"We live in a wonderful world that is full
of beauty, charm, and adventure. There is no
end to the adventures we can have if we only
seek them with our eyes open."
Jawaharlal Nehru
And so it is finally here, this moment that I have been waiting for, longing for: the Alaska trip. When I first retired, I wanted to do this bicycle trip, but a friend who is not so into bicycling talked me into another Alaska trip that involved less bicycling, more hiking, and some kayaking. The Pandemic stole that trip, and everything was put on hold. Until now.
I decide that rather than the multi-adventure, I want to do the bicycle trip though I wonder if I have bitten off more than I can chew. I originally intended to do this ride when I retired. Then it changed to the multi-sport and back. I am so glad it did not destroy a friendship that I treasure, but my time of doing this type of thing thins with the passing of each year. I don't want life to slip through my fingers. I want to grab it and suck the juice out of every bite so that at the end, I don't have so many “I wish I hads” to deal with. Interestingly, this idea comes up at one point during the tour, that regrets at the end of life tend to be those risks and adventures we did not pursue. I chose Alaska, in part, because my husband wished he were in good enough health for us to move there, and he will haunt me on and off the entire trip.
Having, unfortunately, been with so many family members as their ends drew near, I know that this is something that haunts people, along with past unresolved hurts received and dealt. How fragile is human understanding. Last night as I lay in bed, I read one of the few diary entries my mother left me and realized that age has brought me so much more empathy for the things life threw at her. From her I draw my strengths on the whole. Unfortunately, from my father I inherited mostly cowardice. But perhaps age will help return him to me by growing understandings, this man who divorced and discarded his family as if they were an old, bothersome pair of socks.
But enough of that, I am on a plane with my friend, Dave, whose friendship I treasure and who has been my companion on my last two Scotland adventures. I dearly hope this one is as memorable and as pleasant as those. I realize how lucky I am to have someone willing to go along on these trips for I don't think they would be nearly as enjoyable without him. Over the years, with thousands of bicycle miles together, he has become someone whose friendship I dearly cherish.
I have been assiduously preparing for this trip and being Co-Director of the Tour de Mad Dog this year has helped as I have felt obligated to ride the centuries even on those hot days when it would have been easy to talk myself into stayin home under the air conditioner or riding a shorter, less demanding route. And there have been routes that have tested my endurance and courage. I am indebted to those who have captained these rides and to Bob Grable who has ridden with me on most of them because age has robbed me of speed. It is nice to have a road companion that one really likes, who reads and is able to tell me about books. I miss Bill Pustow's companionship in so many ways, and that is one of them. Bill always was in the middle of an interesting book that he would tell me about. I am, I suppose, as my father once noted, essentially a dreamer. I love stories.
I also am grateful to Jon Wineland who is always willing to share an adventure and a century whether it “counts” or not. We have shared two back to back century rides this year in preparation, though the first was not nearly so demanding as the TMD overnight to French Lick. The first involved a lack of fuel at Story and the fact that once I discovered there was to be no lunch until eighty miles or so into the ride, a lack of joviality on my part.
Anyway, I feel as ready to face the adventure of riding from Anchorage to Fairbanks and back averaging seventy to seventy five miles per day as I can be. I have gotten a bit faster, and my endurance seems to be okay. I did expect Delta to provide a meal on a trip this long. And I suppose they did: if you want to pay for it. The only free thing anymore is snacks and drinks. My body already aches for fruits and vegetables but I suspect they will be available on our adventure.
I am tired. I have not slept well this week and getting up at 2:30 A.M. This morning to get to the airport in a timely manner did not help. Plus there will be the adjustment to the four hour time difference. But fingers crossed that I have not bitten off more than I can chew. Dave says the twenty mile climb is either the last or next to last day so fingers crossed that I remember it just means pushing down one foot after the other. Regardless, it will be an adventure, and I excitement pierces my tiredness.
(Dave at the airport)
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