Invariably I have been asked questions like: What is the one thing that you remember most or what was the most scenic venue you experienced? To be honest there are so many images I have in my mind, to narrow it down somehow diminishes the beauty experienced with all the others in their own special way. With that in mind, here are some of my personal favorites.

–The bike routes I enjoyed riding the most: Five spots come to mind in particular. The 50 mile ride from Niagara Falls on the Canadian side south along the Niagara River was peaceful and serene with blue skies and postcard homes and not much traffic; a contrast to the US side of the Niagara River which is largely industrial. The second was the ride from Marias Pass in Glacier National Park to Whitefish, Montana on a cool brisk morning with crystal clear weather, waterfalls at every turn, streams and mountains galore ending in the coolest small town in Montana. The third was the ride north to south for 40 some miles along Lake Koocanusa in Montana for its winding ups and downs and constant view of the lake. The fourth was the afternoon ride up a ridgeline in central NY out of Ft. Plain, New York that gave us a pleasing vista of central NY where Craig and I ended the day with an exhilarating downhill. Finally, the Sparta Trail in Wisconsin captivated me because of the peacefulness of the route, but mostly because of the railroad tunnels we had the privilege of walking back in time through.

–Top 5 places I would return to: No. 1 has to be Yellowstone National Park- because of the grand diversity of terrain, ecosystems and habitat including mud pots, hot springs, a 20 mile canyon, glades and mountains and the buffalo. No. 2 is probably Glacier National Park because of the sheer beauty of the terrain and Lake McDonald with its Lodge built in 1914 and, of course, remembrance of one of my favorite bike rides. No. 3, although in some respects this can also be No. 1, The Black Hills area of South Dakota and associated sights because of their natural beauty, Mt Rushmore (my patriotic reverence was at a peak beneath it feeling like I was walking on hallowed ground in some respects), Custer State Park and the glades and animals, and the incomparable Badlands. No. 4 is Niagara Falls from both the US and Canadian side because of its sheer power and force of nature. Finally, Whitefish, Montana just because it was cool. If the Lord wills, I would like to revisit each one day.

–Most sentimental moments: Leaving Hammond Beach, NH the first day to start the ride with a boatload of anticipation and excitement as well as a slight sense of can we really do this? Crossing the mighty Mississippi at La Crosse, Wisconsin into Minnesota with reverence while my brother boldly proclaimed that he was riding across the Mighty Mississippi after having ridden from Portsmouth, NH out loud to anyone who had ears that would hear! Seeing Mukilteo Bay from the Bluff for the first time with less than 2 miles to go on the ride north of Seattle; I just about lost it at that moment. Finally, the image of Lisa’s genuine excitement for us when we arrived at Lighthouse Park in Mukilteo Bay on the final day. These four moments are etched in the mind of my heart forever.

–Most moving moment: My two hours at Little Big Horn. I did not expect the emotion I would feel from a battle that took place 138 years ago. Our Indian guide who reviewed the background and the battle, called it the West’s Gettysburg. After seeing what happened and in context with the clash of cultures, I realized that was an apt description. I definitely want to go back to step back in time and walk that hallowed ground and see what everyone saw from both perspectives. I believe keys to our future are sometimes found in our past.

–Coolest small towns: Whitefish, Montana followed by Sandpoint, Idaho. Whitefish was full of young people and just hip with a ski resort hovering over the town. What can I say? I still like to ski, but it was not time for skiing.:) Sandpoint just seemed so different from the other parts of Idaho I have experienced. It is hard to put my finger on it, but the lake and the mountains made it a picturesque and laid back location.

–Most interesting people I met along the way: Rob the biker riding around the world in 16 months for World Relief really gripped me. I am still wearing his arm band and praying for him. And then there was Kim who owns the store in South Dakota who was raising money from root beer floats she sold for Gary Stechen’s burn recovery. I also have to add a woman I did not meet, but Lisa and the ladies did. Her story captured my heart. Donovan, owner of Steve’s meat market in Ellendale, Minnesota, continuing the award winning meat business after her beloved husband died at too young an age. Ok, I have a heart for the pioneering spirit and the entrepreneurs who do what they do because they are passionate and it’s so much more than about themselves.

