Cross Country Bike Ride

If you are looking for a story filled to the brim with inspiration, look no further.  What would it take to motivate you to ride your bike across the United States?  For 67-year-old Ray Wittmier, and longtime friend, 68-year-old Gene Woodard, it was a girl named Maya.  Ray and Gene are “honorary uncles” to Maya, a 13-year-old who was diagnosed with a Wilms tumor on her kidney at the age of 7.  

I first met Ray in early August 2021 about a week after he received a total knee replacement.  From the moment I began working with Ray, it became clear that he was fully committed to his rehabilitation.  He possessed the mindset and determination for a successful outcome.  I could tell by the way he approached his rehab that he had lofty movement goals and I was excited to help him on his journey.  

As we drew closer to the end of his formal physical therapy rehabilitation in the Fall of 2021, he said to me one day “Mark, I’m planning to ride my bike across the country with my good friend next summer.  Do you think I will be able to physically do it”?  I believe I stared at him for several moments in what was initially disbelief, but then came the clear realization that Ray possessed not only the physical ability demonstrated by all his effort in physical therapy, but also the mental fortitude to accomplish such a feat.  After all, the brain is what must continue telling the legs to push the pedals!  I gave Ray the thumbs up!

Fast-forward 6 months to the summer of 2022…..Ray and Gene have just completed their bike trip across the country!  I had the opportunity to sit down with Ray to learn more about his journey and what he did in the months leading up to the ride to both physically and mentally prepare.

TELL US ABOUT HOW YOU AND GENE CAME UP WITH THE IDEA TO RIDE ACROSS THE COUNTRY ON YOUR BIKES.

​My riding buddy, Gene Woodard, and I had done several Seattle to Portland Bicycle Rides over the years through Cascade Bicycle Club (206 miles in one day) but had never done overnight touring rides.  At times we talked, maybe even joked, about something longer, even from coast to coast.  During 2021 we each had some worn-out body parts replaced.  Gene had a hip joint replacement, then a short time later I had a full knee replacement on July 28, 2021.  We both encouraged each other to come back from our surgeries.  Then toward the end of 2021 we both retired from full-time work.  This gave us the time to seriously consider an epic bicycle ride.  In January 2022 we met at the Kraken Practice Facility at Northgate and discussed going coast to coast.  Our big mistake was telling people we were going to do the ride, because then we were committed!  Looking for more inspiration we met with Mighty Maya and her family.  Maya was found to have a cancerous tumor on her kidney when she was seven years old, went through years of treatment, and now at thirteen is cancer free.  Gene and I are honorary uncles to Mighty Maya and decided to use the ride to raise funds for childhood cancer research.  Thus, we had all the inspiration we needed.  I can happily say we raised over $21,000 for the research.

HOW DID YOU HANDLE THE LOGISTICS OF FOOD, LODGING, AND WEATHER?

Prior to the ride we sat down with two different people who had vast knowledge of bicycle touring and had both traveled from coast to coast on bikes several decades earlier. Through their advice, and some of our own knowledge, we determined what we needed in our paniers (bike bags), avoiding any unnecessary items.  We did our best to stay at inexpensive motels, ones we would never dare take our wives to.  We usually only booked a couple of days in advance, in case our plans changed because of weather or an equipment issue.  We chose May 20th, 2022 as our start date, in hopes the mountain passes would be clear, and we would experience less rain.  We also hoped we would finish before the extreme summer heat.  We were very fortunate, only a week before we hit the road Stevens Pass was getting a late Spring snow, but when we went over the pass it was bare and wet with several feet of snow on the sides.  We got our first rain at the continental divide near Avon, Montana on a Sunday morning, wet and cold (40 degrees), but we survived, due to the kindness of a Church congregation that took us in for a couple of hours to dry out.  After that we watched the weather forecast more closely.  The next rain didn't come until Rapid City, South Dakota.  Seeing afternoon thunderstorms were predicted, we rode early and parked the bikes around noon.  We only had one significant heat day, near Chicago, where it was 97 degrees with a heat index of 104.  We were definitely blessed with good weather overall.

