The Truth

Times are hard. This isn't new information. The weekend I returned from my scooter tour last summer, our firefighters were camped in several intersections, raising money for their local charity. As I was stopped at the light, I scrambled for a couple dollars and opened my window. I asked him, "How is it going?"

The firefighter paused and then said, "You want the truth, don't you?"

"I do, actually."

"Well, we aren't doing a tenth of what we did last year, and that doesn't even compare to what we did the year before."

I understood. I didn't raise even one percent of what it cost me to do my Midwest Tour. Without that prep tour I wouldn't have the experience to one day take my dream ride across France, ending at Sacre Couer in Paris (add link to previous blog). I certainly wouldn't have been physically strong enough either; my body had grown progressively stronger over the course of the tour. Although I did my 50-day Midwest tour solo (with the exception of my three days in and around St. Louis), we knew that if I ever became too fatigued to continue my husband Michael or my friend and colleague Dante could grab my Tahoe, with its specially designed scooter rack, and come pick me up.

So now, if I want to continue, I need an angel to cover the Midwest tour and front the money for the French tour -- or I just have to wait. I'm now editing a book about the Midwest tour and all that led up to it. Ten years ago, when I got out of Intensive Care, I was too sick to do much other than use my laptop in bed. It took a decade's journey back to health, including my scooter journey, to return me to some semblance of a normal life.

I am insanely grateful for the wild and wonderful journey this past summer, to every person I spoke with at a gas station, every person who pulled over to make sure I was okay when I was just getting some water, every person who shared the story of a loved one who meets the challenge of a hidden disability (or doesn't), and to the few special people who took me into their home along the way. Of course I’m especially grateful to the St. Louis Scooter Club, and all the motorcycle people on the road who treated me as one of them, regardless of the fact that I was a chick riding a three-wheeled scooter.

I will continue to ride around Southwest Michigan and Chicago in 2011 and share my stories here and @offthemap_eu. So keep an eye out for more news about my riding life, and upcoming news about my forthcoming book and all the rest of life's adventures.

The Word is Getting Around

A Tour de France on a Scooter for a Special Girl
Journalist:Mike Werner Normandy, France
Bikes in the Fast Lane: Motorcycle News



Please "Digg" this article. If you would like more information about how to increase visibility for this article please contact me at ara at offthemap dot eu.

One Scooter. One Woman. One Big Message.

Photo: Dante Frederick

The Herald Palladium, Southwest Michigan's newspaper, ran a story on my project which they entitled Her Mission: Spotlight Hidden Disabilities. You can read the archived version here, or click on the thumbnail below to download a PDF version (1.6 MB).

As the Herald-Palladium's on-line archive doesn't display the pic, I've included it above.


If you don't have a PDF viewer, you can download Adobe's free Reader here.

Random (2/4/10)

I've started reading Lonely Planet's "Cycling France: GPS Coordinates/119 Days/6000 km of Rides." This seemed like the closest I would come to the situation of being on my scooter . . . hopefully cluing me in to the roads I would be allowed or safe to use with respect to temperatures.

Here is some of what I have learned so far:

If one is planning to stay at a B&B in the country it is important to call ahead. If they don't have any reservations they might just pack up and take off, so I might find myself with no place to lay my weary head.

Emergency Numbers are all different in France.
National Emergency: 112
Ambulance (SAMU) ("There is usually somebody on staff who speaks English."): 15
Police: 17
Fire: 18

Even bicycles are not allowed to ride down a one way street the wrong way unless there is a bicycle path. It is illegal (I have a feeling that will count for me too).

Okay, I'm going to cut to the good part. It is recommended that in the country one be cautious about roaming dogs and PIGS. I swear I read that correctly. Sure, I get it about dogs, but PIGS? I have to watch out coming over the top of a hill, because there might be a few PIGS just STANDING THERE! Random pigs! I don't know what to do with this information! It is both scary and amusing, and I have told quite a few people about it. Then a couple days ago, my brother tells me, "Oh yeah, right out there by you that happened, a German Shepherd grabbed a small pig and darted into the street in front of a Harley guy and totaled the dude's bike."

Image courtesy of AP

Apparently, this is a local problem I was unaware of, not just a French one. I still don't what to make of Random Pigs, regardless of where they might appear.

Take Off (2/2/10)

An outstanding adventure is brewing in my imagination. I want to ride my Vespa from Paris through Western France and down to Southern France to Nice to explore the Chagall Museum. When I was a teenager I read a whole slew of biographies of artists and scientists and noticed that many of them came into their own around 45. They made their greatest discoveries, created works that were truly unique or found it within themselves to challenge themselves in new and amazing ways.

In my case, the challenge isn't the challenge itself but navigating the myriad residual physical consequences from my two month stay in the ICU in 2000 and the major surgeries that followed. I have friends and family that are horrified that I would attempt such a feat and wonder how they could get me tailed by an ambulance with my surgeon inside. I've been said to be, "unstoppable," "resourceful," "passionate," and again let it be said, "unstoppable!"

The truth is no one is more concerned about my safety than me. It has been ten years and I've learned to adapt to a number of my disabilities in such a way that they have become hidden - sometimes hidden because my husband or a friend jumps in and helps me. This adventure is going to require extensive planning. The biggest factor may be physical training, to see if I can increase my endurance enough to make the ride possible. I will need to figure out a way to pack gear that breaks down so that I can move it and not exceed my 10-14 pound carrying limit. I will need to practice rides of various durations here to see if I would even be able to count on making it to a specific location by a reservation time. In my current life managing fatigue is an ongoing balancing act.... I will need to know in advance exactly what those limits are.

If I could learn French before going it would make the whole experience not only easier, but so much more enjoyable. This may present the biggest challenge of all. Although I seem normal to most people, my closest friends are acutely aware of the cognitive losses I've been struck with. The most maddening is one that happens to the elderly which is called lack of "word recall." It is when you sort of know the word, but you just can't think of it. This happens to everyone sometimes and me quite a bit. This makes learning or relearning a language very frustrating - but I haven't given up yet.

I have a lot to figure out. This is why I'm considering this Vespa Voyage for April or May of 2011. My plan is to record the steps it takes to make it to the voyage which may end up being harder than the actual challenge itself -- we don't yet know.

I would love to have you with me on this journey, but if you would prefer to "unsubscribe" from the email list just send an email to ara@vespavoyages.com and I will remove you, for the rest of you let's go!