Headin' Home

So now the riding is done. We'd made it to Savannah, 3000 miles by bicycle. But we still weren't home. Home was still 1200 miles away, three days by RV, or more like a week if you do it the way that we did it. So here's how we did it...

Before I started the trip, I had made contact with a few places on the East Coast that had wanted me to visit them when I biked through their neck of the woods. They had made arrangements to get publicity for me, and these would be good opportunities to continue to spread the word about celiac. Well, obviously I wouldn't be biking anymore, but I still wanted to visit these places. They had worked hard to help me out and I didn't want to let them down. So we hopped in the RV and starting driving. First stop: Easton, PA and the "Water To Go" store. It took two days to get there, and after all that time on our bikes it felt a little odd to be cooped up inside an RV all day as Bev negotiated traffic through all the big cities on the East Coast. We arrived in Easton, and they had quite a nice little set-up for us. A big tent, lots of gluten-free food, a silent auction to raise money for my ride, and reporters from the local TV station and newspaper. And one other surpise: my parents! They had driven all night from Maine to Easton, and it was wonderful to see them. There were hugs and tears all around. They stayed overnight and then headed back to Maine the next day. But even though their stay was short, it was great to get a taste of home after all this time on the road.

The next day we got back in the RV and headed down to Philadelphia. We needed to be in Baltimore on Monday, but we had a day off in between, so we decided to go see a baseball game. The Red Sox were in town, playing the Phillies, and we sat out in the sun on a warm and humid day and watched the Sox beat the Phils in a slugfest, 12-8. It's unbelievable how many Red Sox fans were at the game and in the city itself. Everywhere we went, we saw people in Sox shirts and hats. Was this really a road game? Anyways, after the game ended we headed out of town and on to Baltimore.

All the money I raised on this trip was going to the University of Maryland's Center for Celiac Research, which is based in Baltimore. So I really wanted to visit them, see their facilities, and meet the people doing the research. Plus it was an opportunity to do a little more fundraising and PR work. So on Monday we went to the center, and they had set up a press conference for me. I said a few words, as did one of the doctors, and they presented me with a plaque of recognition for my ride. And we all shared some yummy gluten-free chocolate-raspberry cake! The Baltimore Sun interviewed me, as did the Associated Press, and then it was off for a tour of the labs. The facilities are very impressive, and the eagerness of the researchers is very encouraging too. One of them mentioned how my ride was inspiring her to work even harder - I can't ask for more than that! We wound up the day by strolling around the Inner Harbor area of Baltimore, and then going to another baseball game, this time the Orioles against the Yankees. The Yankees won, which made Alex happy.

The next day was another travel day (come to think of it, I guess every day since we started has been a "travel day"), this time up to Connecticut. We stayed there overnight at my cousin's house (thank you!), and then headed for Boston the next morning. There was time to take in one more baseball game, so we watched the Sox beat the Indians with a bunch of our friends who had come down from Maine that day. It was a lot of fun, and after the game they let everyone walk down on the field. Very cool! Afterwards, we had dinner with some of the members of the Boston area celiac support group. This group is large and very active - they have almost 800 members! Marge Rogers, a long-time board member of the group, and her husband Dick put us up for the night at their house, which was quite nice of them. We had a very nice stay.

The next morning, we woke up knowing we were only a couple of hours drive from Maine. Unbelievable! After all this time and everything we'd been through, we were almost home. We drove back on familiar roads, and soon we were at my front door, unloading the RV. It was a little sad unloading the bikes - I had pictured riding right up into my driveway at the completion of our ride, with a triumphant "I made it!" look on my face, but that was not to be. Oh well. Another observation upon returning: you know you've been away from home for a while when nothing in the house looks familiar. There were lots of "Now where does this go?" moments over the next couple of days.

