My 80 th year is quickly coming to an end as I will be 80 on August 19,2022.
This year seems to have gone quickly and had some highs and lows.
In September I flew to Spain and visited Madrid for a couple of nights prior to moving on to the island of Mallorca.
Mallorca is a meca for cyclists. I rented a Stevens ebike and proceeded to circle the island for ten days. The island is beautiful with nice towns, beaches, mountains and friendly people. It seemed like a perfect spot to live until I found out how cold and damp it gets in winter.
I returned to Costa Rica (CR) about October first and got to work on organizing the upcoming three week cycle your of my adopted country.
I flew to Edmonton in November to meet with the Edmonton group that were planning to cycle Costa Rica. I then flew on to Vancouver to visit with my son’s family and to meet with the Evelo Bike sponsors. Little did I know it would be the last time I saw my son, Cam.
Soon after returning to CR we flew to Colombia for the Christmas holidays. We spent a week or so on the island of San Andres before going to Medellin to spend Christmas with Gloria’s family.
San Andres is a beautiful island and the construction of new hotels seems to indicate that the tourist trade is about to boom. The island experienced a hurricane a few years ago and it wiped out most of their beaches so I was a little disappointed with the beach life. I did rent a mountain bike and road around the island, 36 km with 12 m of climbing.
Medellin is a large, modern city of maybe four million. I took an ebike tour around the city center one evening and the next day we took a city tour with a private driver. It was a good tour and we learned a lot about the drug wars that we’re waged a few years ago. The next day we visited one of the tourist attractions, which involves a walk through a mountainside district. Very touristy but a lot of fun. We then returned to CR for New Years.
January was processing well but the scare of Covid caused a number of people to cancel their booking for the 1700 k tour of CR. I had to scramble to keep the tour from collapsing.
Then at the end of January I got that phone call that no father ever wants to receive. My son’s wife called in the middle of the night to tell me my son had suffered from a massive heart attack and may not live. He was only 49.
Now I had to book a flight to Vancouver, get a covid test and get it done quickly.
I did fly to my son’s bedside, but the doctor indicated that he would soon pass, which he did. However, they harvested seven organs and passed them on to needy people in British Columbia.
Please have your children make a will, power of attorney, and have a joint bank account. If something happens, it is much easier to deal with the financial side of the death. Cam had none of these documents.
I did not have much time to grieve as I had to return to CR to start the cycle your. The cycle group was excellent, and we had a great tour.
After the tour, Match 15, I flew to Edmonton for my granddaughter’s 18 th birthday. It was the first time I could spend her birthday with her. I also made a quick trip to Vancouver to see my granddaughter.
Back to CR, and time to get some serious training for my Odyssey.
During this training time, I was also purchasing a car, and tent trailer, hiring support staff, and dealing with my sponsors.
I flew to Edmonton on June 10 to attend my granddaughter’s high school graduation. I caught covid but nothing terrible. Drove to Vancouver to pick up some racks and bikes, then back to Edmonton.
My support staff flew in on the 23 of June and left for Fairbanks on June 27.
Wayne and I flew to Fairbanks on July first and met the ladies at our host’s home. On July 4 th, we started cycling from the city of North Pole, Alaska.
I am in Prince Geoge, British Columbia, as I am writing this blog. We have cycled over 2700 km, and we are on schedule. It seems impossible that we will cycle into Vancouver in one week.
My 80 th will be in Newport, Oregon, and I expect 20 friends to show up with some riding the last few days with me.
The past year has been so busy I have not had time to grow old.
One task I completed was to renew my driver’s license before departure. I had to take an Alzheimer’s test and a medical which I passed. However, the nurse, at the end of the mental
test, gave me some advice for a healthy life. She said I should make sure I get some exercise and keep my mind active by planning activities or learning a foreign language. I did not have the heart to tell her that is what I am doing.
That was the year that was.
Saw the headline. Wow. 80. 8000+ miles wow x2. And then the let down. Electric. Ugh, disappointed. But it looks like you’ve paid your dues and then some with real cycling and all the rest. A lot of dues.
And a support crew? Maybe just jealous now. Either way you look pretty good for 80 so you must be doing something right. GODSPEED. I will follow the journey. Daily location tweet and feeling of the day would be great.