CAPITAL TO CAPITAL - August 14-27, 1999 starting in Ottawa, Ont and finishing in Washington D.C.

Only nine smart cyclists responded to the clever idea of Evan Trubee of Big Wheel Bicycle Tours- a ride from Capital to Capital. We rode from Ottawa, Ontario to Washington, DC in 12 days. I can't believe I really did it!

When I first got the invitation from Evan, the part that inspired me most was that he welcomed my bringing Joey, my miniature schnauzer who rides on the back of my bicycle wearing a helmet. I picked out the trip that was the longest and the least hilly. But I was quite doubtful about those hills, especially after experiencing some tough ones on Ragbrai a few weeks before the trip.

Our group consisted of two married couples. One couple was on recumbents and hailed from Palm Desert, CA. The other was from the D.C. area and both were on road bikes. There was another couple on a very light tandem. And finally, there were two married riders who didn't bring their spouses along - on road bikes. All were between the ages of 35-57. Our two leaders were 20 something and 33.

We arrived in Ottawa for our orientation dinner - gourmet food from a custom printed menu at a trendy Irish theme pub. Would you believe strawberries and black pepper for dessert? But the biggest shocker was this: Evan announced that the previously advertised 685 mile trip had been revised to 816 miles! There would be 3 rides in excess of 100 miles. The shortest ride was 36 miles and considering the one rest day, the average daily mileage would be 74!

Nobody objected. Evan provided two sag vehicles and room to carry all our bikes at any time, so there were plenty of options for getting from point A to point B besides pedalling.

Everybody completed the first day's century - even Joey. I had a flat tire at 54 miles, but I managed to fix it. I had all the right tools, but the rear wheel just wouldn't come out without the assistance of some local folks who allowed me to sit in the shade of their front yard to work on it. Evan was summoned by means of his cell phone, but by the time he arrived, I had repaired the flat. He helped me put the wheel back in and I went on my way.

A journalist from the Leader in Morrisburg, Ont took Joey's picture when we stopped to use the porta potties at a fundraising picnic for MMP John Cleary. I never got a copy of the article, if there was one, but it was fun thinking we might have a chance to spread the message of "Joey wears her helmet because anybody who rides on a bicycle should wear a helmet." After the ride, we had another restaurant meal and slept in a motel in Malone, NY.

The next day's ride took us to Saranac Lake, NY - 45 miles away - Along the way I rode with a nice young Canadian fellow who had driven 50 miles just to ride in Adirondack Park. Most of the time I rode alone, as the other participants all rode faster than I do. When we got to Saranac Lake, we found competitors from the Ironman Triathlon were checking out after completing the race the day before. It must have been a very challenging bike course, because ours was very hilly too...and scenic!

We dined in a nice restaurant and slept in another motel and proceeded the next day to Indian Lake, NY - 65 miles and more rolling hills. There was some rain, during which Joey rode in the van. I found a cyclist along the road attempting to fix a flat. I stopped to lend him some glue for his patchkit, and discovered he was from Chicago. He never got his flat fixed because our BWB van gave him a ride to his hotel instead.

The next day of 48 miles included a stop at the giant wooden chair along the road put up by Ken Hertz, maker of Rustic Furniture - lots of photo ops. And we ended up in Lake George, NY.

From the moment I entered Lake George, I knew I wouldn't like it. It's nothing but a tourist trap - one t-shirt store after another. And we were destined to spend an extra day there - a "rest day." Well, I wasn't tired enough to rest, so Joey and I explored the bike trail to Glens Falls. It was delightful. We had lunch outside the Bagel Cafe, stopped to talk with the locals, and took an alternate route back, one which turned out to be quite hazardous for cyclists. But we made it safely, and found our dinner outside the A&W Root Beer stand - the only place that didn't say no to Joey.

We finally left Lake George and embarked upon another Century Ride - 113.25 miles to be accurate. Not everybody finished this century, but Joey and I did. It was pretty hilly, but I never walked the hills. We ended up in Hudson, NY at a delightful old hotel opposite the park. Dinner was two and a half hours and Evan bought the wine. I made the mistake of partaking and ended up falling asleep at the table before dessert was delivered.

