Approximately one of two months is spent off the grid every summer, without cell phone coverage.  If we’ve been there before, we usually know whether we will have access, but often times, we don’t have any idea if we will be able to contact friends and relatives, or if we will be turned off to the cyber world around us.  In some ways, it is difficult, while in others, it’s a welcome mandated retreat.  When we crossed the country on bikes in 2003, we had no cell phones and sometimes lost contact with mom in her support vehicle.  Our method of contact was to call dad back home and the second person who called would be alerted about where the first was.  Inconvenient?  Definitely.  In so many ways though, it really was refreshing.  I’d like to think that living through that inconvenience only gave us a greater appreciation for the convenience of having such easy access now.  It’s amazing how much has changed since that time.  Now, the cell phone has become what a pager once was and more.  Our 11 year old (and even 9 year old) son is definitely in the minority… he does not yet have a cell phone.

“I had to buy one to keep my child safer,” is commonly a sentence I hear.  I struggle with this topic more than any other.  The cell phone is slowly creeping into our children’s lives.  We represent the 20% of families that didn’t allow our 11 year old to have a cell phone… yet.  There are times when he is hours away for a weekend campout with scouts or a cross country meet.  It has been hard to adjust to the distance with no way to contact him, and it is tempting at times to succumb to the pressure.   He is expected to text us to keep us updated or tell us when to pick him up.  In these instances, he has to use a teammate or coaches phone to get in touch with us. 

So, how did we decide to tackle this one?  Ethan will earn one after he reads the 100 books (of our choosing) on his list.  Already 50 books into this challenge, we are shocked to find one of the most intense and highly motivated efforts ever witnessed by such a young man.  We have started to observe and react to how much the cell phone is used, realizing just how close he may be to receiving a phone.  There are a few topics I react to, including phones being used as a personal diary, phones used to watch countless hours of YouTube and game playing, and phones that allow access into a dark world, whether intentions were innocent or not. 

First, I want to point out that phones are generally an amazingly awesome tool that leave me jealous.  I cannot believe children can walk around with a super complex Atari system.  I also have a hard time imagining life without a cell phone.  In addition, there is no judgment on other parents for the reasons they have or have not decided their child needs one. 

However, with my respect and admiration towards this cool tool comes the extreme caution I will take giving a device to my children.  At the age of 11, he does not have the self control to moderate.  We have strict rules in our home to earn iPad time on weekends.  Like many children his age, he can be quickly seduced to countless hours of playing games on his iPad.  His addiction causes him to lie about how much time he has spent on the device or his intentions with using the device.  Over the years, I have observed unprecedented mood swings in children when they use cell phones.  Like an alcoholic without a drink for a day, kids can become intolerable without their phones.  This leaves parents and children in an awkward position.  How much independence should parents give children?  Should children be allowed to treat their phones as their diary?  I am surprised to see kids become so private with a device that was originally granted to them to keep them safer. 

As parents of 5 children, we have recently started a policy that all cell phones stay on the kitchen counter when guests enter our home.  Even as adults, we have a hard time moderating, and have done our best to participate in our new rule.  Not only do I not trust my children from predators on the internet, I certainly do not trust the discretion teenagers have towards using their devices with my children near them.  As a teacher, I encourage groups of children to openly talk to one another without keeping secrets.  In an art classroom, this is a pretty reasonable expectation.  However, I have already observed phones that are kept privately, where kids are found with a dull glow of a cell screen texting…This is troubling to me.  The phrase “Carpe Diem” when applied can mean our children are taught to enjoy the moments they have with the people they are with.  I understand how quickly this device can be used as a crutch.  In line checking out groceries and the line is long and slow, maybe I will take the cell phone out to see if there are any hits on the most recent posted picture on Instagram.  This time can always be used to connect with other people. 

The cell phone allows unusual access into others lives and moments.  YouTube is one of the most powerful engines on the internet.  Like using Siri, a quick search on YouTube can help us build things, watch clips from our favorite shows, and gain perspectives on places we can visit.  These are incredible helpful reasons to use the internet.  On the other hand, YouTube can lead to crazy unrealistic expectations. 

