Big
Ride Updates...
48. Gettysburg to Frederick, MD 8/4 Miles 36.9 Total 3200.7
Picture
time. All of us (well, we think it was everyone) gathered on the steps
at Gettysburg College. Nathan and I are in the lower right corner of the
group. Good luck finding us. And another state line crossing completed
our album of "crossing the line" photos.
Over three thousand miles of pedaling and we are close to the end. I'd like to say "thanks" to this cast of the 2000 edition of the "Big Ride". We are 200 riders and more than 50 "crew". These folks have given up a sizeable amount of the year in fund raising, training and now, in riding across this ribbon of the US. They have come from all over the country, Canada and Australia. They are teens to septuagenarians, men and women. Some have always been athletes; others never considered sports. Some have come to meet personal goals, to satisfy a longstanding dream, or because of a special opportunity. Some have personal, family or other close experience with the struggles of lung disease; many do not. Nearly all who began the ride in Seattle will finish the ride in just a few more miles. I offer my thanks to those with whom I have cycled many a mile and also to those that passed me ("on your left"), or came in behind me. I appreciated the words of encouragement and the general prevailing good spirit. This was a group that offered help on the road (changing flats, reading cue sheets, sharing information and encouragement) and in camp (lifting bags onto the truck, pouring milk in the meal line, tying down tents and helping with laundry). Mostly I want to thank everyone for their efforts on behalf of the American Lung Association, and for their contribution to all those with lung disease. Many of my patients would join in adding their "thanks". So, Big Riders, whether you rode on the strength of muscle and tendon or on the strength of determination and will power, whether you pedaled a road, touring or recumbent bike, whether you rode in a group or by yourself, with confidence in your ability or with doubt in the outcome, whether you rode for someone you love dearly or only for a general cause, to learn more about yourself or the about the world around you, whether we shared miles, meals and moments of conversation or not, I thank you. I have been pleased to share these seven weeks and this Big Ride with you.
A
thousand miles ago I wrote about "Alphas". We discovered two more: John
Paul Lucas and Valerie Dosland both come from families affected by this
genetic defect. They have been riding for a reason and I'm pleased that
we have been riding in support with them.
49. Fredrick to Washington, DC 8/5 Miles 59.2 Total 3259.9
With
spirits higher than any of the mountains we crossed or gazed on, we folded
our tents, still soggy from the heavy dew, for the last time and set out
on the last segment of our ride. Maryland rolled, and we rolled with it.
The sunflowers in the field matched our mood. And when it seemed that
the traffic of the DC suburbs was becoming uncomfortable, we entered the
Crescent Trail pedaling 
downhill
through a green tunnel to the old C & O canal and our last miles into
Georgetown. Weekend walkers, joggers, and rollerbladers filled the trail
and for the first time in seven weeks, most of the bikers around us were
not Big Riders. When everyone had arrived, we lined up chanting, cheering
and snapping pictures (PHOTO: holding) for a short last ride to the Mall
and a crowd of family and friends as ready to celebrate as we were. And
it felt wonderful.
Sitting on a bike seat for seven weeks of the BIG RIDE, my mind had time to wander and make calculations. This was a big, a very big event for me, but the distance and time are small in comparison to a lifetime and disappearingly small in comparison with "earth time". Suppose all of earth's history (over 5 billion years) were compressed into a single year. Then, the Precambrian Era would extend from New Years day through November when the first living creatures appeared. Dinosaurs would appear in the middle of December, several days before the first Redwoods, and die off the day after Christmas. The last ice sheet (10-12,000 years ago) would melt at one minute before midnight and the Roman Empire would last for 5 seconds and the Industrial Revolution would be about 1.1 seconds old. So, seven weeks of a lifetime or even a full and long lifetime are quite insignificant in this span of time and history, but the paradox is that life, no matter how short, is very significant, and these brief, seven weeks in my life spent pedaling a bicycle seem remarkably important to me right now. What has made the weeks and miles so important? We raised over $2,000,000 for the Lung Association, and I know that it will be well used, but the need is so much greater than what we were able to generate that the amount seems meager. Our physical changes also will be temporary: the loss of a few pounds, deeper skin pigmentation and an increase in leg muscle strength. Will the experience be a changing point, a "great divide"? If so, it's not evident yet to me. I'll be back at work in just another day and I have had no searing revelations to portend great changes in my life, my work, interests or character. Nevertheless, I feel as if this ride has made a difference in me, that something important happened. I feel like there has been a change……
--- Paul Fairman, Big Rider #2152.
< pfairman@earthlink.net>