Marie has a lovely French accent, looks like an aunt anyone would love, and she might cycle the first 1,000 miles of this bike-ride with a cast. The first day of this ride was her 60th birthday, and like the rest of us, she started the ride by dipping her rear tire in the Atlantic, which is traditional for a cross-country ride.

After she dipped her tire and took some pictures, Marie cycled toward the place where we were spending the night. Just before she got there, she had a slow-speed fall. During a fall, cyclists keep their arms close in, to keep their arms safe. But when Marie fell, she saw that her body was falling toward thorns, from a rose bush. She put her arm out and felt a crack.

Later that day, she saw a doctor and came back with a cast. That night, we had a birthday party for her, and our trip leader, Wally, bought her a cake and a card that we all signed.

During the party, she shared more. Since her accident happened on a Sunday, she couldn’t see a specialist. She hoped to see a specialist on Monday, and hopefully get a different cast that would allow her to finish the trip, or at least try.

While Marie described her hopes, our tour leader, Wally, encouraged her to try as long the doctor said it was ok. In that case, he would help her ship her bike and gear from the town where we were at to wherever we would be when she could cycle again.

The birthday party we had for Marie felt like all of us had been friends for years, but in fact, we had met only 2 days ago, and the 10 of us are from different parts of the US and Canada. It’s now Tuesday night, May 8. Marie showed up tonight with her bike and tent, so tomorrow, she’ll join all of us for a 60 mile ride. Cycle tours have always surprised or amazed me, but I’ve never seen anything like this before, and we only started 2 days ago.