Did you ever noticed how your favorite 1980s PG movie just became a PG-13 movie over night?  Several movies have countless material which would not be considered politically correct today.  Swear words and partial nudity are not uncommon.  I cringed watching Ghost Busters with my children years ago.  So I cringe now to think that a simple push of the touch screen can access much harsher material with ease.  Similar to cigarette ads reaching us in our youth, sexual content seemingly has no age limit today.  This should absolutely scare us.  It strikes me that we teach sex education to 10 year olds but also hand devices over to children capable of allowing unlimited access.  I’m confused… I’ve sat through countless talks and witnessed 80 to 100 boys uncomfortably sit through a 90 minute presentation.  They ask innocent questions and feel completely ashamed.  It only takes a few inappropriate images with a cell phone to cause irreversible damage and take innocence away.  I feel that parents should use every opportunity to monitor every bit of information used on our children’s cell phones. 

I know we will do everything in our power to protect our children.  Despite its many benefits, the cell phone is one of the single most dangerous tools our children can have.  If it is not monitored using extreme measures, it can lead to an end of innocence and worse.  During a paternity leave, I stood at the bus stop and counted the drivers using cell phones.  Countless drivers passed a bus stop looking at their phones as they drove by.   Car accidents due to texting has results in way too many injuries and fatalities.

Recently, some friends went out shopping for their oldest daughter to get a cell phone.  She couldn’t wait to see what they would bring home.  They arrived home with a Gizmo, a watch-like device that allows their daughter to call or text the few people on her short list.  This device serves the exact purpose we all NEED our children to have a phone.  Of course, she was devastated.  I can’t be certain what direction we go until we are there, but I wouldn’t be surprised if this is what we come home with too.

We realize that enforcing kids who have a phone to leave it on our counter is a harsh stance that may discourage some from visiting our home, but this was the best way we could stay on top of the issue for now.  After observing many teens and pre-teens engage in lots of unsupervised time on their devices (feeling powerless to know whether that was their parents wishes or not), and others actually breaking devices at our house, we feel this is the best solution for us.  While they may not have immediate access to others outside our home, we can assure everyone that there will be lots of fun, and REAL communication while you are with us.

 

Imagine slowing the pace of life down to a max speed of 15 miles an hour, with a drastically simplified list of daily responsibilities.  I wrote this a lifetime ago, but it sure set the tone for the future of the Hoffpack!  This was definitely one of our most definining experiences of our early years of marriage (but for the record, 14 years older and wiser, parenthood has far surpassed this experience as our biggest challenge yet).

At the completion of our coast-to-coast bike journey from Florence, Oregon to Newport News, Virginia, I reflect on the past 7 weeks (or 4003 miles).  While we never thought our trip would be easy, we never expected it to be what it was – our biggest challenge ever. 

Looking back, as we started out in Oregon, out of shape and hopeful for a pleasant and safe journey, we saw the most beautiful country of the ride.  On our first day out in Eugene, we met Case from the Netherlands on his last day, who impressed us with his knowledge and gave us a true feel for the journey ahead.  We learned that llamas and other farm animals are almost as intrigued by us as we are with them, as they ran to greet us on our bikes.  As we rode over the coast range, we experienced mountain ascents, pine-filled breezes, and of course, passing vehicles (and even logging trucks and recreational vehicles).  Our entire ride through Oregon felt like a true vacation – camping at Belknap Hot Springs to pedaling through Hell’s Canyon.  On just our third day, we did a 4000 foot climb through the Cascades – one of our biggest of the trip, only to find out that it wasn’t all that bad (well – except for the sleet/snow on top of one of the passes).

As we passed through Idaho, struggles with the wind became difficult and I was very tempted to quit.  I feel all the enthusiasm for the two of us prior to leaving on the trip, and I put all my energy into planning.  However, if it weren’t for Chuck, I might have ended our journey on several occasions.  We are a genuine team.  We would not triumph without each other.  Idaho offered perfect biking temperatures and unbelievably beautiful canyons along clear mountain rivers.  We even stayed at a campground where Copper was given a huge bone, and we were able to watch movies in their private living room!

