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While more physically demanding than taking a train or bus, bicycling is a great way to take in the sights and sounds of America, according to a young Holden man.
"We averaged about 50 miles a day and took up to 10 hours to do it," said 20-year-old Jay-Paul Thibault, who just finished pedaling 4,600 miles from Anacortes, Washington to Bar Harbor.
"I found it to be very relaxing," he said, "We'd stop for a few hours at a cafe, I'd read under a tree for a while, or just pull over and talk to people on the side of the road."
Thibault and five other bikers, between the ages of 25 and 29, dipped their bicycle wheels in the Pacific Ocean on June 17 and 90 days later did the same in the Atlantic.
Thibault, has migraine-seizure complex, a form of epilepsy, said his trip was part of a mission to change people's misconceptions about the condition.
"I can carry on a normal life," he said. "I've gone mountain climbing, played hockey, kayaked - done a lot of things I was told I couldn't / shouldn't do. I just enjoy being active."
The scenic highlights of the trip, according to Thibault, were Glacier National Park in northwestern Montana and Mount Desert Island. Glacier National Park straddles the Continental Divide and features ice fields, snow-capped mountains, canyons, turbulent rivers, and waterfalls.
"Glacier Park was a highlight because of its sheer magnitude," said Thibault. "Pictures can't do it justice."
The extremely hilly terrain of Minnesota was also a highlight following the flat and monotonous highways of Montana and North Dakota.
"They were so straight," said Thibault, "that you could see what seemed forever - until the earth curved away. All you could see was wheat on either side of you. A couple of the bikers had to scream every now and then.
"North Dakota received another superlative for having the kindest
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people.
"It seems that the less people have, the more generous they are with what they do have." he said. "Some places in North Dakota and Iowa were really poor. They lived in trailers and had rusted out cars out front. But they were the ones who most often invited you into their homes."
North Dakota also featured the hottest weather, although Thibault said he didn't notice the heat one day until someone asked him how he could bike in 100 degree temperatures.
"It wasn't that bad," he said. "You had water with you and each town you came to - they were about 20 to 30 miles apart - had water and a pool, so we'd go swimming."
The trip was mapped out and coordinated by Bike Centennial, a bicycle travel association that arranges several such excursions annually. Thibault found out about the organization through a cycling magazine and paid $1,900 to join up. Other bikers from around the country - Texas, California, Massachusetts, Michigan signed up for the same time frame. The organization provided a trip leader, some equipment, insurance, food and camping costs along the route, and all the planning and mapping.
"It could be done cheaper if you were to do it yourself, but you're not going to have the companions or the leader." he said.
One of the few complaints Thibault had with the route Bike Centennial picked out for his group was that it didn't take them to any of the Great Lakes.
"We came within seven miles of Lake Erie, so we went on our own," he said. He assumed, however, that the route purposely avoided the lakes to steer clear of metropolitan areas such as Chicago and Cleveland.
Minneapolis was an area, though, that he wouldn't have minded
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circumventing.
"I had five or six near accidents," he said. "Once I actually got brushed by a car. It's a bit unnerving. I don't know what, it was about Minneapolis. The cars would come within a few inches of hitting you. I couldn't tell if it was driver inattention or something else."
Also, one of the three women on the trip was involved in a hit-and-run accident in downtown Minneapolis.
"A woman took a left-hand turn without looking," said Thibault. "Judith went rolling over the top of her car and luckily landed just right; she wasn't hurt. She got the license plate number and there were a lot of witnesses; the woman denied it when they finally caught up with her. Judith's going back to court to testify."
Thibault banged up his elbow, shoulder and knee in a couple of accidents. He struck a pothole once, wedged his tire in a crack, and flipped over the top. On the second occasion, in North Dakota, he was hypnotized by the road and somehow drove off onto the gravel shoulder. He overcorrected when trying, to get back on the road and again flipped over the bike.
"The wounds were right in the joints so they never really healed the whole trip," he said. "The mosquitoes enjoyed that."
The cross-country trip was what Thibault called a "warm-up" for an around-the-world cycling tour he's trying to organize. He said he wanted to sign up about 20 people to ride on behalf of epilepsy foundations worldwide and that he hoped to get corporate sponsors and supporters to raise funds for the foundations.
Interested parties can contact Thibault at RFD 2 Box 1117, Brewer, Maine 04412. The thought of biking nearly 10 times the distance he just completed doesn't trouble, the young man.
"People say to me, 'Oh, I could never do that.' Well, if they say they can't, they never will." said Thibault. "You take the trip one day at a time. If you approach life that way, you'll often succeed."
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