by Jeff Stepper

Created on: April 14, 2008

The most defining moment in my life actually spanned several weeks. Fifty-three days to be exact, from August 1 until September 22, 2005. Within those seven weeks, I learned more about myself, my strengths and my weaknesses than I have in any other seven weeks in my life. My learning wasn't confined to internal learning either, as I also learned a tremendous amount about this country and the people in it.

Bike4peace is a non-political non-profit grass roots group whose two main objectives are protesting the war in Iraq, and lessening our dependence on foreign oil. If we weren't so dependent on foreign oil, we would not be in Iraq right now. Bike4peace was started by Ron Toppi, an avid bicyclist who also runs a community non-profit bike shop in Everett, called Sharing Wheels.

On that first ride, there were three of us that rode the entire way, Ron, Jesse Card, and myself. The general theme for the ride was: "If we can ride our bikes all the way across the country then you should be able to ride across town." Sadly, because of educational commitments I was only able to go on that first ride, though the ride has continued every year since, and will continue until there is no longer a need for it.

The distance of the ride was a little over 3500 miles and we rode between 60 and 90 miles a day with a couple of days over 110 and a couple that were just 50. We had hosts in most of the towns we stayed in and they were an extremely diverse bunch. The hosts ran the gambit from a sheep rancher, gays and lesbians, anarchists, organic farmers, suburban folks, quite a few churches, and even nuns to name but a few. They all had one common purpose though, and that was to do what they could to help the planet and our ability to live on it.

It is a journey that tests both your physical and mental limits. Every day brings its own set of challenges, from a 6% mountain grade to maybe a day of riding 80 miles on mostly flat featureless countryside. There's a reason that they call Montana, "The Big Sky Country," you know. You are amazed at how much you can actually accomplish on a daily basis. It is also a test for your mental abilities. When you are tired, and the last thing you want to do is push down on the pedal, it takes an amazing amount of mental energy to go on until you get that next wind, which is coming, it always comes at some point.

It is also a ride of beauty and wonder. You feel as if you are blazing new ground, kind of like the pioneers and explorers of long ago must have

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