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"Grick"

Dick Burwell

BAT 98 – "El Niño"
Day by Day:

Date - Departure City - Miles

• 5/19 - Everett, WA - 51
• 5/20 - Skyomish, WA - 54
• 5/21 - Leavenworth, WA - 83
• 5/22 - Coulee City, WA - 61
• 5/23 - Davenport, WA - 62
• 5/24 - Deer Park, WA - 72
• 5/25 - Rest Day - 0
• 5/26 - Sandpoint, ID - 100
• 5/27 - Libby, MT - 95
• 5/28 - Kalispell, MT - 91
• 5/29 - Seeley Lake, MT - 110
• 5/30 - Helena, MT - 105
• 5/31 - Bozeman, MT - 88
• 6/1 - Rest Day - 0
• 6/2 - Gardiner, MT - 60
• 6/3 - Cooke City, MT - 80
• 6/4 - Cody, WY - 73
• 6/5 - Five Springs, WY - 78
• 6/6 - Sheridan, WY - 112
• 6/7 - Rest Day - 0
• 6/8 - Gillette, WY - 115
• 6/9 - Custer, SD - 43
• 6/10 - Rapid City, SD - 100
• 6/11 - Badlands, SD - 75
• 6/12 - White River, SD - 94
• 6/13 - Burke, SD - 77
• 6/14 - Rest Day - 0
• 6/15 - Niobrara, NE - 81
• 6/16 - Ponca, NE - 110
• 6/17 - Lakeview, IA - 81
• 6/18 - Story City, IA - 87
• 6/19 - Vinton, IA - 52
• 6/20 - Anamosa, IA - 87
• 6/21 - Rest Day - 0
• 6/22 - Morrison, IL - 87
• 6/23 - Utica, IL - 68
• 6/24 - Kankakee, IL - 80
• 6/25 - Winamac, IN - 75
• 6/26 - Huntington, IN - 86
• 6/27 - Wapakoneta, OH - 85
• 6/28 - Rest Day - 0
• 6/29 - Mt. Gilead, OH - 75
• 6/30 - Sugar Creek, OH - 110
• 7/1 - Washington, PA - 101
• 7/2 - New Germany, MD - 60
• 7/3 - Paw Paw, WV - 60
• 7/4 - Bluemont, VA - 60

...finishing in Washington DC on the steps of the US Capitol Building.

• Week 1 - Everett, WA to Sand Point, ID
  May 19-25; 383 miles
• Week 2 - Sand Point to Gardner, MT
  May 26-June 1; 589 miles
• Week 3 - Gardner to Gillette, WY
  June 2-7; 403 miles
• Week 4 - Gillette to Niobrara, NE
  June 8-14; 504 miles
• Week 5 - Niobrara to Morrison, IL
  June 15-21; 498 miles
• Week 6 - Morrison to Mt. Gilead, OH
  June 22-28; 481 miles
• Week 7 - Mt. Gilead to Washington, DC
  June 29-July 4 (Capitol fireworks!); 466 miles

My ride across the country and this web page are dedicated to my fellow rider and ALS victim, the late, great Dick Burwell.

Thanks for visiting. Ride on!
Dan Goese

FORWARD

"BAT 98" was a guided bicycle tour that started in Everett, Washington on May 19th and finished with a grand finale on July 4th in Washington, DC. The ride is organized by David Blair, the founder of Bike America Tours (thus the "B.A.T.") The BAT tour is a series of seven, 1-week bike rides. I'm one of the seven riders who participated in the full coast-to-coast ride, and this is my summary of the experience, for the benefit of my family, friends, and anyone considering such a ride.

Every once in a while, what seems like a crazy idea turns into a wonderful, unforgettable experience. Such is the case for my 1998 bicycle ride from coast to coast. I joined a small team of people who had the same crazy idea in Everett, Washington. We were led by the fearless bear of a man named Dave Blair...

His dad, Chuck Blair also helped lug our stuff so we could ride "untethered" across this great country. This page includes a small sampling of the pictures from that ride.

David Blair

THE CREW

David Blair, the founder and active organizer of Bike America Tours, has to be one of the nicest, most laid-back humans I've ever met. When you're traveling together for seven weeks, the kind of people you're with is crucial. Dave set the tone for the tour, and the riders caught on. Dave didn't ride much with us, but provided logistical and moral support along with his parents (Joann and Chuck), and friend (Aaron Huether). His wife (Bernie) joined us briefly, but spent most of the time back at the "BAT Cave" in Billings, where she could provide internet updates (see www.webz.com/bikeamerica) and maintain a somewhat normal lifestyle. The BAT team provided breakfast, dinner, navigational guidance and tag-team support every day.

Chuck Blair

THE RIDERS

Each of the riders added a special dimension to the ride. The riders came from various parts of the U.S. and a variety of professional backgrounds. For seven weeks we became a family, if not a traveling circus. For such a broad spectrum of personality types, we all managed to get along quite well.

On some days, there were over a dozen riders participating in BAT 98. Not everyone could get away for the full seven weeks, and one rider (Bill Burwell) needed to quit due to the aggravation of a pre-existing back condition, so only seven riders completed the full tour. Two of the seven are women. The small number of riders allowed a simple, personal atmosphere throughout the ride.