It was on Thursday afternoon that we made it back to Maine, and on Saturday we had the grand finale celebration at Payson Park in Portland. There were still lots of little details to wrap up, but when Saturday came, the skies were sunny, the tents and tables and chairs were there, Outback Steakhouse was cooking away, and quite a crowd (approx.200 people) had gathered to welcome me back. About a dozen people joined us as we rode our bikes for a ceremonial "last mile" around the boulevard into the park, and when we arrived the crowd seemed even bigger and the cheers louder. At that moment it really did feel like we were finishing our ride, and I could feel myself tearing up. A lot of my family was there, and many friends and supporters, and it was quite emotional for me. Someone yelled out "Speech!" so I said a few words and tried to thank everyone who had helped me along the way. Then I had a surprise when Alex and our friend Phil got up and sang a song about my trip; they took "Surfin' USA" and turned it into "Bikin' USA", complete with amusing lyrics about the bike trip and celiac and broken bones. Then it was time to eat! Everyone enjoyed the food (graciously donated by Outback Steakhouse) and smoothies (provided by Wild Oats), and then the crowd slowly dispersed and then we were packing up tables and chairs and it was time to go home. It was a wonderful afternoon, but it all went by so quickly that it seemed like a blur.

So now the journey is officially over, and my recovery begins. I'm supposed to take it easy over the next several weeks to let my back heal, but I'm not good taking it easy so we'll see how it goes. And unfortunately, there is still much to be done concerning the accident - insurance, lawyers, etc. Not a lot of fun. But I hope when I look back on all of this, I won't dwell on the accident too much. Instead, I'll try to focus on the positive things I accomplished: raising awareness for celiac disease, seeing some beautiful parts of this country that most people don't get to see, and the satisfaction of having reached my goal of biking from coast-to-coast.

Thanks again to everyone who helped me along the way, both with the big things and the little things. Thanks to Bev for driving the RV and putting up with us for 10 weeks, and thanks to Alex for riding with me on this crazy 3000 mile trip.

Take care,

Regina

Come On In, The Water's Great!

We made it! Yeah! WoooooHooooo! Today we woke up in Savannah, Georgia, knowing that we only had 20 miles to go before we reached the Atlantic Ocean and the endpoint of our ride. 20 miles! Nothing to it! We could do that in our sleep! But before we get to the ending, let's recap the week that was...

We did indeed enter into Georgia about a week ago, which proved fairly uneventful. After what has happened to me on this trip, "uneventful" isn't such a bad thing. Georgia has proved to be a better state for biking, with at least a little bit of a shoulder to ride on most of the roads, and fairly considerate drivers. The fact that Lance Armstrong has ridden in the Tour of Georgia race the last couple of years, and also that each year several hundred riders participate in the Bicycle Ride Around Georgia means that more people are aware of bicyclists around here, and that has helped us feel better about being on the road. Plus, our extra time spent searching out the back roads (and less heavily trafficked roads) has defintely paid off. We only ended up on a dirt road once! It's all part of the adventure...

Georgia itself has been nice enough. We've had nothing but sunny weather, warm but not ridiculously hot. But there hasn't been much of a "wow" factor about Georgia. We wake up, we get on our bikes and start riding, cruising past open farmlands, alternating with wooded tracts planted by the lumber companies. We ride through one or two towns of any significant size, we stop on occasion to have a snack, and then we call it a day. We have met lots of nice people. In the town of Monticello, for instance, we rode through when they were having their farmer's market in the town square. We talked to a few of the people there, and they wound up giving us a jar of squash and tomato relish, a bag of peaches, and a pound of boiled peanuts. And a little bit of money. Nobody down here even questions it - if you tell them you're doing something to try and raise money, they try to help. I guess it's true what they say about Southern Hospitality. For the record, none of us particularly cared for the boiled peanuts. A little soggy.

The media appearances have kept us busy. I was interviewed by the newspaper in Newnan, GA. We received a call from the CBS TV station in Macon, and did an interview with them that appeared that evening on the news. I thought it came out rather well. You can actually see it by going to http://www.wmaz.com/news/top_stories.aspx?storyid=15229, and clicking on the video icon.

As we got closer to Savannah, it dawned on us that this trip might actually end. Soon. Which seemed a little hard to believe. On Tuesday afternoon, June 21, we pulled into the Savannah Visitor's Center, ending the day with only 20 more miles to go before reaching our goal. Unbelievable. The next day, we got on our bikes for the last time and headed to the sea. We wound our way through downtown Savannah, which is a beautiful town with shaded streets lined with large trees draped with spanish moss. Then we rode past the marshlands on the way to Tybee Island, where we would officially run out of road and into the ocean. When we got there, the Savannah celiac support group had a few members there to welcome us, and we did two different interviews for Savannah TV stations. Very nice. We took our bikes down to the ocean's edge and dipped our wheels into the water, ending our ride. Then we set our bikes down and dove into the water. It was wonderful! If there is one good thing to ending in Savannah instead of Maine, it's that the ocean temperature is about 20 degrees warmer. We splashed around and enjoyed the moment, not quite believing that we had made it all the way, 3000 miles from the Pacific to the Atlantic. I think it will take a few days before it all sinks in and we can start to reflect on what we've done.

