Tom Gray

Pedaling Tom Gray

In 1976 seventeen year old Tom Gray dreamt of pedaling coast to coast from New York City to San Francisco, a self-supported adventure into the unknown. Then responsibilities came; college, a family, a house, the burning in his gut to advance in his career. The romantic notion of seeing America from the seat of a bicycle, a dream that once drove a young boy, faded quietly into his adult past. Three decades later at forty-four he unknowingly walked into his office for the last time, a victim of corporate resizing. Shocked and questioning his self-worth, his termination put in motion events that would change him in ways he never expected. Not knowing it at the time, his wife saved him by rekindling the dream. It started with a call to CrossRoads Cycling Adventures and what followed was an amazing personal journey that tested both his physical and mental ability to survive nearly fifty days pedaling with other like-minded adventurers from Los Angeles to Boston. He embraced America at a slow pace; he engaged in lively conversations, and he discovered the "unique" in every town. Alone in the wide open he was free to let his mind drift and it was good for his soul. He struggled and he celebrated, but more importantly the boy in him awakened, and it was the boy who led him to the Atlantic. His story didn't end in Boston; it began there. His personal journey, his transformation to see the world through a different lens is why this cross country endeavor was so important. It wasn't about the bike; the bike was just a vehicle to finding himself.