Reliving history on bicycle trip

As I charted my bicycle route, I deliberately selected a portion that relived a historical trek. As I travel from Washington to Illinois, I will be backtracking on the footsteps of the infamous Lewis in Clark expedition. This has a certain historical appeal, but I selected it for more personal and pragmatic reasons that it conveniently conveys me from my sister in Washington state to my maternal family's home town, Mount Carmel, Illinois.

The next leg of my trip, from Mount Carmel to my friends in Wisconsin, was selected for similarly pragmatic reasons. But I have discovered that I will be reliving another, far more personal, historical expedition: In September, 1895, my great grandfather and family patriarch, Sereno Schneck, bicycled 286 miles from Mount Carmel to Chicago when he was 20 years old. I have posted the full text his riding companion's amusing journal of this expedition in the comments of this post.

This discovery was an amazing revelation. I have always identified strongly with my maternal grandfather, Robert Jacob Schneck. There is a certain poetry to discover that I will be cycling a route that his father rode 110 years ago. The diary, dated November 12th, 1895, of their trials and tribulations is entertaining, but I quote from the closing paragraph here:

"It is hoped that these lines will not help to discourage our brother wheelmen from country touring because of our many accidents, for the pleasures by far out weighed all of our troubles, and as soon as the opportunity presents, which will be in the Fall of 1896, we intend to try our fortunes again, by going on a much longer tour."

I don't know if they ever conducted that subsequent, "much longer tour", but as a "brother wheelman," I am happy to complete that journey for them.

12th anniversary

Rachel and I are celebrating our 12th anniversary today. I love you, Rachel. Thanks for the last twelve years (and here's to another sixty or seventy, at least).

For our own personal "this day in history", I can report that it was 12 years ago that O. J. Simpson had his low-speed car chase in the white Bronco. When my brother-in-law, Bruce, first reported the episode-in-progress when he arrived at our rehearsal dinner on that evening of June 1994, we didn't quite believe it. Bruce can be a bit of a wit, but the reality sunk in as each subsequent guest provided progress updates on O.J.'s flight from the murder scene.

Yes, it's an odd little bit of trivia, but it's our odd little bit of trivia. So, if you're ever playing Trivial Pursuit and get an O. J. Simpson question, just think of us in Napa Valley twelve years ago.

Bicycle route

A common question is what route I plan to take on my trip.

I'm starting in Davis, California to see the Moore's and heading north to Seattle, Washington, to see my sister. From there, I'm proceeding on a "reverse Lewis and Clark" route from Washington state to southern Illinois (with detours to see friends in Colorado). I'm then going to see my maternal grandfather's home town, Mount Carmel, Illinois. From there I'm heading north to Wisconsin to see friends and coworkers, take ferry to Michigan to see assorted family and friends, and then back to New York.

Inc Magazine's Inner City 100

Capital Returns is #75 on the 2006 Inner City 100 list in the June 2006 edition of Inc Magazine, an award that recognizes the top 100 inner city companies across the country, as measured by sustained growth over a three year period. Congratulations to the whole Capital Returns team.

Technology on bike

One of my challenges on my ride will include how to stay connected while not adding the weight of a laptop. (Those of you who know me will find this hard to believe, but I actually briefly entertained foregoing all technology during my tour given weight concerns and the lack of electrical outlets at campsites, but I finally agreed to take a cell phone at least.) My solution is to carry a cell phone and post blogs from there. This posting was actually sent from my phone! This is a great compromise between staying connected and satisfying my stringent weight constraints (while also providing a "fix" for a guy who would otherwise undergo serious technology withdrawal symptoms).

Moving on and bicycling across America

It is with mixed emotion that I announce my resignation from Capital Returns, effective June 30, 2006. I've been with Capital Returns for seven and a half years (as consultant, then CIO, and for the last five years, as CEO). Capital has a fabulous team that I will sorely miss. It has been exciting times as we turned around the business, growing it from 125 teammates to well over 400, and transforming the industry in the process.

I traveled a lot of miles between Milwaukee and the east coast in the process. Midwest Airlines is the best airline around and after flying approximately 700 flights with them, whenever I encountered new flight attendants, I welcomed them to Midwest Airlines. But, the strain of the commute has caught up with me: So, while I will miss my team and friends at Capital Returns, I'm thrilled with the prospects of ending the weekly commute, spending more time with Rachel, getting a dog or two, and tackling future business challenges from New York.

Before I tackle my new business opportunities, I am taking a few months off this summer and bicycling across the country, from California to New York. I will be recording my progress on this site. Stay tuned for more information.