Pedaling Through History: America's Legacy on the 9/11 Trail and Beyond

Speaker 1: 1:13

Well, it's time for Road Adventures with Cycling Men of Leisure, the podcast for cyclists who understand that riding is not just about getting to the destination, but the experience along the way. Now here are the original Cycling Men of Leisure Adam and Michael.

Speaker 2: 1:28

Welcome to Road Adventures of Cycling Men of Leisure. I am Adam and I am pleased to announce that across from me once again is my not only good friend but co-host, michael Sharp. Hello hello, how are we doing, adam? Doing wonderful, doing wonderful. I am back in Detroit. I had a conference in Atlanta, georgia.

Speaker 3: 1:48

Sounds wonderful. Anyway, go ahead Sorry.

Speaker 2: 1:51

Well, the Detroit part or the Atlanta part? The Detroit part, well, listen, I knew I was back home because as soon as we landed there was snow coming out of the sky and I thought what am I doing here? So, um, but no, I ironically, big rag is in Atlanta. So I thought it was interesting that I ended up having a work conference there and, uh, I was about eight miles from where we're going to be later this summer. So Oglethorpe was able to hook up with our good friend, juan and went to a brewery there and a Scotlaw brewery he took me to, and then we went to a beautiful Mexican restaurant and then we'll hope our paths will cross again. I'm sure they will. So thank you, juan, for meeting up with me.

Speaker 3: 2:37

So that's awesome. I'm glad you guys had an opportunity to hook up. I saw you guys sent me a picture, so that was kind of cool.

Speaker 2: 2:44

Yeah, yeah, it was nice. Traffic there is as insane as it always is, but we made it work. So the last time we met we did listener spotlight, we did, and when we did it you gave some clues and if you don't mind, can you run us through the clues again?

Speaker 3: 3:11

Absolutely. The clues that I provided you last time was that this town was founded as a military fort by the Spanish. It is a giant in the temporary tattoo industry. A notorious gangster was once captured there. It is well known in the US cycling world and Ansel Adams played a significant role in its vibrant art culture. So what do you think?

Speaker 2: 3:47

Well, I don't want to lie to you. We had somebody make a guess on YouTube and I don't want to steal their thunder. I don't know, you don't ever tell me. But I will tell you that our friend Armando, on the YouTube platform I wasn't sure where it was coming from because I woke up and it said the answer is Santa Fe, answered Done. And I had to go searching because it really didn't give me a lot of information who had posted it. So I had to log into the YouTube channel and then finally found the video, and so I believe Armando was traveling overseas. Maybe the YouTube was easier to grab a hold of. So I can't steal his thunder, but I can tell you without a shadow of a doubt that he clearly said done, answered Santa Fe.

Speaker 3: 4:43

I like his confidence. That's nice. Well, you know, I will tell you this it is not St Louis that tends to be your go-to answer, yeah. Which is going to be funny when I actually do use St Louis. You're going to not use it and blow it, but you know Santa Fe is a good choice. Santa Fe was a Spanish fort, but Santa Fe sorry, armando not it.

Speaker 2: 5:14

Oh man, he was so sure too.

Speaker 3: 5:17

He sounded like it, but no, I hate to disappoint it, not santa fe okay so you want to know what it is I?

Speaker 2: 5:24

I do, and and to be honest, I had held on to armando's answer that I didn't even guess myself, but I still thought last week, uh, when we were talking, that it was something in the caribbean. So I going to let you go ahead and give the answer.

Speaker 3: 5:40

The spotlight town for this week is Tucson, Arizona.

Speaker 2: 5:47

Ooh, okay.

Speaker 3: 5:50

Tucson was founded as a military fort by the Spanish. Okay, it is a giant in the temporary tattoo industry. It a company called TMI Tattoo Manufacturing International is housed there, and they are the largest makers of temporary tattoos in the world. A notorious gangster was captured there, and that was in 1937. And it was John Dillinger. Wow, okay, it's well known in the US cycling world due to the Tucson Bicycling Classic, which is a USA Cycling stage race which is sanctioned by USA Cycling Okay, by USA Cycling Okay. And then, finally, ansel Adams. The University of Arizona's Center for Creative Photography was founded by Ansel Adams.

Speaker 2: 6:52

That's pretty cool.

Speaker 3: 6:53

So there you have it, tucson, arizona. Thanks for listening, appreciate it.

Speaker 2: 6:56

Thank you, listeners from Tucson, arizona, and we actually thank all listeners, but especially those in this week's listener spotlight. I got my voice toys back, oh yeah great.

Speaker 3: 7:11

We're all thrilled to death about that.

Speaker 2: 7:12

So yeah, listen, it adds a little little something, something maybe just for me, maybe maybe it's only me that it adds something.

Speaker 3: 7:19

So um it at christmas so what do?

Speaker 2: 7:23

we got going for this, uh, this episode so, michael, we have two special guests with us today, um, and one of them we actually got to meet, uh, last year at big brag 2023. We got a chance to spend a night in Franklin's snooze box and our neighbor, ryan Rodenick, was right next to us, I mean, and Ryan is with us today, and you know, we have people who reach out to us once in a while and say, hey, I think you should have someone special on the show. And Ryan mentioned Bruce White, and Bruce is here with us from the 9-11 Trail. And, gentlemen, first of all, on behalf of Road Adventures, of Cycling man, of Leisure, I really appreciate you being here. Thank you both, thanks for having us.

Speaker 4: 8:06

Yeah, thanks for having us. This is fun Absolutely.

Speaker 2: 8:11

Well, and I appreciate it. I mean, we obviously, Michael and I, love to do normal shenanigans and funny stuff and give each other a hard time and funny stuff and give each other a hard time, but we're actually going to talk about a subject that's just not to be a downer, but just as a little more serious. And so, Ryan, you thought that having bring an awareness to a ride was something that we could do and I really appreciate you doing that, by the way and so why don't we get into it, Ryan? I'll, I'll let you go first and kind of what you thought, and then we'll bring Bruce on.

Speaker 4: 8:43

So well. Thanks a ton, both of you. I appreciate this is one of those you know long time, first time, long time listener, first time, uh, guest, and what I'll say is that, um, I think organizations and events and places are important, but people at least for me, people make the connection. So, just like you mentioned, we met just what you do on a tour. You talk to the people who just rode 50, 60, 100 miles, and simply just a web search for statewide cycling events in Pennsylvania, where I'm from, led me to find that there was not only a statewide ride but it was in a very convenient time for me and that's how I met Bruce.

Speaker 4: 9:30

So I like a lot of things you sort of bump into it tangentially or, I guess, orthogonally or something. You kind of come at it from an angle and then you see a whole lot more behind it and I would say that's Bruce in a nutshell. Um, meet Bruce and you, you, you learn. Oh my gosh, there's so much here. So, um, I'm just a little bit part of this. I really happen to make the connection. I think Bruce's story and what he's involved in is absolutely right up the alley of the show and your listeners.

Speaker 2: 10:02

That's awesome. So, without further ado, let me introduce Bruce White and Bruce, you are the 9-11 National Memorial Trail Bike Director and also you're an advisory board member of the September 11th National Trail Alliance. Bruce, welcome to the Cycling Men of Leisure. I really appreciate you being here, wow.

Speaker 5: 10:22

Yeah, thank you. Thanks for having me. This is exactly what we're about. We're trying to raise awareness, like Ryan said, that the trail even exists. So there were meetings that were scheduled three days after the 9-11 attacks in 2001,. And they didn't cancel them. Instead, they met A few people, didn't make it, but they decided in those meetings it was either on the 15th or the 16th that they wanted to put together a trail linking the three crash sites, that they wanted to put together a trail linking the three crash sites. So it took a long time to get a product that we could use, and it wasn't until 2019 that we actually ran a bike tour that did the entire triangle. We have over 1,500 miles mapped out now, which includes a loop to.

