It’s interesting to notice what parts of the trip are sticking with us as we make our way through this first few days at home. We came back to a very stressful situation with Joe’s dad who did not fare well at all while we were gone, in spite of our best efforts to leave him in good hands. In the midst of taking him to the doctor appointments and to the bathroom when a caregiver is not here and listening to him complain, we are finding moments and memories that pop up in our heads and our conversations.
For me, the mental pictures of the scenery just float through my mind, like a wonderful film that touched me deeply. It’s always just there, in the background. Joe and I are talking a lot about the couples we met. Tandeming couples are a different breed. There were people in their 40’s and in their 80’s and everywhere in between. The level of fitness of most couples was stunning, especially those in their 70’s and 80’s. They all did all those hard (for us) rides. The ones who didn’t were the less experienced couples, of which there were only a few. We ranked somewhere in the middle of fitness and ability to ride the routes laid out for us.
There was a couple in their mid-late 70’s who in early September had taken military transports (she’s a retired Navy captain) from Colorado to Ramstein AFB to Venice. Put their bike together in the airport, and proceeded to ride all the way down the Dalmation Coast on their own with all their possessions (including a giant ancient latop that they found in someone’s attic and fixed) in two paniers on their bike. Then they hopped on the ship with us in Dubrovnik, did all the rides, and then rode their bike WITH ALL THE TRAFFIC across the Venice to Mestre bridge back to whatever AFB is in Venice to wait standby for their flights home. Incredible. Another couple (also from Colorado) were well into their 80’s. He had fought in and survived the Battle of Chosin Reservoir in the Korean War (had to do my homework on that one when we got home). They were both in fantastic shape and did all the rides. He wants to do more bike trips and travel; she’s more ready to consider just riding in the mountains close to home in Colorado.
There were at least 4 orthopedic doctors in the group (comforting), multiple MDs of other descriptions (both genders), two women dentists, at least one elementary school librarian, financial advisors, IT people, retired people who would rather not be identified by the work they had done. Lots of people celebrating birthdays, anniversaries and retirements. Most of the couples had done multiple Santana tours previously. We were relative newbies with just three priors, and all domestic. It’s become a Santana tour sub-culture. Everyone talks about “wild Bill” and “patient Jan.” The four mechanics are all bike shop owners (Mt. Airy, MD; Baltimore; California), who worked their butts off every day and night, building and breaking down bikes, repairing broken bikes, making endless tiny adjustments in their makeshift bike shop under the only awning on the sun deck of the ship. There was a German hotelier with whom the McCreadys have collaborated for most of their European tours for the last several years, who made sure all the arrangements were top-notch. He came with a stunning wife (he answered her on-line ad in a dating site for tall people) and a super-friendly and active 2 year old named Leopold. There was also Gene, the Garmin guy, who loaded our devices with maps and routes and then drove the van from port to port and stayed on shore while we sailed in comfort.
We, as you can see, are signed up for two more tours with them. I was apprehensive about doing that before we experienced this one. I still have some concerns. We for sure have to train our hearts out in the upcoming year if we are going to survive Istanbul to Athens, which will have similar route profiles and a breakneck pace as this one did. I’m definitely looking forward to the Mississippi trip in April on the American Queen paddle boat (ship? room for 70 couples and their bikes), which will not have the challenging elevations and will focus on the music as we follow the blues from Memphis to New Orleans, ending on the first day of JazzFest there. I’ve been waiting to do that one since the McCreadys announced their first annual “Big River” tour five years ago. We’ll see some of the same people and meet lots of new ones. It will also give us the motivation we need to ride most days, which is a pretty good way to get our exercise and stay connected as a couple.
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