Astoria, OR—Opening Day!

Day 0—June 18, 2006—Astoria, OR—Opening Day!

Hello all of you family members, friends, and cross-country wannabes who will be following this exciting and challenging cross-country bicycle ride. My name is Susan Walker, and I will be posting brief summary accounts of each day’s adventure to this site. This will be my third summer staffing ABB’s Across America North ride, yet I am as eager and excited as I was on the first. Please bookmark this site and enjoy the ride with us!

“What happens,” you ask, “on Day 0 of a 50-day cross-country bicycle ride?” The short answer is “A lot!”

There are six of us staff members: Andy Hiroshima and Michelle Sahli, Co-ride Leaders; Jim Benson, Mechanic (Andy, too); and Tom Chappell, Christine Leininger, and me, Support Staff/SAG Drivers. On Day 0, we six staff coordinated with the hotel staff, helped riders assemble their shipped bikes, and conducted flat tire clinics. We registered 58 riders (the youngest 13 and the oldest 74 years old) from 16 states—including Hawaii—and from six countries: England, Wales, Scotland, Germany, Switzerland, and France.

Andy Hiroshima, Michelle Sali, chief ride leaders; Moi (Susan Walker) and roommate Christine Leininger, ride leaders; Jim Benson mechanic; Tom Chappell, ride leader

Andy and Jim assembling and checking out riders' bikes

Bicyclists arrived all day and began to get to know one another. Led by rider volunteers Bill Weidenfeller, Joyce Marino and Tim & Kathryn Tolford, those who had assembled their bicycles and had been checked off on helmet fit and bike inspection, tested their legs and bikes at noon by riding to the ocean at Fort Stevens Shipwreck Beach where they dipped their back wheels as tradition dictates. Riders also collected a bottle of Pacific Ocean water. On reaching the east coast, they will dip their front wheels into the Atlantic Ocean, and a designated rider will mix the Pacific water with the Atlantic water in a symbolic gesture.

Bill Weidenfeller, rider who lead a group to the Pacific's Shipwreck Beach  to dip wheels

Triple riders Lil and sons Chris, and  Ray dipping their wheel

Me, Christine, and Jim at the Wreck of the Peter Iredale after wheel dipping

In the evening, the staff conducted introduction and orientation sessions before they and the riders sat down together and shared a delicious banquet prepared by the hotel. After dinner, riders were given their Day 1 route sheets and Andy conducted Route Rap—a review of the route—an event that will take place each evening before the next day’s ride. Of course the first thing every rider turned to was the elevation view to see how much climbing was involved. Excitement and anxiety ran high. Every rider wondered how he or she would stack up against the abilities of the other riders and the demands of the challenging route ahead.

Tomorrow will tell. Join us again then and find out how anxiety turns to jubilation as we roll along the broad Columbia River on the first day of our journey east.

HEARD AT REGISTRATION TODAY: 

• “Can I exchange this large jersey for a medium? I have a large belly but a small body hiding behind it.” 
• “I’m a retired pilot and would like to see the world go by at 15 miles an hour rather than 500.” [Kent Hill on introducing himself and his reasons for joining the cross-country tour.]