Speaker 5: 11:25

Gettysburg, but the actual triangle that we do is about 1,250 miles. It starts at the Pentagon, the Pentagon Memorial, and we ride through several of the memorials in DC and then we head up toward Shanksville, pennsylvania, where Flight 93 crashed, and spend time at that memorial, which is amazing, and then head across the whole state of Pennsylvania into New Jersey, cross the George Washington Bridge, into New York City and down to Ground Zero.

Speaker 5: 12:01

And then we head back to the Pentagon, so it's an enclosed triangle. It takes 27 days, counting three off days, and we're going to do it this year again for the third time, starting in June.

Speaker 2: 12:19

Now is this something that someone can maybe a little bit late now or maybe not, but is this something that someone can sign up for?

Speaker 5: 12:25

Yeah, we have about 30 people signed up right now and the logistics and the structure can sustain more.

Speaker 5: 12:32

I just need to call hotels and add rooms, as long as rooms are available. So that's. The only sticking point is, I think May 1st would kind of be the cutoff. So they have. They have the month of April that they can call and add. So it's a self. So we, we, we have support vehicles, we put on rest stops, we give you fluids and snacks and whatever anybody tells me that they'd like to have at a rest stop during the day. So we breakfast at the hotels. Every night we stay in a hotel. The only thing that you have to do is pay for your own dinner, but if it's not within walking distance, we use the support vehicles to take us to dinner and back. So it's almost all inclusive.

Speaker 4: 13:22

That's great. So many of the towns along the trails. The trail itself has boosted the town's economy. In fact, we stayed last year when I was along for part of the ride. We stayed in a hotel that didn't exist prior to the Great Allegheny Passage and the 9-11 Memorial Trail being formalized and existing there. So Bruce has a bunch of these stories about mayors and city council.

Speaker 4: 13:50

People have come out to where we've been having dinner, saying thank you for being here. Tell your friends, this makes all the difference. So there are people who live very close to one of the crash sites, for example, and then there are people like me who didn't live there but know someone who was affected on that day, and in some ways it seems like a long time has passed since 2001, and sometimes not at all, and so the trail is a way for really anyone. You don't have to be a cyclist, you can. You can walk to, to, to get near these places in a quiet way, in a in a really personal way. There's just there's something about cycling as, as all four of us know, it's faster than how you can walk on your own, but it's also much slower and much more connected to the world around you than if you were in a vehicle, a motorized vehicle.

Speaker 4: 14:48

And and Shanksville, pennsylvania, in particular, maybe the less popular or maybe less well known of the three. It is a. It has very much the same uh vibe around it as Gettysburg or Arlington national cemetery. It's just a very different kind of Memorial. And so, if for nothing else, uh and that's the first day on this year's ride I'll be finishing big brag in Savannah and then hustling to Pittsburgh and then getting to Shanksville for the first day with Bruce and the gang, um, and that's a. That's going to be a heck of a way to start that ride. It's one of those things you really have to be there.

Speaker 3: 15:34

Well, what I'm looking at. In the research that we did, adam and I spent some considerable time and you guys had sent us a bunch of information. I know to a lot of people 27 days sounds daunting and that type of thing, but from my understanding is you're averaging what? 50 miles a day and really I think your stated speed was between 12 and 15 miles per hour. So this is not like a high endurance long distance ride every day. It's something that your average cyclist pretty much would be able to participate in. Is that correct? Absolutely.

Speaker 5: 16:11

Several points to what you just said. First of all, they don't have to do the entire 27 days. Like Ryan just said. Ryan's joining us on day eight and finishing it with us, but there are people who are just joining us for a week. We got to kind of figure out the logistics of how to have them find us and how they get home at the end. But we actually price it to where, whatever hotels they're in, Western Pennsylvania's hotels are less expensive than the East Coast big city hotels, so that portion of the event, the Western portion of the bike tour, is even less expensive per day. So we're really trying to raise the awareness and memorialize the heroes and remember. It's what we're really trying to do.

Speaker 5: 17:00

I have a history of leading over 35 bike tours. I have a Boy Scout background. That's 20 years. I've gone cross country with Eagle Scouts twice. I have never participated in a bike tour that was more moving and all-inclusive as this bike tour. We have history every day. We have things I never knew, from the Johnstown flood to the just amazing things that you the history of Redding Pennsylvania, Eastern Pennsylvania, towns that you know most people don't know a whole lot about.

Speaker 5: 17:40

In addition to what Ryan said, I have a special people list that's starting to close in on 100, 100 people that will meet us somewhere along those 27 days, whether they put on a lunch for us or the mayor comes and shakes our hand, or congressmen and senators in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, come out to meet us. We were actually on the Senate floor the last time we went through. We were invited in by one of the senators. That's cool. So it really is starting to catch on and more people are becoming aware of the trail. But the important part is they don't have to do all 27 days. They can join us for a section of it.

Speaker 4: 18:21

I have a goal I will eventually do all 27 days. About a week at a time is what I can wiggle away right now, I think, until all three kids are out of college. Gotcha.

Speaker 2: 18:33

Um, what kind of um road are we dealing with? We, we, we do have some writers that only like roads, some who like gravel, I know, I mean, I even saw one of the largest rides in the country. Ragbri has now opened up all seven days to gravel. What kind of road path are riders looking at when doing something like this?

Speaker 5: 18:54

Well, the eventual goal, which I may not live to see, would be to have it 100% off-road. Right now it's about 60% on-road and 40% off-road, of which it's about 50-50 between stone dust trails and paved trails. If you have a 28-millimeter tire, you're fine. There's no super rough sections. There's no single track. There's nothing like that there's, you know, stone dust can be a little. If it's wet it can be a little bit iffy, but most of the on-road all has great shoulders.

Speaker 5: 19:36

We're going through quiet communities. It's amazing how good Philadelphia and Baltimore and even New York City are as far as being bicycle friendly to get in and out of where we're going. City are as far as being bicycle friendly to get in and out of where we're going. I find that those major cities probably are safer than sometimes when we're on a road with speed limit of 55. So it is a very well thought out constantly being tweaked route. That's all on ride with GPS, so anybody that participates can download the the days. Uh, I'd like to say that that makes it so nobody could get lost. But we have had some people who proved me wrong purposely. Doesn't you have to actually listen to right with gps?

Speaker 2: 20:19

because if you don't, you can still get lost uh, yeah, it's got to be on and and uh, uh, it's got to be telling you left, turn up here or turn left there or something. So we've seen that before too, where I was, like well, I had GPS on my phone, but I didn't have it on, like well, how did you expect it to tell you?

Speaker 4: 20:38

Let me add this, bruce, is you need to? You didn't know this, bruce and his dear wife, vicky. Bruce and I have a couple of things in common scouting and wives that I think we're really lucky to have. Bruce and Vicki rode the whole thing on a tandem, wow.

Speaker 5: 20:58

Will you do that again this year, bruce? Well, I'm going to give my wife some more kudos, because five weeks ago she had major reconstruction surgery on her knee and she's still coming on this ride as a support driver.

Speaker 2: 21:16

Um well, that's pretty impressive.

Speaker 5: 21:17

We always call tandems make it or break it for your marriage. So it is that way, our joke, our joke our joke is go ahead. We have 40 or 50 000 miles together on a tandem and we're still married.

Speaker 2: 21:29

So I think you're going to make it.

Speaker 3: 21:31

You're definitely going to make it. Adam and I always talk about we joke about when you buy a tandem bike in the boxes they already pre-done divorce, you know, fill in the lines for divorce papers, cause there is so many times we've been on rides and we get to tops of hills or something and you can just feel the tension of, like, the two people off their bike and they're it's like whoa, okay, we're just gonna keep on right story.