Montana surprised us as we had only seen the most picturesque sites in the past.  While most was beautiful, we did experience some very barren country – the most difficult being the irrigated mosquito breeding grounds of Wisdom and Big Hole, where we had to maintain a speed of 15 MPH to rid the bugs.  As we passed through the Bitterroots, daily ascents of 2000-4000 feet became the norm, and the descents became more and more fun.  Heading north into Missoula (instead of our eastern goal), we were forced to remind ourselves that our trip should be about the journey, not the destination. 

As we headed into Wyoming, we learned that a tough or easy day is not determined by miles, but by conditions.  A 135 mile day down the Wind River with a tailwind (after a 4000 foot ascent) is much easier than 80 miles into the wind.  Visiting Yellowstone and the Tetons was wonderful, with blue skies and grizzly, wolf, bison, black bear, moose, and elk sightings.  It was almost too good as it reminded us that vacationing could be that great all the time, but alas, our journey was to continue on through many other parts of our country, a little too quickly.  We literally blew across the rest of Wyoming with atypical winds that we knew we had to take advantage of. 

As we entered Colorado, we struggled with the lack of shoulders and idea of shortly losing our awesome support – my Mom and Copper (our dog).  There would be no more pre-checks on upcoming camping areas, great food, and luxury items such as real pillows, chocolate, pop, etc in the rented Ford Ranger.  Ahead of schedule, we biked a short day, and then piled into the pickup to drive off route up to Estes Park to see Brent, Lori, and Chris, as well as our old stomping grounds.  Soon after, we made it over the highest point on the TransAmerica bike route, 12,000 foot Hoosier Pass past Breckenridge.  On our last day with support, we headed into Buena Vista for our third indoor stay (the other two being due to wind and Copper’s fear of fireworks on the 4th of July) to switch out tires and load up our bikes for the remainder of our lone journey.  Looking ahead at the next 6 of 12 maps turned out to be difficult, as we had actually completed the part of the trip we had looked forward to most.

The next 700 miles through eastern Colorado and Kansas was straight and flat, with almost nothing to see or do.  The sight of gas stations had never been so good.  Towns were rarely over 1000 people, with not even a McDonald’s for 500 miles.  The taste of tea-like hot water in our water bottles did not do much to cool us off or quench the thirst of 100 mile days, and refills with ice were the highlight of the day (even if the cool water only lasted 5 minutes).  Heading into Eastern Kansas through wildfires and 110 degree heat, Midwest humidity kicked in to top it off.  Strategies changed often – mileage only in the morning, breaks in the afternoon and then pedal into the night, only to find out evenings are not much cooler after the kind of heat that fired up the black pavement that we needed to ride on.  Century rides (100 miles) became the norm, and metabolism kicked in, causing us to eat through bags of donuts and 2 liters of pop.  Forward motion to get out of the flats became an obsession, even after being forced to slow down with my crash/sprained elbow from drafting a little too close.  Our fear of tornado alley reached its climax at this point, with storms chasing us, and me unable to ride after crashing (well, almost).  The friendliness of Kansas residents saved us, especially at the “Trail’s End” Hotel in Tribune, Kansas, ironically also the halfway point to Virginia.  The friendly doctors and hotel owner/chef/tennis players occupied our time for our only 2 days off of the entire trip. 

As we thought we had been through the most difficult part, we headed off into Missouri (now termed Misery), only to find out the entire state consists of the Ozark Mountains.  Hotel stays became the unexpected norm, as it was nearly impossible to sleep otherwise, especially with the only camping being available at city parks or rest areas, and showers became crucial.  The few times we did camp, we slept among trailer-park barking dogs, crying cows on the way to unspeakable places, and race tracks active only by night.  Mileage was cut back to accommodate grades in roads we thought must be illegal.  Chuck’s broken spoke slowed us once again, with the unexpected blessing of the Palmers taking us in, driving us in to Springfield to fix his bike, and replenishing our spirits.  We finished off Missouri awaiting an expected cool front and visit from my Mom in Illinois.

As we considered Illinois being our end point if we were cutting it close to the return of school, we were ahead of schedule, and knew that we would be continuing on.  By this point, Chuck had no consideration for stopping, keeping that coast-to-coast goal in sight.  Our trip through Illinois lasted 2 days, and we said an emotional goodbye to my Mom at a ferry where we crossed the Ohio River into Kentucky.  Going home was extremely tempting, but again, Chuck was determined to continue.

