What’s the Goal?

At 2021 Rotary District 5400 Conference our keynote speaker was Ed Viesturs, a mountaineer who has summited Everest.  We have all heard great keynote speakers.  After a few weeks, I like to try remember even one thing they said.  Often nothing is recalled.  Viesturs talk was an exception.  One of his points had to do with his goal after 10 months training, spending tens of thousands of dollars, and getting a team of 10 to 20 people to work together to get one or two climbers to the summit of Mt. Everest.  Can you guess his goal?  It’s obvious – get to the top of Everest.  Only that isn’t his goal.  One time Visturs was 200 feet from a summit, and turned around.  His goal was to get back down the mountain alive.

So here I am, pedaling a bike across Washington state; starting in Seattle with our back tire in the Pacific salt water of Puget Sound.  The trip ends when the front tire is in Atlantic salt water outside Boston.  We are at day 5 having biked 302 miles.  As I pedaled and enjoyed the scenery, I kept asking myself – What is the goal?  The obvious answer is to “Bike Across America”.

While lunching in Lind’s town park, another biker came by asking where he could buy a hardy lunch.  Lind has a grocery store, but no restaurant.  I offered to share our lunch.  He thanked us but turned us down as his goal was to get to Idaho before nightfall, so he wanted the fastest lunch possible.  From his bike gear and his tan, he was an experienced biker going this trip alone.  I miss that he didn’t stop and share his story, give us some touring-by-bike pointers.  I missed our chance to meet someone interesting.

I have two bikes for this trip; a skinny tire road bike and a recumbent with gravel tires.  I choose the recumbent to protect my hands and wrists during the long days of pedaling.  What I didn’t anticipate, is how when sitting recumbent, you can naturally see all around without having to lift your head up.  Even so, brother Jon caught up with me and asked if I enjoyed watching the deer and the antelope.  What deer?  What antelope?  I was mesmerized by the road passing under my front tire and not paying attention to the beauty around me.

So what is the goal?  Enjoy and make time for all the interesting people I meet?  Look around and see America?  I am going with Ed Viesturs; finish the journey alive.  When trying to cross the Columbia river, the bike bridge was closed for repairs.  That left I90, or many miles detour, neither good options given the time of day and available camp grounds.  We put the bikes in the sag wagon and drove across I90.  Am I biking across America? Technically no.  I am seeing America, and the interesting people I find along the way.  That is my goal – and getting home alive.