Speaker 2: 21:51

There are two things. Oh, go ahead.

Speaker 5: 21:53

Sorry, cool story our first tandem um. We bought on um ebay. It said 27 miles on bike. Bought it for my wife.

Speaker 4: 22:03

She hates it gotta sell it that's a trip around the neighborhood, that's.

Speaker 2: 22:11

That's a pretty quick decision, that's right we always say it like uh, when we see him at rag bar, like how's your marriage? You know, how are you doing? Okay, because we will pass people and you'll hear, no, you got to keep peddling. You know I'm like, oh boy, they're not going to make it the whole week. So my wife always says two things will cause a divorce If she and I ever go on the very famous television show where they travel around the world, amazing Race. She said if you want to get divorced on live TV, honey, we can go out there. And she said, the other one is if we buy a tandem.

Speaker 4: 22:43

So neither of those things.

Speaker 2: 22:46

Yeah, it's good to take to memory as a side note. I just want to say that all four of us have something extremely in common. Um, we all have been in scouting. Michael and I, our friendship kind of bonded through, uh, talking about scouting and michael actually worked at film on I don't want to steal your thunder, but um and so, um, scouting is definitely one of those things where uh roots in the ground, I believe. And, by the way, michael Bruce told me that he was on the cover of Boy's Life magazine.

Speaker 3: 23:16

Oh really.

Speaker 5: 23:17

Okay, that is awesome. So we went cross country twice and we called ourselves ESCA Eagle Scouts Cycling Across America ESCA Eagle Scouts cycling across America. And I had um, it was a group of 25 people 15, 15, 15 that were 15 to 18 year olds, and 10 older Eagle Scouts and a couple of parents, so 22 out of 25 people were Eagle Scouts on the trip.

Speaker 5: 23:44

Uh, the oldest one was 73 and the youngest one was 15. Oh wow, and I brought them all home safe, which I might, might get, might get tougher and tougher to be able to do that these days, but that was 2014 and 2018.

Speaker 2: 24:00

That's awesome.

Speaker 3: 24:01

Yeah, we definitely have a love of scouts. Myself, I was an Eagle Scout. I still am an Eagle Scout. Yeah, that that's right. Uh, you know, went to canoe base, spent and went to philmont and spent five years in philmont staff. So I, yeah, and and uh, it was a. It was a great experience, uh for me, so that's awesome that you uh took that many people you know across the country and everybody was safe.

Speaker 2: 24:24

Yes, that's why, if you ever see us in camp, we have way too much stuff. You know we took the be prepared and we took it very serious, and so we all bring way too much stuff.

Speaker 5: 24:33

I had to teach the kids that if you haven't used it and it's the end of the first week, you didn't need to bring it. But you know they overpacked because of that. So I'm an Eagle Scout. Both of my boys are Eagle Scouts. I was fortunate enough to mentor uh 80, 80 Eagle Scouts in my 18 years as a Scoutmaster.

Speaker 4: 24:54

So uh, very, very big, uh, portion of my life, I'll say. On the ride last year I didn't happen to have any mechanical troubles. We did have a couple of folks who did and super support. So not only, of course, Bruce has taught more people to change tires than most people have changed tires, but also good folks in the SAG department. So if you're wondering like, well, is it going to be okay? What if you don't have anything to worry about, if you're thinking about being part of the trip for a day or for all 27 days, I would also say, and be a little bit introverted like I am, Bruce was my quote unquote buddy on the trip and we had not met. And so there we are, the first night I'm there and I'm thinking, okay, you're probably a cyclist or you might maybe also be. And then there was Bruce and I thought, okay, well, I think I know him. And immediately you feel like you've been on a road trip already with people for weeks. As we all know, that's not a guarantee. I think the spirit of the group and the spirit of the folks, not only formally involved in the foundation and the trail, but also just anyone who knows about this trail, it sort of changes. Now I feel like an ambassador for it.

Speaker 4: 26:18

I thought how could I not mention to you, Adam and Michael, that this thing exists, this, this thing exists, the, the, the speed. You asked. You know you mentioned the. The speed is just the right speed for the terrain, but also for the like, the contemplation of what and why. I'm used to riding a lot faster than that and I will say that it took me a day or two to realize. Wait a second, this is not like. I'm not beating my. I'm not trying to set a, you know, KOM.

Speaker 4: 26:51

I'm here for a different reason. We had really a really wonderful geologist along with us to take us out of Pittsburgh and into the middle of Pennsylvania. That gave us the like this is why this hill is here, Like, this is why that looks like that, and then also just the concept of what happens around Shanksville. So there are places that, without this tour, you wouldn't know were there Just some of the gardens and some really interesting decisions that local folks have made because they're coping with what they saw that day. And so you could do this on your own. Of course, the trail is there 24, seven being part of this group, and this tour is particularly special, and that's you know, that's why I'm, that's why I'm back again.

Speaker 3: 27:38

Well, I think it's interesting because I've looking through the towns I'm big in history and that type of stuff Aside from the nine 11 stuff. I mean you're going through, you know, harper's Ferry and Arlington and just some incredibly Harrisonburg, philadelphia, annapolis. I mean you're going through some just extremely historical parts of the country which I think would just even add more to the ride in getting to those memorial sites. So I think that's what really interests and intrigues me.

Speaker 2: 28:14

So I want to mention the website real quick and then, bruce, I'll let you take it. It's 911trailorg. If we're talking about it and you're at home right now and you're intrigued to learn about this trail, the trail itself has a lot of great information at 911trailorg. Bruce, go ahead. I apologize.

Speaker 5: 28:31

So just to touch upon a couple of those things, I mentioned the other day when we were talking that there's a rose garden that was created at Flight 93 by the families of the 40 victims. So they actually purchased a buffer of land all the way around the National Park Service property that Flight 93 Memorial exists on and the only flat spot on that area. They created a rose garden for memorial of the 40 people who died on the plane, for memorial of the 40 people who died on the plane. It was installed and created by an Eagle Scout, but not just an Eagle Scout.

Speaker 2: 29:13

He was a handicapped.

Speaker 5: 29:14

Eagle Scout. He had cerebral palsy and he created benches and had somebody you know sponsor every bench and he could only walk 50 to 75 feet without stopping to break. So he has a bench every 50 to 75 feet all the way through this close to a mile loop that you walk through and to enjoy this rose garden. Well, what's even? It's a. It's probably, with all the history I have in scouting, is the finest Eagle Scout project I've ever seen, and what's sad about it is that 18 months later after he completed this project and became an Eagle Scout he died from his cerebral palsy.

Speaker 5: 30:01

Very touching story. It's a must-see but it's not something that most people who go to Flight 93 even know exists. So it's something we get to see. We get to see the Staple Bend Tunnel. We pedal through the Staple Bend Tunnel. It's the oldest railroad tunnel in America. It's just outside of Johnstown and we go through Jim Thorpe, we go through Pottsville, we go up to the Yingling Brewery. There's something every day. There's something unusual and different every day.

Speaker 5: 30:34

It's what makes it so unique, in addition to the three memorials, but we also see another 12 to 15 smaller memorials in small communities that we go through. Philadelphia has one, baltimore has one, but there's some small communities that we go through. Philadelphia has one, baltimore has one, but there's some small communities that lost several people in one of the Christ sites and their towns have created memorials and if we can find them and they're close enough to our path, we stop and see them also. So there's another 12 to 15 additional memorials. That's cool.

