Today was the last day of summer (I think) and what an end it was! Today I learned about the power of attitude and how competition can motivate people. The first few days of the trip, the older guys rode many, many more miles than the young guys (as if they had something to prove). Eventually, fatigue set in, the elder riders began to yield and the young guys got to ride quite a bit. But now, the old guys have had a bit of rest and are once again ready to prove just how tough they are. Pat, Frank and Walt did 100 miles yesterday. Of course, in the spirit of competition and making sure every member of the Bucknell team got 100 miles in, Jay and I decided to ride 100 miles today, 33% more than either of us had gone before. (It’s not quite as impressive as it may sound, the most difficult part is sitting on a bike seat for five hours. But boy, that is tough.)
But the most important part of the ride for me today was Frank and Walt’s attitude. They rode 100 tough miles yesterday and we expected them to be tired. But instead they were even more excited for us than we were. Energy is infectious. We stopped every 25 miles and Frank would pour out of the van before it stopped, refilling our water and trying to give us more supplements than a vitamin shop. He offered us bananas, electrolytes (I don’t know if you can overdose on electrolytes, but I think Frank had us close), Sara’s special trail mix and Gu (a paste loaded with carbohydrates, sugar and bad taste that Jay and I tried only once before swearing off Gu forever. Woof.) By the end of the ride, Walt was outside of the van dancing and singing along to the Isley Brothers. Any other 75-year-old would probably have been sound asleep in the passenger seat, instead of cheering his teammates on.
A competitive spirit is a wonderful gift. It can push you to new heights that you would have never imagined possible unless someone else had challenged you to improve yourself. If the other Bucknellians had not ridden 100 tough miles, Jay and I probably would not have pushed ourselves quite so far. Instead, we would have been content to hang out in the van and pump out Frank’s favorite “tunes” (“We gotta have our tunes, baby!”), like Ben Lee’s “Catch My Disease” (which has become Frank’s theme song and he likes to yell out “That’s the way I like it!” when going up hills. You should download it right now.) But now we have the satisfaction of having successfully pushed ourselves past our previous limits. And while 100 miles on a bike isn’t a big deal, it did mean something special to our Bucknell team that every member of our team completed a 100 mile day.
During the ride, I looked at Jay’s get-up and called him “Mini-Frank” because he had borrowed his helmet, sunglasses, jersey, bike shorts, gloves, bike and shoes from Frank. The only thing he had of his own were his socks. Then I looked at myself. My helmet was my own. So were my socks. But I borrowed a bike and shoes from Augustyn (thank you), a water bottle from Patty (only because Kosa had borrowed mine, but thank you still), gloves from Frank (thank you for the gloves and thank you for the opportunity just to use the gloves!), a jersey from Danni (thank you, I’ll wash it eventually), shorts from JT (thank you). So many people have had to give up a small part of their time or possessions to be a part of this trip. And each gift may seem insignificant, but in the end, they have added up to an incredible experience that I cannot adequately compensate anyone for.
It’s amazing how much small gifts can mean to someone. A few days ago, I wrote about my cousin Chris’s oldest son Finn, and how he treasures his Bucknell hat. It’s also incredible how things are passed on from generation to generation. Growing up, one of my prized possessions were my authentic Indiana University basketball practice shorts (I was number 54). The shorts were about nine sizes too big when my cousin Chris gave them to me in second grade. Now they are too small, but I wear them anyways. Chris gave me shorts that I will treasure forever and I gave Finn a hat that he could not wear more. And now Doc, Frank, Jay, Patty and I are seeing how certain traits and tendencies are shared among generations of Bucknellians. We are all energetic, fun-loving people, as evidenced by our interactions in our van.
Safety is very important on this trip. Everytime I drive the van, I think about how long our 4-way flashers are on each day. And I wonder when the bulbs will burn out. I don’t think I have ever seen 4-way flashers on longer except for when Dev was late for class and his car would spent the entire day in the 15-minute parking space. But I am thankful for his tardiness because his car was always handy for a ride home after class.
I keep notes of every day of the trip on a yellow piece of paper. I want to remember every detail of this experience. My favorite part of my trip to Greece two summers ago (another incredible opportunity that gave me so much - S’agapo, Goldy) was the diary they made us keep. Unfortunately for this blog, I usually leave that notebook in the van or in the hotel room, so I write about whatever is on the top of my head at the time. Our chances to write are few and far between, and I always feel like I forget to mention important things or people in my blog. There is so much to update you on with this trip and it is tough to sort the pertinent stuff that you want to read from the stuff that is only pertinent to my personal thoughts and feelings. Blogs are fun to read, but they are tough to write, so congrats to BK and Patty, who update their blogs regularly with relevant thoughts and fluid narration, a goal that has escaped me so far on this trip.
In other news, Indiana was probably the friendliest state we have passed through thus far, cheers the Hoosier State for that. We passed by Indiana State University and Rose-Hulman Technical Institute and I realized how much I enjoy the atmosphere of college campuses. Especially open, green campuses. Everything is so energetic, so exciting, it pulls you in. I wonder how I ever made it out of Lewisburg. In other big news, Mom and Pops are coming to London, Ohio tomorrow to hang out with everyone. Let me know if you have anything you’d like me to tell them.
