Wednesday, May 26, 2004

Peachtree City woman to make dream come true this summer

By MICHAEL BOYLAN
mboylan@TheCitizenNews.com

Peachtree City resident Barbara Corley, 52, has dreamed for 30 years of riding a bicycle across the country. This summer, she and three other people will make the journey from Oregon to Savannah. The trip is close to 4,300 miles and will last approximately three months.

Corley and her colleagues will ride their bicycles with trailers attached from sunup to sundown. They will camp at night, and there are several rest days scheduled in so the riders can recharge their batteries and stay focused on the trip.

“Thirty years ago, a friend and I rode from central Oregon to Lander, Wyoming, and back,” recalled Corley. “I told myself then that someday I would go all the way.”

The decision to make this ride came 10 years ago when Corley set this date. She had entered her first Bike Ride Across Georgia and decided that when her daughter, Sara, graduated from high school, she would be able to make the ride. Corley has done many more long rides in preparation for this summer’s trip, including rides each weekend through the fall and winter with members of her group to prepare for riding through all types of weather. She also participated in Bike South 2000, a five-state, five-week ride. Though it was a supported ride, meaning she didn’t have to carry her baggage, she did anyway.

“I always load my trailer,” said Corley.

In fact, if you travel around Peachtree City you may have seen her on her recumbent bike with the trailer on the back. She rides just about everywhere she goes in town and often loads her trailer down with newspapers to give her weight to pull. In addition to her daily rides around town, Corley has also prepared for the trip by taking spin classes at Bicycles Unlimited at 5:30 a.m. twice a week since last October, doing weight training and cardio at World Gym since January and participating in a mechanics class at Bicycles Unlimited, where she learned to build up a bike from the frame.

Corley rides an Easy Racers “Tour Easy” long wheelbase recumbent. A recumbent bike has a reclining seat. Attached to her handlebars are Chap Stick, a whistle on a retractable cord, a little ball compass, a thermometer with clock, bicycle computer, flower vase, map case and one bottle cage for her coffee cup. She has a headlight attached to her helmet and a handlebar bag with a portable radio and solar battery charger. Her main gear load is hauled with a B.O.B. trailer.

Corley will be hauling 58 pounds of gear in her trailer, seven of which is made up of water. She will also be hauling her home for the journey, a Sierra Designs Ultra Light Year tent. Each rider will also be hauling a stove and a pot for outdoor cooking.

The group will be following the route devised by Adventure Maps, which did the first ride across the country in 1976. The map has been edited since then as roads, landmarks, hostels, campgrounds and traffic in the areas have changed. The group will take one rest day a week and hopes to ride an average of 55 miles a day. Among the sites they will see on their journey are Yellowstone National Park, the Grand Tetons and the Ozarks as they travel through Missouri.

“Every day will be an adventure,” said Corley, who also stated that the people they meet along the way will be one of the best parts of the journey. The members of the Corley’s group, known as Team BLAST (Bag Ladies/Lads Are So Tough) are Phyllis Webb, a teacher who will leave the trip in Pueblo, Colo.; Debi Klang, a CPA; and Steve Tillander, a historic restoration specialist. Corley met the other riders during her bike rides and all are committed to making this trip.

Corley’s family is very supportive of her trip. She told her husband, Jim, she wanted to make this ride and on May 29, their 25th anniversary, they plan to renew their vows. While she rides across the country, her son, Alex, will be walking the Pacific Crest trail, a 120-day walk of over 2,600 miles, and her daughter will be participating in the Bike Ride Across Georgia.

“This will test my limits, but I’m determined to do it,” said Corley. “I feel strong and I feel good. I’ll just take it day by day and look at it as just another ride.”

Corley excitement is clear when talking to her and it is contagious. In fact, when other riders hear about the journey, they want to go along for the ride. Corley’s advice for people with this dream, or any dream, is to “make it happen.”

“You have to go through the process. Sometimes it takes awhile, but just set your goal and work towards it.”

Now, all of the bikes and gear are packed up and about to be shipped to Oregon. The group will follow it out there soon and begin the ride June 9. They hope to be in Savannah by Sept. 4.

For those interested in following the ride, Corley has started keeping a journal and has put it on the internet at http://TeamBlast.crazyguyonabike.com.

The Citizen wishes Corley and her colleagues good luck and Godspeed.