Cycling Across America: Lessons in Love and Perseverance | Author Interview | Episode 125

Terri Brannan, welcome back to the book on holic podcast Thank you so much for having me. I'm super excited to be here today Yes, yes, and just to reintroduce you to my audience You are my most visited author on this channel This is your fourth appearance. We do have another author in the running He made his second appearance the other week So you never know he might catch up with you. I don't know it might be an overtake But right now you are number one and just to again to refresh everyone's memory You were first here with your book centered around the Ukraine called Sunflowers Beneath the Snow Your second appearance was about a World War two Epic called an enemy like me and your third showing was Daughters of the Green Mountain Gap And today you have something totally different Yeah Which is nonfiction and you're just a woman of many talents that you can write different genres expand your mind here and there and I reread your biography or Biographical sketch and you're just super talent You can put any you can do anything you put your mind to which is what you're talking about in your new book called Ten little rules for a double-budded adventure Right, we're not they explain that title to people Exactly, so it's a mouthful, but there's a reason for it My husband and I rode across the United States from the coast of Oregon to Washington DC on a tandem by so that city a two-seater bicycle 3,102 miles We did it for a multitude of reasons he has wanted to do it for what since 1976 2020 it was a long wait for him He saw a group of college kids do it for the bicentennial and he just said that's what he wanted to do But he was in the military and it wasn't possible. And so then it was always something he wanted to do I had gotten out a really bad 14 year long emotionally abusive relationship and He and I were dating if I wanted to do something spectacular Something huge because I thought that I needed to prove to the world that I still had value Right now the world was fine. It was me that needed to know that I had Yes, but I wanted to do big and when he said to me Hey, I've always wanted to go across the United States on a bike. I thought big And so we started planning it and the reason we chose a tandem is because he is an expert cyclist Oh Has been cycling since he was and racing since he was in middle school and I have not been on a bicycle in 40 years So getting on a tandem bicycle together Really it leveled the playing field because he couldn't be 15 miles ahead of me It could only be three feet in bed of me and we had to work together to make this thing work Yeah And then just to round everything out once we made the decision to go we decided to raise money for toys for tots Because we had said you're gonna do something epic then you should do it for Something other than just yourself. Oh, wow. There's so much to unpack here So first of all a dream deferred is not a dream denied. So Rule number 10 is continue to dream Absolutely. Yes Yes, okay. I love that. I love that Yeah, and continue to dream and don't give up on don't **** on your dreams, right? Yeah, yeah, and while going across the United States you figure it took a 72 riding days We were out for about 90 days because we're not bring chickens. You'd have to take breaks every now and then We're going an average of 10 miles an hour You have a lot of time There's a lot of time to contemplate life. We talked a lot. We listened to music, but even then There's not a lot else intruding during a ride. Yes, you're riding You're preparing to ride Yes, you're preparing your campsite Yeah, I'm preparing for bed and you're riding that's about big step of what you do and so there's a lot of Freedom to like just really think I needed to be in my because my head was full of junk All kinds of things that said I wasn't good enough I would never be good enough and I didn't have value and by the end of the ride Bruce told everyone that the person that I was at the beginning of the ride was not the person I was in Okay, okay Terry, okay Like I said, there's a lot to unpack here and I want to get the most out of this whole thing first of all Like you said your husband is an expert cyclist and you are not you hadn't been on a bike for 40 years Now though even though he's an expert he and you said you all are not spring chickens How did you physically? Prepare for this journey So the first thing I had to do I was significantly overweight. I'm still overweight, but I was Significantly overweight. So I started really trying to take care of myself losing some weight doing a little bit of exercise trying to get myself ready to be able to go on a trip like this because The truth is when you're on a bicycle and you're overweight, that's weight you're hauling Yes, so if I'm hauling an extra and I was 70 pounds overweight at the time and if you're hauling an extra 70 pounds round That's a lot of extra weight to have to get uphills And once I did that Then we just started doing practice rides where we would get out on the tandem and we would just in our neighbor Just around our County just out I couldn't learn to feel more comfortable so we could develop a cadence a rhythm to our Rhythm so that we felt he felt comfortable and I felt comfortable Even practicing things like this will sound crazy. But how you start and how you stop You don't have to not like being on a single leg. I start on a tandem. You both have to be ready. Yes Yeah, so he would get on to the bike first He would then both feet on the ground hold the handlebars and steady And I would put one foot onto the pedal swing my leg around and then that I was over and ready I would adjust the pedals to level he would put his left foot in We would then adjust the pedals