Steep elevations and heat proved to be major challenges in the first week of Elmer and Jeff Jackson’s cross-country bike ride. At left, Jeff copes with fatigue.
Elmer and Jeff Jackson’s ‘No Regrets’ fundraising bike ride across America was slowed late last week when Jeff suffered heat exhaustion on day three and couldn’t shake it over the next two days, leading to a couple of days rest for him and his father back in San Francisco.
Beset by “dizziness, nausea, and terrible pain. I wanted to quit,” Jeff writes in his tour blog. “But my dad got me through it. He kept talking to me, encouraging me, pushing me to keep going on.”
That was Thursday, day three of the tour. The Jacksons, raising money for Red Bank’s West Side Christian Academy, completed just 46.5 miles of a planned 75-mile jaunt (most of it uphill) that day. Jeff walked the last mile, but “then it got worse. I started cramping in both calves and my right thigh.”
He took Friday off after an hour of riding left him dizzy and worried he’d fall. Elmer logged 30 miles (and another 1,300 feet of elevation), taking them to Fair Play, Calif. at 2,300 feet above sea level.
The next day, Jeff lasted just 45 minutes. Elmer added another 20 miles (and 2,300 vertical feet). After consulting with someone back home who has a medical background, they decided to drive back to San Francisco, where Jeff would be able to rest up for a day or two at Elmer’s sister’s place and Elmer could get a warped wheel rim fixed.
Here’s a snippet from the blog of Red Bank’s Tim Hathaway, who’s serving as sag man, photographer, videographer and blogger for the 4,244-mile effort:
Just before reaching Cooks Station, standing in pine scented breezes of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, over 4,000 from home, Jeff aired his fears.
“What if I cant make it?” he said.
I was not sure if he was talking about the next 30-mile segment to Carson Pass or the entire journey. Rev. Jackson gave him some fatherly advice.
“Ive never been prouder of you than when you decided to stop the other day,” he said. “You didnt let your ego come before your safety or mine.”
He was still wrestling with conflicting emotions: feeling like he is disappointing his father and the very real possibility of failure. He has not been able to bike the past two days and the Rocky Mountains still loom large in their imaginations.
“What would you say to one of your students if he were in a similar situation?” I asked.
“You can do it,” he said weakly. He looked down, grinned, and spoke like the teacher he is. “Just try.”
Rev. Jackson began walking up the steep slope with his bike and a Gatorade, and Jeff joined him. I sat in the car listening to the forest. Snatches over conversation carried in the wind.
“I’m going to give you a run for you money when we get to the Rockies,” Jeff said.
The Jacksonss are seeing America, the beautiful and the ugly. They’ve crossed paths with a rattlesnake, a skunk, some deer and spectacular scenery. They’ve met lots of people, man of them fellow cyclists, and one woman slipped Tim a $50 bill as a donation for school.
But there was also this, as recounted by Tim:
“I heard a news report on the radio yesterday,” I said, “where a black woman said that Barak Obamas nomination is a symbol of a change in race relations in America. Do you think it is a symbol of change or that it may serve to catalyze change?”
The guys chuckled and paused, as if they were thinking about the same thing.
“You remember yesterday when you came back to give us water by that shopping center? Rev. [Elmer] Jackson said. “Before you came, a guy in a pick-up truck rolled down his window and made clucking sounds like a chicken. He was heckling us. And then he made a gun with his fingers and pretended to shoot.” He demonstrated the gesture, as his voice strained between anger and resignation.
Rev. Jackson says he often is a victim of a tug-of-war between two emotions at times like this. As a former Marine, he knows he could defend himself physically and would like to do so. He is also a husband a father who wants to remain that way. So he lets it go. Every time he manages to let it go. Yesterday he and Jeff ignored it together.
Next milestone: Carson Pass, 8,573 feet above sea level.
If you want to make a donation to the No Regrets Bike Challenge, please contact Doris Jackson here or call 732. 693.4336. redbankgreen has set up a separate archive for the No Regrets articles for readers who’d like to see them all.
