Update on the physical conditioning of the Jacksons

The last time any mention was made of 'saddle time' the Jacksons had just completed a round trip from Shelton to Tumwater for a total trip distance of just over 50 miles. They also celebrated the Michigan State Spartans victory over the Connecticut Huskies and their entry into the NCAA championship game. Two days later the University of North Carolina Tarheels took care of that pesky MSU squad. Oh well! It was still a wonderful run. Since then the Jacksons have gone on several rides including a 45 mile trip that was nearly the demise of Moritz. Not literally but figuratively. The cycling exchange student rode the mountain bike 23 miles to Elma in fine form. Once there, the Jacksons decided to do some grocery shopping, purchasing the necessities for a dinner of grilled hamburgers. Moritz felt confident upon reaching the grocery store and voluntarily decided to pack back the single heaviest item, a six pack of beer. Almost immediately after mounting the bike for the return trip home, the effect of 6 bottles of beer was obvious. Moritz became lethargic, and his coordination faltered as well. This all occurred without even opening a bottle! He struggled getting back having to dismount several times, and walk his bike up the hills. Perhaps the worst part of this ordeal occurred when Moritz was nearly half way home. He had to eat crow and ask Alan to carry the beer. So maybe you're asking yourself now 'Why would he choose to eat crow when grilled hamburgers were just a couple more miles down the road?'. We think he likes the feathers!

Eventually everyone made it safely back to the Jackson household where an American traditional dinner was enjoyed by one and all. And Moritz still had room for a hamburger!

On Friday Alan and Donna took the opportunity of nice weather to pick up Lewis from school on the bikes. This was only a 15 mile trip. On Saturday the bikes were once again utilized to take care of errands while adding on that oh so important saddle time. The day started with Lewis' piano lesson that took place at his school, a seven mile trip. Immediately following his lesson with Mrs. Salzer, the Jacksons got back on those bikes and pedaled 5 miles into Walmart, literally! As they were entering the parking lot the overcast skies began to spit at them so Alan and Lewis on the tandem followed by Donna on her steed rode right into the garden entrance of the store where the friendly cashier allowed them to temporarily leave the bikes while they did their shopping. This time there would be no beer purchased. Instead they opted for a 20 pound bag of cat food and a bag full of fresh vegetables for a dinner party they would be attending later in the evening. No, the cat food wasn't the main course. It was for the poor kitty who has remained anonymous so far in this journal. We'll have to correct that at some time in the future as she too lives here and plays an everyday role in the life of the Jacksons.

After paying for their purchases, they got back on their bikes and headed off towards their final destination of the day: the house of Rose Marie and Paul Gray.

Rose Marie just happens to be Lewis' science teacher at Evergreen and had invited the Jacksons for lunch. This leg of the journey was nearly 8 miles long. After a raucous welcome to their home by their dog Zippy who was being chased by a couple of nameless ducks, greetings and introductions were followed by a lunch of cheese bagel sandwiches and fruit and salad. After lunch the tree fort was explored as well some of the other attractions that are too numerous to cover in detail. Goats, beavers, chickens, guinea fowl, and cats were just the tip of the iceberg! So a couple hours after arriving, it was time to head back home. The total distance covered during the day was something approaching 25 miles. Slowly, but steadily, the Jacksons are getting accustomed to riding those bikes that by summers end will seem more like appendages to their bodies than merely machines of transportation.

Supporting Cast of Characters

Now that the three Jacksons have been partially dissected, it is time to move on to others who may play a part in this epic journey. At this point there appears to be no other people willing to accompany them on their adventure. An advertisement placed in the Companions Wanted section of the Adventure Cyclist magazine did get a few responses but so far none of these have panned out. This may be for the best but the idea of having just one other person with whom Lewis could interact would go a long ways toward alleviating his boredom at being stuck with only his parents all summer long. There will undoubtedly be numerous people they will meet over the course of the summer, but these relationships will only be of the transient type, typically lasting only as long as the Jacksons happen to be stationary. There is a slight chance of them meeting someone on the road who is going in the same direction. The Jacksons will be using maps that were purchased through Adventure Cycling where hundreds if not thousands of cyclists also purchase maps. Anyone who is attempting to cross the country utilizing their maps has 3 routes to choose from. Back in 1976 a few cyclists got it into their heads to celebrate America’s bicentennial by riding across the country. They called this the Bikecentennial. If my memory serves me correct this ended up attracting a couple thousand participants. And the route that was established back then is the basis for the route that is now referred to as the TransAmerica route. In addition there also exists the Northern Tier route and the Southern Tier route but the Jacksons have decided to stick to the original route. But I am digressing so back to the topic: Companions Wanted! The ad placed is as follows:

