Stefan Keller

Today marks a month since I started this trip in Shreveport. I’ve ridden almost 1950 miles, climbed nearly 70,000 feet, and been in the saddle for almost 157 hours. Tonight is the 19th state. I also came to one giant realization today. This is not about riding my bike. This is about people. Think of it like a piece of toast. The bread is the vessel to deliver the butter (or avocado 🤢). Today I realized that my bike is just the vessel that is giving me this fabulous opportunity to see people that I haven’t seen in forever. The more of these people I see, the less I worry about how far, how high, or how long.

Over the course of our lives, we meet hundreds or perhaps thousands of people. The vast majority of these are one-hit wonders - people that pass through our lives virtually unnoticed because we don’t share any real time or experiences with them. Others are present in our lives for “eras” - our childhoods, college, work, or as we all know, our kids' lives. What I have realized is that reconnecting with friends from these past “eras” has been incredible.

Today, that person was Stefan Keller. To state that Stefan was my inspiration for doing this trip would not be accurate. To say that I have him to thank for it would be. I met Stefan when we were 15 and we were on a summer bike trip through Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia with AYH (American Youth Hostels). I believe that trip was about 5 weeks long and there were perhaps 10 people or so on the trip. That was actually my second AYH trip as I had done one in New England the year before.

Stefan and I had enough fun on that ride, that the two of us planned and did a ride from his house in Middletown, NY to my house in Pittsford, NY, by way of Akron, OH. We visited a couple of the people that had been on the trip with us the summer before. The next summer, after graduating high school, as a couple of 17-year olds, we set off on a trip all around the west, through ID, MT, WA, OR and in BC and Alberta as well. We rode, we drank beer and tequila, we hitchhiked, we climbed part of the way up Mt Rainier carrying some guy’s skis for him, in exchange for a ride. We slept on top of a train car (it was too hot to sleep under it). We ate Rice Krispies with ketchup (I do not advise that - better to go hungry).

When we parted ways in Boise, I never thought about the fact that it would be nearly 40 years before I saw him again. He and his girlfriend did stop by Texas and visit me at Rice. We couldn’t remember exactly when that was, 1984 or 1985. We probably never would have reconnected if it hadn’t been for Stefan’s wife. She found me on FB and sent me a message. I had no idea who she was. When it occurred to me that my route went right by Middletown, I reached out and tried to arrange a get together. A total idiot mistake. I assumed that he was living in the same place that he had been 40 years ago. The possibility that he had moved never occurred to me. As it turns out, he has moved - to Philadelphia - and I had just ridden through there yesterday. As it also turns out, he lives only about 30 minutes from where I stayed last night so he made the drive up and we met for breakfast. He had a folder with him to share with me. The contents are in the pictures below. This was the absolute highlight of the first month. Not far behind are the opportunities I had to see friends in Nashville, Alabama, Atlanta, and North Carolina. Tomorrow I see my cousin who I have only seen at funerals for the last 20 years. I am so highly motivated to keep riding and visiting with friends I haven’t seen in so long. It’s good for the soul!

Summer of 1981

I was repping for Adidas before they started paying people millions!

We carried this guy's skis part of the way up Mt Rainier

Hitchhiking in the back of a truck hauling tires. If I remember correctly, we’re in the bed of the pickup and our bikes are piled on top of the tires in the trailer.

Lunch stop today. The food was a bit better than the spelling, but not a lot. Won’t be making my Top Burger list.

Apparently Bill just had one.

Zoom in on the street signs. No rider wants to see that.

2 miles from the finish. No rider wants to see this either. Detour was about 15 miles UP and around. I lifted my bike over the barrier and rode on.