The day started off with an interview first thing in the morning from our hotel parking lot with Kevin Rivoli from The Citizen. I enjoyed talking with Kevin, which is saying something, because I’m not my usual charming self in the early morning. This worked out well since our hotel was the starting point of the day. I think we all felt refreshed after a short day yesterday and I finally managed to get a full night’s sleep. It’s a moving day, so Edwin and my mom packed all our gear and Edwin headed off to our next Airbnb. And my mom prepared for her day as course support.
We began the ride on Highway 31, then had a brief stint on the trail before getting back on the highway for a little over a dozen miles. Halfway through the stretch of highway was an inviting farm stand that we couldn’t resist visiting. We spent some time there talking to a very nice woman running the stand and drooled over all the fresh baked goods for sale. We bought quite a few of the baked goods, including some oatmeal raisin cookies which turned out to be hella delicious. We did see a red tail hawk near the farm stand which we haven’t seen many of. I see so many of them on the Olympic Peninsula and have missed their presence. Highway 31 has a very large shoulder with pretty quiet traffic, which allowed us to ride side-by-side and chat.
The miles were going by fast since there weren’t many turns and navigation was hella easy. Before we knew it, we were just a few miles from the town of Clyde, which we were all looking forward to. The Clyde Visitor Center had reached out to us and asked if I’d be the “Y” in Clyde. What a bitchin idea. I knew I was growing these dreads for a reason. They have finally paid off. Approaching the town, we were finally able to turn off the highway and get back on a trail for the last stretch before town. Waiting for us as we turned off the highway were two local cyclists who greeted us and rode with us to the visitor center. The two cyclist who rode with us had a personal reason to come meet us. They’re the mother and grandfather of a recently injured young man. They were hoping their son/grandson would join them, but he wasn’t comfortable coming out to meet us. My mom was able to talk to the mom and although I didn’t hear their conversation I’m certain my mom was able to help, if even just a little. As they left I did hear my mom tell her “you got this.”
We had a blast at the visitor center. We met some great people. Bob Barnes who seemed to be the head honcho at the center was so welcoming and supportive of what we are doing. Bob is an avid touring cyclist himself, so Dr. B. and Bob nerded out about bike tours they had each done. Bob once rode what he coined the “Great American Triple Switchback” which covered 16,661 miles and touched all 50 state capitals as well as Washington DC in 359 days. Go Bob! Among the others at the visitor center was another Bob, Bob Stopper. Bob Stopper is a walking encyclopedia on the history of the area. We enjoyed hearing stories about the area and other stories from Bob’s past. He’s one of those gems you’ll only find if you take the time to travel through small towns in what most people would call “the middle of nowhere.”
As much fun as we were having, and as groovy as it was to meet the Bobs and the others we had to get on our way. Dennis, a local cyclist, escorted us through the city streets to make sure we didn’t get lost. We do look like the type of people to get lost. Once he felt we could handle it on our own he pointed us in the right direction and wished us luck. Shortly after we were met by Frank and Mary, two cyclists from the next town over, Lyons.
Even though they didn’t ask I told them right away I couldn’t be the “Y” in Lyons. I felt like I’d be cheating on my new friends from Clyde. It turns out the towns of Clyde and Lyons have a bit of a rivalry. I hope I didn’t make things worse. Frank and Mary rode with us for some good miles and told us about the area and some of the history. They are originally from Lyons, but moved away due to their careers, but recently moved back now that they’re retired. They have family and a lot of memories in the area and want to call Lyons home.
We finally rolled into Newark, which was our destination for the day. I quickly located a brewery, Runaway Blue Brewing Company and we headed straight there. Shortly after arriving at the brewery, various folks started filtering in for the remainder of the evening. John, who is in a wheelchair talked to us about various challenges he faces and what life is like in upstate New York. Not too much later two separate news organizations arrived. John Washnis from 13WHAM, and Tom Kowalski from NEWS 10NBC, both out of Rochester sat down and spent time with me to hear more about what we’re doing, and why we’re doing it. I felt like both reporters took the time to really listen, which I have found isn’t always the case. It’s probably a good thing they got there when they did, well before I was too deep into the beer rotation. It may have been harder for them to listen intently if I was speaking cursive.
A little later in the evening we were joined by Jonathon Taylor and his wife Cari. Jonathon is the “Y” in Mayor of Newark. We had a nice time talking with them. We talked the usual stuff centered around the trail, but we also just talked about general life stuff. We live on different coasts, so there are differences we have that we can teach each other about and learn from. I often find it refreshing to have conversations with people I don’t have much in common with.
As the night was winding down a familiar face walked through the door. Steve Adams, a former Invacare employee who unexpectedly showed up. He has helped me in the past with programming of my chair. It was nice to catch up with him and pick his brain on a few things about my chair. Being an extension of my body, my chair often needs tweaks and fixes just like I do. Support for my chair comes in many forms, and people like Steve are critical to my wellbeing.
More than any other day so far on the trip, today emphasized community and people. We met so many wonderful people and saw firsthand the work they do in their communities. At some point we will all need the support of friends, family, and strangers and then there are the times we need to be the supporters. Today I was able to roll away from everyone for a brief moment and join the support group via Zoom lead by my good friend Kenny Salvini and his organization, The Here and Now Project. It was great to see familiar faces from back home. These meetings are special and the role of supporter/supported is blurred. Each member is playing both roles, which is what makes these meet ups so valuable.
P.S. We saw a lot of plants today, most of them were green. We also saw a lot of animals. Some of them were in the air, some were in the water and some were on the ground.
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