Speaker 2: 31:08

So, bruce, when you and I were talking ahead of time and we were kind of putting the idea of the show and what night we're going to record, you told me something that I I have about a 20 minute commute home, um, and you told me something and I couldn't stop thinking about it. Um, thought about it all the way home, thought about it on the treadmill that night. You're going to do something really special this year and there's one of the pilots from that horrible day is the only pilot that doesn't have a memorial. But that's being started this year. Is that correct?

Speaker 5: 31:42

That's correct. Michael Horrocks was the co-pilot on the second plane into the tower. He's a Hershey High School graduate. Hershey, Pennsylvania. A friend of his has been pushing for 20-plus years to get support to build a memorial. And he's not only building a memorial for Michael, he's building it for veterans and for EMTs. And it's a big, it's a very nice memorial. It's called Courtyard of Honor. We will stop at it this year and visit as they break ground this year, so it should be done within the next two years.

Speaker 5: 32:29

Hopefully in the future we'll make it a stop point every time we do the bike tour.

Speaker 2: 32:38

But currently he is the only one that doesn't have a memorial.

Speaker 5: 32:42

We lost eight pilots that day and the other seven do have memorials. Michael Horrockscks was the last. That will be the last, but he will be honored finally, good no, that's, that was um.

Speaker 2: 32:57

You know, sometimes I know I was. When you called me and we we reconnected. I was in my office and then even when I walked out to my car, I mean you had told me the Eagle Scout story of the young man with cerebral palsy and I'm sorry we lost him and it's just so powerful that he had to go from bench to bench to be able to complete that project, and it was that. And then telling me about the memorial, and I called Michael, I said I got to call you, can you take a call? And usually he's like, yeah, what do you want? And I said I got to call you, can you take a call? And usually he's like, yeah, what do you want.

Speaker 2: 33:29

I said I got to tell you about this and I was so excited, a powerful subject. But Ryan, I think you hit it out of the park by turning us on to this. I'm really glad that you did, and so if there's someone out there that is interested in joining you for a part of the ride whole ride, portion of the ride, some of the ride is 911trailorg the best place to go.

Speaker 5: 33:58

Well, if they want to join, if they want to participate, I'd like to get them my personal email. I think they can find that on the website. My email will get them directly. Communication Like Ryan says, I communicate back and forth with the participants so much between when I meet them and when we finally physically meet each other that we feel like we're friends already when we finally shake hands. Do you want me to give you my email?

Speaker 2: 34:29

What I'll do is I'll make sure afterwards that I have the email that you would like me to share.

Speaker 2: 34:36

If it's the one that's on the 911trailorg if they're somewhere there, I will put that into the show notes of not only the podcast but the YouTube as well. We'll make sure that they're emailing you at the at the correct place, and and and I had that feeling that you, when you and I were speaking, that you know you said that I know everything about the ride and I can tell you, and that that's powerful, because when you're, if you're at home and you're looking to join a ride, you want somebody who is, you know, well-knowledged about what's going to happen, I mean the day-to-day operations, and I would love, if you don't mind, just for a few minutes, what is the level of expectation of a rider? I'm sure they got to be up at a certain time, they got to probably have their bags on the truck at a certain time, and then you had mentioned to me that, like, the hotels don't open up until three or four anyway, and so what does a day to day look like for someone who would like to join you for a few?

Speaker 5: 35:32

That's a great question. We typically would leave at eight o'clock in the morning, so we're up as soon as the hotel's breakfast opens Normally six is six thirty ish. We'll eat something, we'll talk to each other and then we'll get our bags on the on the vans by 7 30 be ready to go at 8. So occasionally we have a hotel that would let us in the two, but normally it's three. Uh, that gives you seven hours to go, 45 to 50 miles, so you don't have to hurry. So there are times that we're going 18, 20, 20 miles an hour on a nice flat, slightly downhill. We can get our backs situation.

Speaker 5: 36:13

but we stop a lot because there's a lot of reasons to stop. So there's a lot of emotional things that you see that you just don't want to miss. There are picture shoots, there are stunning views Um, there's just, there's just enough stuff that occupy the time that it's all of a sudden it's three o'clock and you're say, oh, we still got five miles to go to get to the hotel. Uh, you're going at a regular, you know regular. Maybe you most bike clubs would call it a C-level bike ride. Ryan is a little better than that and he does.

Speaker 4: 36:55

Not better, not better. I sometimes go faster, but that's not better.

Speaker 5: 36:59

I think he's the kind of rider that really understood that there's so much to see. So it wasn't about that. That there's so much to see, so it wasn't about that. I mean, it's just about anybody who does some pre-riding beforehand can do this. There's a few hilly days, but those are shorter. We go pretty much from a community to a community because we have to find a hotel, so there are a couple of days that might be a slight bit longer. I think the longest day might be mid-60s. But there's some days where we just do 40.

Speaker 5: 37:37

So it's doable and we've done it so very seldom do we have somebody that needs to support vehicles to sag in at the end of the day, but that's available. So if somebody's having a bad day at a rest stop and they want to call it a day, we put the bike on the rack and we help them get to the hotel. So no issues.

Speaker 4: 37:56

That's great. I'll say you could, you could, um. Bruce mentioned, uh, 28 millimeter tires. Um, that I felt completely comfortable with that, with. I'd also say, if you're comfortable on flat pedals, great, um, clipless pedals. We had a couple of guys who that's just what they chose and that's okay too. I think if you're comfortable clipping in, you know how to get in and out of those, and if you're not, you certainly don't need to be.

Speaker 4: 38:24

Um, I would say that if you want to really drop the hammer and push some watts, you can do that until the next interesting waterfall or something, and then you stop and pull over. So much of because this is it is now and will be even more so a designated trail. There are all sorts of things along the way, so it's different. If you're doing, you know, uh, a, a, a temporary ride, um, I did one, I did a weekend in Oregon. Uh, those communities are about 300 people, so no one was ready until they said, hey, there's people coming, um, but with this, with the trail that and the and the tour that Bruce has organized, there's something every 10 or 20 miles in terms of provisions, bike shops, all of that. So I think you could be as secluded as you'd want to be, because you're in nature for a lot of that. You can also kind of get from point to point and check your stamina.

Speaker 4: 39:21

Um, I think you would always have a taker If you said, hey, who wants to pull over for lunch? I think there'd always be a taker because there are so many opportunities. And those were some of the. Those were the memories. I love riding, but I like being in the community of cycling and what a great way to get to know people over over lunch or dinner or breakfast or I think the dinners are the most fun.

Speaker 5: 39:44

I mean, sometimes we sit at a restaurant at night and it's been an hour and we haven't even ordered yet we got our first drink. And we're sitting there laughing and telling stories and you know, we could be two, two and a half hours at a restaurant at night. So we get in at three and then you can crash and shower and settle into the hotel and at 5 o'clock we normally have a meeting and we'll go over today and we'll talk about tomorrow and then we'll head out to dinner and when we get back from dinner we're all pretty much ready to crash at that point.

Speaker 5: 40:22

So it's a pretty fulfilling day of cycling a pretty fulfilling day of cycling.

Speaker 2: 40:33

What really resonated with me, bruce, when you and I were on the phone, was how you mentioned that, even on the days that are only 40 miles, a lot of it is about memorializing. I mean you really allowing that to sink in and seeing families who are out there. Who your description in my mind was that some of the who are out there. Who, um, your your description of in my mind was that some of the families you know are out there thanking you for being on the trail, thanking you for honoring their family, and and that that just resonated with me. Would you mind to touch on that?

Speaker 5: 40:58

yeah, when I mentioned the rose garden, we'll be met at the rose Garden by family members and the person who helped organize the whole thing. They'll give us a tour of that and they'll tell stories and everyone is very thankful, as Ryan mentioned the tourism directors that come out and meet us. They're thankful because we're bringing business to their community.

