Honeymoon Over?

Honeymoon Over?

Road trips with my kids in the past sometimes felt similar to taking care of patients in the ER with head injuries. Sometimes, when someone takes a hit to the head, they perseverate. That is, they say the same thing over and over, often as a question like, “What happened?” I’m not saying that riding with three partners is like getting hit on the head. Rather, it’s more like having the results of a hit to the head. I hear a lot of repetitive questions, just like my past family road trips: “How much further?”

Riding thousands of miles alone, I never heard this question. Even in my own mind, I rarely asked it because it just made it harder to keep going. So, hearing it every few minutes—perhaps a slight exaggeration—is a new experience and one perhaps not welcomed. However, I figured out a way to make answering the question more fun. I tore up a piece of paper into several one-inch squares. On each of the squares, I put a random number. When Ridge asks how much further, I reach in the bag and pull out any number to hand to him. It’s better than Bingo on a bike.

Ridge and Caleb are great to have along for the ride, despite their perseverating :-). Last night after our ride and dinner, we debriefed in the dining room of our really nice bed and breakfast. We reviewed how we did with the three goals. It was fun for all of us to go back over the day and think about whom we’d make smile, what we learned from engaging with people we don’t know, and how we had helped. They’re doing a great job of completing the three goals.

BTW, the most interesting engagement yesterday was with the valet at our hotel. He was a Pittsburgh native and had been involved with some form of parking for 40 years. He had a wealth of knowledge about the city. But my favorite part was when he told me about his dream to retire to Florida soon. It was fun to see the excitement on his face talking about Florida after an obviously long and likely austere life.

This morning the day started early for me, but then I had to wake everyone for breakfast. Breakfast was provided next door on a patio. It was actually cool enough outside that we pulled on our vests and jackets. It was a beautiful morning, and the breakfast was very good.

After breakfast, we did a thorough check of the house for no residual items. Yesterday we failed to do this, and a pair of Caleb’s flip-flops remained at the hotel in Pittsburgh. Fortunately, or unfortunately, our planes, trains, and automobiles saga continues with Mike taking an Uber back to the Pittsburgh airport where his bike finally arrived. Lucky for Caleb, since the flip-flops were his dad’s, Mike was not able to retrieve them, but we won’t make that mistake again. Thankfully, he was able to retrieve his bike and get it put together on the porch.

Everyone hates me here”. Caleb is feeling a little picked on apparently . That was what he said this morning. Greg, Mike’s new best friend, has been very helpful in getting him a bike yesterday and then picking up his bicycle shipping bag to take to DC for him. Once Mike was back this morning, Greg isited with us while  Mike put his bike together. At one point he was helping Caleb get the rental bike unlocked and as Caleb struggled he finally said, come on we’re not splitting atoms here. Mike was already a little pissed at Caleb because as part of Mike’s trip to the airport he had diverted to the hotel in hopes of finding the lost flip flops. Allegedly, after Mike wasted significant time driving there and trying to find them, it was revealed that the housekeeper had thrown them away. As Greg and his wisdom noted, since when would someone in housekeeping throw anything away that a client left behind.

Shockingly, we got away “early” today compared to the day before. We were on the trail by 1:00 p.m.. We didn’t have a great distance to go, just 42 miles, so we were able to get it all done before dark.

Riding with people is definitely a new experience for me. In our first 10 miles on the trail I think we stopped six times. It was for everything from tightening a seat to taking a leak. By the end of the day we’d only averaged about 6 mph with all the time spent stopping.

We ended in the town of Ohiopyle. It is a beautiful little town with a lovely River flowing nearby. It is very touristy, but still pleasant. After dinner at the local restaurant that serves the same stuff as every small town in america, burgers and fries, we went home and debriefed.

First we had a lot of laughs. It’s really fun to be with grandsons and a brother. I know I complain about their complaining, but I guess that makes us all equal. In the end, despite the sophomoric humor –ie farts and belches — associated with teenagers, we all sort of get each other and it makes it fun to poke fun but never maliciously.

Debrief of the three questions was really good. All of us have been very diligent in trying to accomplish our three goals. Making people smile is just old hat now especially on the trail. Engaging conversations is becoming commonplace. Today we talked with people from North carolina, local people, and boston. The most interesting one was a man who had lost a leg recently and was out with his friend on a e tricycle getting down the trail and fishing together. It was inspiring and we told him so. However, we’re still working to find more opportunities to help.

All in all an incredibly beautiful ride and day.