to high low and count to three and start We would pedal and then stick our foot into that pedal on the right side There was a just a very you had to get used to it and stopping was similar. We're going to stop We're starting to break. He puts his foot down. I put my foot down. We lean always to the left You know what I'm saying you get a rhythm and we have Yes, okay. And so now again, okay, so I'm diving deep So, why did you choose to start in Washington State's? Okay, so we actually started in Oregon. Excuse me, Oregon I'm thinking not Washington inside. Excuse me. The prevailing winds are usually from the west to the east So if you're riding from Washington DC to Oregon, you're going to have more headwinds Okay, and riding into headwinds is not enjoyable it also puts Some of the hardest ride at the very end Because you're growing over the Rockies and then you're going over the Cascades and you're going over toward the end Although you're stronger because you've had more experience You're also more tired because you're doing it a long time and we just felt like maybe fresh legs Hardest part would be a better scenario. So that's why we that's why we did it that way and we live on the East Coast So we had to ship everything out, right? Okay, then fly ourselves out to Oregon and then we pedaled all the way back. Okay, so now You have things on your back while in tandem on the bike So I had a back and then we also had bags that kind of hang on the wheels So we had two bags on the front wheel and two bags on the back wheel and then we had a Trailer that normally wouldn't hold two children like if you're doing but instead we had full of camping gear Got you. I was gone like a small parade right, okay, so You're carrying stuff. You're riding a two-wheel bike It doesn't have much not the training wheels, but it's not made like a three-wheel or no But you are carrying a trailer on the back and you all have the nerve to camp along the way not stopping in a hotel not even in Sometimes we didn't stay up and hotels would be wrong We stayed at motels and even that sometimes is not quite true. We stayed at some really Yeah Questionable places, but what we really needed was is there running water? Is there a place to lay our heads and he's like some place to eat close by If you're not camping then you can't do the campfire So you have to make sure that because once we were done for the day We didn't want to hop back on the bike and ride five miles to get to a restaurant Exactly. Exactly. So this had to take Tremendous planning and knowing where you wanted to stop each and every day. This was a tremendous Tremendous So what's crazy is I had a feeling that I could plan that all from my kitchen table before we left So I had this whole plan and I knew where we were gonna stop every day and day one We didn't get as far as I thought and that was okay, and I just adjusted my little thing We were gonna be fine and day two also didn't work quite the way I thought it would so I adjusted and day three I threw that out Because Wasn't going to work because I had not accounted for Every day is not the same. Some days are very hot. Some days are very cold. Some days the winds are against you some day It's days. It's incredibly hilly some days Everything is perfect and you go twice as far as you thought you were going to go So what we did is we learned that at the end of the day We had maps from adventure cycling and these maps they have them for all across the United States what they are roads that they believe are accessible for bicycles and then find places to sleep Thing and they're all laid out in this and so we would sit with our map and say, okay We're gonna pick a short place a medium place and a long place to land Okay, then the next day is we're pulling up to that first possible stopping point we would say, okay The next stopping place is 11 miles from here. Do we have 11 more miles and the end it was either yes or no and then we either stopped or wet and then you would get to place number two and You would do the same thing. The next one is 12 and a half miles from here. You have enough for 12 and a half miles Some days you didn't have that option There was one day in particular that I remember that we had to go 70 miles There was nothing between where we were and that 70 mile mark There was no choice and on a day like you just had to do 70 miles Gosh, wow Okay. Okay. I'm getting so much out of this and I'm taking this I'm doing this for a reason Our family we have driven across country Three times We've driven across country three times and along the way it usually takes us three to four days to get out to Los Angeles because we're driving and we'll take a stop at a hotel and we like to just stop and see different little points of America, we don't normally see America is huge in a car Driving your car America is huge people if you've never done that before you don't know how big the United States is Okay, and how gorgeous it it is at different parts So that that took a lot of energy and my husband was driving I was not driving that much when I did I would kick in and then we have two grown sons who had Licenses who have licenses and couldn't drive it takes a lot that's a lot of energy and we were so glad that when we put our heads down and I whatever Hampton in and was glad to Relax and go into town or whatever. And so With all of that said What you did was absolutely grueling. Yes, it was grueling, but it was also Yeah, there's something to be said about Having only one thing on your plate Yes Like I wasn't burdened with anything else You just drove you just you got on road You just got on your bike and you pedaled until you got where you're going. You set up your tent You made your food I would write my blog because I kept the blog the whole way across and