Welmoed's Big Ride Journal
Introduction
Welcome to my Big Ride Journal! From June 15 to August 1, 1998, I participated in the GTE Big Ride Across America. This ride was organized as a fundraiser for the American Lung Association. In order to participate in the ride, I had to raise a minimum of $6,000 for the ALA, and I managed to raise a little more than that.
Prior to signing up for this ride, I hadn’t ridden a bike in almost twenty years. I didn’t even own a bike! But I started training, starting with a seven-mile ride that nearly incapacitated me and convinced me I was out of my mind to even consider riding to the grocery store, much less ride across the country.
But I stuck with the training, thanks to encouragement from family and friends and the on-line support of other Big Riders. I still wasn’t sure I could actually do the ride, but I was determined to do my best, and enjoy the experience.
What follows is the transcription of the journal I kept during the ride. I knew that if I relied on my memory, I would forget a lot of what I saw along the way, and I didn’t want that to happen. I filled a blank book with scribbles, writing as much as eight pages in a day. And yet, as I transcribed my notes, I realized that I had left out a lot of information about what it was like to be on the ride. So I have added a lot of information, and these additions are at the end of the entries, in a section marked "Afterthoughts."
If you would like more information about the ride, or want more details about a specific story, please feel free to contact me at welmoed@sissonfamily.com. I welcome your comments!