51 year-old couple with nine-year-old son riding TransAmerica west to east. Looking for small family, couple or individual interested in joining us. Leaving Astoria (Ore) early June 2009. Average 60 miles a day, six days a week. Finish in early September. Mostly camping with occasional warm showers and cheap hotels. Touring experience a plus but not necessary. Should be prepared for loads of fun. If interested email alandonnalewis@peoplepc.com

The two people who inquired haven’t decided to commit,which could be for the better. You never know how strangers will fit into the group dynamics. The initial responder (Ted) was interested because he also wanted to do this with his 2 boys, ages 8 and 12. Unlike the Jacksons, his plan was for each participant to ride their own bike. He felt that the sense of accomplishment would be diminished if one of his boys rode on the back of a tandem. I’m guessing that he also didn’t want to buy another bike. A good tandem is a major expense. Alan spent over $5000 for the tandem that he’ll be sharing with Lewis. When the possibilities were explored via a handful of e-mails, it was pointed out that Alan would not consider allowing Lewis to ride his own bike until he was a teenager. This is primarily for safety reasons but also to make the ordeal less intimidating physically. Alan is prepared to pull Lewis most of the way across the country. Lewis is aware of the fact that he is going to be asked to pedal for all he’s worth whenever they are going uphill. When the terrain is level or going down, he has the option to not pedal. When Alan pointed out to Ted that perhaps it would be a tougher sell getting Lewis to agree to this adventure if he waited for him to be mature enough to ride his own bike, Ted had to agree. His 12 year old is questioning whether he has to go or can he stay behind with mom? It seems that Ted has one other issue going on as well. The final e-mail from Ted uncovered the primary reason that Ted wants to do something like this. He is looking at his own mortality and wants his boys to have something to remember him by if something were to take him away from them prematurely. This something had to do with a health issue that Ted was going to be looking into in the near future. No word from Ted in over a month.

The other response was from an older gentleman who would have been in the company of his wife. These 62 year olds were bitten by the bike touring bug a couple years ago. Their initial ride was the Underground Railroad trail which parallels the route that escaping slaves from the South took to reach their freedom in the North. This was such a positive experience that from then on they vowed to spend their vacation time bike touring. And the cross country idea has really sparked their interest. Unfortunately their schedule is not flexible enough to join the Jacksons until about the second week of June. Alan and Donna and Lewis’ schedule is extremely flexible in every aspect except one. They absolutely positively will depart on June 1st. Everything else happens when it happens. So with only 6 weeks remaining, it appears that our family will go it alone.

I will now cover (as time and space allow) some of the other people who were invited to join or who might play a significant role in this journey. Lets start with Lewis’ older brother Moritz. Wait a minute! If you’ve been following this blog you probably remember something about Lewis being the only child of Alan and Donna! Who is Moritz? He is not really Lewis brother but that’s how Lewis introduces him to others. Moritz is a 17 year old exchange student from Germany. He’s been living with the Jacksons since late August of 2008. And since we’re on the topic of exchange students and other family members, it’s time to at least mention Lewis’ other brother HyunJin from South Korea who lived with the Jacksons from August of 2007 thru June of 2008. And don’t forget Lewis’s sister Diana from Colombia who likewise occupied the downstairs bedroom from August of 2006 thru June of 2007. Lewis lives with a bunch of transients! And lo and behold none other than Andrej (from Slovakia) will be waiting for the Jacksons to return from the successful completion of their big adventure in September. Andrej will be lewis’ 4th sibling in 4 years! OK. You’ve got the picture. Now let’s fill in some of the details surrounding Lewis ‘brother’ Moritz.

The planning and preparation for this journey had begun in Alan’s head years ago. It’s only been occupying space in Donna’s head for twelve months or so. Once Donna became resigned to the fact that she would be joining Alan and Lewis, preparations were made to include or accommodate the ‘brother’ that Lewis would leave behind. The process of obtaining an exchange student involves the host family pouring over dozens of profiles of different students from all over the world. The selection is at least partially based on the interests that the exchange student shares with the host family. Moritz indicated that he enjoyed cycling! Communication with exchange students typically begins months before they show up at the airport, looking for a ride and a place to call home for the next 10 months. Having never met this young man from Germany he was given the option of joining them for some or all of their adventure. There was no pressure placed on Moritz but the Jacksons wanted to be sure that he felt welcome to join them if he so desired. He declined to join citing problems with his visa expiring before the trip would have ended. Since getting to know Moritz during the last 9 months, they have come to realize that what he put on his list of interests didn’t necessarily coincided with his actual preferences. If the Jacksons were to compile a list of his interests of what they now believe to be true, cycling would not be near the top of the list. The list would start with scuba diving, driving an automobile, listening to music, paintball, watching movies, hanging with friends, eating potato chips, roller blading, etc…. until at number 47 you would find bicycling, just ahead of number 48 which would be washing the dishes. Sounds kind of like an average American teenager. Que Sera, Sera! In all fairness though, Moritz has gone on some bike rides with the family and has even commuted by bike, riding 8 miles to get to track practice. He will be joining them on some of the training rides that are upcoming including at least one overnight trip.

