My friend Eileen tells of an incredible journey she will soon undertake:
“This is my first time joining the Trek Across Maine and although it is my first long-haul bike trip, it is one more leg in an epic bike journey. The journey first began with my mother and a Peugeot road bike. Growing up, my mother would regale me with tales of her time as a Company Clerk with the U.S. Army in Frankfurt, Germany. To escape the confines of military life, she bought herself a bike and toured the German countryside. Her words would float away as she described the meadows and orchards, and the endless photographs she took, all while riding her Peugeot. That bike became the epitome of independence and adventure, it became a legend. After she completed her service, she had the Peugeot freighted back to the States, where it slowly got lost in the jumble of life.
While attending college I became more interested in biking, and my mother reminisced about her Peugeot once more, but this time she wanted me to have it… as soon as she found where it had gone. It had traveled from across the ocean, and found its way through basements, storage units, and garages, slowly falling into disrepair. She eventually discovered it in a relative’s garage in Colorado. I strapped it to the back of my car and brought it back to Maine, where with the help of Percy, our team captain, I painstakingly cleaned and restored this legendary bike. Complete with the original leather saddle, I am ready to continue the journey.
But this trek isn’t just about me and my mom’s old bike. This trek is about supporting the efforts of the American Lung Association. With every breath our lungs are filled with not only air, but also lung damaging pollutants. The American Lung Association is working to protect and treat not only our lungs, but the air we breathe. Regardless of whether you or a loved one smokes or has ever had any lung ailments, every moment of our lives we use our lungs to propel us through our day. So please donate to support my trek, for my mom, for all our moms and the moment she gave us when we wailed our first breath, and to help the American Lung Association prolong every breath to the very last.”
To donate to Eileen please visit this site. She can use all the help she can get to pedal her bike across the great state of Maine!
