Dinosaurs on Wheels

​Today was our first day of the adventure and by the looks of its hope this is NOT an indication of what’s to come. The day started off just fine, Abby got up really early to get me to the airport with my bag and bike box. The box that I weighed at home as 48 pounds, 2 under max. Of course the United scale said 52. It actually bounced around over and under 50 as I tried to “nudge it a bit.”  The very nice United agent didn’t put up a stink and passed the box along. Yay, a good start.  Then I met up with Jerry in Chicago and we set about the longer flight to Calgary. I had an earlier boarding group, so I took one of his bags with me to snag an overhead spot near our seats. Then waited. And waited. And eventually got a phone call from Jerry saying he brought the wrong passport with him. He brought a card, which is good for driving across the border. Oops. He couldn’t get on and I had his bag. I alerted a flight attendant to get his bag off the flight, and continued on my way. Je...

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 co...

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 Grea...

It’s been over a year since I posted any kind of blog, but since I’m on another bike trip, and actually on a2 hour ferry ride right now, what better time y to catch up? Normally on my ride I’m accompanied by my personal physician and bike mechanic, my brother Jerry. However, a week prior to the start of a full month trip from Richmond to Key West, his heart went into atrial fibrillation. If you don’t know what that is, and haven’t watched numerous TV commercials for drug companies, it’s a condition where the heart doesn’t pump in a normal, or “sinus” rhythm, but is short circuited into an abnormal beat that doesn’t fully circulate the blood. This results in less oxygen, and a higher risk of stroke by sending blood clots to the brain. Yeah, yuck. In any case, this meant Jerry couldn’t go. This was actually the inspiration for us to go across country last year. He had this condition before and had a heart “ablation” to try to fix it. Knowing our family heart issues, and with perhaps limi...

I really hate to call this blog "Final Thoughts," because these certainly aren't going to be my final thoughts on this marvelous journey.  I'm sure that I will never forget everything that I saw and experienced during the summer of 2020.  I had always planned to post a final post-ride blog.  I wanted to give it a little time, since the days right after we finished were filled with the things you would expect: Get back home, get familiar with family and friends' names ;-) , go back to work, get back into the old groove.  Also, I thought it might give me a bit more insight to think about it before putting pen to paper (or digits to keyboard, as it is).  To see if I figured out any life changing deep thoughts from this trip.   So here they are, my (not)final thoughts on this great trip across 'Mur'ca during the 2020 pandemic. Before I start, I want to thank everyone who donated to the World Bicycle Relief charity organization. We set a goal of raising $2,...

Well, it's hard to believe that it's over.  For the past two months I've been getting up every day 5:30 to 6AM, just to put on damp cycling shorts and jersey, put everything I have into two (originally 4) bags, loading up and heading out, only to have to find a new place for the night, eat, go to sleep, and do the same thing over again.  It's a strange kind of routine, but over the past two months that's been the routine.  Now it's over, and I'm free to go back home and sleep in the same bed more than one night in a row.  The other side of this routine we've been in for so long is that we were able to make good and steady progress on the ultimate goal.  To get to the other side of the country.  And now we've done it. And now we're done.  Two weeks earlier than we expected, but we're done. I think it's pointless at this point to talk about the overall meaning of the trip, what I've learned, what I liked, disliked, will and won't mi...