Here's a list of the riders; those in bold made it from coast to coast:

• Wendy Abbott, Rochester, New York
• Allen Boeker, Bellevue, Washington
• Bill Burwell, Kirkland, Washington
• Dick Burwell, Bellevue, Washington
• Beth Byrd, Brooklyn, New York
• Tom Cherry, Bellevue, Washington
• Todd Crouse, Angelfire, New Mexico
• Kent Gatling, Bennington, Vermont
• Dan Goese, La Jolla, California
• Ed Hegarty, Gloucester, Massachusetts
• Bill Hodgson, Bellevue, Washington
• Ken Iobst, Silver Spring, Maryland
• John Robinson, Bellevue, Washington
• Bruce Thompson, Golden, Colorado
• Jack Turner, Superior, Colorado
• Dave Wallace, Sugarcreek, Ohio

Our humble beginnings in Everett Washington. (Compare this to the fanfare on the Capitol steps in Washington, DC almost seven weeks later!)

The open road, no cars...a cyclist's paradise.

The sounds were as spectacular as the sites. The thousands of birds calling from within the bushes of this plain enhanced our exercise endorphin-induced euphoria.

"Big-Ass" Trees (the latin term, I guess.)

TRY THESE ON FOR SIZE:

• Put two wheels on your lawn chair (roughly equivalent to my recumbent bicycle), go to the top of a 9,400-foot pass in the Big Horn mountains of Wyoming, wait for a blowing snowstorm to come along, then ride through the storm at 40 MPH. Ignore the frostbite that's going to develop on your thumbs…this is too fun to stop! Six Flags/Magic Mountain can't compare to this.

• Watch the weather reports in Iowa. When it appears that the mother of all tornado-laden thunderstorms is coming, hop on your bike and ride the front of the storm as long as you can. Laugh insanely as the black clouds and 65 MPH tailwinds push you and torrential rains down the road while all the motorists pull off to the side. Watch for the tornado that will touch down in the city you'd be in if you hadn't dawdled at lunch for so long. (That day held the most exhilarating bike ride I've ever had…and I've been on some pretty wild mountain bike rides. Beth Bird asked Todd Crouse during the deluge, "Are we going to die?")

• Pick a hill that looks steep enough and long enough to show you how fast 55 MPH feels on a 20-pound bicycle. Say a prayer no matter how nonreligious you are. If a big truck passes you by, get right behind it because that may be the only way you'll break 60 MPH. Watch for brake lights and bumps in the road.

• Make sure you have lots of peanut/chocolate dessert before retiring to your tent in a remote camping area known for its grizzly bears. This will assure a strong enough scent that says "Yes, I'm edible!" to the bears, even through your tent wall. When you wake up because your cheap tent's walls are caving in on your face under the unseasonably deep overnight snow fall, wave your arms frantically so that if it is a bear, the bear will know exactly where to bite first.

• When you're riding down the steep continental divide in the rain, be sure to pass a motor home or car--the driver of which thought he was going the fastest safe speed--just to assure them that you really are out of your mind.

These were some of the nuttier experiences for me in BAT 98. Of course the weather did clear up from time to time, and we had majestic rides with post-card perfect views of the mountains and plains. But I expected the sunny afternoon rides. I really thrive on surprises and the unexpected, and this trip provided an abundance of surprises.

This market in Swan Village, MT has everything you need...gas, food, even the post office.

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF BAT '98

The typical day started - as it does for most members of the animal kingdom - with a trip to the restroom. Depending on the day, that could be as simple as a walk into the hotel room's bathroom, or as tedious as finding the outhouse in the snow. (Fortunately I visited a lot more hotels than snowy outhouses.) Since it rained a bit along the way, we often had to roll wet tents up and hope to dry them out later at that day's destination. Anytime it rained two days in a row, several of us started asking about local hotel accommodations. The hotel rooms made nice tent-drying facilities.

GREAT REVELATIONS

I really had no idea what to expect of the ride. I didn't know what the typical day would be like. I couldn't predict whether or not I would come back with a different perspective on life. Most of the ride was considerably more meditative than a day in the office, so I thought I might come back with better explanations for the meaning of life.

The truth is, I don't think the ride had any radical effect on my brain.

• The ride meant a lot to me.
• It was an unforgettable adventure and an incredible accomplishment.
• I like the people I rode with.
• I got a great family vacation out of the last couple weeks.
• I feel a lot more relaxed - both physically and psychologically - than I did before the ride.
• Compared to the pre-ride Dan, I am definitely at peace.

But it really was just a long bike ride.

A RECEPTION AND FIREWORKS

The final week was the most emotional one for most of the riders. Everyone had to prepare to go back to reality. We had become accustomed to just waking up, eating, and wandering off on our bikes. Life was simple, if not easy. But as the trip wrapped up, things got more complicated every day. The east coast is more crowded, and our meandering route got trickier as we tried to minimize our exposure to traffic. The C&O and W&OD trails gave us a final glimpse of rural cycling.

ENCORE!

I've had many people ask me if I'd do it again. Let's be clear about this…whether I'd want to or not, my wife wouldn't let me leave home for this long again. She had the kids to herself for five weeks, and she's not up for that again anytime soon. I also don't want to be separated from the family for that long anytime soon.

But my answer is YES, I'd do it again. It might be just the thing to do sometime after our youngest goes off to college. In the meantime, my rides are considerably shorter and my days are considerably less adventuresome.