The Historic New Bern Ride (or 'How I met your mother' and kicked off the first in a long line of mutually inclusive vignettes)

...just a few lines to summarize a beautiful weekend in New Bern.  But first let me take you back, in the annals of lore, to a simpler time...

We (Dianne and I) have been to New Bern for the MS 150 before.  We figured out that the last time we went must have been when we were dating, but before we got married.  It couldn't have been the year we met (1989) since we met in the fall; so it must have been in 1990.  In other words; it was 23 years ago!

At that time I was twenty six years old; and I had the confidence of my convictions that we could do anything; and we could certainly do this ride.  Dianne had no real preparation for the ride; but she could spend hot, summer weekends playing doubles volleyball tournaments; and she was willing to try anything to get her away from biostatistics.  There were her exploits on the soccer field, and her foray into Intramural softball; but those stories will have to wait for another time.

So; at the same time; I had built up what I thought was a pretty impressive biking resume of my own.  I had joined three other students at the NC School of Science and Math for a ride from Murphey to Manteo that we completed during our "Special Projects" week at school.  We were totally and ridiculously unprepared; but we were able to tolerate frigid nights in the mountains; live on cold pop-tarts, oreos, and bananas; and more or less look out for one another for eight days.

Also, before 1990; during a spring break at NCSU; I had done a solo ride from Washington, DC to Stanley, Virginia and then down to Raleigh.  During my brief stent at Vanderbilt; I had joined the biking club; actually learning the art of riding in a pace line; and the unnatural ways of semi-competitive cyclists.  And most importantly...back in 1979; I had seen Breaking Away.  So; as you can see; I was pretty much (less than) ideally prepared to bike 75 miles a day for two days in a row, with my unsuspecting fiancee!   Never mind that, in 1990, my biking was sporadic, and Dianne's biking was non-existent.

Believe it or not; we registered for the ride; and we raise the funds for MS ( which is really the best reason that we must have had for the endeavor); and we went down to New Bern to prove our mettle.  On the first day we rode together, at what I recall as being slower-than-a-snail's pace.  Which was shocking for me; since I must have secretly believed that Dianne was being modest when she said that she didn't bike.  So we were slow; very slow.  but we were determined.  We did 75 miles; and we hurt in places that we didn't know existed.  But we made it through the first day unscathed.

Well not completely unscathed.  I hit some gravel on a left hand turn and wiped out.  I wiped out as gracefully as one can wipe out when strapped into his pedals; and fueled by the courage of his convictions.  I got up; and picked out the little sandy bits of gravel; and I thought about finding the race marshall or course coordinator, or whoever could have been so careless to have overlooked the gravel on the road.  I guess at the time I assumed that someone would have been out sweeping (like literally sweeping, with a broom) all the biking lanes; kind of like they sweep the volleyball court before a USVBA match.

So I did wipe out on day 1.  Dianne saw me wipe out.  I didn't cry; but I was unhappy.  I sulked for a mile or two; but never did my illusion of being a great cyclist waver.

So day two arrives; and we get up; and now every muscle in our bodies is sore.  Ok, so our Quadriceps' are sore; our Gastrocnemius' are sore; our Gluteus maximus, minimus, and infinitessimus are sore (I made up that last one).  The ligaments in our knees, neck, and spine are sore.  Our wrists are sore. Our Trapezius' and our Sternocleidomastoid muscles are sore.  The muscles under the shoulder blades that can't be reached (because they are UNDER the shoulder blades) are sore.  So now we are starting to wonder, "Was this a good decision"  or was this simply the first in a long line of insanely comedic misjudgements that we would share as hapless soul mates.

Anyway... we managed to (painfully) remount our bike saddles; under what must have been the influence of the encouragement of our peers or sheer foolhardiness.  We rode separately on day two; and we both had a good ride. It took a few miles of bonding with our bikes to reacclimate ourselves with the road; but we both had a good ride.

Coda:  I see that my story has grown long; and I believe that I will tell you about the Historic New Bern ride of 2013 in my next entry.  So that you won't be left totally wanting;  let me tell you that the 2013 story involves less bravado; but no less shortage of drama.  Dianne has an intimate encounter with a car at an intersection.  Steve is admonished for 'pulling' too fast at the front of the pace line (Yes...I'm SO fast that I must be restrained).  Unfortunately, this story is still fresh in my mind; so the opportunities for embellishment and exaggeration are greatly limited compared to my tales of yore; so I'm afraid the next installment could be far more factual, and less instructive.

Thanks for reading,

Steve

The long drive home from Cleveland........

We are driving back to NC from Case and the drive is so boring that I’ve decided to put together some thoughts to post to our family blog the next time I have internet access.  I am probably the least articulate one in our family but I’m going to give this a shot.  The Gallup Family bubble has divided.  There are now 2 bubbles: the one containing the parental unit and the other one containing the cool college kids and their new Case Western environment (to be referred to as CRU (pronounced ‘crew’) from this point forward.)  I got that slang from one of the many orientation talks that Steve and I have attended over the last 2 days (one of the most useful bits of information for that matter).  If you ask me, the girls are living in the better bubble but I am hopeful that our bubble will soar to new heights; however, only time will tell.

It has been a very exciting and exhausting week.  On Thursday, Aug. 15, 2013, we moved our girls into their new living quarters.  We moved them in 3 days prior to the rest of the first year students converging onto campus.  The early move allowed us to avoid crowds but also meant that we received ZERO help during the process.  Whilst the other first year parents just sat in their car as all of their child’s belongings were hoisted away by upperclassmen, Steve and I and the girls got to move all of their stuff in with no hand truck (insert reminder here to bring one for next year).   At this point, I seriously questioned the decision of the girls living in different buildings.  Once moved in, the pre-orientation leaders whisked our children away for 3 days while Steve and I got to play in order to keep our minds off the impending ‘Goodbye’.