Speaker 5: 41:24

We're bringing awareness that their community even exists. But the youngest this is a really touching story the youngest lady that was on the Shanksville Flight, flight 93, her name was Diora Borza. Her mom, deborah, is on our board and she lives in San Diego. She's been involved every moment of the organization of this since 2001.

Speaker 5: 41:51

I'm working with her specifically to put on a one-day event in San Diego this coming September where we will actually leave from an aircraft carrier that's sitting in the water at downtown San Diego and we will ride up to her school, where her daughter went to school, and then turn around at the country club and then ride back. So it's about a 40-mile day just to remember her daughter. So those are the kind of things that we do. We just got to remember that those planes two of those planes that crashed were heading to the West Coast, so a lot of the people who died on a couple of those planes were from California. So it's kind of neat that we're we're expanding to try to include more of the victims' families, include more of the victims' families.

Speaker 2: 42:48

It was definitely a very hard time in our country. I mean, my father was flying that day. He was a pilot for his career and he was escorted down and could only tell us a little bit for a while and definitely, I think what you guys are doing and, bruce, I think what you guys are doing and and um, bruce, your uh connection with being the tour director, um is is amazing and um, but I think there's something that we definitely need to hit on here, which is, um, the trail actually was signed by the president of the United States, um, and and you want to touch on that how that all came about.

Speaker 5: 43:27

So the actual official name of the trail is the September 11th National Memorial Trail. It became a National Memorial Trail when a bill was passed, unanimously signed in the House, unanimously signed in the Senate and signed by President Biden it was to help me. It was October of 2000.

Speaker 2: 43:49

It was October 13th. 2021 is when the date that the president signed it 20 years later.

Speaker 2: 44:00

That was kind of interesting to check it out and, as Michael mentioned, you know you don't see a lot of unanimous signatures and bills, so that's awesome to see. So the trail itself goes to the three major crash sites. In between there's many things to memorialize, many things to see along the way. I think there's a really big question that I have To get anything done anywhere that I know of. It usually takes money, some sort of money, whether that could be donations, whether that could be along the way. How is the trail funded? I mean, is there something that I can throw on the show that someone could put a donation together, is it? I mean, is there anything we can talk about that would be a good, a good segue to help out with that?

Speaker 5: 44:58

right. Why don't you go ahead?

Speaker 4: 45:01

well, let's the um. Infrastructure is one of those. I'm just in awe of infrastructure. I'm I'm a software guy and I in my business you can just click undo or copy and paste, and so I'm just in awe of infrastructure. My dad is an engineer, he's a he's, you know, grew up in western Pennsylvania, went to Penn State, worked in the metals industry his whole life, and so that's big time infrastructure. I'm just in awe of all of that.

Speaker 4: 45:35

Imagine all of the things that happen naturally so rain, sleet, snow, all the stuff that can cause. At least growing up in Pennsylvania, I know that it seemed like that. If you wanted job security, if you work for the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, there's always a pothole to fix. Well, the trail has those same challenges but doesn't get the kind of traffic and necessarily notoriety. So the funding that we're working to raise and any donations that come through the 911trailorg website are all about establishing the trail and maintaining the trail. Without a maintenance budget, without a long-term plan and both of you know, being part of government, if you don't have an end in mind, you probably shouldn't have a beginning in mind.

Speaker 4: 46:27

You really need to lay those things straight and deep. It's really kind of ironic to see you're on this kind of crushed gravel, almost powder trail, going through these railroad tunnels and under bridges that have stood for practically two centuries. Really really amazing ingenuity.

Speaker 4: 46:45

So the best way. So my mom asked the question last year when I was preparing to ride. She said well, how can I be involved? Can I donate? And I thought, oh yeah, that's a great idea. Moms tend to have great ideas, mine in particular. I'll say and so you, you can visit 911trailorg and make a donation and that, and Bruce can tell you the details of it. But that donation is going to be used for the trail. It's not there for headquarters, it's not there for salaries, it's really there to take care of the trail.

Speaker 4: 47:26

We as a family try to find ways to make a difference and I love this idea of you do for one what you wish you could do for all. So if you can't afford to fund the whole, whatever it is well, do the part. If you can't help everyone who's hungry in the world, do your part for one of those. And because, again, because against people who make the connections. And so the people I know who were affected on that day, and Bruce and the other folks who were involved in the project, just inspire me with so much. I'm not great with the shovel and I don't really. I don't live near the trail. I live about an hour West of Atlanta. So the way I can contribute is to raise some money. So we we kept it quiet for a little bit and then Bruce encouraged me to tell the story because other people might want to be involved this way too.

Speaker 4: 48:18

So we're going to do our very, very best to raise as much money as possible this year, and so, between when you hear this and September 1st of this year, we're going to match all of the funds donated above the cost of the ride, up to $10,000.

Speaker 4: 48:38

And that's not enough to do everything, but we're going to do something.

Speaker 4: 48:42

And when I say we, that's the commitment that my dear wife is making, and my parents and my company and friends and family, who maybe aren't cyclists, but boy, they're and this sounds a little corny, but it's true, they're Americans and they care about making sure that everybody, no matter when it happens, no matter when they come across this trail, can, can, access this part of our history, so that I, I encourage everybody, you, you, you do what you can, and with the, with the causes that speak to you, this one certainly speaks to us.

Speaker 4: 49:21

And so, um, we're going to we're going to just tear after it, I guess, is a good way to say, and we're um, it's really fun to see my mom talking about it and my dad talking about it and folks here in West Georgia talking about it, but it's because we know that those funds will be stewarded very, very, very well. It's one of those things. I don't have a single concern about how well those funds will be used. I think the folks involved will stretch a dollar to get every penny out of it and then some that's amazing, that's powerful, and you're right when you mentioned the government thing.

Speaker 2: 50:04

I mean, there's things where in my world people want us to start new services but, truth be told, we can't continue to fund them. We can start up, we just can't continue. So we're trying to figure out different ways. But your family's donation is an amazing foot forward to continue the goals and dreams of those to put this trail together and to continue the good fight, and so I think that's absolutely amazing. After this recording, if, bruce, just to make sure, if I were to drop the link in the show, is it just a regular donation link or is there a special link that somebody needs to click on? I just want to make sure that we're. If someone's inspired by that as much as I am and they want to help out, is it just a general link or a special link that somebody needs to click on? I just want to make sure that if someone's inspired by that as much as I am and they want to help out, is it just a general link or a special link?

Speaker 5: 50:59

It's a special link. You go to 911trailorg and then you click on Visit the Trail and then you click on the actual June bike tour and then you find any participant and donate to that participant and that way, that's what those dollars are, what Ryan and Ryan's family will manage.

Speaker 2: 51:22

That's amazing. I'll make sure that if you're listening to this and you're inspired, I'll make sure that it'll make your life really simple by putting the link there in the show notes and also in the YouTube show notes. So that's, that's amazing.

Speaker 3: 51:38

I just need to. I just have to say, guys, we certainly do appreciate you guys coming on and talking about this and I, this ride looks incredible, you know, for for the, for the folks that were around then and can remember it and stuff. I mean it was a, it was a, it was a horrible day in our history and it was certainly a rough time because it just wasn't that single day. I mean, there was repercussions for weeks after that. So I think this ride looks awesome and it looks well organized and I definitely, at some point in time, would love to get on it myself. So I appreciate you guys coming on and talking about this.

Speaker 5: 52:17

Can I mention one more thing?

Speaker 2: 52:19

You can mention anything you want.

Speaker 5: 52:20

We're going to do the tour again in 2026. And what makes 2026 special is it will be the 25th anniversary of 9-11. It's also the 250th birthday of America. We're going to move the date so that we're in Philadelphia on July 4th for the fireworks celebration. That would be cool.

