- "What lies behind one and what lies
-
- before one is not as important as
-
- what lies within."
-
- - Ralph Waldo Emerson
-
-
-
- Riding east on Route 155, we neared a pass
through the -Greenhorn Mountains of the Sierras. Flat terrain near Delano,-
California, gave way to peaks that cut the sky into wrinkled -shapes at
the horizon. Wildflowers bloomed along our route that -grew steeper with
every crank of the pedals.
-
- John, Mike, Kevin and I were on a cross continent
journey. -John, hailing from the coastal town of Kiama near Sydney, -Australia,
was a charmer. His voice and wit were the key to our having been invited
into three families' homes within the last -week. The night before, we
had sat in a restaurant devouring the -"all-you-can-eat" salad
bar, when a couple overheard John talking about the southern California
climate. Before we knew it, John, -who could be as charming as a Koala
bear on one of those airline -ads, had us invited into Larry and Valerie
Johnson's house for -the evening. Our hosts couldn't do enough for us,
and they loved to hear about our experiences. It's as if the price of
admission- was sharing our lives.
-
- Being invited into complete strangers' homes may seem
awkward, even unheard of by most travelers, but we'd been asked- into peoples'
homes often during our tours. It may be the- vulnerability of a bicycle
rider. People feel we're honest, -sometimes giving us the keys to their
homes and cars.
-
- On one tour, a man stopped me on the highway and invited
me to his home. He tossed me his house keys before driving off to a ball
game. When I arrived at his home a half-hour later, there -were two bags
of fruits and vegetables on the table and a note saying, "Help yourself."
-
- I'm not sure why people think a touring bicyclist is
trustworthy. Maybe they believe it takes depth of character for -someone
to pedal a bike for long distances--that someone who -earns every mile
with the hard work and sweat could not be -dishonest. Anyone with less
character would never be on the -bike, because it's not a free ride. It
takes guts to pound the -pedals mile after mile, mountain pass after mountain
pass. My legs burn and I'm always hungry. I'm soaked in sweat and I'm
-exhausted at the end of the day. It's not for those with weak -physical
resolve. Age makes no difference because I've met men -and women in their
seventies on world bicycle tours. It's their -attitude.
-
- Being asked into homes also has to do with a cheery -disposition
and the sparkle in their eyes as well as my own. -Some folks get a kick
out of living and they can spot it in others. They enjoy connecting with
another life-force person who -returns the energy. For that and other
reasons, I've enjoyed many memorable evenings in peoples' homes around
the world.
-
- But that day, the heat and the climb were getting to
me.- John was a ferocious climber. Mike stayed with him. Kevin and I
-followed them. From flats, to hills, to bigger hills, to mountains.
I pushed my bicycle into the Sierras. By the- afternoon, I had climbed
1,000, 2,000, 3,000 and was headed for-4,000 feet. Even with my 22 to
32 gearing, my legs took a -beating. The constant power strokes with no
rest kept my muscles -pumped and full of lactic acid. Kevin wasn't faring
much better. -The grade caused me to sweat profusely so I stopped to drink
-often. Each time, the cool afternoon air-dried me quickly. -Minutes later,
more sweat moistened the dried salt. Passing cars threw dust on me, which
locked onto the sweat. At the next water -stop, it dried again, leaving
me feeling like a mud covered dirt -ball.
-
- When I reached 5,000 feet, darkness crept over the- mountains.
A gray mist slipped down from the summit, cutting visibility. By that
time, we labored through tighter curves that -hugged the mountainside.
I was ready to call it quits.
-
- "John is probably at the top of the pass right now,"
I -grumbled.
-
- "I wouldn't doubt it," he said.
-
- "It's another 1,000 feet, but we'll have to do it
in the dark for the next half hour," I said. "I'm blown out right
now. -You wanna' keep riding?"
-
- "My knee is acting up," Kevin said.
"But I can do another -fifteen minutes."
-
- Kevin and I slipped our feet into the toeclips and shoved
our bikes into motion. We continued upward into the mist. Sweat-soaked
my shirt. A few minutes later, a car passed us going down-hill. I didn't
think much of it until the car swung around and slowed beside us. The
electric window slipped down.
-
- "Good evening mates," John Brown
said. "How would you boys -like a nice hot shower and dinner compliments
of my new friend -Ross?!"
-
- "Only if you promise never to drag me up a mountain
again,"- I said.
-
- "But you wouldn't be getting a hot shower,"
John said. "So -why would you be upset?"
-
- "Because you dragged us up this mountain all day
and I'm- gonna' die," I said.
-
- "If we hadn't gotten this far, we wouldn't have
met Ross and his nice shower," John said.
-
- "You're right John," Kevin broke in. "We'll
just bend your spokes after the shower!"
-
- "Fair enough boys," John said. "Follow
me another half -mile."
-
- "All the hot water you want too," Ross said
from the far- side of the car.
-
- "I'm gonna' live for it," I said as my body
continued -lathering up with mud-laden sweat.
-
- Ross and John drove away. I was weary and
caked with dust, -but the thought of a hot shower kept me going. I dreamed
about -it as I pedaled the last two miles up the dark, winding highway.
-Even though I was tired, that single thought kept me going. It seemed
to make the next fifteen minutes go faster, because I was -feeling the
soothing, hot droplets massage my skin. The cranking- seemed easier.
Kevin started talking about the shower. Sweating -like two horses and
steaming in the cool night air, we reached- the guest ranch sign John had
mentioned.
-
- Ross operated a summer kid's ranch. He gave
us kitchen privileges. He led us to a row of six showerheads.
-
- "Plenty of hot water," he said.
-
- "God," I said, "is going to
give you an A."