The further east we went into Kentucky, the bigger the hills, the smaller the houses, and the more dogs we encountered.  None of them were actually able to grab hold, but some of them gave us a run for our money.  In some cases, we were lucky to be pedaling downhill, as we don’t think we could have outdone them any other way.  Just as we were feeling the high of coming close to completing the trail, we met a woman from Holland who had spent 4 weeks crossing Virginia and told us of the dreaded Berea to Booneville stretch of dogs.  One owner actually told his dog, “Sic her!”  We met with Jan  (my college roommate) and her Kentucky-born husband, who drafted a successful dog-free corridor through that section.  We still experienced the fridge-friendly lawns of eastern Kentucky, but without the loose canines.  Living in the third richest county was quite a comparison to riding through the third poorest in the nation.  Still discouraged and worried about our plan to finish off Virginia in a week after our recent encounter, we continued on, worried about the bad roads and steep grades of Appalachia.  One of our maps warned of coal trucks, with coal flying off and hitting you on the head, or at best, causing you to fly over your handlebars as you ran into it.  It was plentiful on the roads, but we did manage to avoid any of those encounters as well. 

Moving through Virginia awakened us to finishing soon.  We were able to stay on pace, and some days, managed to cut off 15-20 miles with shortcuts from the mapped course.  Starting out in the west, on the only roads through the mountains, with all other types of vehicles, forced us to get used to riding with the traffic.  So, extra mileage in the east did not seem necessary since the roads were not even as busy as out west.  Plus, thoughts of home tainted our vision of seeing all the backcountry roads, some of which turned out to be in poor shape, with cracked pavement everywhere.  Virginia towns became rich with history and plentiful with good restaurants and hotels.  After 6 weeks of drought, we got 4 days of rain as we completed our journey.  Riding through the rain was difficult, as vision was impaired.  However, what we did see of Virginia was also some of the most beautiful along the trail, with lush vegetation and beautiful mountains.  On our last day crossing the mountains, we were forced to walk 3 miles up a 3000 foot climb on to the Blue Ridge Parkway, again one of the best sights of the trip.  The tough “no-walking” philosophy of the Rockies was sometimes not possible in the Appalachians.  As we exited the mountains, we spent our last day pedaling through Richmond, led by a fellow biker on a 135 mile trek to Williamsburg through pouring rain and eastern plantations.  The next day, we pedaled an additional 15 miles to pick up our car in Newport News on the Atlantic, totaling 4003 miles for our coast-to-coast bike trip.

As we drove home, we felt some joy and sadness at the completion of our trip.  Life was to change drastically from what it entailed over the last 7 weeks.  No more daily-rinsed wet clothes to put on every day, as we own a washer and dryer, and actually full wardrobes to be worn at home.  No more daily 5am wake-up calls to get on the road before the sun came up, with no “weekend breaks.”  No more worry about what Mother Nature would bring us each day, as we would now have cover from whatever that may be.  However, there would be no more peak shape, as we were absolutely certain we would not be riding 80-something miles a day for 7 weeks at any other point in our lives, and probably not even for 1 day (well, at least for a while). On the flip side, we would be allowed to take a day off whenever we pleased.

As we have been back over a week now, we have enjoyed the shelter of our home.  We have spent a lot of time outside still, working on landscape, and inside, watching movies.  Surprisingly, even to ourselves, we jumped back on the bikes the next day, although my arm hurts more now than during the endorphin-filled trip.  I have been forced into healing mode, especially with doctor’s orders to do hourly exercises to alleviate the 30 degree range of motion in that elbow.  Exercise is still a high priority however, and hopefully, running will do the trick until the arm is better.  This trip has shown us how lucky we are, and the little things are always so much better upon our return.  We always remember that when going through all the challenges life has to offer.

We were fortunate enough to repeat parts of this trip 12 years later in 2015, with our 5 additions.  Ironically, had we been self-sufficient on bikes like we were in 2003, we wouldn’t have been stuck waiting for our wheels for 18 days in California.  Someday, we will revisit the biking scene, but until then…