The scheduled conclusion of the academic school year at Shelton is not until June 19th, and Moritz’ return flight to Germany a few days later. With the Jacksons determined to leave on the first of June there was an overlap of almost 3 weeks where Moritz would be without his host family. Several possibilities were put out including having our yet to be mentioned good friend/neighbor/tenant/surrogate family member Diane, keep an eye on Moritz while he finished the school year. Another possibility would have been for him to stay with another family in Shelton until his departure on June 21st. The last possibility and the one that was decided upon is the best choice for all concerned. Moritz’ parents Beate and Klaus are flying into Seattle just 2 days before the Jacksons depart and will be staying with Moritz until they all fly out together on the 21st. The Jacksons now have two reasons to be excited about the end of May. Not only anticipation of the big ride but the opportunity to meet the parents of Lewis’ brother!

Cast of Characters III

Alan Edward Jackson is the third most important person in terms of this adventure reaching fruition. His tasks will be monumental though if this family is to safely pedal into Washington DC on or near the first of September. He absolutely positively has to keep everyone focused on the task at hand. There will be no complaining on his part because after all, it was his crazy idea in the first place. So whatever happens to this adventurous family, he will get only a small share of the credit for things that are positive. Anything that occurrs which is less than positive will be entirely his fault! He is prepared to shoulder the blame when conditions conspire against these wayward travelers. It might be the terrain one day, it might be the weather the next. It could be a pack of dogs or a mechanical failure on one of the bikes. The possibilities are almost endless so we’ll stop for now. Fortunately for our cycling family, the rewards should outweigh the difficulties that will inevitably occur along the way.

Alan is the oldest of five children that occurred through the union of Elaine and James (Ed) Jackson. He was born in an army hospital in Virginia (Fort Belvoir) where his father was stationed during the post Korean War conflict era. The rest of his siblings (one brother and 3 sisters) were born in Michigan where they still live to this day. Alan had an unremarkable childhood like so many other kids in his day. He experimented with a lot of things but never excelled. He was cajoled into taking piano lessons while in grade school and had it not been for the untimely death of his piano teacher, he might be another George Winston. This tragedy left him so scarred that he was unable to even look at a piano for years! That’s what he told his mother.

Alan’s introduction to bicycles began when he received his first new bike about the time he turned 6. A 24” Huffy with a built in headlight and electronic horn. Boy was that a slick machine. It was the envy of the neighborhood. This bike lasted several years before falling into disrepair. A second bicycle arrived when he was 12 years old. A pair of 3 speed English Racer bikes were purchased for him and his oldest sister Karen. These bikes lasted several years and were put to good use as Alan used his in his first job, delivering newspapers. From the money he made with his paper route, he purchased his third bicycle. This was his first 10 speed and came from JC Penneys. His best friend (Scott Kimmel) got an identical bike and the two of them rode everywhere on those magical machines. Almost daily they would take off and explore neighboring locales. Typical distances approached 40 miles for a round trip. His first taste of long distance self supported touring occurred when he and Scott decided to ride their bikes to Traverse City in northern Michigan. This trip was nearly 200 miles each way. And they planned to make it a round trip. Quite a bite to swallow for a couple of 15 year olds on their summer vacation. While they were experienced in bike riding and experienced in camping (Alan was a Boy Scout) they found that bicycle touring is a totally different beast. They felt prepared for anything when they pedaled away from home that fateful day. The novices were actually wearing rigid frame backpacks stuffed with most of the gear they felt they needed. Have you ever tried riding a bicycle with a 40 pound backpack strapped to your shoulders? They hadn’t tried it either. They traveled nearly 60 miles that first day, a gorgeous sunny summer day. It took them only 10 or 15 miles to discover that 40 pounds on your back is a lot of weight. At this point the larger heavier items in the backpacks were removed and strapped to the rear racks which had been after all, underutilized. This modification made the bikes a bit tipsy but the strain on the shoulders was lessened significantly. The neophyte touring cyclists successfully found a suitable place for their tent and prepared a quick meal before retiring for the night utterly exhausted. Why did they bring that 6 pack of Coke? There’s a pop machine right across the road you dummies! Dang those 2 big cans of Dinty Moore beef stew sure weighed a lot. In the morning they packed up and headed off with way less enthusiasm than the previous day but they headed off nonetheless. This day they covered only a paltry 35 miles before the overcast turned into rain. The rain was not of the drenching downpour variety but it didn’t take much to dampen their sagging spirits. Not prepared for wet riding, they set up camp just 5 miles from Higgins Lake. After an uneventful second evening they packed up in the morning and headed out with a new final destination. Traverse City and the Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes had been replaced by Higgins Lake State Park. The third day of the tour was all of 5 miles and they covered that in no time flat. A quick phone call to let everyone know they were fine and then they settled into the campsite that would be their home for the remainder of their adventure. A week after they left home they made another phone call and convinced Alan’s mother to come pick them up. All’s well that ends well!

