Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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Wedne Porl s m v/vti 3 USC from By Kimberly Cihlar Staff Writer Many of us would huff and puff after a bicycle ride from the Business Administration building to Gambrell Hall, but not so for three adventurous USC students, who rode 1,100 miles from Columbia to New York this summer. In mid-July, Mark Francek, Regina Bell and J 'i'iiL' / ' r -_r"] 'Bf' ; Glory B. Gault packed up their 10-speed bicycles, selected a northern path and hit the road for Rochester, N.Y. The three originally met on a spring break backpacking trip on the Ap paiacma Trail. After experiencing the countryside by foot, they decided to try another form of transportation. The instigator, Francek, a graduate student in geography, has always been interested in bikes. He just recenuy completed nis thesis on bicycling and says it was just a "natural progression from school to a vacation interest in biking." A NATIVE OF ROCHESTER, Francek "Not everyone cat trip like this you cai rigors of life." mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmBrnta mentioned biking back home to Bell, a marine science junior, also from New York. Together they arranged the excursion, inviting Gault, a kimtnAco iiiniai? Afhorc tirnrD UUdlll^OO ^UIHUl . V/tllVl O TV VI V - invited, but they eventually dropped the idea. To prepare themselves physically for the journey, they trained during the first part of the summer. Gault, at home in Gaffney, S.C., bicycled, while Bell and Francek ran up to 10 miles a day in Columbia. Obtaining the correct equipment, especially a good isdav's .1 11 pc Z studen Columbi bicycle, was one of the mos important preparations. Francek said a goo( touring bike costs ; minimum of $200. He had hi! own bike, a Schwinn Li Tour, but Gault had t< KArPAia/ nna frAm o rnlo f ixrn wvi i vvy i/iiv it viii ci iviaiivv Bell recently had purchase< a Puch from a Columbi; bicycle shop. THE NEXT STEP before departure was packing They each took a pair ( pants, a couple of T-shirt* one pair of shorts, som underwear and a rai slicker. These they rolled u in their sleeping bags an tied to the back of thei bikes. Francek brough necessary extras like a stov and a lightweight tent. Th tent, Francek said, provide a measure of security a ia t i ?A i? uigui, pius 11 Kepi oui in mosquitoes. He said it i important to balance th load between the front an the back of the bike, whic makes the bike hand! better. Their bikes were heavie in the back, though, an i /7/i iV font ; f U|/ 11/ lk/U( Uf (Lrf I 7 face other, harde Francek's bike weight almost 50 pounds wh< loaded. The girls' bik< weighed slightly less Bell's averaged 40 poum when equipped. They also packed a p< some pans and utensii 11 ft Ki rl n flon 1% 1 * 4 n ? iivjum nuap, a uaniiii^iu ui a spoon for each of them. Francek stressed tl importance of valuable too such as a SDoke wrench. crescent wrench, spai inner tubes and exti spokes. Fortunately, witho any flats or breakdown I ' ' ' v '.Y "" , r > 1 icker t<? hike th !a to New t f Urn r Kn/I lif f In iioa f /-v?* fKn IUCJ' I luU lilvlv UOC IUI UIC tools. i COMPLETELY PACKa ED, Bell and Francek left s Columbia on July 17 ? a a blistering 110 dregree day ? o and rode 100 miles to Gaffnpv whprp thpv fitnonwl for J " 'V. i the night. They stayed at a Gault's house, and after a night's repose, headed toward the Blue Ridge ' Parkway. They got up with the first i:?ut i a Sign U1 ll^Ul dliu btdllllCU U1U map. A goal was chosen at the beginning of each day ? a place to 4 'shoot f or.'' "We had our destinations planned. It was flexible, though. We never had any breakdowns, so we could basically get to where we wanted " FYanppk said After a small breakfast they hit the mountain roads, Francek said, to ride with the morning coolness, k Midmorning, they stopped at \ a restaurant for a larger Jk breakfast, looking forward fn fVia nhonno tn moat "lnnol Pvv tiiv V/iiuiiV/\/ vv aiivvi luvut} indigenous people and hear their different accents." THEY WOULD LOOK FOR a good spot for lunch ,f j and dinner, considering campgrounds, historical