WELCOME TO WISCONSIN, NOW GET
OFF THE ROAD, WAUSAU, WISCONSIN,
JULY 17, 152 MILES
Jack had warned us about the state
troopers in Wisconsin and no sooner had
we entered the state, Paul was listening to
a lecture from The Man himself. He allows
us to jog north a ways and skate on a road
deep in America's dairyland. This unwarm
welcome was definitely overshadowed
when we skated up to the Holiday Inn in
Wausau and saw their huge marquee
beaming with "Welcome to Wausau, Jack,
Paul, Gary and Bob." Our top floor luxury
rooms were waiting with wine and cheese
baskets and congrats from the staff. They
even went so far as to drain the indoor pool,
now that's hospitality!
TOYS AND FERRIES-KIWANEE,
WISCONSIN, JULY 18, 108 MILES
"I can't have you all playin' with your toys
on ma' interstate, my C.B. is going crazy.
Says you're running trucks off the road.
My explanation really got the veins in the
trooper's neck pumping blood and he
repeated with a bark: "Get your toys outa
here!" We hit the backroads again and
skated all the way to the windy shore of
Lake Michigan to link up with the ferry boat
that would float us downstream aways.
Five hours and another time zone, we
wash up on the Michigan shore.
THE GRANDYS, REED CITY, MICHIGAN,
JULY 19, 99 MILES
Our direction is now southeasterly, sort
of a diagonal line directed toward Virginia,
our final destination. The day's mileage
went by rather quickly, mainly because we
feel a sense of it being "all downhill from
here. The group splits up tonight with Gary
and Jack staying with friends from Jack's
trip in 1976, Paul and I staying at Bob and
Gladys Grandy's mobile home. Bob was
struck with M.S. 12 years ago and has
since been confined to a wheelchair, We
talked openly about his disease, how it
changed both their lives, and how he deals
with the frustration often met when he
attempts simple tasks. We ended up talking
late into the night, finally cutting it off to
grab some much needed sleep. The
Grandys, we agreed, were two people we
would remember forever.
SECOND WIND, ALBION, MICHIGAN,
JULY 20, 116 MILES
A new boost of energy is felt throughout
the day, with Paul and I-telling Jack and
Gary about the Grandys. Multiple sclerosis
is a disease which has eluded researchers
with any concrete answers. They think it
might be a viral disease that attacks the
central nervous system leaving small scars
which affect nerve pulses to the brain, thus
causing dizziness, numbness, vision
difficulties and loss of muscular coordina
tion among other things. It afflicts mainly
those between 20 and 40 and, surprisingly.
mainly in the states we were skating
through. Funds raised from our trip through
pledges will help researchers find the
answers needed to end this puzzling
illness.
AMISH LANDS AND FIREFLIES,
ASHLAND, OHIO, JULY 21, 127 MILES
After leaving Toledo and doing some TV
56 Harley with Thrasher sticker.
Gary Fluitt waves to some local oldtimers in W. Virg
interviews and film clips, we find ourselves
skating in terrain resembling the deep
south. There was something about these
farmhouses that just wasn't the same, no
tractors, no running water, no electricity, no
cars, just plain, drab, farmhouses. Our
curiosity was satisfied when we saw a
horse and buggy cruising up the road with
a family of four tucked away under its
canopy. We had entered an Amish
community, filled with people who live in a
pre-industrial way using only their hands
and animal power to survive. The women
dress in colonial garb with the men wearing
big, bushy beards and work clothes. We
were amazed with their lifestyle and
appreciated their dedication.
We had a place saved at the Ashland
College dormitories, so we skated late into
the night. I thought I was getting dizzy on
one of my skate legs, because I was
beginning to see small stars before my
eyes. On closer inspection, I realized they
were huge fireflies, hundreds of them
everywhere, bobbing up and down, low to
the grass. I realized how much of a "city
boy I am and skated into the darkness.
HILLBILLIES AND RACE TACTICS,
WHEELING, WEST VIRGINIA, JULY 22,
116 MILES
You just expected to hear gunshots whiz
across the road from some 100-year-old
family feud. Yep, we were deep in hillbilly
country. Stills, moonshine, 'coons,
possum, you name it, and it was right out
of the storybooks, complete with barefoot
kids and families of 12 who all looked the
same. After getting lost in this backcountry,
we hit Wheeling for the night. Jack Smith,
in his constant roaming for entertainment,
eyes one of those go-cart track playlands
and Team Trans-America" goes into effect.