–Most surprising observations: The thousands of wind mills that dominate the horizon across the northern tier of the US literally caught me by surprise. I have seen wind mills many times before and have clients actually engaged in the business, but the sheer volume, breadth and magnitude of installations was mind-boggling. Also, a reawakening occurred for me about how important farming still is to this nation. We rode through large farms from New York to Washington. While taking the back routes this might be expected, but days and days of pedaling through farms and hearing Craig get excited every time he saw a John Deere tractor sort of drove it home. Farms and farming are integral to this nation.

–Most disgusting moment: Having to ride past a maggot filled dead deer on the side of the road with more flies in the air than I have ever seen on roadkill. The aroma was…well…it was just really bad. I practically died holding my breath.

–Most exhilarating downhills: A two mile downhill from Massachusetts across the State Line into New York southeast of Albany, NY, the downhill off the ridge some where west of Ft Plain, NY that ended a day’s ride for us, a six mile downhill into Orondo, Washington with temperatures soaring above 103 degrees, and the granddaddy of them all, the 16 mile downhill from Steven’s Pass in the Cascades to Skykomish, Washington. I prayed a lot for my brethren and myself on those hills. I am not kidding.

–Most excruciating uphills: A couple mile uphill coming into an eatery named Elmer’s in New Hampshire and the final kick up the bluff into Mukilteo Bay. We had long uphills in NH, the Berkshires in Massachusetts, and in Glacier and the Cascades, but frankly those two short steep grades were more challenging than all the rest.

–Most brutal winds: Wind in your face gets old on a bicycle after a few hours. By far the most consistent and difficult was the wind out of the Northwest east of Glacier Park in Montana. Western Minnesota and South Dakota had some difficult stretches as well.

–Most incredible timing: His timing is indeed perfect. We rode on 5 or 6 bike trails along the path from NH to Seattle. Every time a bike trail appeared, we really needed it. Once the wind was in our face and we were worn out. Along comes a trail with tree and brush cover. Another time traffic was really getting bad on July 4th on the route we were on and suddenly we realize there is an alternate 37 mile bike trail into Spokane traffic-free! This happened time and time again.

–Most gracious hospitality: I will have more to say about this in a moment, but our friends and family along the way were uber gracious to us. Another shout out to Jim and Maureen Awad and the Loucy’s and families and the Chopko’s in NY, Craig’s friends in Pine Lake, Indiana John and Lois Diedrich, Herb and Donna Janes and family in Minneapolis and my sister Karen and nephew Chris and Jess Mitchell in Seattle. You all were such a delight to be with at every point along the journey and at just the right time. Thanks for making the trip special!

–The award for devotion: My wife Lisa, for never wavering, for being bought into the vision around the Next Generation, for stepping in and being willing to learn about travel trailers and becoming an expert in setting up and taking it down, for dealing with the challenges and there were plenty of all varieties, for wanting to explore and learn about the places we visited even when there was so much to do to keep the caravan moving, for never complaining and always having a “can-do” spirit and I could go on and on. There is no one on the face of this earth like her and for that I am blessed beyond what I deserve.

Real Trooper award
Dori and Sheryl for hanging in there and supporting their husbands on this trip and the rest of us in countless ways including pick ups late in the afternoon and drop offs early in the morning (sometimes 45 minutes from where we were staying), showing up with bottled water along the route when it might be 40 miles between services for us as bike riders, fixing gourmet meals during the evenings , taking care of all the myriad of items needed to find a suitable rv park, and set up, take down and get supplies as needed during the trip. I said it before the trip and believe it afterwards, that this would not have happened in this way without our wives commitment and willingness to help make this happen. Our hat is off to each of you!

Beyond these fun tidbits, there were some broad and sweeping observations that expanded my understanding and appreciation for America the Beautiful. They also affirm some of the ways I already live while convicting me to change some others. Some of this has still not been processed, but I want to share where I am now.