Speaker 3: 52:47

Be in Philadelphia 250th anniversary of our country.

Speaker 5: 52:51

And the 25th anniversary of 9-11. We're really hoping that we can have 100 cyclists on that. So if you can't make it this year, you're already booked. A lot of us cyclists book ourselves a good year ahead of time.

Speaker 5: 53:04

Um, there is. Uh, there's another chance. So 2026, the same organization, the same, I'll be there. It'll be available. We may even open it up to have a camping option on many nights, if being thrifty. So we haven't mentioned that. The whole tour costs $2,900. If you've ridden a tour with us before, you get a discount. If you bring somebody with you, you get a discount. If you bring somebody with you, you get a discount. So, um, but the basic fee is 2,900, which is 27 nights in a hotel, 27 breakfasts, sag support every day, snacks, rest stops, everything but dinner is included in that. I think if you check with other major bike tours, you'll find that. Find that that's a pretty good deal.

Speaker 3: 53:57

Oh, that's exceptionally economical.

Speaker 2: 53:59

Yeah, I was going to say that I would agree. One of the things that I was interested to learn about because I've not been there yet, because I'm interested now is that the family members in Shanksville bought property. I want to make sure I quote this correctly it's 100 yards around the crash site each of the family members.

Speaker 5: 54:27

It's roughly it's between 100 and 200 yards. They wanted a buffer so that development, if ever development hits Shanksville, which probably wouldn't be in our lifetime but might come someday. They didn't want development right up encroaching on the site of the memorial. The families all chipped in and purchased a buffer all the way around. That's where the Rose Garden is part of that buffer. That's where the Rose Garden is part of that buffer.

Speaker 5: 55:01

That's cool. We didn't mention O'Hara's Pub. I wanted to mention O'Hara's Pub. That's in New York City. So when the terrorist attacks took down the two towers, the firefighters and the EMTs and all the people who were working to find survivors and remains, they had to sleep a couple hours a day. They were working 18-hour shifts. But there's a pub located about a block and a half from the crash site from the towers, called O'Hara's Pub, that all the firefighters slept there because the soot from the crash was three, almost three feet deep in the in the in the pub.

Speaker 5: 55:43

So he he was closed for a period of time while he was renovating and making it safe to operate again. And while he was doing those renovations he allowed all the firefighters and everybody to sleep on the tables wherever they needed to get some sleep.

Speaker 5: 55:59

Every branch of fire department, EMT, police, anybody who was there gave O'Hara's a patch. He has the patches all hung on his walls and ceiling because the wall space is all gone. It is such an emotional place to go, and so when we go to Ground Zero, we not only get a tour from a firefighter who survived who's on our board, we also get to meet the owner of O'Hara's.

Speaker 1: 56:30

We'll eat lunch there and he'll tell a story that'll put tears in everybody's eyes.

Speaker 5: 56:35

It's just.

Speaker 2: 56:36

It's another thing that we get as part of the tour incredible so ryan mentioned that he was doing big brag 2024 and, and truth be told, so are michael and myself. But what I would love to propose is that it's difficult when we're on the road as Michael and I. You can see our backgrounds. We're in our home offices where we record. I as well hope to end in Savannah and if it all goes well, I'll load a bike in a box and fly home that day. But what I would love to propose is to have some sort of even if it's just by phone call. Have you call in, because we can put you through the board here. Maybe you and Ryan could jump on a three-way call I can definitely propose that and just check with you. I mean check with you and see how things are going and anyone special that you've got to meet. Is that something that you guys would be palatable to?

Speaker 5: 57:39

Absolutely as many times as you want us.

Speaker 3: 57:43

Yeah, that would be awesome to get a check-in from the trail and that type of thing. So we'll have to make that happen, Adam. I think it's a great idea.

Speaker 2: 57:53

I know it's just difficult from where we're going to be in Georgia, but let's touch on a couple of thing. So we'll have to. We'll have to make that happen, adam. I think it's a great idea. I know it's just difficult from where we're going to be in Georgia, but let's touch on a couple of things. We've got 911trailorg. This is how you can find out about the trail itself and then, of course, under the under the events and stuff, the, the actual ride that Bruce is director of, not only this year but, all things considered, in 2026 as well. I'm hoping for you, sir. And we've got obviously I don't want to be remiss if I didn't say this, but the donation from the Roenick family, which is just absolutely inspiring and amazing, and so we'll make sure we get that correct link.

Speaker 2: 58:36

If you are looking to do this ride and you've got some time and availability, you can still sign up this year. As you heard it here. You do not have to say I don't have 27 days to give. You can do only certain days, you can do some days. It sounds like you're very open to the fact of people joining you for part of it or some of it or all of it, and you're right, I think $2,900 is cheap.

Speaker 2: 58:59

Oh, yeah, there's one that we're doing. That's half of that. It's only seven days, yeah, which, by the way, is not big brag, because we just said that, but I think that's extremely, very fair pricing. And not only that, but the memories that you'll come away with. Obviously you've definitely inspired Ryan, otherwise he wouldn't be giving up a Friday night and obviously family wouldn't be giving the donation that they're giving. I am amazed that everything that has come together. When Ryan first wrote me, I had never heard about it, and now I'm more inspired. So I really appreciate you both coming on and giving us your time and educating us and teaching us something that we didn't even know existed.

Speaker 5: 59:49

I look forward to your podcast being on the road in 2026 with us on the tour.

Speaker 2: 59:55

Oh, not there. You know what that is definitely a possibility.

Speaker 3: 59:59

We will add this ride to our list. So yeah, it'd be fantastic.

Speaker 4: 1:00:05

My mom will be so happy. My mom will be so happy. So one of the things she would love to do is lay out the big spread at the rest stop and just meet all my bicycle friends. And so I will say the easiest way. If anyone's thinking, well, how do I even figure out if I can be part of this ride? So take a look at the website 911trailorg and see the schedule. It's all laid out there distance, the start, the end each day, and then figure out an airport that you could get to and when. And that's pretty much it.

Speaker 4: 1:00:39

The the ride is going to be in a predictable, reliable place each day. Um, shanksville is pretty easy to get to from pittsburgh on that kind of the western side of it, of course, any, any of the Philadelphia, new York, new Jersey airports and then, of course, any of the DC airports. So if there is you know, speaking for Bruce, because I know his heart if there is a way he can help you get anyone who hears this, if there's a way Bruce can help you get on the trail, he will make it happen. So don't let logistics hold you back. Give Bruce a chance to. If he took 428,000 scouts across the country and brought them all back safely. I think that's roughly the correct number. Yeah, then he can get you back and forth to the Philadelphia airport.

Speaker 3: 1:01:31

And Adam and I can help you out as far as how Philadelphia airport and Adam and I can can help you out as far as how to travel with your bicycle and things like that.

Speaker 4: 1:01:39

So we got everything I'll put in. I'll put in a plug for everyone If you haven't heard the episode about how to leave your bike with only a couple of extra parts that I all kidding aside, that was really helpful. I was packing for a week long ride in Oregon, which was the toughest week of my life, and I was listening to that as I was taking my bike apart in Georgia and packing it in my new Thule case and it all got there just fine. But that was a really good breakdown because you explained what was happening and how your bikes are different and your cases are different, so there's something here for everyone.

Speaker 3: 1:02:11

And we're going to actually we've talked about redoing that and doing the video part of it so you'd actually be able to see it. So more to come on that, so, but we thank you guys for for taking the time introducing us to this new ride. This is exciting, Definitely one we'll put on our list, so thank you.

Speaker 2: 1:02:29

Thank you for having us, Bruce. I want to give up the great work Just to make sure that there's anything that we missed, because I was so inspired talking to you, and not only the other day, but tonight.

