1998 BigRide Accross America Summary:
On this page:
(The Bicycling | The Camping | The Eating | The People | Conclusion)
The Big Ride Across America for the American Lung Association is the best thing I have ever done in my life. The ride was spectacular, the cause noble, the people ... unforgettable!!
From June 15, 1998 to August 1, 1998, I and ~750 people rode bicycles from Seattle, WA to Washington D.C.
It was called the Big Ride Across America. It was the biggest group of people to cross the U.S.
by bicycle. The Cause: to raise money for the American Lung Association. We raised over $6 million!
GTE signed on as the title sponsor, and the ride is officially called the GTE Big Ride Across America for the American Lung Association.
Boy, that's a mouth full, so we just call it the Big Ride.
I can hardly put the feelings I had to paper. Thinking of the ride makes my pulse quicken and brings a smile to my face.
The Bicycling
The actual bicycling of the ride was great. We had some bad weather, some big mountains, but all in all it was pretty fun.
I never got too tired, and my body took everything in stride. I think my youth helped play a part of that equation.
The bicycle I used is a '98 Cannondale T700, affectionately known as Clyde.
The bike performed WODERFULLY!! I did have a few problems: I had to replace the stock pedals in Kennewick, WA.
And I had some saddle problems.
You can read more about my bike on the Equipment page
Traffic was never much of a problem. For the most part the automobiles where nicer than what I deal with in San Diego.
However, one recumbent rider had his windshield knock off my a passing semi-truck. SCARRY!!!
The Camping
I enjoyed the camping. The crew hauled our camping gear from camp site to camp site.
I know, pretty wimpy. Next time I'll do self contained.
The riders were limited to one 70 pound gear bag. So I had just that, a monster Eagle Creek duffel bag.
The riders should have been allowed to bring two smaller bags, with a 70lb combined weight. This would have allowed easier truck loading and unloading.
Because of the bags weight, it suffered damage on the bottom from people just sliding it down the ramp. C'mon you girly truck unloaders, get pumped up. - Hans & Frans.
Of course, the gear unloaders were 20 year old girls. Talk about a brilliant crew assignment, duh!
Anyway, I had everything I needed in my giant bag. Including a chair and an extra thick sleeping pad.
Camp was great. Just get there, find your address (I was G60), get your gear, set up tent, go take a hot shower in the mobile shower trailer (ahh!!), and get in line for dinner.
It was so kick back, and luxurious. Unlike normal camping, I didn't have to worry where I was going to camp, how I was going to shower, or what/how I was going to eat.
The Eating
I love to eat (hate to cook). And I ate a lot on this ride, and still I lost 10 lbs.
Breakfast was great, but it did get a little repetitive towards the end of the ride.
Usually I ate 3-4 scrambled eggs, bacon or ham, country potatoes, a bagel, a bowl of oatmeal, two yogurts, and 3 glasses of orange juice, EVERYDAY for breakfast!!
For Lunch, I would usually snack at the pit stops along the way, where fruit, nuts, cliff bars, and water were provided.
Also, there was the lunch program/fiasco. We were strongly encourage before the ride to sign up for the lunch program.
It cost over $10 per lunch. During the beginning of the ride I carried extra food with me until I found out, I could ALWAYS get
enough for me to eat at the pits. And there were only about 3 days that we where out in the middle of nowhere, and it would be difficult to get food.
Also, so many people got the lunches, and didn't like them. If I was hungry I could stop at Pit 2 and usually get 2 full lunches out of the recycled food box.
But, if I did eat that much, I usually took a nap for a couple of hours at the pit.
Dinner was excellent 98% of the time. Which is better than I do at home. If I got in early (which was rare), I could eat one meal at 4pm (when they started serving dinner), go take a nap in the tent, and come get another meal before 8pm (when they stopped serving).
I never calculated my total calories, but it probably ranged from 5000 up to 800 some days. Which explains why I had energy for after riding activities like, playing basketball, swimming, bowling, flirting, hiking, partying, and staying up late.
Even after long days, when there was another long day tomorrow.
The People
The people were great. As the ride progressed we became closer as a community and became like family. Even though I never got to know everybody, especially the fast riders in the front of the pack, I felt a kindred spirit with all of the riders.
The volunteer crew were the best. They put up with as much crap as the riders, if not more. And they had to get up at 4am!!! I only pulled my butt out of the tent around 7:30 when I heard "GOOD MORNING BIG RIDERS, CAMP IS CLOSING IN 30 MINUTES!".
I made very special friends from the riders and the crew.
And the staff....Warning: Negative Opinions Follow:
A company called Palota Team Works, handled the logistics for the ride. And like anybody else, they made mistakes. SEVERAL MISTAKES.
I can accept those mistakes, if their attitude was better. However, their attitude stunk!!
Palota Team Works, has handled several California AIDS rids, with many more riders, successfully. But the AIDS ride is only 1 week long and not 6 weeks.
Their flaws became more and more evident as time went by. Here are the ones I remember the most:
- Leaving two female rider out after route closing, even after they were informed. "We're in a meeting and the route is closed, there is no route support after 7pm" - their response.
- Nagging the slower rider to go faster. Riders were informed we had til 11am, 2pm, and 5pm to get to pits 1,2 and 3 respectively. And we kept being told that "This is not race." during the safety instructions. So if you wanted to get to Pit 1 at 10:55am, they should just shut up.
- Removing route markers before all the riders had passed them.
- Taking bikes out of bike parking into the SAG truck before 8am.
- Lack of communication with all member of the staff and crew. Riders getting mixed directions, on what to do during the emergency situations.
We all make mistakes, and I don't want to nit pick. But they had an unapologetic, screw-you attitude.
In fact, several of those incidents happened more than once.
That said, the staff did a pretty job overall. We always had a place to camp.
I was going to say the staff did get provide us food and showers every night. But, that is really thanks to the experience people at O.K. Cascades (the contract company that provided food and showers).
If it wasn't for that crew's ingenuity and professionalism we would have had more problems. I know that O.K. Cascades didn't receive proper route directions most days, and they did not receive any preliminary information about camp sites.
But they still did an EXCELENT JOB. My hat is off to them.
Conclusion
The Big Ride was GREAT!!!!! I would do it all again in a heartbeat. I raised money for a worthy cause, met new people, and became a better person.
If I had the time I might even do it next, year..... maybe.....
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