Thank you to my Friend Mila, from Olympia for my ride along today. She sent me inspiration and music and sing-along songs. So great!
Today was mostly flat-ish and on trails. It was so nice to be out of traffic and among the trees and protected from the wind. We went through a number of towns and had only one reroute due to a road closure. We saw two black cats, Herons, chickens ( off the trail free range) and many suicidal chipmunks and squirrels.
We had a social ride, the two John’s, Andrew and me. We passed a lottery sign in a town and we started asking what we would do with the 200 million. Andrew: would buy a jet so he could go anywhere without the TSA and train Honza to be the pilot then fund a non profit for underprivileged children and education. ( he has actually been riding as a fundraiser for such an organization and has raised 29 thousand$ so far- Go Andrew!!). John G: would fund early childhood education, lobby to end Gerrymandering for free and fair voting also something for access to medical care. John H: would move the money off shore and live in the Virgin Islands. Me, I would make sure family was set and secure here and in Czech then I would create a trust or something so that all tuition at the MCW-CW campus was covered, scholarships for HS students for the pursuit of fine arts, fund Emily’s list, and probably also a lodge in Snowmass and a place in Hawaii. Oh and I’d give mega money to World Central Kitchen because Jose Andres is my hero. He feeds people. Brent came along ( guide) and he would buy his parents a house and then a place for himself in the mountains. He’d keep working for Trek Travel but part time. What would you do with a windfall?
We picked up Ernie from Oberlin who was at our last van stop. He’s been out to meet the group for a number of years. This year he was surprised to hear all 22 that started are still riding- no injuries, no attrition. He’s a retired air traffic controller who bikes, a lot. He did a Trek ride camp in Spain this year and has been thinking about the cross country for a while. He guided us in to Oberlin and past the camps which is lovely with big, old trees and lawns, old buildings.
Today we ride through another national park, Cuyahoga, and I to the wind. We all are hoping not to get soaked in the swirlies of the hurricane further south.
