So yesterday I was reminded of the reality of what I'm going to be doing - I realized that we are only 88 days away from our departure in San Diego. Only 88 days away from what will probably be the hardest thing I have ever done in my life and my family will be there with me to help me through it. Although many may look on this as just a middle aged guy checking off something on his "bucket list", its really much more than that. In the movie The Bucket List Morgan Freeman's character tells a story about how the ancient Egyptions believed at the entrance to heaven a person is asked two questions: "Have you found joy in your life?"; and, "Has your life brought joy to others?". Their responses determined if they would be allowed to enter heaven. Of course, he tells it much better (but then again, he IS Morgan Freeman);
And of course, part of the irony is that in this movie his character talks about the questions that would allow one to enter Heaven and in another movie he actually played God;
Yesterday I realized that both of these clips from Mr. Freeman's work are really appropriate for what my family and I are trying to accomplish this summer - we've prayered to be able to make a difference and we're hoping that God will provide us with this opportunity to do so. I have found so much joy in the health and happiness of my children and now I would like to have the opportunity to bring joy to others. Now could I do this by teaching at Sunrise for the summer? Yes, perhaps. But the chance to be able to make it possible for eight children to attend camp this summer, I think, is the best joy I could bring.
It doesn't matter that I have been looking forward to this for two years, that its something I knew I had to do ever since the 2,000 miles of the original Connor's Army mission. I reasoned back then that if I could ride 2,000 miles and raise over $10,000 then I should be able to ride 3,700+ miles and raise $50,000. So now, only 88 days out we find ourselves trying to get all the planning done and begin booking the accomodations we'll need upon the way. We're still working on adjusting the route in regard to where we stay as we find motel and hostel availability. We are hoping to connect with people we know along the way who might let us stay on their floor/couch/lounge chairs, whatever. For instance, we've adjusted the first day from 50 miles to 80 miles so we can actually stay in a place where we might have a chance to eat dinner.
Now don't get me wrong, we are not looking at this as a luxery vacation for the family that we can hide in the mantle of doing good for others. The whole point of this is to spend as little money as possible, especially since all the family's costs are coming out of our own pockets. And, the more we save, the more we can use those sponsorship monies as more funds to add to the monies we are trying to raise for Sunrise. If we can reach our fundraising goal AND add another couple of thousand dollars on top of that, it would be a dream come true. The more money we can raise for Sunrise the better. Its part of the reason that my daughter Sarah is using her thirteenth birthday as an opportunity to fundraise for Sunrise. She really feels that she wants to celebrate this important turning point in her life giving to others. Part of the way we want to reward her for what she is doing is that we are going to try to get to San Diego early enough so that we can spend her birthday at the San Diego Zoo. Its sort of a once in a lifetime opportunity for us to take her there so we've been saving up to take her before I start pedaling east on the 23rd.
With that in mind I'm still trying to work out the kinks on the bike. As you may know, I'm not spending money on a fancy bike to carry my butt across the country. I'm using a fifteen year old steel frame I dug out of the trash one day on a drive in to work. I've upgraded it as much as I have been able to afford using gift cards received at birthdays and holidays, buys on e-bay, parts I've cannibalized from road finds, and deals I've been able to get from my sponsors at Adams Cyclery of parts that have come off of other bikes as people have upgraded. I've got a little more tweaking to do but once I have everything dialed in I will get it tuned up at Adams and we're ready to go. I still need to fix the gearing a bit and I've just upgraded my saddle to one I had been using on my mountain bike (its got more padding for my tushy) so now I just need to ride.
And that's the next step of my planning is to get my fitness level up. I'm averaging 18 mph on a fifteen mile ride in to school and I can generally average 17.5 mph over a 30 mile course of rolling hills. Now if I can build on that over the break next week I may have a good solid core. And that's the difference between training for what I'm doing and training with the HBC guys on the weekend. I'd love to join them but many of them are really about hammering it out and basically making the rides a team time trial and I really need to get my body used to maintaining a steady 17 - 18 mph pace for longer distances than just 30 miles (which is when they usually stop). As we get closer to June 15 (my last day at school) I'll start taking the REALLY long way home and try to log in as close to 40 miles as I can. I'll have to work on climbing hills and trying to maintain a steady tempo up hills like this up Snake Hill Road in Lloyd Harbor, NY;
View Larger Map
Just follow it on up and check out the switch back that is oh, so much fun!!!!!!
Amy and I area also in the process of trying to get a few more sponsor to help us purchase supplies that we'll need for the journey - we're hoping someone can help us gather together the things we'll be needing (3 tires, 6 tubes, 6 spokes - three for each of the two types of wheels I'm taking, 4 derailleur cables, 4 brake cables, degreaser, a spare nine-speed chain, brake pads) basically the replacement parts that we'll be hauling with us (hence the need for a van and a support driver) in case I break down in the middle of nowhere.
But the closer we get to the event, the more excited and scared I get. My biggest fear is that my body will give out somewhere along the route and I'll feel as if I have let the kids of Sunrise down. My greatest hope is that this turns out to be a jounrey without problems and that I will find joy in it and bring joy to others at the same time. If I can manage to reach my goal and indeed raise $50,000 then I will feel that I have done some good in this life.
And now, since its been so long since I've actually posted a music video - this is the official video for a song that I plan on choreographing to for this year's Spring dance concert - Panic! At the Disco performing "The Ballad of Mona Lisa". And for those of you who are fans of the Steampunk look - enjoy!!!!!!
Stay well and I'll see you on the road!
