This year’s Witt’s Warriors Challenge, the 7th annual, was incredibly tough. But it is complete. My buddy, Max Fort, and I set out to cycle the entire Natchez Trace Parkway from Natchez Mississippi to Nashville Tennessee (444 miles). I can’t wait to tell you all about our ride but today I want to tell you about my friends and family. People whose support and encouragement carried me through this challenge. These same friends have come to know what this annual challenge means to me and have showed up year after year to stand by my side and support me in these challenges.
Max Fort
First and foremost there is Max. A year ago when I dreamed up this challenge I think Max was a little apprehensive about the challenge. The plan was pretty ambitious and I think there were a few things that he wasn’t sure about (like sleeping in hammocks). He was interested but not sold on it. But when my family put their foot down and said I wasn’t doing this alone Max said alright I’m in.
Preparing for the challenge wasn’t easy for Max. First, he had to spend a few hundred dollars on the equipment he would need for the ride. Then, he had to try and squeeze training into an incredibly busy schedule with his new job. When the day came to leave for Natchez, Max was admittedly undertrained and I know that had him worried but he didn’t back down.
Then came the ride. On the first day we rode for ten hours in brutal heat and pulled into our first campsite in the dark, dehydrated, and completely exhausted. As we setup camp that night we talked and both were very concerned about our ability to complete this ride. I don’t think either of us believed we had a shot at finishing this. We got a little bit of sleep that night and started day two worried but hopeful. Day two was a little bit easier – mainly because it was a shorter day and we had access to cold water and supplies along this stage of the ride. In camp, I slept pretty good on the second night – so soundly that when Max had a bad asthma attack it didn’t wake me up. We woke up well before sunrise the next morning so that we could pack up camp and be on the road when the sun came up. That third day literally broke Max. We were on the bike for over eleven hours that day. Most of that in blistering heat with no access to cold water or food. By midday Max had developed pressure sores that were so bad that he couldn’t sit on his seat. Anyone else would have thrown in the towel at that point but Max kept pedaling. He tried to compensate by keeping his rear off the seat but that caused his back to strain. With two hours to go before we reached our stop for the night it got dark and started raining. At first it just sprinkled and it was a bit refreshing. But then it started pouring rain. It rained so hard we could only see the white stripe marking the shoulder of the road. Every time a car approached we were completely blinded by their headlights. It was unsafe and we needed to stop but there was nowhere to stop – no shelter for 25 miles. Max was exhausted and suffering but he kept pedaling. At one point he drifted back a hundred yards or more and I didn’t notice. I slowed and let him catch up and asked if he was ok. He told me that he was about to pass out. I watched him closely after that and kept telling him to keep it on the road, don’t crash now, and we’re almost there. Finally, we made it to Collinwood where we had rented an Airbnb for the night.
Rest and refueling at Tishomingo State Park
It was an extremely long and difficult day. Once we got dried off and got some food in us (our first meal since breakfast) Max told me he was done. I knew it was coming. He had fought so hard for hours through heat, lack of water, hunger, pressure sores, darkness, and rain. I completely understood and was just so thankful that Max had been there by my side for the first three days. I thought about that first night – how dehydrated, tired, and defeated we were. I know with absolute certainty that had I been alone I would have quit then. Max had supported me through 379 long hard miles and I will remember that forever.
Andy Johnson and Tony Alger
With Max out my family and friends knew that meant that I would be riding the last stage (90 miles) alone. With thunderstorms in the forecast it looked to be another difficult day on the bike. I didn’t want to ride in thunderstorms and darkness so I planned to leave Collinwood at first light. But when I woke up at 5am and saw that the forecast had changed I hurried and got dressed and hit the road – alone and in the dark. Shortly after sunrise I was pedaling up a hill when an oncoming car slowed and stopped out in front of my path. As I approached they rolled down the window and it was my friends Andy Johnson and Tony Alger. The night before Andy had offered to drive down and pick us up in Collinwood. I wasn’t ready to quit yet and Max’s wife would be on the way to pick him up in the morning so I told him “thanks but no thanks”. But Tony seized on Andy’s offer and told Andy to pick him up in the morning and drive him and his bike down to meet me so he could ride in with me. They must have left Franklin at 5am and met me about ten miles outside Collinwood. They brought me coffee, snacks, and plenty of water for the ride in. Tony unloaded his bike and we started pedaling. For eighty miles Tony rode along side – listening to the stories from our first three days on the Trace and offering encouragement when my legs wanted me to quit. Seven hours later we reached the terminus and were met by my family at the Loveless Cafe. I invited Tony to join us in a meal at the Loveless but Tony politely declined and hopped back on his bike for the ten mile ride home – his job was done and he needed to get back home to his family. But shortly after we arrived Andy and his whole family showed up to congratulate me and share a meal with us. I am so blessed to call Tony and Andy my friends and Brothers in Christ.
Kristen Fisher
Anyone who knows Kristen knows that she is one of the most encouraging and supportive people you will ever meet. Whatever your goals are in life Kristen will be there to cheer you on. Kristen had participated in five of the preceding challenges – only missing the one that predated our friendship – and had always been a huge supporter of me in these challenges. This year she had planned to join us in riding the final stage but due to kids activities and other conflicts was unable to do so. But, that didn’t mean she wasn’t going to support us. Knowing that water, food, and encouragement would be greatly needed on this final stage Kristen drove down and met us 50 miles into the final stage. She brought a car load of food, water, coke, and gatorade. We pulled off and refilled all our water bottles and ate a snack with Kristen and her daughter Riley and then got back on the road. As we started moving again we began to see messages that Kristen and Riley had written with sidewalk chalk on the road – some were funny and other were encouraging. It made us laugh and picked me up.
Is your bum sore?
About 25 miles from the end we stopped at Garrison Creek and followed the sidewalk chalk messages directing us to a picnic table where Kristen had left a cache of water, ice, snacks, gatorade, and cokes. This last refuel was much needed and lit the engines for the last 25 miles. As we approached the terminus we saw two helium balloons tied to the roadside signs with a final message written in chalk on the road – a funny reference to the night before when riding in the rain and how I ran over hundreds of frogs that had hopped out into the road. We laughed, tied the balloons to our bikes, and rode on to the Loveless Cafe where we were greeted by my family. I am truly thankful for Kristen’s encouragement and support. She is an amazing example of how we should lift each other up in life.
Food cache
My family
For seven years now I’ve been taking on these crazy challenges. Every year they get more and more difficult. Each year they require more time, training, preparation, and sacrifice. I try my best to work these challenges and the training they require into our family’s schedule and try to maintain a good family/work/training balance but I know sometimes they sacrifice. I know that with each year they increase the stress and worry on my family. But they know what these challenges mean to me and they offer me so much support and encouragement. They are always there to cheer me on and my kids always write me the sweetest notes of encouragement for the times when I’m struggling. This year their notes picked me up several times during the ride. I hope that they truly understand what these mean to me and hope that they find some inspiration in them. To my mom and dad, Alison, Riley, Ellery Kate, and Witt – I love you all so much and I’m so thankful for all of your support and encouragement. I could never do this without you.
Finished
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