Crooked Tan Lines: July 6, 2013, 3PM, Saturday, Everett, WA

We had check-in at 9am. While getting stuff, we also check in stuff. (Reference George Carlin’s take on “Stuff.”)

It’s really a nerve racking time because of all the anticipation. Self-doubt creeps in like an order. You  don’t know it’s there until…IT’S THERE! If you can remember dropping off your bike at your first Ironman, or packet pickup at your first marathon, you’ll understand.

Simultaneously, you’re checking other entrants equipment, clothes, fitness level, nutrition, anxiety level, etc. Not to necessarily compare yourself with them as a competitor, but more importantly to know that you’re at least in the same ball park as others. That you have a chance of finishing.

What I still found astounding is the number of people doing this who have done MULTIPLE cross country tours. One guy has done AT LEAST one every year for 14 years! That’s VERY expensive. And time consuming. “Geeez, buddy! Find a hobby.”

This is very different from my other endurance events because of its expanse: miles and days. I feel like I packed up my house and brought it with me. This organization, however, has a limit. ONE BAG. 40 POUNDS. That’s it.

Right now behind me, all my stuff is spread out over my bed. One to find stuff (Carlin), and to repack. I think it’s a sign of my psychosis at present, otherwise known as… “FREAKIN’ OUT!”

Another sign is how I feel. How, you ask? Fat, soft, heavy, weak, not toned, and not fit.  I don't feel I'm eating right or have done enough. I know sitting in the car for 3 days didn’t help.

But, I also have faith (below, July 4, 6 am) that once the riding starts, I’ll feel normal again. Fit. If not at the end of the first day, then certain by Day 3. (Day 1 is “only” 98 miles and 5500’ of climbing.) Today’s pre-ride, a kind of systems check, we rode out to the ferry that will carry us tomorrow. It was only 14 miles but 1500’ of climbing!

I can tell Lance, like me is getting anxious, too.

I met Lance Shelton while we were both doing our first cross state bike ride. It was Mike Keel’s BRAGALOT ride (Bike Ride Across Genuinely Awesome Land Of Texas) 2004. Yup, it’s a mouthful.

I had been hit by a car and banged up pretty good. Keel suggested I come along to assist to him, to work the ride, and if the feeling struck, to get back on the bike for some of the trip. It was 7 days and 700 miles from south Texas to the Oklahoma border.

I ended up riding all but the first couple of hours of the first day. IT WAS AWESOME!!! I met up with Lance who was continually in the front. He has a wicked sense of humor. I’m surprised, as he is, he hasn’t been fired from his teaching-coaching position in Dodd City where he lives. He could make conversation with the devil. Great southern humor. Slow and easy laugh. Funny, funny, funny. And hates football. We get along like peanut butter and jelly. If he’s the Lone Ranger, I’m Tonto. He’s Minneapolis, I’m St. Paul.

I remember us discussing the cross-country ride then. I credit him with setting an arbitrary year, 2012. Suddenly, we both started working toward that goal.

We met at a number of bike rallies since then. My endurance would assist him in getting him in good position to sprint at end and do very well. He was/is a much better sprinter than I, so it only made sense that I would help him. As I said above, we’re a good team.

He had a slight set back a few weeks ago in his train, while I had mine back in mid-March. In both cases, it set us back in our training and question our abilities going into this ride. While my situation is still touch-and-go, he seems to have recovered and will be fine.

We have a final meeting in 30 minutes, at 3:30. Dinner follows immediately after. 

Then, I have to clear off my bed!

Crooked Tan Lines: July 6, 2013, Saturday, 7am, Everett, WA

Home. This is the longest period in the past few days or for the next four weeks, I will have been in the same place for more than one night. Two over nights. Whew! I got a chance to unpack…a bit.

Washington state is interesting. If southeast Utah is a giant box of kitty litter, and Oregon is dramatically rolling farm land, Washington is also defined by its mountains. It’s the mountains that set its weather pattern and economy, and the attitudes of its people.

In each of my past visits to Seattle, I’ve found a great number of similarities to Boston, the place of my heritage. From weather pattern, house architecture, land geology, the ocean port…yup, it’s like being back in the northeast. Only the sun is setting over there! What’s up with that? Hmmmm.

We over nighted in Caldwell, OR, on Thursday night, unable to stay up for the fireworks. Heck, we nearly didn’t even make the sunset which was 9:45 local! I remember hearing the pops of the grand finale just before slipping off to dream land.

This morning, scratchy throat, congestion. No sniffles yet. …Drag! 

