May 25th – Day 1 – 4281 Miles to go…
Four months of planning, 3 assistants helping to make sure everything was 100% ready to go for our 82 day journey to raise money for Dog Cancer charities.
And it all started with a resounding “thunk”
7am Camera Problems with our new professional video camera that we’ve been planning to use to film the Dog Cancer Ride Across America. It refuses to work – so we have to scramble for Plan B (and Plan C)
And then, better still, RAIN.
Do you know how, when you’re starting a new experience or challenge, you have a certain image in your mind about how it’s supposed to be…
Well, as I arrived to the start of the ride on the Oregon coast – to meet our guests for the official launch party – on this gray, cold, rainy Oregon day – this was definitely NOT the picture I had imagined.
But as I wandered along the beach – muttering something under my breath about bad weather (and busted video cameras) – two memories jumped into my head.
First, the vision of Marty – my fallen dog cancer hero – who so loved racing around those very same beaches. Marty, my Wonderdog, by my side, smiling and loving life, as he always did, no matter where he was or what the circumstances (or weather) might be around him. Who taught me about life and love – whose memory I was going to carry with me, over the next 82 days, as I rode my bicycle across America in honor of his life – and whose loss was going to help other dogs who needed his (and our) help along the way.
And somehow, as I remembered why I was there, the weather started to clear a bit…
And then, as my guests started to arrive, I remembered another past love – my high school sweetheart, Stephanie – and a beach date we had scheduled exactly 26 years earlier (wow, that seems like so long ago…). It was our first date, Memorial Day, 1982, and she was planning to meet me on the train from New York City, so we could join the massive swarms of people heading out to Jones Beach that day to celebrate the unofficial start of summer.
That is, until we woke up that morning and discovered it was 40 degrees outside, cloudy, with a chance of rain. Needless to say, I was pretty disappointed as I called her to reschedule our date…
“What should we do?” she asked…
“I don’t know… ” I replied, ” I could meet you in the city and we can go to a movie, or you can come out to my house… my mother said she’d cook us dinner…”
“Or………,” I continued.
And together, in unison, we both agreed – “We can go to the beach ANYWAY”
So she hopped on the train, and I packed our beach picnic kit – 2 blankets, one for under us, and one on top – and together we joined 6 other people on the entire beach - for what, to this day, easily ranks as one of the best days of my life, rain or shine.
And as I stood on the beach today, May 25th, Day 1, I remembered that day, and how wonderful a gray and dreary day at the beach could be – and decided to myself “I’m going to enjoy the beach ANYWAY”
And as I sit here now, 12 hours and 55 miles later, writing the first of many blog posts about my Dog Cancer Ride Across America – Day 1 turned out to be pretty wonderful.
The rain stopped (the sun even peaked out for about 2-1/2 minutes at one point) – I got to spend the morning/afternoon with good friends (one even rode the first 10 miles with me) – and best of all, I got to do the ceremonial “Right Toe” dip in the Pacific that I’ve been dreaming about for so long and set off on this wonderful 82 day adventure to come.
And as I get ready for day 2 of this adventure tomorrow (partly sunny, 30% chance of rain) – I hope you’ll share this adventure with me and help honor all the loves, living and passed, as we ride across America to help those dogs who could use a little sunshine to brighten their own cloudy days…
Until I see you next time along the road…
- Ted