That night, the support group took us out to dinner, which was also very nice. They really should be commended for pulling together several different things on such short notice. Thanks to all in Savannah! We wish we had more time to spend in this lovely city, but unfortunately, tomorrow we must hit the road again, this time in the RV as we make our way back to Maine. We have a couple of promo stops to make along the way, and a few baseball games to see in Baltimore, Philly, and Boston, and then we'll be back in Maine for the July 2 celebration. I hope to see you all there!

Thanks for all your support, especially after my accident. It really made a difference to me to know that so many people cared for me and that you all were so encouraging. I couldn't have done this without you!

Take care,

Regina

Georgia On My Mind, Almost

Greetings from almost-Georgia! Our ride today took us to within a mile of the Alabama-Georgia border; tomorrow we will head into the Peach Tree State, home of Jimmy Carter, the Atlanta Braves, and pecan pie. The South has been interesting - the people are friendly and talkative, though I find myself saying "what?" a lot when talking to people because their accents are so thick. Everyone has a dog and they all love to chase bikes (sadly, one didn't make it as he chased us right when a big truck was coming from the other way. Oy.). There's lots more farmland than I thought there would be. It's been hot and humid almost every day. And the Stars 'n' Bars still flies from many a flagpole.

Other than that, I just keep riding. The riding itself has been tough, both mentally and physically. My body is sore at the beginning, middle, and end of each day. My back is in a holding pattern, not getting any better or worse. And I still have visions of being hit by the truck, so now I am very uncomfortable on busy roads. The other day, we employed the RV as a blocker on a particularly busy stretch of road; Bev drove behind us with her flashers on and forced traffic to wait behind her while we biked in front. This isn't the most enjoyable way to ride, so we have spent extra time looking for backroads and the roads-less-traveled to make our route more pleasant. Unfortunately, sometimes the roads-less-traveled are not the most direct routes, so it's a trade-off.

We've been able to get some more media exposure the last few days. I did interviews in both Culman and Gadsden, Alabama for their local papers, and also did a short TV interview for the local channel in Culman. We've had good luck just popping in to these places, telling them our story, and then getting some coverage. And it looks like we'll have some good coverage when we finish up in Savannah. There's a celiac support group there, and they are busy trying to get some media lined up for us. Hats off to them for coming through on such short notice! It doesn't seem real, but we're only a week away from dipping our wheels into the Atlantic. Alex jokes that instead of dipping ours wheels, we should just throw the bikes into the ocean and walk away. Suffice to say it's been a long journey, and we've seen and done things that we'll certainly remember for the rest of our lives. But it will also be good to finish it up.

So that's where things stand for now. We'll ride south of Atlanta and then north of Macon, GA on our way to Savannah and the sea. The sea! Hello to everyone back in Maine - see you on July 2! I'll try to post again before we get to Savannah. 'Til then, take care.

Regina

One Day At A Time

Well, we're back on the road again. The previous week we took it easy as I rested up and tried to heal up enough so that I could get back on the bike again and finish off this ride. We were staying in Tunica, MS at a casino/hotel. During the evenings, Alex and Bev tried their luck at the blackjack tables and the slot machines while I soaked in the hot tub and picked at my scabs from the road rash. I think they had more fun than I did! During the day, we took a few trips to Memphis, about an hour's drive north, to get me checked out at a bigger hospital, and to get my bike checked out at a bigger bike shop (Peddler Bike Shop - John and Pat were very good to us - thank you!). We also went to Graceland, a must if you're in Memphis, and downtown, where we strolled around Beale Street and the riverfront.

