When Friends Come to Town - By Bike!

I just love it when friends from out of town come to visit me. I especially love it when they come by bike or to bike.

That's what happened just last week. My friends Mike and Joan Weingarten from Cincinnati, Ohio, rode into Missoula on the TransAmerica Bicycle Trail and spent a few days visiting. It was great to see them again, catch up on their lives, and hear about their incredible journey. I remember Joan commented to me last June how nervous she was about doing such an extended trip; and I was so heartened to see the pure joy on her face as she spoke to me about the adventure and how much fun she was having.

I housed their bikes for a couple of days while they flew out to Washington, D.C., for Mike's father's 90th birthday. Yes, they were caught in the hurricane but luckily missed the earthquake. Upon returning, Mike and Joan retrieved their bikes from my garage and came by for one more photo (above) before taking off for Lolo Pass. In the words of Mike, "The bike has become our home and we miss it when we're not touring." Read more about Mike and Joan's adventure on the TransAm Trail.


Another friend, Virginia Blaine, came through town last week as well, but I was unable to see her as I was settling a daughter at college. Luckily, Heather Andrews, our summer intern and the newest member of the Adventure Cycling family, came to the rescue:

Recently, I had the privilege of acting as Adventure Cycling Association bike ambassador to a VIP from Farmington, Missouri, a town that has made efforts to build bike tourism along the TransAmerica Bicycle Trail. Virginia Blaine is an Adventure Cycling supporter who advocates and rides with Parkland Cyclists in Farmington. She contacted us about her plans to come through Missoula, and we wanted to make sure to show her around.

Virginia decided long ago that riding the TransAm was too ambitious for her situation, so she has been slowly traveling around the U.S. with her bike in an effort to ride in all 50 states. When we met up on August 28, I had the pleasure of helping Virginia make Montana her 48th state. After her brief stop in Missoula, she headed for North and South Dakota, completing her goal by racking up states #49 and #50 before heading home to Missouri.

We had a great time together! Originally we had planned to ride the scenic multi-use path that connects Lolo and Victor, Montana (growing rapidly along the Bitterroot Valley!), but unexpected complications changed our plans. Our revised plan included a leisurely ride around Missoula. Virginia was able to see part of the trail system that overlooks the beautiful Clark Fork River, the cycletrack on Higgins Street, the University of Montana, and, of course, the Adventure Cycling Association headquarters building.

We pedaled around town and talked about bike advocacy and personal challenges for new cyclists. I've been involved in bike advocacy efforts in Portland, Oregon, so I shared some resources with Virginia that might be helpful for her in responding to naysayers' accusations in Missouri. It was interesting to get a perspective on promoting bikes in a small town with a culture very unlike the one I'm used to.

All in all, it was a pleasure to be able to ride with Virginia, and I hope she enjoyed her experience in Missoula!

Thanks Heather. And to all of our Adventure Cycling friends, near and far -- we love having visitors, so plan on coming by!

To see our summer visitors, visit our Flickr gallery of visiting cyclists.

Top photo by Ginny Sullivan, bottom photo by Heather Andrews.

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CONNECTIONS is posted by Ginny Sullivan, Adventure Cycling's special projects director and features the cultural, historical, geographical, and human connections created through bike travel. Find out about our award-winning Underground Railroad Bicycle Route.

Source: http://blog.adventurecycling.org/2011/09/when-friends-come-to-town-by-bike.html

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