Alan grew up in the Saginaw area of Michigan and attended Bridgeport Schools. And just like Donna, he excelled in every art class he took and he took a lot of them. Unlike Donna however, Alan had an art teacher who advised him not to go to college and take art classes. Mrs. Webb was influential enough to cause him to consider an occupation in something outside the arts. Her actual words were “Jackson, you’re smart enough to do something else with your life. Don’t go to college only to end up as a starving artist”. Alan took her words to heart, at least some of them. He decided not to go to college! This was a disappointment to his father who would have gladly paid to see his oldest son succeed in something. Instead Alan chose an occupation that was steeped in glory and fringe benefits! He worked at the local bowling alley where he kept the beer coolers full and helped maintain the lanes as well as general cleaning of the facility and the banquet hall next door. These were wonderful times in Alan’s life. The fringe benefits included free bowling and free beer! This was as close to Nirvana as he had been in his previous 18 years of life. Alan started dating another employee at the bowling alley (Bonnie)who eventually lead him to Barbara Jean who eventually became his first wife.

James (Ed) Jackson was an Industrial Engineer at General Motors and managed to get Alan a job as a hourly laborer just before they eliminated nepotism as a viable way into General Motors. Over the span of two years he worked and was laid off and worked and was laid off again. The final lay-off occurred while Jimmy Carter was President and was said to be the result of competition from foreign automakers. For this reason a supplemental assistance package was established and was retroactive for many of the laid off employees. Alan was one of those who received a lump sum payment of nearly $10,000, No, he didn’t go out and buy 2 new automobiles and some more beer. He surprised everyone and decided to go to college after all.

Just prior to his college days, Alan began to run for fitness and fun. This was due primarily to a positive influence from his Uncle Richard (his father’s younger brother). Over the next 30 years Alan ran in 100’s of road races including 2 marathons; the Detroit Free Press International in 1979 and the Capitol City Marathon here in Olympia in 2006. In addition to running for fitness, Alan ventured into the alternate universe that triathletes inhabit. While attending college he became a Certified Water Safety Instructor and taught swimming lessons at the local YMCA. He spent 2 summers during college as a lifeguard at a small park on a small lake near Lansing. With the inclusion of swimming now in his regimen, he lacked only the bicycling to become a full fledged triathlete. But you know what? Once having ridden a bike, you never forget how! Alan competed in a dozen or so mini-triathlons over a span of 4 years. These events typically start with a 1 mile open water swim, followed by a 25 to 30 mile bike ride followed by 10K road race. While Alan had never trained so hard in his life as he did then, he managed only to come in somewhere around the middle of the pack. Que Sera, Sera!

Alan and his first wife attended a community college in the Saginaw area (Delta) and transferred to Michigan State University where they both graduated in 1986. Alan ended up with a Degree in Chemistry and a teaching certificate to boot. He patiently waited 4 years for a position as a High School Chemistry teacher to open up. In the meantime he filled in 3 to 5 days a week as a substitute teacher for every class and grade from K through 12. Finally Alan grew tired a waiting for the perfect teaching position and accepted a job at DOW Chemical in Midland Michigan as a Research Technician. It was during this period in his life that things took a turn for the worse. In 1996 he left his job and comfortable house and family behind, choosing his bicycle as a means of escape. And escape he did. He set out to conquer new vistas, explore new horizons, and just ride his bike a lot (he desperately needed to find himself). Alan spent the next 4 months on his bicycle and managed to pedal all the way to Alaska and then nearly back to Michigan (central Illinois) before caving in and once again calling his mother to come pick him up. Alan credits this adventure of over 7000 miles with changing his life. Several decisions were reached during all those miles of pedaling. Some of them valid, others didn’t hold water. But that is all water under the bridge! That bike ride was directly responsible for his having met Donna which in turn lead to the miracle of life, one whom we affectionately call Lewis.

It has been my pleasure to compile this summary of the primary characters who will be departing by bicycle on the first of June, 2009 in hopes of reaching Washington DC. Several important people and periods in their lives have been glossed over or totally ignored. Don’t despair if you are one of those people. This cast of characters will be expanded over the course of the next 7 weeks to include as many secondary characters as time and energy allow. If you feel the urge to respond to any of these postings, by all means do so! Your response might very well be the trigger which sparks a memory that is just begging to be expanded. And Elaine Jackson, don’t wander too far away from your phone this summer. You could get another phone call from Alan!