Speaker 5: 1:02:43

Anything that we did not hit on I do supply. So once a person that's interested contacts me, I'll give them the itinerary. I'll give them the frequently asked questions sheet that I've filled out with any question I've ever been asked. I have done a day-by-day notebook, basically on what you can expect to see each day and I send those to people once they contact me at my email address. Contact me at my email address.

Speaker 2: 1:03:13

I can confirm that Bruce shared that with me and that's the kind of stuff that I would love when doing a ride. I mean, you know, michael and I have done these crazy tours in different places and we've done them where the education level and the detail is amazing. And we've also done them the opposite, where we're fighting our own good fight. And, bruce, I will tell you from what you've been over is what I would love to see if I was doing a ride. You had any question that I would have you answered it. I mean I didn't see anything that you left out. So I give you kudos because I mean if someone doesn't want that much detail, then fine, you don't have to read the whole thing, but if you do, it's there and I think that's. I mean that's amazing.

Speaker 5: 1:04:00

So you know how you create that right you, you don't. I've never, I don't take credit for any original ideas. Anytime I've been on a bike ride anywhere and something impressed me, I stole it. So that's basically an accumulation of 30 years of stealing good ideas from other cyclists.

Speaker 3: 1:04:20

You didn't steal it, you repurposed it.

Speaker 2: 1:04:23

I'll use that. We just don't reinvent the wheel. You're just sharing knowledge. That's all. That's right. It's flattery, that's right.

Speaker 3: 1:04:34

It's flattery.

Speaker 2: 1:04:34

That's right. Yeah, that's right. Gentlemen, I really appreciate you being here. Thank you for bringing the awareness to the trail, thank you for bringing the awareness to some of the memorial sites and the things that you guys are going to see. I do look forward to having you back on in June and we'll we'll make sure that that happens and figure out some better, better nights that maybe a day off that you said that you have, maybe that might be good where you're not peddling and having to worry about having the meeting and having dinner, because to me the dinner sounds like the best part. I'll do the writing, I'll do the memorializing, I'll do the rest afterwards, but having that, that bonding, is just people that you've met along the way, just like Ryan, and so that's the best part. That's why we got into this. So thank you both. I really appreciate it more than you know.

Speaker 3: 1:05:25

Absolutely, and, ryan, we'll see you in Georgia in a couple months.

Speaker 4: 1:05:29

Yeah, boy, I'm looking forward to it, it's. My only challenge is how to get from the quickest way to get from Savannah to Pittsburgh. The Savannah Airport has some flights, but not nearly as many as Atlanta, but yet several hours on the shuttle back to Pittsburgh. Hey, that's why we do this, for the adventure, that's right.

Speaker 2: 1:05:49

It's the adventure. Yeah, I left the Atlanta Airport today. I was there at 6 in the morning, not sure what. I would think that place is busy, no matter if it's six in the morning or not. I couldn't believe it. Adam where was your?

Speaker 4: 1:06:04

meeting.

Speaker 2: 1:06:04

Where was your conference? It was at the Atlanta Hilton Hilton Atlanta downtown. Okay.

Speaker 4: 1:06:10

Okay, I was at the Georgia World Congress Center downtown. Okay, okay, I was at the Georgia world Congress center. I have a daughter who plays volleyball and there was a drug and alcohol summit on the other half of it and I thought what are the, what are the odds?

Speaker 2: 1:06:22

Yeah, no, it was from the, from the FTA, and my wife kept saying where are you having fun? I'm like, well, it's kind of a dry subject, it's not like it's. It's not like. It's like oh yeah, we're doing this and and, but, uh, it was educational, uh, something that I really needed to be at, and um, you know, they're changing things all the time and and, um, good, good, good learning and and you know, it was neat. You know, we went to Olympic park one night and walked around and then, uh, had some dinner nearby and then, but it's okay to be home too, except when I landed there was snow for some reason. So, 80, 70, 60 back at home in snow. So something's not right there. So, um, I hear that. Bruce, thank you so much. I really appreciate your, your, your willingness to share the information with me, bringing it to the limelight and letting us have a new subject to talk about, not only on this show, but just to spread the word of something that's actually really powerful.

Speaker 5: 1:07:24

You're welcome Anytime. Thank you, guys.

Speaker 2: 1:07:29

You have a new fan, I'm going to start listening to your podcast. Hey, all right. All right, that's great. We hope that you enjoy it, and if you ever want us to talk about something else, come on. We'd love to have people to come on. You can only listen to him, mike, all night, so much. Let's be honest.

Speaker 4: 1:07:47

Everybody be careful out there.

Speaker 3: 1:07:48

All right, thank you so much, guys, I really appreciate it.

Speaker 4: 1:07:50

Thank you so much, guys, I really appreciate it.

Speaker 2: 1:07:52

thank you see you, wow, I, you know it's. It's amazing when we have guests on who who open our our minds to something that I, you know very aware of 9-11. I'm sure we all know exactly where we were. I'm sure you can. Oh, yeah, I know where I was. I was working for UPS at the time and I had a condo. I didn't have a house at the time and I was driving home and I used to listen to Shock Jock Howard Stern a lot and I still do and they had thought Little Cessna had actually gone into the World Trade Center and I remember him saying a plane and they were kind of like a plane, like well, someone have a Cessna. And obviously it got a lot worse.

Speaker 3: 1:08:43

Yeah, oh yeah, yeah, because I know when it first happened we were talking because I think it was, I don't know, back in the 30s or something 40s, I don't know when exactly it was but like a small plane had had crashed into like the empire state building or something. And you know, we all thought it was that kind of benign, accidental thing. And then we found that it's not. But what's interesting is I'd never heard of this ride before, so I think this was awesome, definitely something that I think we need to check out sometime.

Speaker 2: 1:09:16

No for sure. I mean um, you know it's difficult currently picturing the idea of being able to ride 27 miles. I mean 27 days excuse me, I apologize. Um, 27 miles might be difficult to do right now because I'm not going to go out in the snow. I'm just kidding. But you know, on a serious note, I completely understand that there's some weekends in there, but if you are still working on a regular schedule where you don't have that much vacation time, that's going to be very difficult. So the idea that you can join part of the ride that's beautiful, that's beautiful can be very difficult.

Speaker 3: 1:09:54

So the idea that you can join part of the ride. That's beautiful. That's beautiful because I and it's laid out so that you could choose the part of the ride that most interests you. Yeah, or hit the memorial that you definitely want to hit. Uh, because, quite frankly, going over the george washington bridge on my bicycle going into new york city, I think would be awesome yeah, I was.

Speaker 2: 1:10:13

I mean I, I um, every time we do interviews afterwards I go, oh man, I should have asked him that. But I mean I wonder if there's like police support, I mean to get the. I mean, can you imagine you're you're in traffic trying to get to work and like, what is this guy on the bicycle doing here?

Speaker 3: 1:10:29

Well, a lot of their bridges have pedestrian oh, they do A lot of their bridges have pedestrian lanes. Oh, they do yeah. Oh see, it just shows that I don't know specifically about the George Washington Bridge, but a lot of them have, like, pedestrian lanes on the side and things like that.

Speaker 2: 1:10:41

Well, I got to tell you. I mean the fact that you know Bruce took Eagle Scouts across the United States, the fact that he obviously has a lot of experience, you know, doing bike tours and and let's be honest, putting up with teenagers, even though Eagle Scouts might not have been as easy, and so I give him credit for that alone. I was a scout, but I was her.

Speaker 3: 1:11:08

Yeah, yeah, let's just move on.

Speaker 2: 1:11:10

Oops, no, just kidding.

Speaker 3: 1:11:12

Exactly. Yeah, See, I didn't don't make me call your mom and your dad, okay, and get them on the line and give us the real story.

