by Bea Peterson
Many of us have a list of things we dream of doing in this lifetime. Some of us talk of those dreams and others put to it. This year Lauren Petersen, HFCS Class of ‘84, put to it.
Lauren took part in an America by Bicycle Tour. The journey took her from the Pacific Ocean at Astoria, OR, to the Atlantic Ocean at Portsmouth, NH. The trip took seven weeks, from June 15 to August 4. For the last six years Lauren had lived in Seattle “nannying” for her sister’s three boys. The bike trip, she said, was her breather before deciding what she wanted to do with the rest of her life. And the cross country trip fulfilled one of her lifetime dreams.
Lauren said America by Bicycle took care of all the arrangements and sent her a booklet of preparatory “do’s.” “I’ve never been a biker,” she said. “I hadn’t ridden in years. I had to buy a new bike for the trip.” She had done some mountain biking in the past. She said she does yoga and is physically active. Good thing because she and the 52 people who made the entire trip with her were biking at least 80 miles a day. “Most days it was 120,” she said. “We would start out between six or seven in the morning and be done usually by noonish.” That gave them time for some sightseeing, though they mostly stayed in small towns. They biked across Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, up into Ontario Canada, into New York, Vermont and then New Hampshire for a total of 3,642 miles.
The average age of her fellow riders was 58. The youngest was 20. One man was 74, and a woman was 72. Many riders were retired or semi-retired and had time for such a long journey.
For the most part the weather was good, she said. Temperatures were in the mid to high 90s in some places, which wasn’t bad, she added, since it can get up to 110 in parts of the trip. There was no humidity, which helped.
She was rained on only four times. “We were pocketed by rain several times,” she said. “It was either behind us or in front of us.” She did get drenched biking from Brattleboro to Manchester, VT.
They were told by trip organizers that usually there are some accidents en route or some folks just can’t make it. A loss of ten percent is not uncommon. Lauren’s group safely made the entire journey. “At first we all lost weight,” she said. The women lost, then gained, then stabilized while the men continued to lose weight throughout the ride.
Inspirational People
Fifty-two made the entire trip and another 20 participated in segments of the ride. “The best part of the trip was the interesting people on it,” Lauren said. “Everybody had a story. There were cancer survivors with a need to prove themselves. Many were biking to raise money for causes. There was a policeman who had been injured and had only half use of his legs. He was biking for a Red Cross Blood Drive.” There was a young guy just out of Iraq and his wife with him. The couple talked together formulating plans for their future. They’d never had time to do that before. “They all live their lives completely,” she said. The group included riders from Great Britain, Australia, Denmark and South Africa as well as the U.S.
Some of the great sights, she said, were the Tetons and Mt. Hood. “I’d never been to Niagara Falls, and that was neat!” They saw one moose in the Tetons but didn’t see much other wildlife. The very best day, she said, was going through Custer National Park. “There was a herd of buffalo in the road. It was really amazing to be so close to them.” Would she ever make another such trip? “I’d absolutely do it again,” she answered.
A Visit Home
At the completion of her trek, she continued biking. First she biked to Amherst, NH, to spend time with
her brother. A few days later she left Amherst about 10:30 am to bike to Hoosick. She arrived in Hoosick, a distance of 113 miles, at 7:30 pm. She came to visit lifetime friend and classmate Gail Delurey. Gail had met up with her when her America by Bike group traveled through Hoosick.
Most of her trip to the Delureys was quite uneventful, except for the last two miles on Tate Road when she hit torrents of rain and hail, thunder and lightning. By the time she reached her destination she was soaked!
After drying out, she sat to talk about her journey, looking tanned and healthy.
One More Ride
Lauren stayed in Town a few days catching up and then flew to Denver, CO, where she joined friends she had met on her trip. Four of them left from Boulder for a Double Century jaunt. Double Century is to bike 200 miles in one day! It was very challenging she told Gail, but they completed the ride!
Now Lauren is on a different adventure. She is once again living in Germany. She has a graduate degree in German and lived there for several years. Who knows what lifetime dream she will fulfill next.
Lauren’s parents Judie and Larry Petersen left North Hoosick years back and returned to their roots in Indiana.