Cast of Characters: Numero Dos

Lewis Carl Jackson, conceived on a weeklong bicycle tour of the Olympic peninsula in the state of Washington during the spring of 1999, was predestined to achieve great things through bicycling. He just doesn’t know it yet! I’m ranking Lewis just behind his mother in importance as far as the successful completion of this grand adventure. The primary concerns surrounding his mother have to do with physical limitations, or Donna’s ability to get back on that bicycle the next day and the next day and the next day, and on and on. Lewis’ nine year old body should be able to bounce right back into that bicycle seat day after day after day. The question that remains to be answered is how he will hold up mentally. Lewis has shown an inclination to become bored on some of the longer bike rides which inevitably leads to complaining and whining. The strategy to get around this inclination will be to take frequent rest stops so that the 50 or 60 mile bike ride is instead reduced to a half dozen 10 mile bike rides! Is that clever or what? Bribery will undoubtedly be a part of the strategy as well.

Lewis arrived late in this world in more ways than one. Entering with parents who are 42 years old certainly qualifies as being late. The medical experts who monitored Donna during her 'geriatric' pregnancy expected Lewis to arrive just before Valentine’s Day. A week after his anticipated arrival and his adamant refusal to leave the womb on his own, it was decided that additional measures would be necessary. These initially consisted of naturopathic remedies that were supposed to get him moving in the right direction, including plenty of activity for his mother during the daytime. It was even suggested that some activity by his father during the nighttime might convince him that it was time to come out. Nope, he wasn’t going anywhere! His mother then tried an herbalist’s remedy to get labor started by brewing and drinking Black Cohosh tea. This actually had some effect and lead to some mild contractions but these soon faded when the tea passed through. When he was officially two weeks beyond the date, the medical experts took over. It was now out of our hands. They were determined to get him out. His mother was given Pitosin and then the waiting began. But this was not your comfortable sit on the couch with a book and a beer kind of waiting. This was hospital room uncomfortable maybe read a magazine type waiting. He resisted and resisted and resisted until his vital signs began to show signs of distress. The medical experts have trained all their lives to handle these situations but when they noticed that his previously robust heartbeat was beginning to falter, the casual atmosphere during the previous 30 hours of unproductive labor was immediately replaced with an almost panic type situation. We were no longer allowed to just wait for him to pop out. This called for an immediate emergency cesarean delivery. After all that planning and training and hard work on his mothers part, the Ob Gyn doctor and her assistants had him out of his little cocoon within minutes from when the decision had been made. Immediately following this extraction his bluish lifeless bloody body was rushed to the opposite side of the surgical theater where a second team of experts were waiting for him. At this point his mother was unaware of her surroundings while his panicked father was watching and waiting hysterically to hear an infant cry. Lo and behold, Lewis did eventually cry and his father chose this opportunity to do so as well.

Lewis’ progression from infancy to toddler followed the norms that have been set by countless generations before him. He was walking on his own around 11 months. He experienced his first earthquake 2 days after his first birthday! This was a 7.0 magnitude on the Richter scale shaker that lasted for almost 45 seconds. This coincides with his mother’s first big earthquake as well. She had been expecting a parcel from UPS that day so when the house began to shake and shimmer she mistakenly thought the driver had crashed into the house with his truck. Once the building started lurching up and down she realized that this was no UPS truck! She grabbed her son and took shelter in a doorway in the recently completed structure. Had she remembered who was responsible for building this structure she might have reconsidered! But the house that Donna and her husband and several friends built was up to the challenge and was proven worthy.

