Originally printed in the 06/15/04 issue of The Linton Daily Citizen
By Nick Schneider, Staff Writer, Linton Daily Citizen
Looking for some real life summertime adventure, two brothers quit their jobs, loaded their bicycles down with necessary supplies and started peddling 19 days ago headed from Southampton, New Jersey to Denver, Col. -- a more than 1,780-mile journey.
On Monday, they made their way through Greene County along State Road 54 through Bloomfield and headed south on State Road 67 at Switz City hoping to make it to the Illinois state line by nightfall.
Tom Birks, who's 32, and his younger brother, Jessie Birks, 24, were all smiles just after they passed over the Veteran's Memorial Bridge, west of Bloomfield on Monday afternoon.
The two well-tanned bicycle riders were enjoying their first "dry" day riding in the last three and the sweltering heat that pushed the thermometer above 90 degrees didn't seem to bother them at all.
"Last night, we thought we were in the Pacific Northwest. It was so foggy and rainy," Jessie said.
When asked what would make two grown, single men quit their jobs and take off on a long cross-country bicycle ride, the answer from Tom was simple.
"For the adventure of it. It's a great way to see the country. You can go at a pace where you can look at the land," he said. "It's seemed like an interesting thing to do."
The brothers try to average 60 to 65 miles a day and said they don't expect to reach their Denver destination for about three and half more weeks.
Their trip has already brought them through south Pennsylvania, Ohio and across south central Indiana.
"We tried to map out the most direct route to Denver," Tom said.
The Birks brothers said they are not complete novices when it comes to bicycling. They have gone on several weekend trips around New Jersey, but this trip is much larger scale than anything they have ever done in the past Both have been riding for more than five years.
"When you do a long trip like this, it takes some planning," Tom stated.
Among the planning that was a prelude to the trip was quitting their respective jobs. Tom worked construction as a carpenter and his younger brother, Jessie, was a copywriter for an advertising agency in South Jersey.
They actually may relocate in the Denver area and had most of their "important possessions" loaded on four backpacks strapped on to each of their bikes. Their other property is stored at their parent's house back in New Jersey.
"We want to see what it's like in Denver and we might move there," Jessie said.
News of the trip, which started May 27, was a surprise to Birks' parents.
"I think our Dad understood, but my Mom just thinks we are crazy. She really couldn't understand it," Tom confessed with a big smile.
"It just seemed like a great way to see the country. If you drive in a car you can't really see the country too well and if you are on the interstate you don't really see any of it," Tom stated.
The brothers try to camp out each night and said they have only enjoyed the luxury of a motel room for one night since they left 19 days ago.
"We pretty much try to find a place to camp or we ask somebody if we can stay on their land if we find a place where it doesn't look like we are going to bother anybody. We stay for the night and pack up in the morning," Tom said.
The physical rigors of the trip require the brothers to eat a high carbohydrate calorie-rich diet and drink plenty of fluids.
"You tend to burn a lot of calories. It's the reverse of the Atkins Diet. We eat all the carbs we can get," a lean and trim Jessie said. "You eat a lot."
They try to stop at grocery stores to pick up food supplies and have enjoyed dining at small homestyle diners along the way.
Traveling through a small town on a bicycle loaded down with backpacks and a sleeping bag has allowed the two New Jersey men to meet some interesting people along the way.
The brothers got a special treat on Sunday with a stop in Bloomington. Both had previously viewed the popular bicycling movie "Breaking Away" that was filmed several years back in Bloomington.
They stopped and talked with a man who took them to his home where a part of the movie was actually filmed.
"We had seen the movie and I knew that is where they filmed it (in Bloomington) and a guy just came up asked where we were coming from and where we were headed ... and he told us that he actually lives in the house where they filmed that movie. He gave us a tour of his house," Tom stated.
They stay in contact with the family members by cell phone and stop nearly every day at a public library along the route and check their e-mail accounts from the public access computers.
"It makes us feel not so alone and still connected back home," Tom added.
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