From Sea to Shining Sea
I have criss-crossed this nation countless times in airplanes and portions of it in automobiles, but never could I have seen and felt what I did riding a bicycle. I now more profoundly appreciate the words from America the Beautiful ” from Sea to Shining Sea”. How so? First of all, I have a new appreciation for Thomas Jefferson’s vision of Sea to Shining Sea with the Louisiana Purchase. He dreamed in the late 1700’s what many thought was folly and took a risk. I can’t say that Thomas Jefferson was one of my favorite founding fathers before this trip, but I do so appreciate what he envisioned well before its time. At Jefferson’s and then Congress’s bequest, Lewis and Clark followed that dream and mandate with courage to explore the new land and find a northwestern passage to the Pacific. Courage was a dominating trait of early pioneers. What Lewis and Clark saw along with the early pioneers we caught only a glimpse of, but the sense is still the same. This land is immense for as far as the eye can see for days and days on end with such diverse sights too numerous to count and catalog. From the quaint New England towns of NH to the rolling Berkshires in Massachusetts, to the old Erie Canal that winds its way through New York, to nature’s sheer power manifested by the Niagara Falls, to the proliferation of farms from NY to Washington all along the Northern Tier to the plains and rolling hills Minnesota and South Dakota and to the Buttes of Montana, the wonders of Wyoming at Yellowstone, and the majesty of Glacier National Park, to the streams and waterfalls too numerous to count, to the fruit orchards all across eastern Washington and the grandeur of Seattle…this land is immense, majestic and beautiful. America is beautiful! I spend so much time in the cities and the suburbs, that it is easy to forget our heritage is as much the farm and the land as it is the city. And there are farms galore all across the Northern Tier; large farms with thousands of acres. Culture may be formed in the cities and I have no doubt that it is, but there is much to appreciate about the simplicity of the farming areas of this great nation.
The words of Katharine Lee Bates lyrics are just as true today as when she gazed out from her trip out west back in 1893 to write them:

O beautiful for spacious skies,
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties
Above the fruited plain!
America! America!
God shed His grace on thee,
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!

Suffice it to say, I will never sing along with the song again with the same sense of meaning.

Small Business is Alive and Thriving
I have always felt that our nation was founded on a pioneering and adventurous spirit that was entrepreneurial and faith based from the start. From small farms to large farms, from delis to mom and pop 7-11s, from grocery stores to “all in” convenience stores with everything from food to furs, the Northern Tier is alive with small business generally focused on good service and quality products. Whether famished from bike riding or not, we had some great food along the way and mostly from little diners and cafe’s all across this nation. We had Big Sky Deli in Montana near the Idaho border where three ladies worked feverishly to serve up the grandest deli sandwich I could concoct in my imagination, to the Skykomish Deli in Skykomish, Washington that took my Orange Crush at my bequest and turned it into a dreamsickle float, to Kim in South Dakota who wanted to do something to help a man who had severe burns with her business, to Donovan who carries on the award winning meat market that her husband Steve founded, to the little French garden café in a no-name town with less then a couple hundred people in Minnesota that serves up such good food that people fly in with their little planes to have lunch…I just loved it. I also can’t forget Pamela, the owner of “Wonders of the World” in Spokane. She had my gift wrapped even though they did not normally wrap gifts, because she sensed in her heart she was supposed to wrap it for me. I have always appreciated that entrepreneurial spirit and it is one of the reasons I love working with small to mid-size businesses.