After a week of this, I was getting antsy to get back on the bike, and we were all getting fat on the hotel's buffet (we ate and stayed for free the last two nights because Alex gambled so much). It was time to leave, and time to see if I would be able to continue my ride. We did a shorter, 35-mile ride the first day, and while I felt a little sore, nothing felt any worse than it had before. The unfortunate thing we've noticed about Mississippi is that they do not believe in putting shoulders on their roads. After my accident, I'm feeling a little nervous about cars passing close by me, and the lack of the "safety zone" on the shoulder isn't helping. We've worked hard to find the backroads as much as possible, where traffic is light. The result has been some nice biking country, less worry, and more dogs chasing us. So it's a trade-off.

The next day we rode to Oxford, MS, home of the University of Mississippi and a little oasis of life in an otherwise fairly downtrodden part of the country. We've left the delta behind, where everything was flatter than flat and the fields were full of cotton, rice, and corn, and have headed into more wooded, hillier country. Relatively hillier, that is, where a 100 ft. rise is condsidered a mountain. In Oxford, we had to get some more work done on my bike, as the shifting mechanism stopped working - another casualty of my accident. We found another friendly bike shop (Oxford Bicycle Store - thanks Kevin!), where they fixed it up quickly and got us back on the road. Believe me, I'm keeping all my receipts - the guy who hit me is going to get one heck of a bill! We tried to do an interview at the Oxford Eagle newspaper, but the whole town is so wrapped up in the U. of Miss. baseball team being in the playoffs that I doubt we'll get any ink. But we'll keep trying. We made it onto KATV, the ABC affiliate in Little Rock, Ark., (for a sampling of local opinions, check out their website and then read the comments that were posted http://www.katv.com/news/stories/0605/234413.html) and many of you probably saw the article in the Press Herald and the story on Channel 6 in Portland. Had I known I'd get this much coverage after getting into an accident, I would have had one much earlier in the trip! Just kidding.

We left Oxford and headed east, and after another 40-mile day, we spent the night in Tupelo (birthplace of Elvis!). This will probably be the pattern for the rest of the trip; instead of the 75 or 80 mile days we were doing, we've cut it back to 40 or so a day. At the end of each day, I'm feeling pretty sore, both in my back and my left leg. I'm taking some pain meds to help me get through each day. I really want to finish, but I will also try to listen to my body if it tells me I'm trying to do too much.

Today we crossed into Alabama. We also crossed into the path of Tropical Storm Arlene, as it rained heavily the last 20 miles of our ride. But we made it to Hamilton, AL, checked into a hotel, and took nice hot showers to get warmed up. Tomorrow we continue on toward Savannah, Georgia. This is now officially our goal - we've got about 550 miles left. With any luck, we'll be there within two weeks, and then we'll load up the RV and drive back up to Maine in time for the July 2 celebration.

Thanks for all your well-wishes on the message board. Some of them were quite touching. It really meant a lot to me to read all the comments and know that so many people were concerned about my well-being. It also helped me realize how much I've already accomplished with this awareness campaign. I'll write again when I cross into Georgia. In the meantime, keep the messages coming, and I'll see you all in July!

Regina

A Very, Very, Very Bad Day

When you start out on a bike trip like this, you make a lot of plans and assumptions. You make plans for the route that you're going to take, how long it will take, and if all goes just according to plan, that you'll finish up on a certain date and everything will be all smiles and joy and fond memories. It will never rain, the hills won't be so bad, the people will be nice, nothing will go wrong with the bike, and there won't be any accidents.

Well, on Wednesday I was in an accident.

We had left the town of Marvel, Arkansas and were excited because we were about to cross over the Mississippi River, a symbolic moment in any cross-country trip. We had only made it about 4 miles when suddenly, disaster struck. A pick-up truck hit me as he passed by me, sending me off the road in a tumble. I was scraped up pretty badly, and my back hurt. The driver didn't even stop, but witnesses to the accident had gotten his license plate number, and he was later apprehended by the police. An ambulance was called, and I was taken to the local hospital in Helena, AR. I had a pretty severe case of "road rash" (which are all the surface cuts you get when you roll around on the pavement) on my right arm and leg, and on my left leg, and on my stomach, and, well, pretty much everywhere. And I also found out that I had a compressed fracture of one of my vertebrae. I was devastated. All my plans and goals had been wiped out in an instant by one careless driver.