then I would go to sleep and Then I would get up in the morning and we would undo either the campsite or pack ourselves up if we had stayed in a motel and Then we would get on the bike and we would ride and then you would do the same thing again And it was the same thing and so there was something night About not having all the other pressures of life You just you had this one focus only and it was grueling it was tiring But it was also very Exciting each day as you would look and you'd realize how much closer you are to actually finishing this huge adventure that you're going to make it after all especially once we got like into Ohio So we went into a UP, Michigan and then down across Ohio to Pittsburgh and then Pittsburgh to Washington, DC So when we're doing that down into Ohio part, it's like what kind of me Like there's no doubt We're going to make it. Oh my gosh going to make it right the coolest thing for me that was on the last day So we're now down around the DC area. My husband had worked there for years So he knew exactly where he was I did not like I had it but I didn't know where I was and he's pointing out places So I used to work in that building and that kind of thing and we came around this corner and up a hill You always end up I do not understand that but I swear to you if there's a motel It's up if there's a campground, it's up if wherever the restaurant you wanted to stop at is up So we're going up this hill and I can see a flag off to the left He said do you see that flag? I said yes, and he said that is the flag to the memorial or something and I started to cry and Then I left and then I cried and then I laughed and that was a thing that I did for the next hour Laughing and crying the people that had met us there and everything else and I realized that I Had made it all the way across the United States me a desk jockey someone who hadn't been on a bicycle This was not normal for me and that I had done it and that if I can do that it could do anything I put my mind to and it wasn't what is it that I want to do and I wanted to be an author and 14 months later my first book. Oh Terry Terry and you kept out listen to this and you kept all of this away from me and we have met Three other a day. It's funny I don't purposely keep it from people but it depends a lot like where the conversation goes And so I think our conversation has always been very focused on the particular book at the time And this book is a book but it focuses on this journey that got me to those three books Yeah Yes. Oh my god Yes Okay, so tear back to a little bit of practicality and then we want to talk about lessons learned Super Ray. Oh Yeah, and hail rain Yeah, you ride in it so you continue to ride in the rain unless is Miserable like the wind is bad like it's dangerous and as long as it's not dangerous you just keep riding We were actually having the hail one About that Terry at the internet slipped off Okay, so I don't know if it's still recording on your end showing that it is online. Is it showing that it is on yours? Yes, but I'll edit that out. So I'll go back to the just as long as it's still recording. I didn't want it to So I know that's thing you heard Here we go. So I'll start it here. So Terry rain Yes, it did it rained it hailed it it was cold it was The winds were high and we rode in everything that was not dangerous So there was a time in Minnesota where we saw a storm coming. We started looked big It looked not just an hour being looked big So I started doing deep research into it looking to see what can we find and this storm was going to be a three-day storm And it was going to have 60 mile an hour straight line. Oh We cannot be riding in that and we cannot even be camping in it. So we found it yeah, we found a motel that was next to a Walmart and Across the street from like an Applebee's kind of restaurant and we said perfect it hunkered down So we went to Walmart. We got our motel We went to Walmart got a supply of easy to throw into the microwave foods because they had the small Refrigerator and a tiny microwave Ryan said we'll go over there for dinner and we'll eat breakfast and lunch here in the room and we had this we hunkered down for Three days. Yes, very good. Now. Let's go the font and like you said like we've driven Across the country to Los Angeles and we've driven back home. And so when we were coming back home There was a stretch after the Hoover Dam, which was extremely hot by the way but after the Hoover Dam you rode and you rode and I swear and we were on I-40 and I swear we were the only people out there and it's long Stretches and you'll see a sign and I think all Americans need to see these signs You'll see a sign that says Navajo Nation and it blows your mind Yeah, is this Expanse and you look to the right and left you see nothing but the expanse And it says Navajo Nation or it'll say I forgot the other tribe that it was that I saw also on this drive But it's incredible. It is absolutely incredible. And so those stretches of time where there's nothing there's no hotels There's no restaurants. Did you all go through those stretches of the nations of the first people? Yes So we we rode through two different reservations and I cannot now remember the names because they're ones that I'm not Familiar with and I don't even want to do the injustice of trying to pronounce what it was that I was going in but we went through two and yeah, there there are areas and especially even when you're not even in the reservation areas, but across eastern, Montana Especially as north as we were on Highway 2, which was always probably no more than 40 or 50 miles from the Canadian border at any given time and so we're way north and There were in between little towns there was nothing yeah nothing and so we had water and so I had a We