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Our goal during this summer of 2012 is to bicycle from Cape Cod in Massachusetts to the Chicago area of Illinois. My wife Elizabeth and I have never attempted anything more than a casual weekend bikeride of 25 miles, so there will be plenty to learn and new experiences are guaranteed along the way.

In recognition of becoming a U.S. citizen earlier this year, I have set a goal of cycling from the home I stayed in as an AFS International high-school exchange student (40 years ago) in North Falmouth, Mass. all the way to the apartment I rented in Barrington, IL when I emigrated to the U.S. (30 years ago). As in most aspects of our married life, Elizabeth leapt at the opportunity to join the adventure. The trip is part-celebration, part-vacation & part-"mid-life crisis"!

Our youngest daughter, Ava, will be providing "Van support". She will be driving ahead of us each day to set up our tent, shop and prepare meals and handle the myriad small tasks that are needed to keep us mobile. (though she is already drawing the line at providing soothing muscle massages at the end of the day!). There will be a 2-week hiatus around early July, but other than that our summer calendar has been cleared for this project

We may not succeed. Our 50+ year-old bodies may fail us. I may find it impossible to manage my business from a laptop and cell-phone. The high-summer heat and humidity may overwhelm us. We may very well run out of time, energy or will.
But we are going to "give it a shot"!