Monday, August 9, 2010

Early Friday morning my younger brother and sister, Joe and Stephanie, and Joe’s girlfriend, Sara, arrived at my house in NJ.  Originally, we planned on riding our bikes from NJ to PA, but somehow these last few days of summer got the best of us, and so we modified our agenda at the very last minute and rode our bikes to the “Jersey shore” instead.  I suspect this decision had a little to do with Joe’s front derailleur breaking leaving him with use of only five gears, Steph’s strep throat infection, and the fact that none of us went to bed before 4am Friday morning (when we planned on leaving to begin biking at 6am!).

No, we certainly weren’t off to a very good start….    

So I mapped out a relatively flat 70 mile ride to the beach which we biked Friday afternoon…A little easier ride, and a day’s distance shy of the NJ to Bellefonte ride.  We visited the beach Friday evening, camped out Friday night, and biked home Saturday morning. 

For four people who’ve been camping a time and again, we sure didn’t appear like experienced campers Friday night.  We truly forgot just about everything we could have possibly needed for our one night camping adventure.  Plastic ware?  Nope, we didn’t bring this.  A can opener?  Who needs such a device when all one has to eat is canned foods?  Possibly a knife would suffice (to open our cans)?  But wait, we forgot that as well. 

You see, Steph planned our menu: meatless tacos featuring refried beans, black beans, salsa, canned tomatoes, and corn.  Try preparing this meal without a can opener, minus any pots or pans, plastic ware or seasonings for that matter.  We looked like Neanderthals first scooping refried beans out of a can with our hands, then plopping them onto slabs of aluminum foil, licking our fingers clean, and throwing the “dish” into the fire.  Joe was responsible for quickly recovering each of the foil packs from the flaming fire which were then opened and consumed.  We all laughed as we dished out our meal using nothing other than our fingers and few scrap taco shells.

Fortunately (or in a day I’ll probably say “unfortunately”), none of us knew Steph had strep throat at the time.  She had a negative rapid strep test on Thursday morning but was only informed that her throat culture grew out streptococcus Monday afternoon.  I suspect with all our saliva sharing we’ll all have sore throats by Wednesday…

My contribution to the meal was foils packs but I failed to remember a knife to slice the potatoes.  I guess I didn’t think I needed a can opener to open up the corn and peas because I certainly didn’t bring this.  Fortunately, my green beans were bagged.  Guess I thought my teeth were strong enough to open a few metals cans.  And, of course, I forgot any seasoning salt or oil. 

And I didn’t bring buns for the hotdogs, ketchup, mustard or napkins for that matter. 

Still, our meal turned out just fine.  Laughter improves most any situation.  

When I called Brad to inform him of our silliness he couldn’t stop laughing.  “And you called me “stick up ass” for being so rigid and organized during the bike trip across the country?!”  That’s when I realized as well, I forgot my pillow!  What exactly did I bring along on this trip???  The answer: nothing useful other than what was found on my person.     

The highlight of the trip for me was the presence of a Wawa, at minimum, every 10 miles.  And yes, we stopped at every one which we passed.  Both days of riding were hot and sticky and I, for one, couldn’t resist the temptation of fresh iced water every chance I got.  Truly, Wawa might be my new favorite snack joint.  $2.99 “shorties”, cheddar jalapeño stuffed pretzels, and fountain drinks: this might just be my type of paradise. 

Only problem we faced with Wawa was that some of the fountain machines didn’t offer water so we had to fill up with ice and wait for it to melt (which only took about a minute under New Jersey’s scorching sun).  A slightly larger problem than this was that some of the water tasted a bit carbonated, particularly the water that came out of the same fountain as Sprite.  For about 10 miles, Steph was complaining that her water tasted horrible.  “It tastes like watered down carbonated Sprite!”  (Imagine accompanying melodramatic bitter face). I kept telling her it was just fine, mine tasted the same…just a bit carbonated, but it was water so she should drink it…until I tasted hers and almost puked.  Truly it was foul.  With that, I felt obligated to take her “water”, drink it and give her mine!    

