The Old and Slow Cross-Country
Tour
By Norma-Lee
At an age when most of us are thinking about the easy chair and a good
book, Arlete Hodel turned her thoughts towards other more challenging
pursuits. A teacher, Arlete decided she wanted some adventure in her
life before she was too old, so at age 50 she retired; but not to the
easy chair and a good book. Instead she teamed up with some of her
teacher friends who were planning a cross-country bicycle ride from San
Francisco to Virginia. For training purposes, the novice, Arlete, rode
with this group from Fallon, NV, to Cedar City, UT, a distance of
almost 700 miles, which they completed in just seven days! She intended
to finish the tour with the group that summer (2002) but opted instead
to spend that time with her teenage son who would soon be finished with
school and going off to find his own place in the world.
She
continued to train however, for the day when she would ride across
America, by setting her own 30-mile course in and around Rio Linda
streets and the bike trail. While riding her course one day, she
encountered Dick Skaug on the bike trail, a man she had known casually
since high school days. She didn't speak to him that day as her
thoughts were on other things but realizing her social faux pas, she
asked a mutual friend to contact him for her. The friend provided
Dick's email address and the rest is a "happily ever after" story. He
began to train with her allowing her to safely ride more of the
Sacramento area bike trail system. The training lead to dating which
lead to their marriage in April of 2003. For their honeymoon, they rode
their bicycles from Rio Linda to San Francisco through the Napa Valley.
It took them five days.
Arlete retired in June of that year and the couple headed off for their
first major bicycle adventure; a trip from Vancouver, British Columbia,
back to Rio Linda, a mere 1,400 miles! The couple finished this ride in
seven weeks but it was their first major trip and they were in no
hurry. During their long days on the road to Rio Linda (hmmm . . .
could be a Bob Hope/Bing Crosby movie) they began to make plans for a
much longer trip.
Arlete could not have found a more compatible mate than Dick. Not only
are they both native Rio Lindans and members of former chicken ranching
families, the former masonry contractor had begun to teach math in 2000
for the Rio Linda Union School District; Arlete's employer as well. He
was later hired by Sacramento Lutheran High School for the 2003/2004
school year. Although he loved teaching, continuing in that profession
would require that he take more training and with Arlete already
retired, Dick decided to erase his last chalkboard and get down to some
serious bike riding with his new bride.
During their ride from Vancouver, the couple had discussed riding from
Rio Linda to Key West, Florida. Now they began to plan in earnest. They
got maps from "Adventure Cycling Association" which showed the best
routes for bicycles that would take them past many points of interest.
They would have to carry with them enough gear to see them through all
types of weather, their sleeping accommodations, cooking utensils, and
a cooler to carry a couple days groceries. It ended up being about 120
pounds. Dick pulled a trailer weighing approximately 65 pounds while
Arlete carried four saddlebags totaling approximately 55 pounds. The
gear included: one tent, two sleeping bags, two 1" air sleeping pads, a
1-burner stove, two pots (1 for coffee and 1 for food), two mugs,
utensils, two towels (more like shammies), three outfits of clothing,
rain slickers, warm jackets, and a 6-pack cooler.
Arlete and Dick left Rio Linda on September 16, 2004 with just one
rule: to keep riding as long as they were having fun. If either one of
them gave the word, the couple agreed they would quit and go home. In
order to keep to that rule, they took their time, stopping every couple
of weeks at a motel to rest up and refuel and taking a couple of rest
days per week just to keep their spirits up. Sometimes weather played a
role in their schedule. While crossing New Mexico, they were forced to
stay in Silver City for a week because snow blocked the pass through
the 8,200-foot Black Range, which they must travel. When they finally
rode the pass, they did it through an inch of snow.
New Years Eve 2004 was spent in an abandoned campground in Wemberly,
Texas. At midnight, they toasted each other and listened to fireworks
until about 3 a.m. It had now been over three months since friends and
family had bid them farewell back in California, probably thinking they
would see the couple back within a few weeks. But Arlete and Dick never
looked back; they forged on and finally, on March 16, 2005, they dipped
the front wheels of their bicycles in the Atlantic Ocean off Key West,
Florida. They had traveled over 4,586 miles in exactly six months!
Arlete and Dick are far from retiring from their chosen hobby. They
have tentative plans to travel to Lisbon, Portugal, where they can
begin their ride by dipping their back wheels in the Atlantic Ocean.
They would like to ride the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage route to
Compostela de Santiago, an ancient trail that passes through many
villages and is traveled by thousands every year. But for their next
big adventure? Arlete and Dick have set a longterm goal to ride their
bicycles around the perimeter of the United States! This reporter will
be wishing them all the best as I say, "Please pass me my hot chocolate
and the remote."
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