I'm not sure how many convenience stores we stopped at for Gatorade, snacks, and bananas, but definitely over one hundred.  Breakfast and dinner were our substantial meals, the rest of the day was frequent snacking (granola bars).

TELL US HOW LONG AND HOW MANY MILES IT TOOK YOU TO RIDE FROM COAST TO COAST.

​The ride took 49 days, averaging 70 miles per day, and a total of 3,428 miles.

HOW DID YOU PREPARE MENTALLY PRIOR TO THE RIDE AND HOW DID YOU STAY FOCUSED THROUGHOUT THE RIDE?

Prior to the ride we practiced riding with loaded paniers on our bikes, and we rode for five days straight trying to simulate what it would be like on the road every day.  Taking in the scenery was the main way we stayed alert during each day of riding.

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THE PEOPLE YOU MET ACROSS THE COUNTRY?

The best part of the ride were the people we met.  There were so many nice people wanting to know what we were doing.  Several offered us free lodging for the night--total strangers!  Some suggested better routes than the ones we had planned.

During our 49 days of riding, we did not have a bad experience with anyone in the 12 states and countless cities and towns we traveled through.  America is much better than what we see on the evening news.

YOU HAD A KNEE REPLACEMENT AT THE END OF JULY 2021.  TEN MONTHS LATER YOU ARE PHYSICALLY ABLE TO RIDE YOUR BIKE ACROSS THE COUNTRY.  HOW DID YOU ACHIEVE THIS?

​The key to success was developing good habits.  Committing to stretching at least twice a day, and whenever you had spare time.  Slowly increasing the amount of exercise each day, not trying to do a huge workout then taking several days off because you hurt too much, or you've injured yourself by overdoing it. 

WHAT DID THE REHAB PROCESS TEACH YOU ABOUR YOURSELF?  WAS IT DIFFERENT THAN YOU EXPECTED?

Historically I have constructed my own training regimens.  What I learned from PT was there were many more, and often better, techniques and methods to successfully arrive at my end goal than I was aware.  I found that PT at the Harbor Avenue LWPT matched what I've learned are methods for developing good habits.  Good habits need to be attractive, and that happened throughout the process.  First of all, as you walk in the front door, the front desk staff are friendly and helpful, making it enjoyable to come back.  Then the PT session itself was encouraging, and results were measured every visit.  I experienced positive comments even from therapists who weren't working directly with me, making it feel more like a team effort.  The experience definitely exceeded my expectations.

AT WHAT POINT DID YOU FULLY COMMIT TO DOING THE RIDE?  WHAT GAVE YOUR BODY AND MIND THE CONFIDENCE TO DO SOMETHING THAT SO MANY PEOPLE WOULD NOT ATTEMPT TO ACHIEVE?

After meeting with Mighty Maya and her family we told ourselves that failure was not an option.  We obtained our confidence to attempt the ride through several sources--guidance from those who had gone before us, the steady improvements we experienced in PT and during our workouts, and from positive encouragement from friends and family.

Ray is now back home in West Seattle, sharing his experience with others.     It should also be noted that Ray and Gene personally covered all the expenses for their ride and traveled without support cars, carrying all their gear and supplies on their bikes!  The funds they raised prior to and during their adventure went directly to St. Baldrick’s Foundation—an organization directly responsible to support childhood cancer research.  You can continue to donate by clicking here.  

And the best news of all, during their ride they received news that Maya had been declared cancer-free!  Maya, Ray, and Gene—your accomplishments are an inspiration to so many—thank you! 

AUTHOR:

Mark Bouma   DPT, OCS, COMT, CSCS, FAAOMPT, CFI

CONTRIBUTORS:

Ray Wittmier
Cyclist, Philanthropist, Inspiration, LWPT Alum
Gener Woodard
Cyclist, Philanthropist, Inspiration
Dr. Chris Wahl, MD
Orthopedic Surgeon
Dr. Christopher Boone, MD
Orthopedic Surgeon
Ben Wobker, PT, MSPT, CSCS, CFSC, SFMA

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