Bicycling Around the World in the Year 2000

    As I approached my retirement from my job as a manufacturing engineer I was looking for a new challenge, one that was physical, one that was spiritual and one that would make a difference in the world. I found it all in a bicycle trip around the world that will be the biggest challenge IÆve ever faced in my life.

    In 1992 I was looking for a change in the type of exercise I was involved in. A friend, named Mark, was training for a cross-country bike ride and he piqued my interest. At this time the only biking I had ever done was to and from the store, and maybe a 20-mile ride for charity.

 When Mark came home from his ride, the stories he told just got me even more interested. By now I had tried a few longer rides and found that biking was indeed what I wanted for my body. I started riding my bike farther and farther. I was already in reasonably good shape from playing racquetball which made the transition to bicycling relatively easy.

    Mark told me that the organizer of his ride was trying to put together a ride for the year 2000 called Odyssey 2000. This would be a ride around the world. Approximately 250 riders would visit 54 countries and cover more than 20,000 miles in 366 days, riding from 70 to 90 miles a day, five days a week. I thought, "What a great way to celebrate retirement -- seeing the world at 20 mph or less!" But, could I ride that far?

    In the summer of 1996 I did a ride across Wisconsin. For a week we biked 70 to 90 miles a day. This was my test of what Odyssey 2000 would be like. I loved the experience and the riding was surprisingly easy, even for a middle-aged guy like me.

    I started to ask myself the question - could I really take the entire year and spend it cycling around the world?

    I COULD!

    In September of 1996 I sent in my registration to be part of Odyssey 2000. This is when my odyssey truly began. Since then I have been planning and training for the big day -- January 1, 2000.

    Training for a yearlong ride is no small matter. During the winter months I took Spinning classes indoors on a stationary bicycle. Since spring I have ridden more than 5,000 miles outdoors. My rides have been up to 104 miles. Most of my shorter rides have been with my wife near our home. The longer rides have been mainly on organized events like the Door County Century and the Best Damn Bike Tour.

    The thought of managing my finances while out of the country for most of a year was daunting. To handle this I have set up a special bank account which will allow me to pay my expenses anywhere in the world with my VISA card. The biggest drawbacks to the trip is that I will not see my three children or my new granddaughter for an entire year. I will not see my wife until May when she will join me for three weeks as we ride through the United States. She will also be with me in Scotland in August and in New Zealand in November.

    During the trip I will keep in touch with my family and supporters via E-mail and my web site. I will carry a computer and a satellite phone with me on my bicycle so that I can post each dayÆs events and photographs of what I see to the site.

    This ride however is about more than just me. I am so thankful for the opportunity and ability to ride that I felt I needed to give something back. I will be using my ride as a way to raise funds for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

    Multiple sclerosis is a chronic, sometimes disabling disease which affects the central nervous system. It affects over 333,000 Americans. My goal, throughout this journey, is to raise over $100,000 to support Multiple sclerosis research. I am about one-half of the way to the goal.

    Taking a year out of your life and bicycling around the world is certainly not for everyone. But then back in 1996 I didnÆt think it was for me either.

    I was wrong.

    Live on the edge. Get on your bike and ride.