That’s why they call it the Big Ride!
It’s been a long road, it's been a long ride
Getting from there to here
And ever so quickly, the time has gone by
DC is so very near
And when we are done, I will fly home to Texas
We will all go our separate ways
And people will ask me, “How was the ride?”
And with stories I will relive these days
And when people stop and ask me that question
“What was the Big Ride all about?”
I won’t tell them anything about the hills
I won’t tell them about the route
I will tell them about all the Big Riders
I will tell them about the crew
And if they want to know specifics
I will give them at least thirty two
There was one man we called the A-train
The train everyone wanted to board
It was Andrej the engine that pulled us along
It was Andrej we all adored
And Jeanette was our girl recumbent rider
Who claims to have never been butt-sore
And Caroline who put on a big smile
To go with the braided hair she wore
Jessica and Scott had found each other
You could say it was the perfect cycling romance
What was it that brought them together you ask?
Maybe all of their flats by chance?
There were two gals who mostly rode alone
Erin, the Subway Queen
And Kelsey who frequented all the Starbucks
She had to have her caffeine
There was Beth who was our group medic
She doctored us from head to toe
And Alan our humanitarian
He was the kindest sort of fellow
David and Catherine were never in a rush
They were leaders of the eating out bunch
They had to stop and find a nice meal
Always for breakfast, and sometimes lunch
There was one man whose name was John
Who was young at heart and very wise
And Brian who made us all laugh
For Jeff impressions he wins the prize
Courtney and Jennifer were the sweet-hearted two
With good advice they were both well rehearsed
They may have thought they finished last
But with courage and bravery they finished first.
Lucija and Erwin were quite a pair
Always full of smiles
I’m sure they enjoyed touring the U.S.
And all of its glorious miles
And oh, there was Bruce and Scott, the twins
What a goofy pair
With their matching jerseys, cameras, socks,
Bikes, tents, and helmet hair
There was Chris who had no flats
And David the “I love women” speaker
These two were always casing the town
You might call them the local bar seekers
There was one rider, the Energizer Bunny
I don’t think we ever saw Justine stop
And Paula you could see her a mile away
With her orange Monty bear on top
I think Gray stopped and talked to every local
All the way from Seattle to D.C.
He even got job offers and dates
From Gray, we could learn a thing or three
And I will never forget our handy man
He goes by the name of Steve
He cleaned our bikes, fixed our tents and flats
He even taped our ankles and knees
There was one man who kept a nice journal
To count, record, and keep track
“Did anyone get a flat tire today?”
He goes by the name of Zach
And Ash he was such a ladies man
He had a new line every day
And no one could forget his wink and his smile
And his charming charisma, Eh?
Ah, Matt, he kept us all laughing
He was truly one of a kind
I wish I could hear “It don’t get better than this”
And all his jokes just one more time
There was Joe, he was a hilarious one
You would have thought he was a loon
He did push ups across America
And he could belt out Rocky Raccoon
And then there was this silly old man
Who ate more ice cream than he rode miles
I know every time I eat a Fudgesicle
I will think of Gerry and smile
Katie was my riding companion
She made me laugh and smile every day
And just when I thought I couldn’t go on
She always knew just what to say
And Mark and Sam, the camera guys
Waving at them was forbidden
You could catch them on a bridge or over a hill
And sometimes in the grass well hidden
And there was one man who kept us going
Even when we were in a panic
Some riders called him MacGyver
He’s Alan the super bike mechanic
And so many thanks we owe
Who kept us all watered and cheered us all on
From city park to park
Jeff was the man, the ride director
He knew exactly how to run the show
Without nice meals and the detailed route maps
We wouldn’t ever know where to go
Jeff kept us going with a thumbs-up and a smile
If you needed a hand, Jeff knew
I’m not sure he really realized it
But he made all our dreams come true
And me, I’m the luckiest girl in the world
I knew I had a big family from the start
I will package up all of my memories with you
And I’ll store them right here in my heart
I now see why they call it the BIG RIDE
It’s not the distance that we’ve traveled
It’s the lifetime of friendships that are so HUGE
It’s the BIG stories that will be unraveled
It’s the GIGANTIC hearts of the riders and crew
It’s the ENORMOUS sense of pride
It’s the GREAT BIG family that I now have
That’s why they call it the BIG RIDE!
