BUCK O. writes:
The Friday of Memorial Weekend, my cousin and I were doing burgers and beer at our local Ale House. A young woman (we’re guessing about age 25) came in and sat two stools to my left. She just happened onto our ale house after peddling her trusty bicycle north out of Washington DC, on her very round-about way to a wedding in Boston. She lives in Portland, Oregon, but began her cycling trek in San Diego, California at the end of March – alone. She would log mile 4,000 the next day. She hit 5,000 miles last week via northern Maine.
I asked the obvious questions, resisting the most penetrating ones. Then, the most obvious question: “Where are you sleeping tonight?”
“I don’t know yet.”
“Well, I live two miles down the road, and have a guest bedroom. You’re welcome to stay. Here’s the address and directions.”
She’s there, waiting in the dark on the car port when we got home. I’d called my neighbor to keep an eye out for her. She joined us as we got there. I showed her the room and asked if she wanted to shower. Later, I thought her wise to say no thanks (even though she had to want one). At least she wasn’t going to get naked in a strange house with two strange men. At least.
Now, anyone could tell that my cousin and I are harmless, but seriously. How many times would she have to be wrong?
She drank another pint at the bar, then had a couple vodkas with my cousin. We talked for a while, then we called it a night. In the morning the three of us went to our local breakfast joint. She
carb-loaded again,
she could eat. My cousin and I were going kayaking. She was peddling 100 miles or so to Philadelphia to see a friend. We dropped her off on a rural back-road. We hugged her and wished her well. She snapped a photo of the three of us with her
Iphone. When I got back to the house, four hours later, I logged on to her
web site and linked to her blog. There it was – already – the photo of the three of us and a short blog entry about meeting “two hilarious cousins named Buck.”
I “
friended” her on F
acebook and followed on
her blog. I’ve thought about all of the risky situations – so many that can’t be avoided, even with the best of planning – that, I find it remarkable what she’s done, and ironic how her trip ended, just off the coast of the other Portland, in Maine.
I realized that I would probably have insisted that she stay the night in my home, unless she assured me that she was staying in another safe place. She’s the same age as my son’s girlfriend. I’m not sure what to think about this. She has obvious survival skills and perhaps has exceptional people radar. But, I hitchhiked a lot in the late sixties, and all around Europe in 71′. Things happen. Bad people happen. I was a very fit and capable guy just out of the Marine Corps. She could be a martial arts expert, I don’t know. She certainly is fit. But, really, sleeping in cemeteries and hidden in the trees, and cycling through various no-go zones?
Again, she survived, even if her bicycle didn’t, and her trip is over. Now, she’s landed her short-term dream job – her next adventure – working as kitchen help somewhere in Antarctica.
Laura writes:
Alexis De Tocqueville admired the freedom of American women to move around unescorted without shame or fear of harm.
But that was a different day.
I admire this woman’s initiative and energy. But the freedom Tocqueville praised in American women has become sheer obliviousness. This woman got to where she was going safely. Others with the same fearlessness do not, such as
Sabina Rose O’Donnell, who bicycled home from a night out last year in Philadelphia and did not make it. I dislike the way the woman you met is
promoting recklessness.
— Comments —
Scott writes:
Your story about the cyclist reminded me of another story, the woman who planned to hitchhike across Turkey in a wedding dress. It did not turn out so well for her.
Roger writes:
This is off topic, but since we are dealing with a matter of cycling, I want to say that riding a tandem bicycle is just more fun than anything. It’s the only form of socialism that’s not stupid.
For a husband and wife who ride together, it’s absolutely silly to use separate bicycles. On a tandem you can talk to each other, and there’s no issue about one rider being too fast for the other. And with two engines on one bicycle, you go a lot farther and faster.
Tandems are expensive. But if cycling is what you do, then the money is well spent.
And multiday touring on the tandem is the best vacation ever. I prefer what is called “credit card” touring – this is for sissies who don’t want to carry a lot of gear, camp out, do without toilets and showers, etc. On a credit card tour, you stay at a hotels, motels, bed-and-breakfasts, etc. Even on a long tour, you can get away with carrying one or two extra sets each of cycling and walk-around clothes – just wash stuff each night in the motel sink, or (wherever possible) a laundromat. You can spread the wet clothes on your panniers to finish drying while you ride.
Riding a tandem is no acrobatic feat. There are jut a few easy and extra things to learn.
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