-
- John, Kevin, Mike and I slipped off our shoes and walked
-into the showers. After adjusting the temperature, we walked -under them
with our socks, shorts, shirts and gloves on. I've -never heard so much
groaning and laughing. Everyone soaped up.
-
- Hot water steamed over my aching muscles.
As the first rush -of water doused my head, it cascaded over my face and
streamed down my shoulders. I tore off my shirt and slapped it down on
the tile. I peeled off my socks and shorts. The water ran down -my body
in waves, taking away the dirt and grime. Soothing steam- filled my nostrils.
I grabbed a bar of soap and lathered up my -hair.
-
- The soap and water did more than clean me.
The whole day's -hardship vanished in moments. I was in the middle of
one of the -greatest showers of my life. I had felt so worn out coming
up -the mountain, but now I felt tingling in every cell. As I stood -there,
transformed in the spray, I was aware of my friends'- shouts at our good
fortune at having this hot shower at the end- of a tough day. From those
gut busting power cranks on the- pedals, to this ecstasy.
-
- My mind slipped back to when I read Aldous
Huxley's "BRAVE- NEW WORLD." The protagonist was born in a test
tube, and his -fellow human beings lived in a bubble-covered city, where-
everything was perfect. He broke out of the city into the forbidden zone,
which was a wilderness where he had to hunt for -his food and had to protect
himself from mosquitoes and animals. -His life was in his hands. He was
vulnerable to normal consequences of life. The "savage" said
he wanted to know love, -hurt, pain, joy, hunger, heat, cold....
-
- That book changed my life. I decided I didn't
want to be so comfortable that living became too easy. I didn't want to
go -from my air conditioned house to my climate controlled car to an office
complex where everyone wears the same suits and thinks the same way as
they claw their way up the corporate ladder with -accompanying stress levels
and ulcers. Too much comfort and- success kills the spirit. I wanted to
know the differences--because in the opposites, came perspective and appreciation.
I have never been a spectator. I can either live -life, or watch others
participate. The result of my decision -becomes more precious with each
passing year. Life sweeps along -swiftly enough without spending precious
hours and days on useless routine or inactivity. I've figured out many
answers to -life's problems while riding my bike. I've embraced life's
ups -and downs, even mosquitoes biting me. I don't put myself at -risk,
but neither do I want to become bored or work a job that doesn't enrich
me. In that mode, life would pass by mundanely. -In a twinkling, I would
be on my deathbed wondering where it all- went so fast.
-
- We have 70 odd years to fill up our lives, and I want
to -fill them up with the voluptuousness of living. Especially on a -touring
bicycle. It is being aware of pain, of joy, of potential -within myself--of
being excited for every leaf on a tree as it -flutters in the wind, or
watching a hawk rip down from the sky to -grab a mouse, or the delight
of discovering a ladybug on my leg -in the early spring, or gazing upon
a mountain as it pierces the- clouds.
-
- It leads me to a kind of rage too, which is the blood
-sister of love--because the people of this world make it a -charming,
insane, exciting and confusing place. I want to maintain the ability to
deal with them, with my mind, and -spirit--at full bore. To see is to
know, and to know is to fall in love with what is known.
-
- WHAT'S THIS?!? My shower just turned cold.
The hot water -ran out. I jumped back. The cold water shocked my skin.
My -four friends and I headed for the towels. We dried our bodies -and
gathered our belongings. It was time for dinner.
-
- The next day, we loaded our bikes with food
and water. -Within seconds, sweat glistened on our bodies. Was it a lot
of -hard work? Not really. It was another day of glorious adventure -across
America on two wheels.
-
- Have I made the right choice after reading
Huxley's book? -Is it worth the agony and sweat of climbing a 6,000-foot
pass or -one at 15,000 feet through a blizzard in Bolivia? You betcha!
I- want to fill up my life with living. Even when I'm home working- a
five-day week, I make every day a positive experience. Daily -life is
an adventure. Weekends are a grand adventure. Each- sustains the balance.
-
- One night, while sitting around a campfire, John and
I, both -being teachers, invented the A.B.C. Concept. It fit our -philosophies
for happy living. The message is a simple attitude -that anyone can choose
to follow. With any life activity, a -person can "go for it"
and enjoy it before/during/after. That's -the strategy of the ABC concept:
-
- A. AIM - Take aim on life like Terry Fox who
had cancer and -ran on one leg across Canada to attract attention to the
disease -before he died. Fight for what you believe in like David Brower
-or John Muir when they brought their environmental message to Americans
long before it was in vogue. Diane Fossey tried to save -the gorillas.
Ann Kanabe rode her bicycle trans Americas. -Anyone with a passion can
work toward fulfilling his or her dream.
-
- B. BUOYANCY - Stay buoyant in the troubled
waters of living. -Maintain motivation with a positive attitude. Keep
light hearted -against heavy odds. Lightness travels well and long. Bob
-Wieland, in his walking across America on his hands, epitomizes- buoyancy.
He didn't stop at that success either. Later, he -completed the Boston
Marathon.
-
- C. CELEBRATE - Jump up and shout about being
alive. -Celebrate life. Don't be afraid to be counted. Show your energy
-and excitement. Jump into a cold stream when you want a bath. -Laugh
at the hill you are about to climb. Remember that riding -through the
mountains is like a dance. Let the mountain lead and- you follow. Blow
up that special photograph and hang it on your -wall. Relish your excitement.
Reach beyond your boundaries. -Finally, you need not be afraid of failing,
for that fear can -prevent you from ever being fully alive. Failure can
lead to -success if you never give up. Winston Churchill said it best:
"Success is going from -failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm."
-
-
- Excerpt from: Bicycling Around the World: Tire Tracks
for Your Imagination by Frosty Wooldridge, copies available at 1 888 280
7715, www.frostywooldridge.com , www.amazon.com
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