Life-affirming vision quests have many benefits. And Tres Smith, of Ruskin, is currently experiencing one riding his bicycle cross-country with a group of 25 men and 12 women called Bubba’s Pampered Pedalers.
After completing the group’s “Coast to Coast” tour, where the cyclists dipped their rear tires in the Pacific Ocean in San Diego and rode into St. Augustine, FL, Smith has taken his team north.
Smith is blogging about his “5 Boros NYC tour” bicycle journey at the site his wife, Mariella, created called “Tres Goes Biking.”
“I wanted to ride across the country my whole life and never had a chance,” he said, adding he finally decided to take the plunge.
A registered nurse certified in rehabilitation nursing and catastrophic case management, Smith credits cycling and activities like “officiating wheelchair rugby, coaching wheelchair softball, sprint triathlons, kayaking, backpacking, hiking, snorkeling in exotic places and traveling,” as his means of keeping sane. According to his blog, he previously toured with the “Alaska AIDS vaccine ride from Fairbanks to Anchorage, Make a Wish triple centuries weekend in Michigan and eight Bike Florida rides.”
He took time off from work to make the cross-country trip, which he calls a spiritual journey. He lost 30 pounds preparing for it.
The ride is all-the-more amazing because Smith has gone through two major heart procedures the past few years.
“One of the reasons I’m doing it is to come to terms with where I’m at in my life,” Smith said. “This is an internal-type vision quest for me to meet my fears and (face) my doubts that at almost 60 years old when I’m physically and mentally challenged, I can still meet those challenges.”
Smith said Bubba Barron came up with the idea for this particular bicycle tour in 2010. He estimates the average age of the cyclists is around 62.
While the tour is physically demanding, there are perks such as a massage therapist and chef on the team.
“(Barron) put this route together,” Smith said. “Every night we are in a hotel or auditorium or camping. He has an experienced crew that sets up our stuff. They have done the ride before and know what the riders are going through daily.”
The cyclists ride in yellow vests with their names on the front and Bubba’s logo on the back.
“We ride on the Interstate,” Smith said. “We ride on frontage roads; we ride on good roads; we ride on poor roads. We ride all over.”
Mariella Smith, the owner of InSight Graphic Design, said she made her husband’s blog as user-friendly as possible since her husband is “not all that tech-savvy.”
“It’s a very simple structure so he can blog entirely from his cell phone,” she said. “He takes pictures and posts with a few notes every day using nothing but his phone.”
His most recent update stated he was “Up early with a plan to get on the route early. My hotel right on Ave of the Americas. I got away about 7:20 am before the first wave but the route closed down. I was a bit of tourist. Really neat. “
“Neat” would be aunderstatement for this inspirational local figure.
For more information, visit his blog at tressmith.com.
Mike Hamson 