had these bags that that would fit into the backpack and they had a little straw that comes around and yes Well hangs here so that you can sip. Yes. I think are called camel packs Okay, so we would have water in our camel packs, but we would also have water Jars jugs with lids and we had those all in the frame of our bike So we would carry six or seven of those and then whenever we stopped We would fill Whatever we had emptied because you didn't want to be with that water, especially in the heat Right, most definitely most effort. So we would always fill our water back up and then we always carried with us Just what our snack and so it'd be like peanuts and Craisins and usually some M&Ms or something like that thrown in there because who doesn't want a little bit of chocolate and and so we would always have that and then something and this is because my husband is the most prepared person on the face of the planet We carried several dehydrated meals that you just had to add water and could heat it up And because we had the little stove and because we always had our water with us He didn't ever want us to be Dumb and not have because without food we can't fuel our bike. We're like a gas station It's like you have to make sure that we're going to be able to do it So we always had like packs of oatmeal and we always had a couple of dehydrated Meals too that we could use should we need them along the way Wow, I'm just flabbergasted. So if you don't mind my asking in 2020 how old were you? 57 You were 57 four years ago. Okay Perfect. Brice is 12 years older and he was 69 and he was 69 Perfect. Wonderful. Okay now with that said What I've gotten out of this and you'll see if what I'm saying is in your book So first of all, you're a heck of a supportive spouse Because if My spouse was a world-class type of cyclist and said I want to go from Washington Excuse me, Oregon to Washington. I would say Okay And keep me posted for when you But so do you speak of support in your Not in that way because believe it or not I felt as supported as he did Okay, I also wanted to do something big and bold and I Bruce really understand how badly I needed To do something that would help me get past a 14-year Emotionally abusive relationship. I tell everyone he married me damaged I was a damaged individual who was really trying hard to figure herself out, but I was still a mess And he saw around that. I think he could see the person that I was and so he wasn't supportive of me Can you imagine the kind of man you have to be willing to first of all take on this damaged individual? And secondly take someone who is not an experienced cyclist Stick them on the back of your tandem and help them figure this out so that they can go across the United States I mean that I Look at it as he was more supportive of me than I was of him I said sure, let's do this crazy thing and he said, okay, here are the 83 ways. I'm gonna help you do it He probably Yeah, that's a little bit of a message and this is not our subject to say to people don't give up Hope there are people out there no matter what your age There are people out there. That's good people that can be supportive partners or spouses There's some good people out there And with without a doubt he is is that person I do have something hold on to your hat I don't know that you're aware. He was diagnosed with brain cancer in June of 2022 and he passed away in January so my Yeah, my person Terry no Terry. No Terry. No, I'm that's I'm That's the way I feel about it, too But we tell everyone that though we didn't have a lot of time together. The time we had was amazing and that three months on a tandem bicycle is equivalent to 20 years of Mary and So we tell everyone that although so we've been married We would have been married almost six years when he passed but that we really were married 26 years in tandem Terry you are Terry you are taking me Taking me and all kinds of directions the day I think this might be my very favorite. This might be my very favorite. Oh, Terry Terry Terry the book was scheduled to come out. And so when he passed away I had the opportunity, of course to delay the coming out of But I didn't want to and I felt like being able to continue to talk about him and the wonderful things that we did would be helpful for me and it would be a way to grieve in a more positive manner the book came out on February 14th and the reason that we had it come out then was because Even though this book is about lessons that I learned across the United States There's also some of my love story you can see how he and I supported one another and loved one another through this whole adventure and so it was just a Perfect date and I didn't want to stop that and I I could hear him. My rule number three is do hard things and I could hear him Telling me as I was trying to contemplate do I push this off because can I really get on a podcast and talk about him? Without falling apart and crying and I heard his voice of do hard things and I knew that's what I needed to do so I decided just to continue doing what we were doing and the book is now out and Yeah, and it has been a blessing to be able to talk about these wonderful experiences that we had Instead of remembering the last couple of weeks, which were never pretty the end of cancer is never pretty No, it is not it is not I've seen the last few weeks of cancer and it's absolutely not It's just never pretty and I think that having the ability to talk about how he supported me and how we supported one another and how we had to work together and All the beautiful things that we saw and all the wonderful things that we did has really been a blessing so the timing Incredible I Wanted so much for him to be here to see this part But on the other hand, I think that the timing the way it is has