Angela Soley biked from St. Paul, Minnesota, to Marblehead to be a bridesmaid in her friend’s wedding at St. Michael’s Episcopal Church on Aug. 16.
Julia Louise Kingsley grew up in Marblehead but now lives in Sacramento. Soley and Kingsley met at Occidental College in Los Angeles and have remained close friends ever since.
Soley embarked on her trip on July 17 and arrived in Marblehead on Aug. 10 after biking 2,000 miles through Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Canada, New York and Massachusetts. The journey was completed on a Trek Checkpoint ALR 15.
Soley, 31, wanted a challenge, and as a therapist, something to get her away from sitting at her computer all week. She was also inspired by her mother, who has biked from Oregon to Boston.
Soley packed lightly, bringing just two outfits. She biked in yoga pants to protect her skin from the sun and only did laundry once during her trip. Soley continued to work on Mondays and Tuesdays, which also served as a much-needed physical break from biking over 100 miles per day.
With her computer gear, cooking and camping equipment, Soley’s bike weighed 85 pounds. On her last day of travel, she found herself dragging her bike through a creek with water up to her knees. She also got a flat tire, but a kind woman biking past Soley helped her fix it so she could finish her trip.
She often ate at diners and relied on Clif bars and cherries for an energy boost. She charted the trip’s path herself, using Google Maps to navigate, and biked on a combination of roads, trails and gravel paths. Soley said Wisconsin was the hardest part of her trip because of the hills.
“Some of those roads are called ‘the roller coaster.’ It’s just up and down,” she said.
Soley also found biking through the Amish country, with its gravel roads, to be difficult.
There were times she wasn’t sure where she was going to sleep. Once, two pitbulls started chasing her, biting at her ankles. But, for every hardship there was an abundance of reward.
“I met so many kind people. They were surprised I was doing this alone, and they were so helpful,” Soley said. “It was a cool inner energy exercise. I learned not to get caught up in each difficulty and stay focused on the goal.”
She noted that some people offered her the option to camp in their yards and gave her water and food. One time, Soley camped in a church yard. She woke up to footsteps outside her tent and found out the pastor had called the police on her. When Solely explained her reason for camping in their yard, the pastor offered her food and water and let Soley brush her teeth inside the church. The officer gave her well wishes for the remainder of her trip.
The kindness of strangers fueled Soley’s trip. When asked about her future plans, Soley seemed excited about the unknown. No longer tied down to an apartment lease, Soley may do another bike trip now that she has the proper gear, and she has friends scattered around the country she could stay with.
“There were so many moments of serendipity on my trip,” she said, smiling. “We can truly make this life anything we want it to be.”
