After getting home Friday from the beach in NJ, I repacked for a 2.5 day trip to surprise the Bike the US for MS Northern Tier team as they finished their 70-day, 4,295-mile cross country bike trip in Seattle. I landed at 1am Saturday, but managed to get in a run in downtown Seattle in the morning and met up with the van and trailer outside the hotel upon my return.
I helped set up the finish line and waited with anticipation for the team to arrive at 1pm, along with the friends and family of the other riders. There were lots of hugs and tears upon arrival and throughout the celebration. They dipped their tires (and I was wishing I'd ridden in with them, so I could dip a tire and be in the photo, too) and sprayed champagne.
We ate and told stories and, eventually, walked to the hotel. Everyone dispersed for a few hours and met up again at Flying Bike Brewery in the evening with other alumni who were in town to start the next leg of the trip, which is a one-week trip around the Olympic Peninsula before the start of the Pacific Coast Tour that will go from Seattle to San Diego.
Even as a segment rider, I knew how much this trip had impacted the riders. This group seemed particularly close. Perhaps it was because it was a smaller group. Perhaps it was because everyone came in not knowing anyone else. Perhaps this group just had a certain level of heart and depth that allowed them to connect on a more meaningful level than I had experienced on previous trips. Even on my one week with the group, I grew to love each person in some way and I witnessed their deep bonds. The anticipation of the end and knowing they wouldn't all be together again in this same way brought some level of apprehension for it to all be over. These rides are truly life-changing, both for those living with multiple sclerosis because of the funds raised for the lives it'll impact, but also for the challenges overcome and deep relationships forged over 10 weeks. Even though it was kind of crazy for me to fly out and surprise everyone, I followed the team from the start of the trip and even more so after I rode my segment mid-way through the trip. I wish, with all my heart, that I could have done the entire trip, but I'm so thankful for what I did ride and for the relationships I formed. I look forward to keeping in touch with my 11 new friends and seeing where we see each other again - perhaps at graduation and retirement parties, potential weddings, or simply meeting up on other rides locally or on other Bike the US for MS tours. Regardless of when or how we see each other again, it'll never quite be the same as it was this summer for the cyclists. Nearly everyone is going through a life transition and starting a new chapter. This portion of their lives will forever be memorialized as the Bike the US for MS Northern Tier 2023 Team. It can be very difficult for people who haven't had this experience to not only not understand the inside jokes, but also not understand the emotional changes and life experiences that occurred. So, if you know someone who has a similar experience as this, please try to be understanding about their post-trip blues and missing life on the road. It's not that they're ungrateful to be home, but perhaps the nostalgia of what they experienced and transitioning back into "normal" life can be overwhelming.
Thank you so much to everyone for following my short journey this summer and for being interested in this cause and experience.
If you'd like to make a donation to Bike the US for MS, it will be gratefully received here:
https://ride.biketheusforms.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=donorDrive.participant&participantID=1436&_gl=1*1nusr5b*_ga*MTcwNDY5NjMyNS4xNjc5OTYwNTQx*_ga_CFGFP5CY1Z*MTY5MTM3NDU0Ni44Ny4wLjE2OTEzNzQ1NTYuMC4wLjA.
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