Day 36 - Naperville, IL, to Laporte, IN

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ACTIVITIES

Day 36: July 24, 2000, Update
Naperville, IL, to Laporte, IN

Today's Miles: 102.2

Miles since Seattle: 2462.8

A Symbolic Gesture

Monday's long ride south and east around Chicago was trying on riders' bodies and spirits. The route was irritating — lots of car and truck traffic, countless suburban stop signs, and cracked, decayed, narrow roads in some places. Normally upturned smiles of triumph turned to grimaces of exertion.

Danny Kenny saves a life

About the only uplifting moment before the end of the ride came when Danny Kenny of Seattle found a kitten in the middle of the road, looking like just another road kill. But then the little gray animal raised his head and Danny scrambled to a stop. He and the group he was riding with held their breaths in horror as a car passed over the kitten, but it was not touched. Danny scooped up the kitten, which had blood on its neck, calmed it, put it inside his jersey and biked off for help. About five miles down the road, he came across a store with a sign appealing for funding for the local animal shelter and was able to hand over the kitten, which by then had fallen asleep next to his skin.

Danny's gesture was perhaps emblematic of the caring, spontaneous, communal atmosphere that has come to the fore on the 2000 RadioShack Big Ride Across America. Especially in the final weeks, people seem to be taking more risks, both in spending time with new people and in testing their own limits. But some riders still have a few things left to do on their"trip of a lifetime." Clay Gump, of College Park, Maryland, deadpanned, "I have to ride naked" (perhaps if it gets warmer he'll have company). "I have to get a tattoo I keep talking about it," said Gretchen Geyer-McDaniel of Kent, Washington (Indeed, six riders did get tattoos in LaPorte, joining more than a few others who preceded them.)

The Finish Nears

Even as they cranked their way through mile after difficult mile, the finish line less than two weeks away seemed to loom larger and yet more enigmatic. Yearnings to reach the end and resume "real" life (complete with soft beds, family and friends, and clean clothes) competed with the desire to hang on to this vagabond lifestyle, where challenge and reward are met and enjoyed in the moment and free of artifice.

Breaking the law

"I just want to finish every day and enjoy it," said Annie Graves of Seaville, New Jersey. Chris Ely, of Havertown, Pennsylvania, said,"I want to take it slow, look around, take more pictures, meet more people, and realize that this is what life's about. It's not about being behind a desk." Kelly Burns of Seattle remarked, " I want to remember to get pictures of everyone, including the people I don't usually hang out with, just to remember everyone."

Best Barbecue

One of Dennis Bussey's wishes came true on Monday. The San Diego resident had wanted to "eat some fresh sweet corn" and sure enough, at the La Porte campsite, during a barbecue put on by the residents of La Porte, Dennis got his wish. Roasted corn on the cob, dipped in melted butter, was dished up by Jim Lipscomb, who lives outside of La Porte in Kingsford Heights, Indiana, with daughter, a teacher. Having lost his wife to lung cancer five years ago, Lipscomb is very supportive of efforts to fight lung disease. He feels the Big Ride is "a show of dedication, of how many good people there are left in the world; it really is about love." Asked about why he came down to help today, he smiled and said, "This is just the way we are here; we are a community, we come together."

Riders cut loose in La Porte, Indiana

The barbecue, organized by Larry Noel, a 1999 Big Rider, with the help of about 40 LaPorte residents, erased any lingering bad feelings Big Riders may have had about the day's ride."We're not going to let you get out of here without showing you our hospitality," LaPorte Mayor Kathy Chroback told riders. The centerpiece of the barbecue was roast pig, two of them weighing close to 500 pounds. Stuffed with vegetables and encased in about 14 layers of tin foil, they had been roasted for seven hours over coals crackling at about 550 degrees. The result: as tender and juicy a pork roast as those who enjoyed it could recall. It came with, in addition to the corn, baked beans, salads, nectarines, Twinkies, cakes, and cookies. Ice cream was provided by the LaPorte bicycle club.

"It was a nice surprise," said Barb Madison of Kent, Washington. "I was overwhelmed with the (flower) decorations, the meal, and the hospitality. It made our 110-mile ride a lot easier and it renewed our energy."

Phil Dettmer dances off a 103-mile ride

To make it even sweeter, riders learned that organizer Noel had had everything donated, and then sold T-shirts and plates of food to locals. The result was not only a"free meal" for riders, but a donation by the people of La Porte to the American Lung Association of almost $800.

Recharged energy must have explained how so many riders could get up and dance after such a day. As a local DJ spun music for dancing after dinner, Phil Dettmer of Palo Alto, California, provided a reprise of his polka skills for those who hadn't seen him in New Ulm, Minnesota. Other riders and locals joined in the Chicken, the Hokey Pokey, YMCA, the Macarena, and rock 'n' roll songs. The last song, appropriately: "I Want to Ride My Bicycle," by Queen.

By Katie Schlieper and Clem Work, riding reporter.

For more information about today's ride, check out the GORP Big Ride Log.