Speaker 2: 1:11:19

So wonder why I went to military school things we don't need to ponder, because we already know the answers.

Speaker 2: 1:11:26

Okay, moving along. Um, you know I didn't play. It was such a serious subject I didn't play with any of my dumb voice toys because I didn't think it was appropriate. Not appropriate, yeah, but you know, learning about the Eagle Scout that you know, with the cerebral palsy and his deficiency of having regular movement amazing, I mean just inspirational that you know he was able to put those benches, to climb from bench to bench to finish the Rose Garden I mean the amount of energy, the amount of passion to do that is just amazing. While doing research we didn't get to touch on the interview, but you and I looked at, you know, and people who live in that area obviously know that. But if you're listening to us, you know Iowa or somewhere else, and you haven't been there, like I haven't been there, but there's a tower that at the Pennsylvania Flight 93 site that you know plays whimsical chimes.

Speaker 3: 1:12:33

Yeah, it's a big musical instrument.

Speaker 2: 1:12:35

Yeah, and so that's that's, you know, amazing and and I'm sure, like going to those sites have has just has to be so um, powerful, um, just to just to view those Um yeah, I'm sure it has.

Speaker 3: 1:12:49

I've not been to any of those sites. I did spend some time in the Twin Towers. There used to be a Marriott in the first three or four floors. I had a. That Memorial is is, you know, very, uh, very touching and and uh, it's uh, it'll bring tears to your eyes. So I can only imagine about the nine, 11.

Speaker 2: 1:13:23

Just just to make sure that I have my unfortunate terrorist attacks Correct. Is that the Timothy McVeigh, oklahoma city? Yes, okay, yeah, the in the city yes okay, yeah, the, yeah, the bombing, okay yeah. And he and what did?

Speaker 3: 1:13:35

he had a u-haul u-haul full of fertilizer and yeah oh god, and there were children there, right.

Speaker 2: 1:13:43

Oh gosh, okay anyway, yeah, I think it's time to talk about something a little bit more less serious yeah, I mean, people usually tune in tune into you and I for our slapstick and you poking fun at my, uh, non-media venture. Well, yeah, that's all right. I I accept that because trust me, sir, that you know it comes right back at you.

Speaker 2: 1:14:05

But it does but on on serious note, I really appreciate that. You know ryan and his family's donation is amazing, so we'll make sure to get that link below. Bruce wish him nothing but the best. I'd love to check in with those guys and I agree with you Moving on. I think the only really appropriate thing to do is I would love to talk about. We teased the idea of having the mailbag and we did get some mail.

Speaker 3: 1:14:36

I think we need to do that next one. You think so. I think so because I'm still, I'm still going to give you the uh you know, the next uh you know, on our listener, listener, spotlight I love having my toys back.

Speaker 2: 1:14:55

Yeah, so does the rest of us. Oh, come on, I'm sure people love it.

Speaker 3: 1:15:00

So I think we do that and we will save the mailbag for next time.

Speaker 2: 1:15:05

Okay, because I won't lose it, because I've been thinking the best way to answer. But okay, we'll save it for next time. In that case, give us some clues.

Speaker 3: 1:15:15

All right, listener spotlight, here are your clues.

Speaker 4: 1:15:24

St Louis.

Speaker 2: 1:15:26

No, just kidding, Go ahead, I had to. I had to bring humor back in the show.

Speaker 3: 1:15:32

You didn't have to, but it's probably a good idea. This town was originally part of another town. Oh boy, yes, the name changed when it was incorporated. It then became its own town. It was incorporated, it changed its name and then, soon thereafter, it changed its name. And then soon thereafter, it changed its name yet again, and I will give you a little hint here. It's actually named after a colonel in the militia. It uh grew to become a very big, traditional uh, traditional mill town due to its location on a river. A canal ran through this town in the early part of the 1800s. Relatively significant canal ran through it, and here's a good one. All right, are you ready? It is located in a state that it was not originally established, in, meaning that where it is located, it hasn't always been that state.

Speaker 3: 1:16:48

They redrew the boundaries and it became in a different state and it became in a different state or for some other reason. There's at least four situations or four states that I can think of, that, through different compromises and changes and things like that, where certain states gave up parts of their state to other states I can think of at least four right off the top of my head.

Speaker 2: 1:17:15

So to be clear and I'm trying to walk you right into a trap but you're saying it's one of the 50 states of the United States of America. So this particular listener spotlight is in the Americas.

Speaker 3: 1:17:30

See, you're starting to pick up on the small, you know, little nuances of the clues, you know. There you go. We're talking about a state, one of 50. Um, I did, I'll even help you out a little bit here. Oh boy, because you haven't done very good on the, on the uh, the guessing thing I've been. I wasn't gonna be that mean about it but but yeah, you've, you know, scored an F zero. Yeah, Like you're great in, uh, you know senior math. I told you it was named after a colonel of the militia.

Speaker 3: 1:18:09

That should also give you a little hint there. Well, it and the.

Speaker 2: 1:18:14

Go ahead.

Speaker 3: 1:18:17

I was going to say Michigan has a militia, yeah, but I don't think we're going to name a town after probably any of those guys. Okay, and I also talked about that. It was a big traditional mill town and if you know anything about mills, if you put the mill thing together with the colonel and the militia, you can start to kind of at least get a region of where this might be located.

Speaker 2: 1:18:45

Okay, it's not St Louis.

Speaker 3: 1:18:47

It is not St Louis.

Speaker 2: 1:18:54

Armando, it is not Santa Fe, but we appreciate Armando guessing we do.

Speaker 3: 1:18:57

And you know what, as soon as he had told me this, adam had told me this off air, and I was like you know what? That is a solid guess. It's wrong. I mean, it's way better than yours, like you know. Okay, maybe there's a few Spanish explorers in St Louis, but yeah, yeah, no, st Louis was not it. So there is our clues for this episode.

Speaker 2: 1:19:24

Well, okay then I'm going to think about your clues. Give it an honest guess before the next show. Your clues, give it a honest guess before the next show. Um, and for those of you out there thinking, all right, I'm sure michael tells him, I promise you he does not, he does not.

Speaker 3: 1:19:41

So because actually I told adam's like why don't you just tell me? And I was like because you're not a good enough actor to act surprised or whatever. Uh, you know what the town is and I also worry that you might give something away. I could you know I could, but I like I do atlanta and you're like well, I was just in this town that he's talking about last week, it's like you know that could be.

Speaker 2: 1:20:08

If you said, if you said they have a brewery on the top of the hill by a cemetery, I'd be like Atlanta, atlanta, true story. I'm in the Lyft and I met our mutual friend halfway because he was coming from a long way, and so Lyft driver turns, there's a big, big, big cemetery. And I'm looking on my Lyft app and I'm like God, it says it's at the top of this hill and, sure enough, cemetery, boom, left brewery. I'm like, oh, interesting.

Speaker 3: 1:20:39

So oh well.

Speaker 2: 1:20:46

As long as it's zoned for commercial, you're okay. Even if it wasn't, I didn't care. I had a beautiful amber beer, so, well, great, always good to be with you, I think that. Uh, obviously, the highlight is the 911trailorg. We will drop all the information down below um and please check it out and share it out. And if you're looking at making a donation, uh, obviously the up 10,000 is going to be a match, so that's really cool. And without that, I guess, saying that, I'll say I'm really hoping that today is a great day for a bike ride, but here it was not. What about you?

Speaker 3: 1:21:29

70 degree temperature. So today was in fact where I'm at A great day for a bike ride On that note, sir, have a good night, thank you for coming along with Adam and Michael on Road Adventures with Cycling Men of Leisure.

Speaker 1: 1:21:43

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