Crooked Tan Lines, Thursday, July 4, 2013, 6 am, leaving Gunnison, CO

Lance Shelton, my bike buddy, is driving the mountain alleys as the sun rises behind us, as if a giant bedroom shade is being lifted across the sweep of pasture and craggy ridges. There’s beauty on the banks of Black Canyon reflecting the rock centurions that guarded these spots for centuries. We remark how this is how it will look when we start our journey in three days. My ears pop from the altitude.

Our bikes are sitting on back seat behind us (it’s a rental!), and our body-bag size luggage is in back. Packing for a month on the road is tough if you’ve only got one bag.

After the initial hoo-rah of starting that is familiar to anyone who’s done a large athletic event (marathon, bike rally, etc), I envision the ride becoming rote, a job, another day in paradise, or in the saddle as the case might be. For example, I expect when we pass the inspiring Mount Rushmore in South Dakota, we’ll casually glance over at it, but be more concerned about making the hotel to rest and eat. When passing the glorious wheat field oceans of the mid-west after three weeks of 100+ mile rides, we’ll have a road-weary look of veteran road warriors. When looking out over vistas of majesty that’s taken millions of years to carve and create, we will pass by in an almost disrespectable instant, bemoaning the climbing, grade, and the “miles we have to go before we sleep.” Like a soldier in the trenches looking gritty and a little beaten up with a slight jadedness, we’ll adopt that look and attitude naturally. It will be apparent when “The Thirds” (those coming on to ride a third of the distance with us) join our group. They’ll have the excitement and energy of a recruit, or new puppy. We’ll just give them a blank stare of an old dog.

Janalou gave me a journal the night before I left. She tucked in under my pillow. In it, she wrote something for me to read every day. VERY cool, not to mention a lot of work. She also left a blank page after each entry for me to write in. On the inside, past the cyclist on the cover, Janalou wrote a bunch of cycling quotes. Pres. Kennedy, writer Ernest Hemmingway, and poet Robert Frost are included (referenced above in quotes). Janalou’s a good wife. I’m very thankful.

But that wasn’t all. She gave me a necklace with two small charms on it. One is just the word “Faith.” The other is a bike with an inscription on the back: “Faith Journey, PAC Tour, 2013.”

A few months into the concentrated training for this trip, I was injured. It was a critical time in the middle of the build-up that I didn’t have time to repeat given the time line I was on. I was out for at least four weeks that had me questioning how this ride would be completed if I didn’t have the necessary training. I told Janalou it was have to be on faith. Faith that I would heal, faith that I would be able to continue the training, and faith that I would get to the start line, and then be able to finish. A faith journey.

Out the window, the giants are still standing guard over their valleys and peaks.

….How will the mountains celebrate our 4^th of July tonight?

Crooked Tan Lines: July 3, 5:20am. Start Driving

I have thought about, read about, asked about, and talked about this ride for almost as long as I can remember.

There’s the anticipation of Christmas, the excitement of one’s birthday, the worries of starting a new job, and the nervousness at the feeling of not having done enough training. One more long ride. One more fast ride. One more hill ride… Never enough.

It’s like the SAT’s. You’re either ready or you’re not. There’s no faking it. This isn’t the weekend 5K.

I’m of the thought that if one has done the work (trained) and is able to arrive at the start line, then they have already stepped out and (almost) achieved their goal.

Though the idea for this sojourn has been with me since I was kid, focused preparation has been building for since 2007. Lance Shelton was a big part of actually moving the idea off the table with a conversation centered around “when.” I remember he said he had arbitrarily picked out five years (2012) because it was enough time to gather resources.

Let me begin by saying that as a four year old kneeling beside the cracked open window in the spring and listening to a distant train’s lonely whistle after each sunrise, I dreamed of far off places.

I listened to my dad’s romanticized stories of hitch-hiking around the northeast, between New York City and Boston in post WWII. I sat in wonder and looking around my bleak “no-where’s-ville” town and thought about these great adventures he had.

I began hitch hiking while in high school one day trying to make my way back home after going the winter car races on a lake in the next town. It was “do or die” and not being late for dinner. I stuck out my thumb and it started. Since then, I’ve hitched from the North Carolina border and up the east coast to the Boston area, the length of Illinois, and from the Atlantic to Lexington, Kentucky. I’ve stood under a street light in the middle of the night not knowing what state of the U.S. I was in. Scary!

Many years later, I would travel by train across this great continent, and even later, by plane. I’ve also driven and ran in every state but Montana.