The next day, Saturday, I encountered a huge stash of bagels that somebody had thrown out and managed to run into the person who understood the situation. Joe Mirocco, a Deacon of the local church collected stale breads and cakes for distribution to the poor. He had a fresher stash in his van and he insisted I take some. They turned out to be better than the ones purchased by Evan for peanut butter sandwiches always available from either sag wagon., so I BMOB - brought my own bagels!

There was some rain on that day and Joey went in the van from 13 miles to 27 miles. I tried to continue at that point, but my wheel just wouldn't turn. I hopped into the SUV being driven by Ean's brother Brooks and he took me to the next available bike shop. It turned out that the wheel hadn't been put in properly after fixing the flat 5 days earlier, and it had worked its way so crooked that the bike couldn't even be pushed.

I got back on the road - when we found the right road - and totalled 38.23 miles of the day's 86 miles - ending in Wurtsboro, NY.

The next day we were warned of the most serious hills of the trip in the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area and I determined that I would NOT walk. There were 3 long stretches of serious uphill. Luckily it was Sunday and traffic was light. We could do zig zags up the hill. And that's what I did.

Joey stayed in the van with her good friend Brooks. And I struggled - taking each little bit of the hill very seriously and hopping off the bike when necessary, but always hopping back on even if it was only two pedal strokes at a time.

Only 3 of the 9 participants could say they didn't walk the hills that day. I surprised everybody by being one of them! We slept in Phillipsburg, NJ and ate dinner in Easton, PA at the Pearly Baker's Ale House. Dogs weren't supposed to be in our motel, so Joey slept in her airline carrier and didn't make a sound. Joey, the outlaw survived to ride another day! On the way out of town I saw a cute roadsign that I'll repeat here "We have lots of kids but none to spare; please drive with care." It reminded me of one I saw in Canada,. something like: "Children behaving like children."

The next day we received some mis-cues on our cue sheet and rode quite a few extra miles. We finished the day in Pottstown, PA where the highlight of the day was a washing machine to do clean laundry and dry it.

The following day brought pain to my left hip and I had to sag a lot of the ride. It was just as well. After the Amish area where horse drawn buggies were apparent in several front yards and little boys ran around with big straw hats, the route got very congested - mile after mile of shopping malls and four lane packed highways.

We ended in historic Gettysburg, PA, where dogs were not allowed in the motel, and I had to stay in a different one where Joey was so welcome that the maid carried dog biscuits in her cart. The following day we explored Gettysburg by bike and then proceeded on the shortest day of the trip - 36 miles to Frederick, MD.

Our last day was planned so that we would all finish up together on a bike path leading to the Georgetown Section of Washington DC. We met at the Macarthur and Sangamore Roads and entered the path which began with some extremely steep downhill switchbacks. I had to walk the bike down as it was wet and covered with leaves and I feared falling with Joey in the basket. As it happened, I almost lost my footing trying to walk and I did lose my chain. But I replaced it and proceeded on the gentle downhill 15 mile stretch to end at the Riverside Grill on the Potomac River. We had a private room, a few excellent pizzas and some scrumptious tortellini with portobello mushrooms to finish off our adventure.

We took group photos for the first time, said our farewells and piled into taxis, vans and cars for the rides back to homes in California, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Maryland. I stayed in D.C. 3 days to see the Holocaust Museum and rode my Bike Friday everywhere. I folded it and stuffed it in the suitcase on Sunday and flew home to Chicago with Joey - having accomplished our dream. I rode 669 of the miles. Joey rode 479.

I would recommend Big Wheel Bike Tours to anybody who wants to go the distances described...in comfort and style. The cost for this 12 day trip was only $1500., including motels, breakfasts, dinners, snacks, t-shirt and water bottle and all-day sag services by two vehicles equipped with cellular phones. The only way this trip could have been better was to include a riding partner for me at the back of the pack!

Next year, the course will be modified according to all this year's participants comments - rest day in Saratoga Springs where there is gorgeous architecture and a huge horseracing track. Better cue sheets that fit into small holders. And hopefully more participants to enjoy Evan's excellent planning.

Please check out Evan's website at http://www.bigwheelbiketours.com or phone him at 760 779 1837 for a brochure.