Tuesday, June 15th in Washington, DC.
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Brian getting ready to ride!
Tim Trankina, President of Peachtree Settlement Funding, with Senator Max Cleland of Georgia and Brian Kaplan
Brian changing a tire. Brian will have plenty of practice in the coming weeks! |
Brian and Tim in Washington, DC - getting the Cycle Across America event off to a good start!
Joan and Brian Kaplan with Senator Max Cleland of Georgia . "Good luck Brian!"
Brian and Joan. It's going to be a great trip for a great cause! |
Flat Day on the Hill
Our day began innocently enough as we awoke at the lovely Tuckahoe State Park in Queen Anne, Deleware. The terrain was pretty flat and the total elevation gain for the day was 88 feet. Our smooth sailing changed after we arrived in Annapolis, near the Naval Academy.
Brian had ridden effortlessly to the Naval Academy. While the directions to our meeting spot were quite clear, I still had difficulty reading the map. In my haste turn around, once again to correct my misguided course, I whacked into a very large curb. Suddenly a storm of canned goods and pots and pans showered the interior of the RV. Undettered, I quickly threw the items back in their appropriate cabinets and went on my way, never bothering to check the damage to the tire.
When I finally arrived 1 miles later at our designated location, Brian held his hand over his mouth in amazement as I sat perched unsuspectedly in the cabin. The gash in the tire measured at least 4 inches!!! Oops. While we had anticipated a day of flatness, we had thought it would be like this.
Brian offered to change the tire, but all I could imagine was straining the muscles in his back..so then I would have to mount the bike and continue the journey. We had meetings on Capital Hill beginning at 1:30, it was now 11 am and we were still 45 minutes to DC by RV and 2 hours by bike. Brian continued on while I awaited the flat fixers.
We called the RV equivalent to AAA and in 2.5 hours I was again ready to roll. By this point, we knew Brian would meet alone with the aide from Senator Wellstone's office. Only we didn't expect a flat on the bike tire, too! A much easier fix, it still caused us to re-schedule our first meeting. Brian certainly didn't anticipate the next flat he got moments later.
Brian was sure to be there for the next appointment, at 3:30 o'clock with Senator Cleland, scheduled on the steps of the Capital with our sponsor, Tim Trankina, the CEO of Peachtree Settlement who flew in to DC for this meeting. We were excited about the photo opportunity with Senator Cleland. Only problem, I still had the cameras!
As the clocked ticked ever so closely to 3:30, I finally arrived on the Hill, miracuously found street parking for this 29 ft. mobile and proceeded to run to the steps of the Capital. Again, as luck would have it, hailed a cab who delivered me, perspiration free, to the meeting.
A few minutes later, our smiling faces greeted Senator Cleland and our mission was accomplished. Tim took off back for Atlanta, and Brian and I galloped to our next meeting with Senator Durbin of Illinois.
The young aide from Durbins office brisked us through the labyrnith of underground tunnels and subways to the Senate. Normally we would not have been allowed in this maze, but an important document needed to be delivered and this was the most expedititous route.
While we awaited in the halls of the Senate for Durbin to meet with us, we saw Senator Wellstone, introduced ourselves and got a commitment to see him on Wednesday. We ended up rescheduling Durbin's appointment as well.
We ended our day at the Comfort Inn, compliments of the NAMI.
Brian and I both savored a full sized queen bed, a television
and room enough to move around without bumping into each other.
Back to the home page of Cycle Across America for NAMI presented by Peachtree Settlement Funding
