The Assesment

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At this point you have heard from both Alice and Chick about some of their thoughts an experiences on the trial run out to the east coast, so I guess its my turn for this. For those of you not following along Alice and Chick are going to be riding their motorcycles through all 50, yes I said 50. (please don’t ask how they are going to get to Hawaii, it's a long swim) This ride is going to be a very large undertaking and challenge in every way imaginable. Mental, physical, emotional strain. Untested gear, logistical planning, unforeseen issues and how to handle them, etc. well what’s the best way to try and start planning and anticipating? You run a test, and that’s just what we did. About 1400 miles each way from home base to Connecticut and back in the matter of 9 days. 3 days out, 3 days “rest”, and 3 days back.  Pushing the limits of both human and mechanical endurance.

Now my role in all this was assessment, planning, observing, and understanding. I’m a logistics kinda guy. I like to know The Who, what, when, where, why, and how’s of things, and that is what I was doing. As Alice and Chick rode on their bikes I followed in a truck, staying close enough to monitor and asses the riders. Yeah, many would argue I had the easy job riding in the truck with access to hydration, A/C, snacks, and music at my leisure (wink, wink) and in many cases you are not wrong. I didn’t have to endure the physical hardship of riding a motorcycle 500 miles a day, but it wasn’t just a free ride and a vacation for me. my brain was constantly going. Gauging traffic, planning, camping locations, thinking about meals and set up time once sites were reached, monitoring weather (heat, rain, wind, etc) and overall keeping an eye on how the ladies were riding.  All of these are things I am going to need to have a grasp on once the real ride starts. Knowing how hard and far to push each day to meet deadlines, what routes are best suited to get from A to B on a motorcycle, road work, highs and lows for the day to optimize riding times, even what days are going to be no go days due to how things look and how hard Alice and Chick have been pushing it.

The point of the trip was to stress everything and anything that needed to be stressed. I was basically a shadow until I wasn’t, and that was mostly after we had made it to camp and I got food ready for the night. I did a few things here and there like fill water bottles, get ice, do health check ins, etc., the ladies did all the real heavy lifting. The whole trip was based around Chick and Alice simulating a hardcore version of the 50 state ride. Fully loaded bikes, testing the gear, ( both riding and camping) and testing the limits of how far is acceptable for riding in a day if pushing it as far as possible is needed. As far as tests go, this trip definitely made sure to test everything. Gear, bikes, mental status, physical limits, emotional reactions, egos, and mechanical. All the boxes were checked.

The ride stressed things to near breaking points at times. With the long days, short nights, not always doing the best to ensure physical needs like food and water were addressed, things got a bit heated at times, but when you get on board with two very independent, driven, and at times stubborn women, you expect nothing less. Did this deter me, thinking maybe this wasn’t a good idea? Not one bit. This was the whole point. Find the limits, see what happens and address it. Some may see a little heated back and forth as a bad thing, me and the way my brain works, no. It showed me what I needed to know. It showed me that:

A: food and drink stops cannot be ignored and need to be set up

B: some type of food is needed before the days riding begins

C: how to plan accordingly for temperature and the long term effects it has

D: that despite possibly being at each others throats and needing to get some separation for a while, these women don’t quit and aren’t afraid to hash it out when the time comes.

The trip also brought about a challenge that I for one have been wondering how to address. That was, what happens if a bike breaks down. Well about 2 hours into the trip back that exact thing happened. Chick's bike developed a knock/tick in the engine. Needless to say, that was the it for the bike. Now luckily this trip had a follow truck. I was able to locate a motorcycle trailer to rent. We loaded the bike up and continued the journey with Alice and Chick essentially alternating the riding days. Now the question is, what if there was no follow vehicle. Well the simple answer is wait for a tow to a shop, or rent a box truck and load the bike in there. After that it creates a number of different logistical problems to solve, like does one rider wait for the other and shift schedules. Does one continue to meet deadlines and the other follows depending on time line for repairs, do we rent a bike and come back for the other when its done. All of these are things that live in the back of my mind and depending on the situation have a solution brewing with them. Not everything can be accounted obviously but having a frame work to start building a solution to a potential problem is something I tend to do.

After the ride, I very confidently can say that many of the concerns I may have had before the trial run melted away. Seeing these two ride, pivot, and adapt along the way was like watching art being made. Were there bumps, absolutely. But that didn’t stop anyone. Alice and Chick did the ride, made it out there and back despite set backs like heated discussions, physical pain, exhaustion, fighting pre-existing medical issues, having one bike break down, and yet, despite all of that, all things that would have had most people on the ropes and ready to call it quits, they persevered. They pushed each other, and they made sure that neither one gave up. I was able to see the points that they were wearing down and on the edge of breaking as well as just how fast they each rebounded. It was quite a sight to see. It’s amazing what these ladies can do with a day of rest and I watched it first hand. Running hard and worn out one day, rest for a day, and a rebound the next to keep moving forward. With scheduled rest days in the works, there is no stopping them, that I know for sure.

All in all I was honored to be apart of the experience. It gave me pleasure to watch these ladies in action and gave me great information for the road ahead to help ensure the success of the freedom ride in 2027. I for one am excited. I saw what they can do in 9 days. I can only begin to imagine what they can do with 2 years. What once was a dream, is very much a reality.