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Family peddling across country on dream trek
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| By: THERESE APEL, DAILY LEADER Staff Writer |
October 29, 2009 |
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Photo By THERESE APEL
The Summers family — Bill (from right); Jasmine, 4; Robin, 2; Amarins; and Cheyenne, 6 — pedals west on Highway 84 Wednesday afternoon. They are on a bicycle mission to cover the United States. They started in Kentucky, made their way down to Florida, and are working to make it to California before ending up in Alaska. They began their journey on Aug. 1, 2009.
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Willie Nelson sings about being "On The Road Again," but there is no "again" for one Kentucky family who passed through Lincoln County Wednesday.
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They're always on the road, at least since August 1. And that's not the strange part.
The Summers family - parents Bill and Amarins, and daughters Cheyenne, 6, Jasmine, 4, and Robin, 2 - are making the trek from Kentucky to Alaska, including a detour to Florida, by bicycle. One bicycle that seats all five people.
"Sometimes people move over and give us two whole lanes on the road," Cheyenne said as she and her sisters ate ice cream in front of the Highway 84 Chevron. "I don't know why they do that."
And when they stop, they are almost immediately surrounded by onlookers who are curious about the extra-long bike - or the man with the four pretty blondes making his way down the road in a helmet.
"I've got all my girls here," Bill Summers said. "It's not like I'm doing this with sons. These are strong women."
Family members said their trip is one simply for the sake of making it. People ask them what cause they're supporting or if they're trying to raise awareness for anything, but it's purely an adventure to them.
"We just wanted to go to Alaska," Amarins Summers said. "To go in a car seems too simple, and too impersonal. Then we found a five-person tandem bike."
The bike was customized to fit the family, and when it was finished, they trained through May, June, and July. Finally, on August 1, the family set out on their journey.
"We just did it because it's a dream we have," Bill Summers said. "We want to inspire people to live their dreams."
The children are homeschooled, with Bill and Amarins Summers also able to incorporate different historical things they learn along the way into the children's teaching. But it's also a chance to do something unforgettable, she said.
"It's an education for the kids," she said. "We're doing this without money, without health insurance, and we're talking to people a lot about chasing their dreams, but still taking responsibility for their actions."
There's a deeper theme, too, Bill Summers said.
"We think the quintessential American is someone who takes chances and risks," he said. "He's someone who, like our predecessors, sees what's beyond the next river. We're trying to demonstrate to people how to rekindle the American Spirit and not depend on the government for their livelihood."
The Summerses have seen the world already - Bill, who has lived in the Middle East and speaks fluent Arabic, and Amarins from the Netherlands - and got to Mississippi by way of Florida. When they went through Alabama the Mobile Bay Ferry was closed, so they cut north to Hattiesburg. The next stop was Prentiss, and then they hit Highway 84 headed west.
There was a stopover at the Atwood Water Park, they said. The people of Lawrence County were especially hospitable, even sending someone by car to make sure they could cross some of the narrow bridges safely on their big bicycle.
The stop at the 84 Chevron brought a crowd.
"How do you turn that thing?" one man asked. "Looks like it turns about like an 18-wheeler."
"Very carefully," Bill Summers said with a laugh.
The Summerses have a Web site where they chronicle the events of their trip at www.pedouin.org. The trip has brought all sorts of adventures, including one in Ducktown, Tenn., where a law enforcement official seemed determined to get the children out of the rain.
"We didn't like Ducktown," said Jasmine, to which Cheyenne added, "They don't allow children in the rain."
Amarins said the helpful officer, who may have been a constable, asked the family when they would be stopping again, and implied he might need to take the kids to the station.
"Dad said no," Jasmine said.
But mostly the adventure has been one of positive experiences.
"It's hard to say what our favorite part has been, because so many things have happened," Amarins Summers said. "Jasmine has learned to swim, we've been sailing on the Atlantic, we went horseback riding in Lucedale, we've seen a crocodile and a lot of armadillos."
Much of the joy has been in meeting the people, she said.
"We find these pockets of wonderful people and beautiful towns," she said. "We were going to try to actually go in to Brookhaven but the weather is playing ballgames with us, so we need to go on. We have to be in Natchez tomorrow."
Once the family hits California, they will head north to Alaska, they said. And once that is complete, the sky is still the limit.
"Hopefully we'll be doing a book signing tour next," Bill Summers said.
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©The Daily Leader 2009
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