Cyclists ride coast to coast for a cause

For Tom and Rose (O’Brien) Ramos, no challenge is too steep. Literally.

Tom Ramos, a physicist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), and his wife Rose, who retired last year after 47 years at LLNL, spent their summer traveling coast to coast across the United States. They didn’t take a plane, train, automobile, or motorcycle...they rode their bicycles.

The purpose for the Gate-to-Point ride was two-fold: to raise funds and awareness for Cause USA, a nonprofit organization that supports wounded U.S. military veterans; and to attend Tom’s Class of 1969 45th reunion at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York.

On July 20, they departed from the Presidio in San Francisco with friends John and Nell McBeth of Lafayette, who would drive a support van and share in some of the cycling. Their early morning send-off included family and friends bearing signs and an inspirational talk from John Caldwell of the Cause USA organization.

Following routes they found on the Adventure Cycling Association website, an organization that promotes cycling in America, their trek covered more than 4,000 miles, more than 200,000 feet total climbing and crossing through 14 states.

"I loved having a daily goal and relished in the unknown challenges that came up each day," Rose said. "The steep mountains, varying weather, distance and the charming off road establishments-we never knew what we would encounter next."

During their 11-week, 78-day journey, they were rarely without companionship. They were invited into homes to rest, eat and reinvigorate and were met by friends along the way at various stages who would cycle right along with them.  "My fondest memories of the trip are when we met West Point classmates who drove out to support us with our ride for a day or two," Tom said. "It was great to see a smiling face and to get a big loud greeting from a friend after cycling for days. The hospitality of those who put us up in their homes was terrific."

Those unable to join them physically, followed along in spirit due to updates and frequent posts on Facebook and blogs via Tumblr and the 2014 Cause Warrior Ride website.

They completed their Gate-to-Point ride arriving at West Point on Oct. 5, in plenty of time for Tom's 45th class reunion on Oct. 9. "This experience was a great opportunity to meet new people, learn about other cultures and their customs and to really see life from the back roads of America," Rose said. "It was an honor to support a great cause and it was exciting to celebrate Tom's 45th West Point reunion with his fellow classmates.  We all felt like celebrities."

"Once we got home, it took a little while to get used to not having the excitement of going out to see new things each day," Tom said. "I miss the adventure of starting out in the morning on the bike and seeing parts of the country for the first time. Each state was really beautiful in its own way, and it was exciting to experience the countryside at 10 mph."

For most, this would be a once in a lifetime experience, however, for Rose, this was actually the second time she has made the trip. In 2005, she joined fellow Lab employee Celeste Matarazzo and retired teacher Janis Turner and biclycled across America raising awareness  for the Hope Hospice Organization.

"It was interestingly different riding only with other women in 2005," Rose said. "Celeste, Janis and I always enjoyed our surroundings; we were never in a great rush to finish the day's ride, but instead enjoyed taking a moment to get that unique photo and taking in the scenic views. We never felt we had a mission that required us to hurry, we only knew that we had eight weeks before we had to be back to LLNL and that in the meantime we wanted to have fun."

Life is getting back to normal for the Ramos’. "It has taken me a few weeks to catch up on my rest," Rose said. "It seemed like I pushed myself quite hard during the last week of the ride but am now feeling great and back to enjoying the rides around the Livermore valley."

Both Tom and Rose said they would love to do it again, however, next time, they would love to see other parts of the country.  "Montana has transformed its old railroad tracks into bike paths and the paths go through spectacular scenic areas of the state. Taking a week to go through Montana, or parts of Canada would be awesome," Tom said. They are currently planning on cycling in Portugal in the spring.

They raised $18,000 for Cause USA benefitting wounded veterans and their families. Donations are still being accepted. If you would like to donate, visit the Cause USA Warrior Ride website.

Several media outlets covered their journey. See those articles below:

The Independent:

• ‘Loneliest Road’ Not So Lonely Livermore Bicycle Couple Finds
• Livermore Couple Continues Bike Ride, Now Crossing Utah
• Livermore Couple Starts Coast to Coast Bike Ride

Contra Costa Times:

• Livermore couple pedaling 4,200 miles to West Point reunion

Hutchnews.com (Hutchinson, Kansas):

• Cross-country bike trek to wind up at West Point