Lewis’ first word was HOT. His father was responsible for this as he was the one to build a house with a woodstove in it. Lewis soon learned many more words! But HOT will always get his attention. Lewis attended a co-op preschool in Olympia for 3 years. His mother was very involved with the pre-school and organized a fundraiser that is still going on. She took her passion of running and abundant knowledge of what makes a good race and ran with it! Lewis has always been a participant in the activities that his parents happen to enjoy. He has been in many road races without even lacing up a shoe. He was typically situated in his 3 wheeled jogger and continued along these lines until the ripe old age of 5. Lewis has actually run some races as well. He twice competed in the State Agency Challenge and twice finished first or second in his age group which earned him a moment of fame when his picture was discovered in the local newspaper in Olympia. Go Lewis! His experience with bicycling also began at an early age. He initially participated by sitting in the child carrier that was part of the tandem that his mother and father shared. Lewis began riding on his own when he received his first hand-me-down Hot Cycle at the age of three. This was his preferred mode of travel for several years. While he was given a two wheel bicycle with training wheels by the time he was four years old, this was not considered a viable form of transportation due to the existence of the Hot Cycle. By the time Lewis was attending elementary school he had outgrown the hot cycle as his legs were getting too long and his knees kept hitting the handlebars! He still resisted the bicycle. His parents didn’t force the issue. They were content to put Lewis on a one wheeled trailer bike that attaches to the seat post of any traditional bike. In this manner Lewis completed his first 50 mile one day bike ride. He has since repeated this feat numerous times. Lewis was in second grade when he finally took that first solo ride on a 2 wheel bicycle without training wheels. His parents were beginning to think that a switch had been made at the hospital and they had someone else’s child. Soon Lewis was hooked on the new freedom and speed of riding his own bike, much like a duck takes to water. Unfortunately Lewis has neither the stamina nor experience to ride his own bicycle on lengthy bike rides so he will once again be more of a passenger on this upcoming adventure. Lewis will be the ‘Stoker’ situated directly behind his father, the ‘Captain’ on their cherry red tandem that hopefully will see him all the way to Washington DC.

Training Ride / NCAA Basketball

With less than two months before our departure the training has barely begun. We combined a training ride with a basketball game on Saturday by riding to Olympia and staying at the Guesthouse Inns and Suites. The weather has been improving steadily from the miserable stuff that we've endured for most of March. The temperatures were forecast to hit the lower 60's on Saturday and warming up steadily for several more days. So we ventured out with the bikes semi-loaded on a beautiful spring day in Washington. This would be the maiden voyage of Donna's new and improved touring bike which had been modified to fit her just perfect. Departing at 11:00 was the target. Didn't get going down the driveway until after 11:30. The tandem was pulling the Bobcart trailer which was loaded with my laptop instead of a tent and sleeping bags. In addition, 2 of the 4 panniers that we'll be hauling this summer were attached to the bike. Donna had 2 of the 4 panniers that she'll be toting this summer as well. Our objective was to get to the hotel by 3:00 so we could watch the Michigan State Spartans play the UCONN Huskies in the semifinals of the NCAA basketball championship. All the experts had MSU losing to the Huskies just like all the experts had MSU losing to the Louisville Cardinals in the previous game. Another objective was for Lewis to go swimming in the pool at the motel. So we're 3 miles from home when I asked Lewis if he remembered to grab his swim goggles and nose clips. Huh? I didn't pack anything. When we passed this question to Donna, her response wasn't much different. So Donna chose to pedal the 3 miles back home to fetch the necessities while Lewis and I explored the ditch and roadside weeds and discarded beer cans and a handfull of rusty bolts. What a find! Thirty five minutes later Donna returned and we were once again on a mission. We stopped for lunch at the Taylor Town Subway. Time was spinning faster than our legs and we were still less than half way to Olympia, having pedaled 8 of the approximately 30 miles that we needed to cover. So we got back on the bikes after a couple of 5$ footlongs and made like bandits towards Olympia.

We managed to pull into the parking lot at the motel at 3:15. Checked into our room and immediately turned on the TV. Missed only a few minutes of the game. The Spartans were confindent and not afraid of the Huskies from Connecticut. Lo and behold, the boys from MSU pulled off the upset of the heavily favored Huskies! All the while Lewis was pestering us to go to the pool. So immediately following the game Donna accompanied him to the pool while I got back on Donna's bike and rode the 2 miles back to the Fred Meyers store for refreshments and dinner. My next objective was to work on the refreshments (a 6 pack of Mirror Pond Pale Ale) and also to root for the underdogs in the next basketball game. While the MSU Spartans were certainly on a roll, only an idiot would wish for them to play North Carolina. Unfortunately the Villanova Wildcats were not up to the challenge and fell to the heavily favored TarHeels from North Carolina. Oh well. I still had my refreshments to maintain my sense of self worth. After the TarHeels dispatched Villanova and I dispatched a couple pale ales, it was my turn to hang out at the pool. Lewis and I swam for as bit and I threw him around a bit and then we called it quits. Back to the room where Television was waiting! Television is such a mystical magical thing to us Jacksons from Shelton. We sit there all slack jawed and entranced as a constant stream of neat stuff is emitted. Lewis especially since he never grew up with a real live television that you could channel surf with. But I have to admit when I see TV again it casts some sort of spell on me as well. Donna hates it when I flick from channel to channel looking for something of interest. Lewis just goes right to Nickelodeon and is content with whatever drivel they are broadcasting. Sponge Bob RULES!!! We retire with a sense of satisfaction in both our 30 mile adventure and the victory for MSU.

