Biker Boys are Back

Many of you readers know that the boys who biked across the U.S. – my son, Tyler, and two of his buddies – returned to Takoma Park in December. Safely. Despite the final ride up North Capitol Street from Union Station, in the snow, after dark.

We are thrilled to have them home! For those who lost track, or are coming to the blog late, the boys pedaled away from our homes in Takoma Park, went up the east coast, then took the train from Boston to Seattle. From there they made their way south, mostly along the beautiful Coastal Highway, to just south of San Francisco. Then they turned east and pedaled long miles across desert, through Texas, stopped for a big time in Austin around Halloween, went to New Orleans and volunteered ,doing Katrina-related service projects (planting sand fences in the dunes to prevent erosion, for example). Then they went to St. Augustine, their last port of call before they boarded the train for home and Union Station in D.C.

Their return warranted a second group Thanksgiving among their families and more recently (yes, nearly a month after they returned) a gathering to look at photos from their travels. I especially liked the theme of happy/sad: the boys took photos of themselves in various locations, first with sad faces, then happy. The results are pretty hilarious, especially when other people join in the charade. The world is FULL of lovely people not only willing to let three boys camp out in their yards overnight – and some of them even produced big meals for the guys and their outsized appetites, or provided beds indoors -- but these folks were also willing to pose in the happy/sad photos. We have a lot of amused grown-ups gamely masking still-visible grins behind the “sad” faces the boys requested for the photo account.

There was also a theme of falling: as in, falling off the bikes. The rule, we were told, was that the person who had fallen had to stay down until a photo could be snapped. And, we were treated to footage of bloody shins and toes – though we are lucky that there were no major injuries. Mix these quirky pics in with beautiful photos of the Grand Canyon, expanses of rocky cliffs perched over the Pacific, reflective shots of tree-lined roads that give you a visual idea of just how many miles these guys pedaled, idyllic hiker/biker campsites and laundry hanging on a line (thanks, Ty) outside a free hostel in Pietown, NM (population 60, and yes, they have pie) and it was a wonderful show.

Note the hats -- they survived the entire trip! And the pies -- Happy Thanksgiving.