I’ve done three 140 mile Ironman triathlons, swam the 5 miles across Lake Ray Hubbard three times, crossed the state of Texas by bike three times, and climbed Africa’s Mount Kilimanjaro over eight days. Now it’s time for another adventure, easily my longest yet.

On July 7, I will be among 31 other cyclists who will bike 3600 miles across the country in 32 days. I’ll start in Everett, WA, Saturday, July 7, and finish in Williamsburg, VA, Wednesday, August 7. The longest single day will 149 miles, with a typical week will be 930 miles. Generally, I’ll be averaging 112 per day. On the biggest climbing day, we will ascend 9,500 feet on Day 29 of 32. Not everyone will make it...

Crooked Tan Lines (CLT), 7/2/13, 6PM

Ride of Silence Founder Cross-Country Trip Starts in Everett July 6

By Barb Chamberlain | Published June 17, 2013

The founder of the worldwide Ride of Silence will be crossing the United States between July 6 and Aug 8. Chris Phelan will begin his journey in Everett, WA, July 6, and end in Williamsburg, VA, Aug 7.  He’ll be one of the participants in the PAC Tour Northern Transcontinental Cross Country.

He will be riding to raise awareness of the Ride of Silence and with hopes to meet as many ROS event organizers as possible. Because he needs to average 112 miles per day for 30 days, he realizes he may only get to shake a few hands and say thank you while guzzling a Gatorade in the shade at a 7-Eleven on a corner. But, to him, it will be worth it.

If you can visit him along this sojourn that will include Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia, and Virginia, please come out and cheer him on. Point him to your favorite pizza place. Buy him a beverage.

In Washington state at least three rides took place for 2013: Seattle, with 36 riders; Spokane, with 40; and Wenatchee, with 40. If your community participated and you haven’t reported it yet, let Chris know so he captures the full reach of the event.

Chris’s schedule is listed below with dates and cities that he should be passing through.  If you’d like to meet up with him send him an email to let him know; include the date and city so you can coordinate: Chris.Phelan@rideofsilence.org.

In Spokane, Ride of Silence organizer Roger Schramm is putting out the call to get local riders to meet Chris. Contact rogers@garcobuildings.com if you want to participate.

Dates and Cities List

Sun, Aug 4, Elkins, WV: Super-8 Elkins 304-636-6500

Mon, Aug 5, Harrisonburg, VA: Best Western Harrisonburg 540-433-6089

Tue, Aug 6, Ashland, VA: Hampton Inn Ashland 804-752-8444

Wed, Aug 7, Williamsburg, VA: Econo Lodge Inn and Suites 757-253-1663

Crooked Tan Lines - Ride Across America

CROOKED TAN LINES (CLT)

1. Thank you’s

If all goes well, this will end the same way it starts..with thank you’s.

God

Janalou: wife, friend, life partner; "Particular and Peculiar!" "Eat and Run!" Cool.

Mom and dad: memories...

Lance Shelton: the man who put a date behind the idea

Mike Stieglitz: always my coach, mentor, and friend

Bob Rubey: officially introduced me to proper cycling while rooming together at SIU

Dave Morgan, Darren & Rebecca Durrett, and Young Life; great people for a great cause!

Duct Tape People (Dr. Randy, Dr. Dr. Himmelsehr, Dr. Palacios, Dr. Sherman, Logan Sherman, John Sutherland, Darci West): those attempt to keep me from falling apart, but when I do, put me back together…physically and psychologically.

RBM: Jim Hoyt, Woody Smith, Jack G, Joe Howard, etc, etc.

Mike Keel: a voice in the wilderness of Dallas

The Core: Michael Montgomery, Tracy Cleveland, Michael Smith, Mike Gibson, Khai Harbut, Jamie Shaw, Joseph Murphy, Art Fairchild

Team Z: Terry Zielger, Victoria Piper, Chris Hughes, Jane Zeigler, and company

TNT-Tuesday Night Track: runners all, triathletes some, but all of open hearts

Builders (McEvily's, Eggert's, Balch's, Weaver's, Fletcher's, Ronan's, etc, etc,...and the back row!)

The support of those who believed and stuck by me… I’m sorry for those who chose not to.

AND OF COURSE…The Ride Of Silence. Those who keep it together (Tim Potter, Elizabeth Adamcyzk, Benoit Valin, J. Steve, Mark Hagar, and every local director around the planet!) and the thousands who have lost their lives legally sharing the road with the motorist that killed.

THANK YOU!