Free continental breakfast!!! I was awake at 5:45 am due to a different mattress than I'm used to. Donna swears she didn't get to sleep at all. Lewis slept like a dead man. So I went down to the lobby and began the hour long pastry and juice and bagel and coffee bonanza. When I returned to our room I had to wake Donna up to let me back in the room (she swears she never went to sleep) cuz I couldn't find the card key in the dark before I left. So now she's awake and eventually Lewis joins us and we all return to the continental breakfast. Man I love continental breakfast. I was able to secure provisions that will come in very useful this summer. I snagged about 15 of those jelly packages that we'll certainly appreciate when we're living on peanut butter and bagels during our adventure. We spent another hour at the pool as well interspersed with several more episodes of Sponge Bob Squarepants. By 11:00 am we were ready to head back home. The return journey seemed easier than what we had undergone on Saturday. We stopped a couple times for a cookie and water and were home before 3:00. Donna rode ahead of us and was just coming up the driveway when she almost caught Moritz with his pants off! He was getting ready to soak up some of the abundant sunshine in the way only Europeans can appreciate. Fortunately no lasting embarassment resulted from this. For those who are maybe wondering who was the naked guy in our yard, you'll have to keep following the trials and tribulations that arise during the training of Alan and Donna and Lewis' leading up to their big Adventure.