features and points of in \f terest. Lunches, usually eaten on mountain overlooks, consisted of "a lot of fresh fruit, _ vegetables and car? bohydrates, like raisins, jd peanut butter and *n crackers," Francek said, ps Thev didn't eat much meat ? because they mostly needed ds energy-producing foods. Their access to food, )t, however, was often limited [s' They were tempted to pick M J frillf olnnrf ma/1 LVr> [jy it MIV UIV/II^ tuv t l/au , A* 1 CI I iv.cn said, but never did. Oc casionally, open-air markets gave them fresh fruit, but or lid fUn tirVi/\1rt v\ln/tAA 4-^-w, w ii?v wuuir, piatud iu fill wn t a hard to find on the Blue re Ridge Parkway. *a ut Stores were sometimes 40 8, miles apart and very ex I s eir way York pensive. They tried to plan stops -in advance, but this wasn't always easy because there tended to be some disagreement on where to stop,.Francek said. "MAJORITY RULE was female," Francek lamented. "But what's probably so good is that it tests your physical and mental durability. You learn to compromise and control your temper when you're hot. "I consider it (the trip) an emotional building experience, not just a vacation. And that's what it's about: learning to handle yourself. Not everybody can do it, but after a trip like this you can face other, harder rigors of life." Francek commented. Dinner was usually a big meal, the group said. Shoney's restaurant, where Gault had worked before the trip, sponsored the group, giving them T-shirts and free meals, which they took advantage of only two or im cc uiuca, r i ciiicca scuu. The group drank a lot of water, milk and orange juice, but the girls mainly * X \ stuck to Diet Pepsi. I Many times, people along the bike route invited the group into their houses for ice tea, dinner and showers. "The trust was tremendous. You'd think people I would be afraid, but they invited us to come right in," Gaultsaid. I BELL SAID THEY didn't know the peopie, but she , thought maybe they felt sorry for the group of tired : bikers. "We were dirty and | sweaty. We averaged^ , showers every other day." | One man let us sleep in the " house he was trying to renovate and sell. We slept ) on the floor. There was a . rug, but no furniture. I didn't I v., USC b/kers Regina Belt\ M B. Gau/t with one of the weeks and 1,100 miles Easier) ?? expect people to be like they were," Bell said. I Gault was impressed by I the wide variety of people ; they met. She said they I spoke with "hillbilly folks," but could barely understand them. One family that accommodated them for the night had six children, two of il l;u uicin msier cuiiureii. "They didn't give out of their surpluses," Francek said, "they gave out of their hearts." Francek, who had traveled crosscountry from New York to San Francisco with a grOUD of fflivs a fpw voarc w r -- O?J ~ ? J V'"1 J ago, said it was the kindness people exhibited that "made the trip" to New York. One lady even made them homemade ice cream, "just like a mother." Speaking of mothers, Bell's was a bit skeptical of the trip. Gault's parents, on the other hand, were "very supportive." Bell said her mother feared for her daughter's safety. fl i inf. j . j: * ^8 j^F I JgjMj^JKa ?* ? rnm4r Cron/>alr an?/ wtn m w wfri/un urru wri/r |r vehicles they spent 3 on. (Photo by Deana THE SCARY PART of the trip, Bell said, was riding behind Gault and Francek and watching a car miss them "by a paint job." Roads heavily trafficked by trucks were frightening, too. "Everv time one fa truck) passed you, your heart stopped," Bell said. At the end of each day they were tired, but not totally exhausted. Gault said she and Bell had expected more pain, but quickly got used to the grueling pace. "The first day that we went 60 miles. I could barelv keep my eyes open long enough to crawl into the tent," Gault recalls. FINALLY, almost three weeks and 1,100 miles later, $100 less, and a little more experienced, the group arrived in New York. The vacation spent, Gault rode the train, Francek took the bus and Bell caught a ride with some friends back to school ? three fairly typical modes of transportation after an atypical journey from here to there.