Around the World With Five Miles to Spare
February 4, 2009
 With my bike after finishing my ride this afternoon.
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Today I reached a milestone. While I was riding my bike along Bissell Road on the way to the Natchez Trace, I realized that by the time I got back home, I would have ridden all the way around the world. If you figure the circumference of the world at 24,000 miles, then I entered this year needing 91 miles to hit that mark. Before today’s ride, I was at 84 miles, when I finished the odometer read 96. So I have now ridden around the world with five miles to spare.
As noteworthy feats go, this does not rank up there with Sir Edmund Hillary becoming the first man to climb Mt. Everest or Lance Armstrong winning the Tour de France seven times. Still it means something to me. A few years ago Skip Olson challenged me to “ride around the world.” It all started about twelve years ago when I bought a ride for $75 from a guy who sold them out of his basement. I started riding almost every day, usually following the same 11.1 mile route. At the end of each year, I carefully noted the miles in my journal, adding them up as I went along. That $75 bike gave way to a $200 Raleigh that gave way to a mountain bike that gave way to another bike (now forgotten) that gave way to yet another bike and then to my current Specialized Sequoia Elite that I purchased in 2005. I have had my share of close calls. Twice I had people shoot at me (no kidding), and once some kids threw rocks at me. And like all bikers, I have been honked at, shouted at, glared at, and had cars and buses and trucks come whizzing by me way too close for comfort. Once a car turned the wrong way and hit me head-on. He never even saw me–and I walked away without a scratch. I’ve had a few other wrecks and a lot of flat tires.
During the long winters in Chicago, I tried to ride in January and February if I could. My rule was that I would ride when the temperature was in the 20s if the roads were clear and there was no wind. I once ventured out when it was 9 degrees, but that was a miserable experience. Up in the attic I have a whole box full of worn out gloves and sweat shirts that I put on in layers to withstand the cold. Sometimes it took me longer to put on and take off all my layers than it took to do the actual ride.
Finally, I know it has been good for my soul to ride so far for so long. I have done my best praying and my best singing on those daily rides. I think it’s been good in every way, and I thank Skip for giving me challenge. The world looks different from a bike, and now I’ve ridden all the way around it with five miles to spare.
As noteworthy feats go, this does not rank up there with Sir Edmund Hillary becoming the first man to climb Mt. Everest or Lance Armstrong winning the Tour de France seven times. Still it means something to me. A few years ago Skip Olson challenged me to “ride around the world.” It all started about twelve years ago when I bought a ride for $75 from a guy who sold them out of his basement. I started riding almost every day, usually following the same 11.1 mile route. At the end of each year, I carefully noted the miles in my journal, adding them up as I went along. That $75 bike gave way to a $200 Raleigh that gave way to a mountain bike that gave way to another bike (now forgotten) that gave way to yet another bike and then to my current Specialized Sequoia Elite that I purchased in 2005. I have had my share of close calls. Twice I had people shoot at me (no kidding), and once some kids threw rocks at me. And like all bikers, I have been honked at, shouted at, glared at, and had cars and buses and trucks come whizzing by me way too close for comfort. Once a car turned the wrong way and hit me head-on. He never even saw me–and I walked away without a scratch. I’ve had a few other wrecks and a lot of flat tires.
During the long winters in Chicago, I tried to ride in January and February if I could. My rule was that I would ride when the temperature was in the 20s if the roads were clear and there was no wind. I once ventured out when it was 9 degrees, but that was a miserable experience. Up in the attic I have a whole box full of worn out gloves and sweat shirts that I put on in layers to withstand the cold. Sometimes it took me longer to put on and take off all my layers than it took to do the actual ride.
Finally, I know it has been good for my soul to ride so far for so long. I have done my best praying and my best singing on those daily rides. I think it’s been good in every way, and I thank Skip for giving me challenge. The world looks different from a bike, and now I’ve ridden all the way around it with five miles to spare.