Steph got a flat tire on the ride home, just one mile following our picnic lunch, cooked by Sara atop a picnic bench situated outside of a Wawa using Jeremy’s propane grill.  For lunch we ate our leftover meatless tacos, hotdogs and potatoes.  Surprisingly, the food tasted awesome.  Either Sara’s got a niche for good cooking or we were just hungry.  I suspect a combination of both is true.  Steph ran over a huge nail that punctured right through her tire.  It was literally sticking out of her wheel.  I was surprised her tire wasn’t completely destroyed.  While changing her tube an incredibly kind woman came over apologizing relentlessly that she couldn’t find a spare tire to offer us in her garage.  ‘She’d looked everywhere but couldn’t come up with anything.’  Dressed in bike shorts and a jersey, she offered use of her front yard if we needed it.  I found this gesture incredibly kind especially after being flipped off by a miserable gentleman lounging on his motorcycle, and yelled vulgarities at by a douchbag in a sports car.  Where do people get off!?  If someone could explain people’s hatred toward bikers I’d really appreciate it?  What is the problem with riding a bike down the road, to the right of the white line anyway?   

When we got back to NJ Saturday evening, Brad had prepared fajitas, homemade salsa, guacamole, and a black bean salsa for us.  After a dip in the pool, along with a glass of champagne, this meal couldn’t have tasted any better. 

Before summer’s end, we’ve all agreed to ride back to Bellefonte.  That’s how enjoyable this 2 day ride was. It made for a perfect weekend…a weekend that might not have started out perfectly but couldn’t have ended any better. 

For dessert Saturday night we enjoyed soft serve while listening to live local music in downtown Princeton.  As we listened to the music I thought about our trip across the country a few summers back.  Hard to believe how long ago that really is.  Even last summer seems just like yesterday.  Who would have thought after biking home to Bellefonte, across Pennsylvania and then through Iowa apart of RAGBRAI, I’d blink and wake up a whole year later!?  Life flies by all too quickly.  Drink it up people.

There’s so much I hope to do, yet never enough time.    

This weekend made me think, ‘this is why my parents chose to bring me into this world’.  No matter how tragic life can seem at times, it truly is worth the ride. If they didn’t bring me into this world, it’s true, I wouldn’t have experienced any of the heartbreak and sadness I’ve seen, but then again, I wouldn’t have gained such great experiences, happiness and joy.  Take for instance the simplicity of this 2 day bike ride.   

I suspect life is worth far more than we might appreciate.

On a random note, I’ve decided to provide you with a few book suggestions and reviews each week.  Bring back memories of your local community library’s summer reading program from way back when?  I hope so.  Here are this week’s top picks in no particular order:

1. The Lovely Bones, Alice Sebold
2. We Need to Talk about Kevin, Lionel Shriver 

...This book rather ingeniously portrays grief from the perspective of a mother whose child was killed, and also whose child had killed.  It was a difficult read for me following Jeremy’s death but provided an interesting perspective as I often find myself sad for the family members of those who act out on such sickening rage.

3. Hey Nostradamus!  Douglas Coupland
4. Heaven, Randy Alcorn
5. Under the Banner of Heaven, Jon Krakauer
6. Into the Wild, Jon Krakauer
7. Tuesdays with Morrie, Mitch Albom

Please feel free to send me your comments. 

A review is soon to come. 

And on one final, very substantial note…I suspect most if not all of you have heard the news of the latest mass shooting here in the United States. In Manchester, Connecticut, on Wednesday, August 4 a Hartford Distributor employee opened fire killing eight people and then himself.  The thought of yet another mass shooting truly is gutting. My heart breaks for the victims and for their families…So many lives cut short all because of one individual’s selfishness, rage, hatred, and pure evil.  In a split second so many lives were changed forever. 

When I hear of shootings such as this, my gut gnaws because I know all too well the pain and violation this senseless brutality surfaces.  My wound reopens.  It is my hope that those affected by this horror be comforted by precious memories of their loved ones, and one day find some scrap of peace. 

I wish we lived in a society where violence wasn’t used to solve problems, where people thought first of the consequences of their actions (and actually considered them) before acting, where guns weren’t so easily accessible to those brewing with rage, and where life was respected much more so than it is now.  We aren’t safe anywhere, not at work, not at school, not at the mall, on the roads, or even in our own homes.  I pray more people will recognize this truth and act diligently to change our society and its ways. 

May those robbed of such promising futures rest peacefully in a place far better than this tragic earth.