Skate moves were applied to the track and
people scatter ending with us having the
track to ourselves.
DEATH, SAY 'HOWDY, ELKINS, WEST
VIRGINIA, JULY 23, 81 MILES
We are all suffering from a claus-
trophobia-type feeling from being
surrounded by tall mountains and trees for
the last few days. We are deep in the
Appalachian Mountains today, with plenty
of coal trucks on the road to keep things
interesting. On one downhill run, an empty
coal truck came screaming around a
corner in my lane. I laid it out, slid for about
20 feet, until my wheels grabbed and I
jetted into the roadside bushes. I sat there
for a while, wondering if it was all worth it,
but then continued on. Tensions are
running high today, mainly because the van
smells like a high school gym.
LAST MOUNTAINS, LAST STATE, LAST
INJURY, HARRISONBURG, VIRGINIA,
JULY 24, 97 MILES
Ijammed a stick in the hole on the bottom
of Gary's shoe and he awoke from his nap.
We were at the Virginia border now, just
completing a climb up some 9% grades
and we celebrated with some goofy
photos. Two more days and we will be at
the East Coast shores, running through the
waves, Bum of the day was Gary's bee
sting on the ear, which by the end of the
Jack Smith takes a break on Dan-O's rampMichigan day had swollen to resemble a red hot chile
pepper.
A quick stop at the still thriving Endless Summer Skatepark provided a vertical escape from the roadwork. Resident and ripping was Bill Ferguson, Andrecht
handplant.
Gary's shoes showing some wear.
"GARY, WHAT BE?" RICHMOND,
VIRGINIA, JULY 25, 123 MILES
The day started slow, but picked up a bit
when I witnessed a cow giving birth out in
an open field, I freaked out, with my first
thought being "hot water and clean
sheets," but looking both ways, I realized I
was all alone. I coached the mother to be
with some soothing words from the
barbwire fence and out popped a full-sized
baby calf. Again I realize how much of a
"city slicker" I am and move on down the
road.
Skating into Richmond, we suddenly
realized Gary had taken a wrong turn and
was nowhere to be seen. We looked for
him for a couple of hours as Richmond is
a very big city with a high crime rate, but
had no luck at all. Just when we decided
Gary had become a citizen of Richmond
and we'd never see him again, Paul spotted
Gary's distinctive skating push and
screamed, "Gary, what be?" expecting a
John Fadula blazes his halfpipe in Virginia Beach,
story about being abducted by gypsies or
something. Gary climbs in the van and
says, "I'm hungry."
FINAL DAY, WILLIAMSBURG, VIRGINIA,
JULY 26, 3,000 MILES TOTAL
Our day of triumph is welcomed with
rain, lots of it. We only had 54 miles for the
day but the weather slows us up heavily. It
also killed any type of reception the M.S.
volunteers had planned for us. We quietly
skated into the colonial town square of
Williamsburg and we stared at the sky in
silence, the rain washing our faces as we
realized we were done with a trip that no
one had ever completed.
The next few days were filled with hectic
plans for our return trip home, something
we seemed to have forgotten to plan. We
cruised north towards Detroit after dipping
the noses of our skates in the Atlantic, thus
officially completing the 3,000 mile trek. On
our way north, I stared again out the
Welcome to
Virginite
Last state, last summit Jack, Paul, Bob, Gary.
window of this van and thought of those
responsible for the success of our trip.
Special thanks go out to Paul Dunn and
Jack Smith for their endless hours of
preparation, Peggy Martin and the Multiple
Sclerosis Society for their undying support
and enthusiasm, Bonnie George of Gremic
Skates in Los Gatos for helping make ends
meet, Dodge Trucks for the luxury support
van, Madrid Skateboards (Jerry and Jeff)
for their excellent decks and support,
Spalding Clothing for the cool threads,
Powell/Peralta for the cases of wheels,
Independent, Gullwing, and Tracker tying
together their support in the truck category,
along with Thrasher mag, Transworld mag.
Z Products, Vanguard, Bullfrog, City
Wheels, and Bucci Sunglasses. The
Trans-America team thanks you all, and
asks all skaters to support these com-
panies who cared enough to support us
and the Multiple Sclerosis Society.
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