Roger is doing a great job describing the details of his ride each day. So, what are my days like as the driver of his support vehicle?
Roger likes to say that he’s seeing the country at the speed of a bicycle. I’m seeing the country in ten-mile increments. A lot of my time is spent pulling over to the side of the road in turnouts and along gravel shoulders to wait for Roger, who may need to peel off a layer of clothing, refill his water bottle, take a bathroom stop, have a snack, or apply sunscreen. Our morning routine is to mark on our cue sheets where I will stop the RV along the way of the day’s ride, based on factors such as the elevation of the climb, temperature and wind conditions, and location of towns. Roger may then ride ahead while I do something in town, or I may drive ahead to the first checkpoint. When he leaves first and I have to catch up to him, I’m always happy when I look down a long stretch of road and see the red blinking light on the back of his bicycle in the distance. When I’m ahead of him and waiting for him to catch up, I keep a lookout for the white blinking light on the front of his bicycle. I love that those lights are so bright and make him visible to drivers on the road from a distance.
I’m seeing the same gorgeous scenery that Roger is seeing, but he has the luxury of being able to stop at any time and shoot a picture with his phone. I will often see a sight that is beautiful or interesting, but there’s no place to pull over in the RV, and the moment is gone. My brother told me about the concept of zen photos: when you see something that you can’t photograph for one reason or another, you just keep it in your mind. I’m taking a lot of zen photos!
Audiobooks are the best invention ever. I knew that I would be spending a lot of time on the road and would need to do something productive with my time, so listening to books is a great solution. On the way up to Oregon, Roger and I listened to Where the Crawdads Sing, by Delia Owens, which I wanted to listen to because it was my book club’s book of the month, even though I would be missing the discussion. When Roger’s ride started, I began listening to The Library Book, by Susan Orlean. I finished it this afternoon and immediately started Little Fires Everywhere, by Celeste Ng. If you have a favorite audiobook to recommend, let me know!