Let's Get Rolling

At the site of the orginal 2003 Ride Of Silence, White Rock Lake, Dallas, TX.
Founder Chris Phelan wearing the Ride Of Silence shirt.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

April 14, 2013

 

Dear organizers, directors, volunteers, and participants:

 

Our ride is only 31 days away. While some of us are putting the final details for our ride, others are just beginning their preparations. That’s one of the beauties of The Ride Of Silence. It can be grand and formal, or it can be (more times than not), a few buddies getting together to remember a friend or loved one. It can fit the personality of the director and match that region of the country. But the point is we all have the same thing in mind and are united on this day, at this time: May 15, 7 PM.

 

On one night in cities around the world, cyclists will gather to ride in silence to raise awareness of cyclists' right to ride on the road and to honor the fallen cyclists no longer with us, a rally that advocates for the living friends and family of victims, as well as a celebration of those who incorporate the bicycle into their lifestyle. We ride slowly and silently in hope to end the tragedy on our roads.

 

We rally people from the slumber behind their wheel to be aware of cyclists using the road, legally. We want to remind motorists of their legal obligation to share the road.

 

We’ve grown this ride from our city, our state, our country, and the world from late nights on the commuter, going door-to-door, inspiring and meeting with anyone that would meet with us to discuss how cyclists are being massacred daily on our roadways,  many times without justice being followed up on the motorists. Cyclists are seemingly an invisible population to city planners, authorities, courts, city leaders, insurance companies, and motorists. Our bike ride is trying to bring that to light by getting as many people as possible on a bike on a single day (always the 3^rdWednesday in May), at the same time (7pm), world-wide.

 

We have done all this, uniting the world for one cause, as it has never been done before, year after year, with only a slim volunteer staff, and without a budget; a Herculean task that has never been done previously.

 

The Ride Of Silence, first and foremost, memorializes those lost doing what they loved. It remembers fathers, mothers, daughters, sons, friends, co-workers, workout partners, and neighbors who otherwise wouldn't be remembered beyond their immediate family.

 

It has brought to light the number of cyclists killed mercilessly everywhere. Prior to this ride, many cyclists thought the problem was only local. But this ride made all people realize the problem of cyclists being killed was universal.

 

The RofS has united, bonded, inspired, and organized cyclists locally and globally to act in a kind and selfless way, meeting in peaceful assembly, without reward, monetary or otherwise, leaving a legacy for others to follow and possibly change the world little by little.

 

With over 320 ride locations on all 7 continents, this ride's impact is undeniable. It has been reported in every medium to millions of people world-wide, to regular people who use a bicycle as a form of recreation, exploration, commuting or travel, and commerce.

 

The Ride Of Silence remembers the bicycle, not just as a child’s toy or pastime, but as one of the cornerstones of transportation and business development, as it still is today. This event remembers it is the bicycle that inspires people to get to know their neighborhoods and neighbors, and thereby form a safer world, as well as being a part of the solution against the obesity epidemic.

 

The Ride Of Silence has made an large impact that will be remembered individually, as well as throughout the communities of our towns and cities, states, country, and world.

 

 

Who can ride and has ridden in this event? Race, road, MTB, BMX, Cross, DH, Trike, DF, ‘Bent, fixies, cruisers, trikes, elite, age groupers, commuters, critical mass, cycle chic, lycra, denim, tweed, recreational, casual, young, old, fast, slow – it doesn’t matter. Whether you know it or not, you are part of a large family, and this is your call to the family reunion.

 

Please join us May 15, 7PM!

 

New this year is our store to purchase a Ride Of Silence item. There are t-shirts, bike shirts, socks, a framed poem with accompanying photo, magnet, or just a sticker. Go to: http://www.rideofsilence.org/merchandise.php. Attached is a photo of me, Chris Phelan, wearing the new shirt at White Rock Lake (where the original RofS took place).

 

We’re at the point where we are asking ALL organizers and directors to list their ride with us on the RofS web site.

If you’ve done this before, you can verify how easy it is. If this is your first time, let us calm your fears. It’s a very simple process. This is the address: http://rideofsilence.org/addlocation.phpand below is a COPY of the form to fill out. Name, email, city, state, country, distance, and notes about your ride.