The hospital in Helena was a small local hospital, and I wanted a second opinion. So we drove up to Memphis, TN to a larger hospital and had them examine me. They took X-rays and did a CAT-scan of my back, and concurred with the diagnosis of a compressed fracture. They have told me to stay off the bike for a little while. With time and rest, I will heal, but for right now, I am still in a lot of pain.

Part of that pain is knowing that I cannot finish what I had set out to do, which was to ride my bicycle from San Diego to Portland, ME and to spread awareness of celiac disease. I know that I have accomplished much already, but it still seems like I haven't completed the job. I am currently looking at my options from here. I know that I cannot stick to the original plan, but I am hoping that I can still complete this "coast to coast" ride in some fashion. Right now, I'm thinking that instead of riding all the way to Maine, I will ride from here to the nearest coast (probably Savannah, GA or Charleston, SC), dip my wheel in the Atlantic and call it quits there. If my back is bothering to the point where I cannot ride even that far, then Alex will finish the ride for me and then we'll head back to Maine. We still plan on having our finishing celebration on July 2 in Portland, as I believe we still have much to celebrate. Even today, while we were resting and recouperating at a hotel in Tunica, MS, I was able to get on a local radio show and do a five-minute interview (you can listen to the interview by going to this site http://www.audiovegas.com/Schiffer/Archives/ and clicking on "June 4, 2005." My interview starts at about the 2hr.13 minute mark). In a weird way, being hit by a truck gives my story more of a kick, and it makes me more "newsworthy." Whatever it takes, right? Well, even I wouldn't go that far...

So I wish that I could say that everything is going fine, but it's not. I try to tell myself that it could have been much worse, and that I'm lucky to be in one piece. I will try to overcome this, and to finish what I have started if at all possible. Stay tuned to the website, and I will let you all know how it turns out. Thanks for all your well-wishes.

Regina

Soaking It Up in Hot Springs

Another week, another state gone by as we are now in Hot Springs, Arkansas, cooling our heels on a much-needed day off. And there really are hot springs in Hot Springs. Go figure. But first, let's recap the week that was...

We left Norman, OK with full bellies and good spirits after having met with the local celiac support group there. Plus, the local Norman newspaper had a big article about our trip, so we felt good about our stop there. We headed east out of town, and passed through the town of McAlester, which was big enough to have a decent newspaper, so we stopped in and asked to speak to a reporter. The woman we spoke to was very interested in my story, and she wound up writing a nice piece about the ride, which we read on their website a few days later. Another success story! After McAlester, the big towns were few and far between, so we concentrated on getting in some big miles each day. Eastern Oklahoma is very different from the western part of the state. It's a lot more green, there are actually trees, and there are real hills to go up and down. There is a scenic parkway that runs from Eastern OK into Arkansas, and we rode that for a little bit one day as it did a roller-coaster route up one steep hill and down another. It was quiet, there was no traffic, and a gentle rain was falling, and it was really quite peaceful. But it also was taxing our legs, so we eventually switched to another road and entered Arkansas.

Arkansas was a landmark state for me. Before the trip began, I had been to all 50 states except for Texas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. We had already ridden through TX and OK, so Ark. was the last state left for me to visit. Now I can say that I've been to them all! Soon after crossing the border, it started to rain. Hard. So we took a break, waited out the rain, then got on our bikes again and finished off our day.

The next day, it was off to Hot Springs. It was also Memorial Day weekend, and everyone was out on the roads, towing either a boat or an ATV (or both) as they looked to get out on the water or into the woods. Turns out people in Arknsas love their fishing and ATV-ing. We had been in contact with the celiac support group in Little Rock, and they had set up an appearance for us at the Wild Oats Market and possibly a TV interview. So we raced along to Hot Springs, then got in RV for the detour up to Little Rock. Little Rock wasn't on our route, but if we can get some exposure, we'll go anywhere. The appearance at the Wild Oats was a little disappointing - it was the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend, and there wasn't much of a turnout. Also, the tv crew never materialized, so in terms of publicity, we didn't feel like we accomplished much. On the plus side, however, the local support group hosted a fish-fry for us, where the people were wonderful and the food was delicious. Special thanks go to the head of the support group, Anne Luther, and her partner Joel, for their kind hospitality. We left Little Rock refreshed and relaxed and thankful for the new friends we'd made.

