Day 16: Monday, 9/24/07

Coming Home!

Today started like many of the other days: up at 6 am, 7 am departure from the hotel, biking into the sunrise, warm temperatures and sunny skies.

We were only traveling about 100 miles from Parkersburg, WV to Grafton, WV but with a little over 7,000 feet of climbing elevation.

The feeling of the sunrise was different today. I do not know if it was the beautiful mountains all around us, the 2,591 miles of riding we had already done or that it was my 60^th birthday. We also had completed nearly 71,500 feet of climbing elevation through yesterday.

I have not had a “home” in the Northeast since my Mom passed away in August of 1994. My Dad had been killed in an explosion in August of 1973 (six weeks after Sara and I were married), and my best friend from high school (Billy Rose) had been killed in a softball game collision in August of 1973, five days after my Dad’s death.

I have visited the Bucknell campus every year since 1969, except the two years I lived in Germany in 1970-71. That’s 36 of the last 38 years.

I thought about who had influenced me the most to attend Bucknell. It was two alumni: Bob Baker, Class of 1944 (Bob drove me to Bucknell for a weekend in early 1965) and Walt McConnell (my high school medical doctor)

During the ride this morning, I thought about my first day as a Bucknell student in September of 1965. My parents dropped me off outside of Kress Hall (I lived on 4^th Floor Kress freshman year). My luggage consisted of two A&P paper bags.

I thought of George McGee. He (and his family) attended every football game I played in at Bucknell over four years (along with my parents and Sam Havrilak’s parents).

I pledged Sigma Chi the second semester of freshman year, and was fortunate to be able to live in the fraternity house for the next three years.

When I return to campus, I now regularly visit either 4^th Kress and/or the Sigma Chi House. I do this because these two buildings are the closest thing I can call “home” when I return east. There are so many wonderful memories of time spent on 4^th Kress and in the Sigma Chi House.

I also thought of Ed Zolla today. He would have loved this trip, and had committed to do the ride. Unfortunately, he unexpectedly died of a heart attack last Labor Day while on vacation with his family in Lake Tahoe.

I have only cried two times in my life on my bike: last September the first Saturday ride without Ed (when biking with Bruce Lederman) and today. Today I realized that Ed was with me for the entire ride – in spirit, just not in person.

Once the morning sun got higher in the sky, there were many butterflies that appear along the bike route. These were reminders to me that Ed was still with me, but he had changed his form of communication.

I biked 60 miles today: one mile for each of my 60 years.

We stayed at Tygart State Park in Grafton, WV last evening. We rented five cabins. What a beautiful setting for my 60^th Birthday! Many deer in the forests, along with a spotting of my first fox on the trip.

The riding group had a special cocktail party for me in the cabin closest to the lake (16 miles long). We had my birthday dinner at the park lodge, then came back to our cabin for birthday cake (compliments of the chef in our hotel in Parkersburg!). Lucja got to pick the first piece of cake! What a special evening. Each attendee made a toast to me and spoke about our relationship (Jake filmed these comments for me).