Dinosaurs on Wheels

For anyone who followed the Dinosaurs on our 2020 ride across America (west to east), you know that as we rode we raised funds for World Bicycle Relief. This is a great cause that builds bicycles for people in areas where a bicycle could make a huge difference in their lives. We still love WBR! This year, though, we are riding on behalf of the Velosano fundraiser put on by the Cleveland Clinic to raise funds for cancer research at the Clinic. Both Jerry and I have been deeply affected by cancer in our families. Jerry's wife Barbara is a cancer survivor, facing overwhelming odds against ovarian cancer. My wife Patty faced breast cancer, spreading to many types of cancer including brain cancer, from which she did not survive. We rode in the 2022 Velosano ride in Cleveland and raised thousands (thank you everyone who contributed) for this cause. This year, because we are going to be in the middle of our trip, we cannot make the event. So we registered the team as "virtu

Wow, this summer is sure going fast! Every day that goes by is one day closer to launch date of 1 August.  At the same time, I don’t seem to be making much progress on getting my sh*& together for this ride.  I know it seems like an exaggeration, but I honestly don’t feel ready to go, and a bit anxious about what we’re getting into.   3 years ago I had these same feelings, and it came to pass and it worked out, so I’m sure this will too.  But as the deadline approaches, I’m feeling that anxiety that comes with taking on a challenge like this one. Of course it doesn’t help that my brother and fellow Dinosaur Jerry, who is retired and has few other distractions is texting me daily about some detail or another that I’ve either overlooked, hadn’t gotten to yet, or never contemplated.  I’m glad he’s bringing this stuff up, and I’m glad he’s thinking ahead, but it makes me feel unready when I’m so… unready.  Perhaps he’s nervous too, with just more time to contemplate the Great Divide.  

For anyone who has followed the (mis)adventures of the Dinosaurs on Wheels, you know that the Dinosaurs on Wheels, or the Ryan brothers, bicycled across the US during the pandemic summer of 2020.  This trip started in Oregon at the Pacific ocean and ended in Virginia at the Atlantic.   Since that time, we have done some other, shorter trips with different levels of success.  In '21 we traveled the Ohio to Erie trail across Ohio, and I did a trip from Richmond to Caswell Beach in North Carolina along the Outer Banks.  In the spring of '22 we set out to do the GAP, or Great Allegheny Pass, which along with the B&O canal, leads from Washington DC to Pittsburgh. Unfortunately, a broken bike prevented our finishing.  Now in 2023, we are preparing to do another cross-country route.  This one, however, is almost 100% off-road, traveling from Canada to the Mexican border, along the continental divide.  As a matter of fact, the route is called the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route, o