days off while catching up on conditioning, but Cath and Robbo were kind enough to let me stand in at the 3000 mile mark. “So, what keeps us going each day” is a question I get a lot. It’s hard to say that it’s any one thing but getting this close to the end of the ride, I’d have to say the feeling of accomplishment every day, with the big goal of reaching the Atlantic looming large are huge motivators. The little things are also important. Personally, I become a better cyclist each day because I’m out there with two of the best I know. I have learned more in the 50 plus days than most cyclist learn in years of riding as a team. The best example is shifting gears. This may seem like a pretty simple skill, but If you don’t know how to shift well, then you just can’t climb.

I’ve joked that I’m sacrificing one chain (at least) and a set of gears as I learn. Shifting errors are the worst sound imaginable and Cathy and Robbo have heard my gears and chain crunch a lot!!! I will never forget how patient they’ve been with me. A few of the the fun carrots for us at the end of a ride are: ice cream, desserts at dinner,

dill pickles, mixed nuts, muscle milk, breadless sandwiches in the RV (fuel). The IPA’s that we get to try in the different states have also been fun and rather amusing. If you’ve seen the movie “Fargo,” then you’ll appreciate the North Dakota IPA “Wood Chipper.” One of Robbo’s favorites is “Arrogant Bastard.”

I’m sure as we ride our final days towards the Atlantic, there will be more delights. We will never forget these experiences. 

- John “Tex” Traeger