Cast of Characters

As with most other aspects of this blog you will be getting this from Alan’s point of view. Others have been invited to contribute and eventually I imagine someone else will add their two cents worth.
I’m going to begin with the most important and work my way down from there.
Donna Jackson. Donna is the matriarch of the family and without her this adventure would definitely be different (or non-existent). Most everyone reading this already knows that she and I have been married going on twelve years. Similarly you probably know that she spent the first 39 years of her life living in or near Hemlock, Michigan. Some of you have a long enough history of Donna that you remember her when she was daring and adventurous. This bicycle trip will surely push the limits of how much adventure a 51 year old woman can stand. Before I came into her life she had already jumped out of a perfectly good airplane, twice! Donna was married previously to an electrician named Ron. It seems the attraction that lead to this union was the fact that they were both tall for their gender. Donna tops out at 5 foot 12 inches (she likes to joke). Ron was a whopping 6 foot 6 inches tall. I’ve been told that he was big enough to hold her by the ankles and not bang her head on the ground! That impressed the heck out of me. Fortunately for me the physical height of the both of them was not enough to cement their marriage permanently. They were together for about 4 years. After the dissolution of their union Donna did some of those adventurous things. She went on an Outward Bound (OB) expedition in the Sierra Nevadas with a mixed group. There she did rappelling, mountain climbing, and other survival type things you might do in the mountains. I didn’t know her at this point. Another adventure that she is proud of is a cross country solo car camping trip. She went to visit Kim in Portland Oregon, a friend she met during the Outward Bound thing. Donna credits the OB experience with her initiation into the running community. She began running to get into shape for OB. Since that first jog to get into shape, Donna has made running an integral part of her life. While she's no longer concerned about getting faster or going farther, she still holds dear to her heart the memories of all the races she has been a part of including a couple of half marathons. She joined a local bike club in Michigan (TriCity Cylists) and became involved enough to get on the board of the group. This was when Donna's and my paths crossed for the first time.
Most of you are aware that Donna grew up on the Wardin Brothers dairy farm in Hemlock. She is the fifth of seven children that Carl and Bonnie Wardin had. Many of you are also aware of the fact that Carl was stricken with Polio back in the early 1950’s and spent the remainder of his life in a wheelchair. Donna was born in 1957. She grew up on the farm and would have loved to spend her entire life riding and taking care of horses. Unfortunately there is not much of a demand for that unless you happen to know rich people with horses. Donna excelled in all of her art classes while attending High School. This convinced her to pursue Graphic Arts as a career. She attended Ferris State College in Michigan and ended up with an Associates degree. Donna’s working career began as a child when she was a hoer. No, not a child prosititue! She used to get paid to hoe the weeds out of the bean fields. She excelled during this phase of her professional life and was 'outstanding in her field'! Donna had a couple waitressing jobs during college. Eventually though, the hardwork and dedication paid off and she began working at an advertising agency in Saginaw. She spent nearly 15 years as an underpaid but very much appreciated graphic artist at Princing and Ewend. She made a switch for more money and joined another agency in Midland. I came into the picture at about the time she left Princing and Ewend.
Donnas spiritual journey began as the dutiful daughter of a proud Lutheran family. She attended the Lutheran parochial school where her sister Carla teaches today. Donna followed the doctrine and was a good Lutheran. She began to question the traditions that had been the cornerstone of her faith since childhood. This was after she had moved away from the family farm and was on her own. At the suggestion of a friend she began attending the Unity Church in Saginaw where I likewise had only recently started attending. This is where I believe higher powers took over and as they say “the rest is history”. But for those who might not be familiar with the rest of the history, here goes:
Donna left her new higher paying job at AM PM and packed up all of her essential camping and outdoor equipment and drove away from Michigan looking for greener pastures. I happened to be accompanying her. She placed her home on the market before she left and spent the next four months with me camping and bicycling and backpacking and hiking and exploring a big section of the western United States as well a big chunk of Canada to boot. It was during this time that I convinced her that we should become a team, united for time immemorial to battle whatever came our way. On September 6th, 1997 we officially, according to all the laws and tenets of the State of Nevada and the city of LasVegas became husband and wife. Donna married me at the same Chapel that Michael Jordan once used for the same purpose! With her house having sold while she was away, a new place to live became a priority for Donna and her new husband. During the 4 months of travelling and exploring Donna chose Colorado as her favorite place to be. I was leaning towards the Rockies of Montana. We compromised and decided to settle in Spokane Washington. Donna almost immediately picked up where she left off as a graphic artist at a small ad agency in Spokane. The Wendt agency took a chance and gave her the opportunity to do what she does best. While she was earning considerably less than she had in Michigan, she was living in an outdoors lovers paradise. With ample opportunities to bike, hike, ski, and run, it was a veritable playground. Donna made new friends and acquaintances during this time in her life. It was also during this time that she came to realize that she was getting older. This was highlighted by an unpleasant stiff neck that ended up not allowing her to lift her chin off her chest and causing numbness in her extremities. Donna visited a neurosurgeon and after having two of her vertebraes surgically fused together with a chunk of bone from her hip, she recovered. Donna returned to work and her everyday life. Donna’s new husband (me) was not as fortunate at finding a job suitable to his previous experience. After working and living and playing in Spokane for just over a year, Donna decided to follow her new husband out to the western side of Washington where he had found a part time job as a chemist. She went on several interviews while living in an apartment in Olympia but never found a replacement job. When her husband decided to buy some land near Olympia and build a house, Donna once again had a job! This is when Donna the adventurer and her husband decided to take a short bike tour before tackling the project that lay ahead of them. They pedaled 350 miles around the Olympic Peninsula in 7 days. When they returned from the bike ride they were prepared to move all their belongings into storage with the exception of their camping gear. The tent pitched on her own property would become the next home for Donna until she could get a house built. Unbeknownst to Donna, fate had once again conspired to enter the picture. The short bike tour that happened without incident ended up being one of the most life altering events to ever happen to her. It wasn’t apparent until later but an unbridled moment of passion during this ride resulted in her 'being with child'. Donna and her husband moved out of their apartment following the bike ride. On the first of July of 1998 Donna set up household in a tent. Primitive camping describes what she endured. She was responsible for her own bodily needs so that would make her a sanitation engineer when she was digging holes in which to deposit her bodily wastes. Another position she held was as the security guard at the building site while her husband was away at work. The project that began in July saw Donna working as general laborer, plumbers assistant, electricians helper, wheelbarrow mechanic, roofers mate, and at least a half dozen other positions. With the help of several friends and co-workers, Donna and her husband were able to complete the project. The sympathy factor was extremely beneficial in lining up a volunteer work force. Poor Donna! There she is pregnant, 42 years old and having to live in a tent while performing strenuous tasks that are part of building a house! The structure was deemed complete by the local building officials and she was granted permission to occupy barely 2 weeks before Donna with child became Donna and child. She didn’t stay in the tent for the entire 7 months. After only 3 months of living in a tent, a good Samaritan dropped off a popup trailer in which she lived in relative luxury (as compared to the tent). The trailer actually had a working toilet and a microscopic shower. In December the trailer was hauled away and Donna took up residence inside the garage of the building. This was like the Taj Mahal compared to her first days in the tent. The garage held all of the full size appliances that would eventually be used in the living space. Donna had come a long ways in a very short time.
The child that Donna carried for nine months and 2 weeks came to be known as Lewis. With the addition of Lewis, her life took a different direction. Donna made the decision to continue to stay at home with her child. It was strongly encouraged by her husband who was willing to make sacrifices to insure that strangers were not responsible for the upbringing of their child. Donna’s life has not changed a lot since then. She began attending elementary school once Lewis was enrolled there too. Donna has been a fixture at the Evergreen Elementary School since that first day of kindergarten. She has been the driving force in reinstating a running program at Lewis’ school. Twice a week she inspires children to walk, run or jog during their freetime after lunch. Recording and rewarding participation has earned her the title (through the children’s eyes) as ‘my running teacher at Evergreen’ even though she is an unpaid volunteer.
Donna continues to question just why she agreed to this bike ride. I think the adventurous aspect of it still has some appeal to her. But she isn’t the same adventurous girl who once and twice jumped out of a perfectly good airplane!

Lewis:Yep, she's my mom!