The next morning we headed back to Hot Springs to get back on our route. Before getting on the bikes again, though, we decided to treat ourselves to a hot springs bath and massage. We were at the halfway point of our journey, and we deserved a little pampering! It was a nice experience, as the town is known for its natural hot springs and thermal baths - people have been coming here for a hundred years to do just what we were doing. We checked out the National Park, located in one of the grand old bath houses, and walked around town, which was pleasant. We left the next day knowing that we were more than 2000 miles into our journey - we had already accomplished quite a bit in five weeks and hopefully we will accomplish even more in the five weeks ahead.

Maine-ly in the Plains

What a difference a week makes! By that I mean, goodbye mountains, and hello Great Plains, as we are now in the middle of Oklahoma, resting up in the town of Norman, just south of Oklahoma City. It's been an interesting week, for sure. We started out by biking north from Santa Fe, New Mexico, up to Taos along "The High Road." They call it that for a reason. It was a scenic ride, but took it's toll with all the climbing, descending, and climbing again. Lots of small little towns along the way, each looking more abandoned than the one before it, until we got to Taos itself, which seemed pretty enough for the little of it that we saw. The next morning we got psyched up for our biggest climb to date, up over a pass that would take us to 9100 ft. of elevation before descending down into eastern New Mexico. The climb turned out to be easier than we thought, and the descent through the canyon on the other side was quite beautiful, as we raced a small stream downhill into the valley. Once, we came zipping around a corner and there were five mule deer crossing the road in front of us. Very nice. The one tough part was a ten-mile section where we had our most severe cross-winds to date (I had to get off and walk a short stretch because the wind was blowing me off the road!). Aside from that, it was a very nice biking day.

The next day we rode steadily away from the mountains, and it was clear that we were in a different part of the country. The terrain opened up, it was much drier, cattle ranches were everywhere, and we were in the Great Plains. Technically we were still in New Mexico, but it sure felt like Texas. It was interesting at first, but then became a little repetitive. Would it be like this for the next few weeks? The next day we officially crossed into the Texas panhandle, and in addition to the cattle ranches there were now many drilling rigs dotting the landscape. I'm told that they drill for natural gas in this area, and it kind of smelled that way. And when it doesn't smell like natural gas, it smells like cow manure. Welcome to Texas.

At this point, we started to employ a new strategy for our awareness campaign,. When we entered a town that was big enough to have its own newspaper, we would stop by their office and make ourselves available for a quick on-the-spot interview. We tried this in three different towns over the next few days, and in each one they took some notes, snapped a few photos of us, and told us the story would appear in their paper in the next few days. Hopefully they follow through with the stories, as this would mean our story would get out to thousands more people than we could reach on our own. We'll keep trying this tactic, as it seems promising.

We made it across the Texas panhandle in two days, and entered Oklahoma, where things looked pretty much the same. I should note that over these last three or four days, they've had record heat in the area, so each day it's been sunny and in the mid- to high-90's. Everything is baking in the sun: the crops, the cattle, and especially us. So we keep on pouring on sun-screen in the mornings and showering off the sweat and the grime at the end of each day. And drinking a lot of liquids. I mean, a lot of liquids. Gatorade should sponsor us!

As we entered Oklahoma, we noticed some of the fields were starting to grow crops. Specifically, wheat. And of course, wheat is something that a person with celiac disease cannot eat. So here we are, trying to spread the word about celiac and going without gluten to a community that relies upon growing and selling wheat. Oh, the irony! But all we can do is keep pressing on with our campaign. We made it to Norman, this time with company, as Greg, whose wife has celiac, joined us for the 70 mile ride into town. It was a pleasure to have him ride with us. And when we got to town, the local celiac support group had organized a pot-luck dinner for us. The food was great and I got a chance to hear their stories and to tell them mine. It's always good to connect with other people who understand what I'm going through and what I'm trying to achieve with this ride. They were very supportive and welcoming, and I'd like to thank them again for all their help, especially Kate Martin and her family, who welcomed us into their home for the night.

Tomorrow it's on the road again, as we head east into the hills of Oklahoma (yes, there really are hills in Oklahoma!). In a few days, we'll be in the state of Arkansas. I've never been there before, so I'm actually looking foward to it. I'll try to write again from there. In the meantime, keep those messages coming!

Regina