For the second half of Fall Break, I wanted to cycle 50 miles in two states that I had missed a couple years earlier. I was scheduled to ride in West Virginia and Virginia with Rachel in October 2021, but I was having a serious bout of anxiety then and my symptoms made it impossible to train or even attempt the rides. I made the trip to West Virginia, though, to support Rachel and be there in case of an emergency. This particular trail was in the middle of nowhere and didn't have good cell service.
She did the rides and I didn't. That put me 2 rides behind. Anxiety also kept me from riding with Rachel in Maryland, Delaware, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, and Tennessee that school year.
Dumb anxiety.
So, while I continue to ride with Rachel our 8 states a year until 2027, I now need to make-up those 8 states somewhere in between. Sure, I have until 2029 before I turn 50, but I would rather finish on Alaska or Hawaii with Rachel and our families altogether. Ending on Alabama on my own would feel kinda anti-climactic, y'know?
I knew that taking another 4 days away from my family after 2 recent biking trips in Sep and Oct was a tall order. We settled on this: Bobby (who had to work) would stay home with Alex (who had to work) and Robert (who can't stand to travel) while I (eager to check off two more states) would take James (always ready to go somewhere) and Matthew (don't you dare leave me alone) with me.
We packed a DVD player, stocked up on audio books, and borrowed Erin's PS4 gaming system to give the boys something safe (i.e. off the internet and TV) to do while I was on my rides. It was sometimes difficult to have the boys with me (you should see my smart watch stress readings for that trip!!), but it was also a lot more fun with them along. They're pretty flexible. They're pretty easily satisfied. They still like to do things out and about.
It was very hard for me to leave them alone for 4 hours at a time in an unfamiliar hotel room or VRBO. I knew they would be physically safe. James is responsible enough to get out of a burning building, call 911 in an emergency, and comfort Matthew as needed. They were never far from other adults who could help them in an emergency. I just didn't want it to come to that. I also worried about Matthew getting nervous to the point of a panic attack. What if...what if...what if...he's pretty good at the "what if" game.
But it was fine. Even when we accidentally left their cell phone plugged in and all of my check-in calls went straight to voicemail (ARGH!!), Matthew realized he hadn't heard from me in a while and did a very sensible thing in a very calm manner. He picked up the cell phone, unplugged it, and gave me a call. Then he texted me "I love you" and "Moo moo moo". On a flip phone. With only a number pad. Without my giving him any instructions beforehand. Wow! He was capable of so much more than I had feared!
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| Ready for some digital fun without Mom! |
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| I sent them this selfie when my calls weren't going through. I thought, "If Matthew is freaking out that I haven't called to check in, maybe he'll see this text and feel assured. And if something terrible has happened, DCFS will have this phone evidence that I tried diligently to keep in contact with my children while I was away." |
Susan, Susan, Susan.
The boys never once worried in my absence. Minecraft and movies have a way of warping time. When I got home, it looked like a preschool frat party: DVDs and cases scattered about, empty juice boxes littering the floor, and Matthew smiling at me wearing nothing but his underwear.
We had to check out of our hotels/VRBOs by 10am, so I broke my rides into segments. I still got 50 miles in each state, but some were ridden the night before and some were ridden the next morning before 10. It went like this:
Day 1: 10mi at night
Day 2: 40mi in the morning, 34 mi after 7pm
Day 3: 16mi before 10am
On Day 2, that's a total of 74 miles with 2500ft of elevation gain. I should have thought about this more before doing it. Or not. I don't think I had much of a choice with the little boys coming along. That hurt. A lot.
Between my rides on Day 2, we visited Lost World Caverns in Lewisburg, WV. That place was awesome. I had seen cave formations in Timpanogos Cave in American Fork, UT, but this cavern was on a completely different scale. Huge, huge, huge. Enormous formations with features I had never seen in Timp Cave.
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| This picture doesn't do it justice. |
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| They know how to stand and smile for a normal looking picture, I swear, but are they capable of it? Hmmm. |
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| This formation was called Smurf Village. Crazy Matthew pose. |
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| Matthew used some birthday money to purchase a hot pink python stuffy. James used his own money to purchase a hefty piece of smoky quartz. |
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| Take a picture of it strangling me! |
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In Virginia, we stayed at a VRBO called the Tiny House. This is a terrible picture (argh!) but Matthew is on the front porch to give you some sense of scale. It was a very large, 2-story shed with a spiral staircase. There were several things about it that literally felt like sleeping in a shed, but it had just enough home-like ambiance that James could envision himself living in it as an adult. Before this trip, he was thinking he'd like to live in a small house with just the basic things he would need: bathroom, stove, fridge, bed, dog. That was one of the reasons I chose this place to stay. James couldn't stop talking about it to me. In fact, he was taking measurements and making plans to remodel. Here was an actual, physical example of something he had only dreamed about. |
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| We were actually in Columbus, OH. |
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You never cease to amaze me! Way to go!!
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