People are Gracious
We met so many gracious people on our journey. From Kevin the young veteran who rides for the wounded warriors whom I met in the Berkshires, to Keith the young man who broke the wind for us for 10-15 miles in Minnesota on a day when we were fading fast, to Paul a man who turned his van around and came back to ask if we needed help in New York, to the owner of Spud’s in Seattle who so graciously gave us two of his shirts, we were blessed with meeting gracious people from sea to shining sea. I can’t say enough about the drivers out there either. Craig asked me when we were practicing for the cross- country event down in Florida back in March, what my major concern was about this trip. I responded: “safety”. I have to say that except for a small handful, most drivers were incredibly courteous. We did have a carload of 18 year olds who wanted to pick a fight with one member of our party as they shouted obscenities from the protection of their car. One Class A RV driver went over the line on the last day and almost clipped my brother. Those two episodes were the only ones where I wanted to wring someone’s neck, otherwise I had lots of grace for drivers and they seemed to for us. I want to go on record to say this graciousness from drivers existed in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, New York, Ontario, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, and Washington (i.e. every state we passed through).

Life Changes
Knowledge without application is pretty useless. So what is it from this trip that changes the way we live? For me it boils down to Rhythms and Relationships. Getting away for two months with focus on this bike ride across the country allowed Lisa and I to release our previous rhythms utterly and completely. It was not like a one or two week vacation, which we both do pretty well at immersing in, but rather a complete change. Most people thought we were nuts to do this including some who went on the journey. This was no step into the quiet life, but a real immersion into something completely and drastically different from what we normally do or, in fact, what we have ever done. What became obvious to me was what I can live without and what I can’t. Adequate rest and nutrition was essential to the journey. Without either of these, the potential for a bummer of a ride or disaster awaited. I realized that my body needs 8 full hours of sleep on a regular basis rather than the 7 hours I was living on. To provide the fuel for this journey, we had to eat a lot more than we are accustomed to and a lot more carbs. Now that sounds like fun to some and it was! 🙂 We were pretty disciplined about our eating at the right times and making sure we had enough carbs because you can’t ride without fuel. Of course ice cream floats every afternoon is not going to cut it for the long term. 🙂 I realize I need to apply the same discipline to what I eat to fuel the new norm with a twist in portions. I have been doing pretty well with that since I got back. Our exercise consisted of 7-9 hours of pedaling a bike per day. I definitely am stronger now, my heart beats a lot slower with comparable activity, and I feel the energy. The 30-45 minutes of running, riding and strength and conditioning I did 5-6 days per week before the trip is not going to get me the physical conditioning and energy I need moving forward. If this is important, I think I can find 90 minutes a day to devote to riding, strength and conditioning and/or running. These are rhythms I want more of: adequate sleep, nutrition for my normal activity level, and 90 minutes a day of strenuous exercise. I can do without constant updates on what is happening with my favorite sports teams, fiddling with technology, and wasting time watching TV. I can also do without a lot of other stuff I have. I mean we lived in a closet with a few sets of clothes for two months. 🙂 Technology is addicting. Lisa and I got away from it during the trip, partly because T mobile’s service was so bad in the Northern Tier, but also because there were other members of our party more than willing to stay connected to it and for good reasons. However, I don’t really need to be addicted to it and I think there are times when I am. This includes surfing on the IPAD, email, and checking out every app that exists for the cell phone. Cutting back on the latter will free up time for the former.

As far as relationships, we realize even more now how important it is to have tribes and teams around us that have a common vision. Without a common vision, there is no team. We want to partner with people and organizations in the future who have a common vision. Lisa and I both decided we need to be more selective in this area going forth in our lives. This includes who we spend time with: partners, clients, family, friends and others. For me personally, I have resolved to spend more time with my family and extended family. I want to redouble the time we spend with our boys and their families, but also extended family. We want to spend more time with our siblings, aunts and uncles, nephews and nieces and cousins because frankly distance and my own personal priorities have been a deterrent. I lost a cousin last summer to pancreatic cancer that as a young boy and a teen knew really well. Life circumstances kept us apart for 40 plus years. This is going to change for me. With that some changes will be necessitated elsewhere in our lives which are still being processed and yet to be determined.

Thanks for journeying with us, praying for us and being our friends and family! Your encouragements, prayer and just being who you are mean more than you can possibly know. So to our friends in many cultures, With grateful hearts….
Thank you!
Dank je!
Merci!
Grazie!
Gracias!
Dhanyavaad!
Shokrun!
Obrigado!