We toured the pro-football hall of fame on the 16^th where I learned that the Washington Redskins used to be called the Boston braves, then the Boston Redskins before moving to Washington to become the Washington Redskins and remained so until this day.  Ironically, there is now controversy over the name ‘Redskins’ as it is derogatory to the American Indians and so, the Redskins may have to change their name once again.

On the 17^th, Steve and I biked 32 miles with the Akron Bike Club up some very exhausting hills (or small mountains in my mind).  Halfway through the ride, we stopped at Howe Meadows Farmer’s market where we had some refreshments and then continued back up to the “mountain” to the parking lot.  Since we weren’t exhausted enough, we then toured the Stan Hywet mansion and gardens.  On the way back to Stone Gables B&B, we saw Brandywine Falls, proclaimed to be one of the largest Falls in Ohio.  The Falls were anticlimactic and not worth dragging along to have a gander.  Back at the B&B, we collapsed instead of going to Little Italy’s Feast of Assumption, which was the original plan.

On the 18^th, we checked in for parent orientation at Case, went to a welcome session and then toured Cleveland  on ‘Lolley the Trolley’ tour which was somewhat interesting.  We learned about cultural gardens in Roosevelt park, a hidden cemetery in University Circle where Roosevelt is buried, and how some Ohio high school students sold the rights of Superman for $147 – bet they are a little peeved about that. We were able to spend a little bit of time with Jasmine today but Sam was still riding back from Ohiopyle State Park.  Jazz told us all about her pre-adventure including the ‘Rite of Spring’ ballet that she was very excited about. Steve and I then had dinner at Alladin’s Café in Coventry Park.

On the 19^th, we listened to some mildly interesting orientation talks about student safety, health services, and Case cash.  A parent round table discussion never happened but an administrator that has a child entering Case as a Freshmen led an impromptu discussion amongst the parents in the room.  Afterwards, we finally got to sit down with both of the girls and it felt as if the Gallup Family bubble had merged once again.  The merger did not last long as we split again for the last 2 most boring sessions of the day.  We merged again after the last session, walked the girls back to their dorms where the Gallup bubble split permanently.  The parental unit went back to the library to drink heavily and try to forget about the split and the college kid bubble moved on to exciting events such as a barbeque and a Luau. 

On the 20^th, the parental unit bubble went to the Rock and Roll Hall of fame before departing Cleveland bringing us to the boring drive that I referred to at the beginning of this tirade.  I know that the girls will be fine in their CRU bubble but want them to know that their bubble is welcome to merge with our bubble anytime!!!  I will keep you posted on where the parental unit bubble goes from here…..

What Will Happen When the Bubble Bursts?

Because the girls will soon be leaving; they have been forced to deal with our overly maudlin displays of affection and devotion, including an unholy number of movie nights... together; family meals... together; and other various and sundry displays of love and fidelity... together!

In our adventures together; we enjoyed a trip to Asheville, including whitewater rafting near Hot Springs, NC, and a brief, but challenging, hike off of the Blue Ridge Trail. In another excursion; we went to Charleston, NC, where we enjoyed some shows from the Picolo Spoleto festival; and we did a little kayaking, shopping, dining, and sight seeing around the city.

In a trip to New York City; we stayed at a hotel in Brooklyn, and we saw a college in the Bronx; so we saw a few of the outer boroughs. Nevertheless; we returned to the ultimate borough, Manhattan, to revisit Times Square and the theater district. We all saw Harvey, featuring Jim Parsons (from The Big Bang); but we split up for showings of the revival of Anything Goes (Jasmine and Samantha), and the comic book spectacle, Spiderman: Turn Off the Dark (Steve and Dianne). For some new experiences, we went to Harlem for dinner and culture; and we went to the Warehouse District for a walk on the High Line.


With what seems to be the inevitable dissolution of the 'great and terrible' Gallup family bubble; it seemed prudent, this year, that Dianne and I should also become reacquainted. We took a trip, without the girls, to New Orleans; where we enjoyed some great Jazz performances, on Frenchman's Street, by John Butte', and by Kermit Ruffins; and some slightly less polished, but also less crowded, street performances on Royal Street. This was an awesome chance for us to spend more time together; and to spend some time with Lisa and Andre.

Back at home, Dianne and I have been looking at the prospects of preventing 'empty nest syndrome' by biking ourselves into oblivion! This past year we started biking on a regular, and fairly serious, basis. I decided to throw my lot in with a group of riders that have been departing from the parking lot of my office (and My Way Tavern!) every Thursday. I found that I had more energy (and less agony) after a bike ride, then I did after 90 minutes of full court basketball.

On Sundays; we have joined, from time to time, a group called Team CBC. We've upgraded our bikes and our gear so we can ride 15 to 30 miles a week. Personally, I've made some more ambitious rides of 50 miles and 60 miles, from which I barely returned; but I've become a stronger (but not obsessive) rider.

So, hopefully, when the weather warms up again; Dianne and I can get out there, and do something together that we both enjoy; knowing that even if our kids are super smart academically, or super talented artistically; we can still kick their butts, athletically.

What happens next has yet to be seen. Will Samantha be a concert flautist, a pit orchestra woodwind impresario, or a deadbeat jazz musician playing for tips? Will Jasmine write the next Doctor Who alternative universe spinoff, become a movie critic for Newsweek online, or write the operating instructions for the new kitchen blender model? Can Steve and Dianne live together in peace and equanimity... with their pets; or will Snickers and Orion be ruthlessly exiled from the domicile? Stay tuned. God only knows what will happen when the bubble bursts.