really been a beautiful thing Yes, Terry again, and now it's even more there's so much here There's so much here because can you imagine if you didn't do the hard thing of taking that bike ride with him? You all would have just been I'm not saying that this is true what I'm saying But you would have been together You would have been in North Carolina Living day-to-day He doing his thing you doing your writing and you just would have been Slugging along. That's what I'm putting it. We just live our nine-to-five and then from five then Bedtime, it's just regular stuff But because you all did the hard thing That's how you all fell more in love Got closer you understood each other on a deeper level and Those few years you had with him Will make better stronger if everything Because you took that bike ride and when you think about it, we did it in the summer of 2020, which is COVID That's right. And so every that we had a lot of people telling us that you shouldn't write you shouldn't write shouldn't go Yeah, we decided that we were going to try it and that if we couldn't make it because of COVID that wherever we were we Could stop we could rent a car we could do something we could get back home We would figure it out as we're in the United States. It's not like we were in some foreign country We'd be able to get home We would be able to figure out and the language value and you know that what you have around you are people that the medical Care your all of your insurance will work. Everything is going to be a we just decided we're gonna give it a shot rightness Thank goodness because really in the summer of 2021 there was still COVID going around which means we wouldn't have done it in the summer of 22 we found out he had cancer and Then for the next two and a half years we dealt with cancer And so we wouldn't have never gone had we not gone when we did It would have always been a dream on a bucket list that never oh And instead we had this amazing trip. We learned so much about one another then then we had another Year and a half before he got sick so we had we went up the coast of Maine and Did a like 300 mile trip up the coast of Maine. We did all kinds of other things we did He loved to kayak and so we were out Packing and we did so many amazing things all of which strengthened both of us for the journey that he had to take when he got cancer and These rules so many of these rules were used during that journey as well Where it was like, let's think about what we learned on that trip. We can do hard things We can set aside our fear. We know not to quit on a bad day All of those things that we learned on the trip became things that we would hang on to at different portions of cancer Oh my goodness. And so You wanted to also find out about your value So, what was your final lesson this is before he got sick and what was your when you got to Washington and So I realized I couldn't do anything. I realized it and what then I really realized is Everything that I need to succeed It's in me Okay, everything you need is in you. Maybe you don't know how to tell but it's there and So this idea that I needed to get value because other people found value in me, that's crazy That's right starts from you You have to believe you have and if you believe it those around you will eventually believe it And if they don't get rid of them, you might need a person like that in your life But I learned that I already had it and I just had to discover How to tap into it and say you don't know how to tap into it Talk to a friend talk to a therapist talk to a pastor talk to your spouse Figure it out. Take a class read a book because what we need to succeed in life Whatever that success looks like for you, and I don't mean Necessarily a trip across the United States on a tandem and I don't necessarily mean becoming CEO of company Whatever it is that you want that brings you joy you have that ability inside of you Yeah, find yes, if it's not there for you and It's just a matter of figuring out where it's hiding because that's all that's happening is it's hidden and you don't know how to get into it and For me the ride helped me tap into all of those places because I did really hard things I did things so far outside my comfort zone Yes, yeah, I haven't been on a bicycle in 40 years and I took a tandem bicycle over the Rocky Mountains Well, okay, if you can dig and find that the ability to do something like then Something like gee I want to be an author becomes a much easier endeavor Most definitely I can do that from a chair in my office. Let's go. Yeah. Yes, I get it. I get it Terry I'm contemplating having a part two of this I would love I would I'm very glad that I'm not to report on that But but your book is Available everywhere. It is it's indefinitely have people head over to my website Which is my name Terry M Brown with one R and they're at the website You can if you're in the US you can buy a signed copy of my book or any of my books for that matter I have a newsletter you can sign up for Usually reach out twice a month once is stuff about me and once our books that I've been reading and hey Here's some books and what you might like I have a podcast that I do where I interview other authors and so you can listen to podcast episodes and find your next best Read and then there's just all my socials are there So if you're a social media person like you can find me on everything and then I just have a content page And so if you just wanted to reach out and say hey Terry, I'd like more information about reach out. I love to chat Yes. Yes, we'll be reaching out again, and I would like to have a follow-up to this interview. Fantastic. I would love that Thank you so much for having me today. No problem. Terry. You're always a joy and I will be talking to you soon Thank you