 

First Name *
Last Name *
Email *
City *
State/Prov
Country *	* ISO-3166 codes welcome (AU, CA, DE, IN, SG, US, etc..)
Distance
Notes

 

Last we ask that you agree:

 

1. Participants will ride no faster than 12 mph.

2. The ride will be conducted in silence.

3. We recommend the distance of the ride be between 8-12 miles.

4. We recommend you contact your local traffic authorities/ police for:

   A. an escort

   B. a parade permit

   C. familiarity with local ordinances

5. We recommend insurance to conduct the ride and using our ride waiver:

http://www.rideofsilence.org/documents/RIDE_OF_SILENCE_RELEASE.doc

6. Riders should wear helmets (this is strongly recommending for limiting your liability in the event of an accident during your event).

7. There is no charge to attend and participate in the ride.

8. No merchandise using the name or image of The Ride Of Silence may be sold (cups, jerseys, stickers, etc.) without prior approval of RoS.

9. After your ride, follow up with us and let us know how it went.  Please include an approximate number of riders, distance, conditions, links to photos, videos and news articles using this easy to use form:  http://www.rideofsilence.org/reports/.

 

That’s it. That’s everything.

 

Please note NUMBER 9, asking to let us know how many people attended your ride, whether it was 1 or 1,000. After that, add as much as you’d like.

 

March 4-7, our web master, TIM POTTER, board member, ELIZABETH ADAMCZYK, and myself traveled to Washington DC for the National Bike Summit and talk to Congress about bike safety and The Ride Of Silence. It’s very motivating to be with like-minded people, cyclists who want to see the carnage on our roads cease. We each attended several workshops, separately to glean as much as possible. It’s also an opportunity to meet and thank RofS organizers from around the country. We encourage you to go if you are able. Plan to do some site seeing from a bike saddle if you go.

 

This is a great year for The Ride Of Silence because it is the 10^th anniversary since the ride started: 2003-2013. An amazing feat when you consider it is run by volunteers working without a budget and takes place on the same day at the same time around the globe. Very unique! And we have YOU to thank for keeping the flame alive. Thank you!

 

Yup, it’s true. On May 21, 2003, the first Ride Of Silence took place. A ride such as this had never happened before. A silent ride where no one talks? And goes slow? Who would show up? A thousand cyclists, that’s who. So many, in fact, both Dallas police and local TV stations were called to the scene (since there’s nothing scarier than a bunch of cyclists gathered wearing lycra).

 

Since then, this free event has grown. It’s grown across the state, across the country, across both oceans, and across the world. It has done what other corporate giants such as Nike, Avon, and beer companies couldn’t do. Even the Komen Run hasn’t achieved what we have done. Last year, The Ride Of Silence took place in 321 locations world-wide, all 50 U.S. states, 26 countries, and on all seven continents. And not a word was spoken, though a million powerful memories were made and recalled.

 

If you have joined us in the past to remember those cyclists that have gone before us, thank you for being part of this world-wide event. It is appreciated. Congratulations on inspiring so many people, and getting the message out to others who were probably hearing this for the first time.

 

Thank you for your passion. I look forward to partnering with each of you as we continue the tradition of excellence that distinguishes The Ride Of Silence, and as together, we envision the path for the future. You are part of a wave of growth for The Ride Of Silence, as we strive to embrace the world, realizing the same bicyclists’ rights problems extends far beyond our own streets. If we can band the cyclists of the world together, we hope that we can affect change in our immediate neighborhoods. With each person’s help, one person at a time, we can make a change. It helps us realize we ARE making an impact, we do matter, and people will see it.

 

This is an important date for your community. Cherish it. Through its people, your town has taken a giant step in the right direction toward cyclist safety. As you probably do, we see this as a very significant event, if only because it is held world-wide on the same day, at the same time. But more so, because it remembers those lost doing what is a legal right. We hear from cyclists from around the world that it's the most powerfully moving ride that they do every year. We are a simultaneous collection of quiet statements in support of cyclists' right to safe travel. The blood of cyclists are the seeds of this movement. We shouldn’t have to fight and struggle for what is legally ours to begin with.

 

Thank you for being part of this world-wide event. It is appreciated. Thank you for your passion. Our purpose is noble, our cause is just, and the Ride of Silence is an event worth being involved in. Through the web site, be sure to let us know how it goes, especially how many people attend. (Send reports to: http://www.rideofsilence.org/reports/)

 

We all ride. Now we can ride as one. One day. One time. One world, world-wide. Let the silence roar. Please join us May 15, 2013, 7 PM, for the boldest bike ride in history.

 

31 Days to go!

 

 

Chris Phelan, Founder

The Ride Of Silence

www.rideofsilence.org

Wednesday, May 15, 2013, 7 PM

 

The 2012 Ride Of Silence

319 locations world wide

50 U.S. states

20 Countries

6 continents

0 words spoken

A million powerful memories.