Life In The Slow Track
by
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New York or Bust
The next big decision we had to make was where we really wanted to go. We had heard that a World's Fair was being constructed out near New York City and we wondered if it could be possible to cycle that far. We had no idea how far it was but we knew it was quite a ways away but we both agreed that it would be a good idea if we made that our goal and this we did. We said it was 'NEW YORK OR BUST' and that's all there was to it; it was 'NEW YORK OR BUST' and that was our motto and goal and the plans started right then.
When we both agreed that we would just camp out and not pay any fee for staying over at any youth hostel it meant that we had to figure out a way to carry all this equipment that would be needed. It meant that we would have to take blankets and some kind of protection from the weather in case of rain. We also needed cooking utensils, a change of every day clothes, probably some dress up clothes, soap and towels (just in case we found a place to take a bath) and everything else which might be needed for a 'who knows how long period of time'. We just didn't know how long we would be gone or how long it would take to even get to New York City; let alone to ever get back home again. Remember this was in the year 1939. These were the years of the Model T's, the Model A's, the Essex, the Packard, the Overland, the Austin, the De Soto and many more, just to mention a few of the now antiques.
We knew that it would be a pretty big pack of goods to tie on to our bikes and even if we were to carry some of it on our backs it would seem that it just couldn't be done; there was just too much stuff. We had to think of another way or maybe shorten up the trip some, but that was out of the question too because by this time the news had leaked out in school that we were going to ride our bicycles to New York City. Our motto was 'New York or Bust' and we were just too darned proud to admit any defeat so it was 'back to the drawing board', so to speak. The news had also leaked out in other areas of the community and people were beginning to talk about it and this too made us all the more determined that we had to go through with our plans.
The only thing we could figure out to solve our problem was to pull trailers behind our bikes and load half of the total weight in each trailer so that neither one would have any extra handicap to overcome. When I refer to bikes I am not talking Harley Davidson's. I'm talking about one-speed bicycles with balloon tires that have pedals that have to be pumped by the weight and strength of the person riding it. We had never heard of 10 speed, 5 speed, 3 speed, or any other kind of speed other than the one speed. If they were available at that time we didn't know about it and besides we didn't have much money and we didn't even have any bikes at the time but said we could probably find something used.
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About the Book
Life In The Slow Track is the unvarnished tale of three Wisconsin country boys out to prove their mettle and conquer the world on a remarkable 1939 balloon-tire bicycle journey to the World's Fair in New York City. Writing with disarming candor and almost total recall 60 years after the fact, author Earl Wichern chronicles the hijinks, triumphs and near tragedies of the fearless threesome of Depression-era teenagers on the highways and byways of an almost forgotten era. The world they encounter and embrace is a far cry from the 21st century, yet some of the lessons learned and values extolled still ring true.
About the Author
Widowed after 50 years, but hale and hearty and newly wed at the age of 78, Earl Wichern can look back on a life of varied business, agricultural, and musical ventures in and around his hometown of Baraboo, Wisconsin. Still, one of the defining events of his life was the 1300-mile bicycle journey he made with high school pals Ken Harvey and Bob Schult in 1939 at the age of 18. Now retired, Earl spends much of his time volunteering and visiting patients at Baraboo area hospitals and nursing homes.