Day 13: 117 Miles

Tuesday June 28

Never before did I imagine myself driving through northern Montana in the back of a stranger’s pickup truck. Yet there I was, crammed between my mother, Luke, Aaron and four bikes heading down the two miles of sand that was once Rte 2. We had just made it over twenty eight miles of torn up pavement, and we were hot, tired and looking for a functioning road when we reached the sand pit of our route. As Aaron and Luke went up to the road workers to ask for a ride from the pilot car, my mom went straight up to the first pickup truck she saw. It took two seconds before the nice man was telling us to hop in the back. He had never served in the Military, but he thought the cause was a great one and was willing to do anything to help us. He didn’t even know our names.
See that’s the best part about this trip. You learn a lot about people. I grew up in a city where I knew our neighbors for whom you did favors for, but that was about it. I was taught never to talk to strangers and especially never to get into their cars. St. Paul’s School, for many of us, was the first place where you could walk down the road and say hi to people who you didn’t know, help them out or do them a favor, because its not like the rest of the world. There we are safe, but anywhere else we are on our own, right? Or so we thought. It seems that everywhere we go we are met by people who want to hear about what we are doing, and learn about our cause. Just last night, we stayed with the incredible Miller family in the small town of Hinsdale, MT. They fed us and gave us showers and a roof over our heads without ever previously meeting us. Never in my life have I experienced such incredible hospitality, or been so grateful to receive it.
As much as this trip is about raising money for the cause, it is even more about spreading awareness. We have talked to countless Veterans who have never heard of R2R but are so grateful for what we are doing and more importantly want to share their stories.
Not only does this trip teach you about other people, but also teaches us a lot about ourselves. Today was more of a mental test then I could have ever imagined. We have crossed two mountain ranges already, and are all in incredible shape, but for some reason, nothing can prepare you for a head wind. There is something about nature fighting you that is a real killer. With mountains you know there is a top and a downhill on the other side. But when you see a flat road, and you are pushing yourself as hard as you can, with the 13 mph on your odometer laughing in your face, it takes a toll. You break down, crash, hit rock bottom. Some cry or shut down or say no and I can’t, but eventually you do it. We all get back on the bike and keep spinning those circles. Even if it’s to get out of those swarms of bugs, we’re still moving forward. Tonight it didn’t matter that we got in at eight thirty, if you were first or last or if you got pulled the last thirty miles or did the pulling, it’s all about finishing. We are all getting to Maine at the same time anyway. And, as for our day, let me tell you, pizza never tasted so good.
Lia