Green Bay couple recount their tandem bicycle adventure following Route 66 cross-country
ASHWAUBENON - Maybe the book should come with a warning sticker: Caution, reading this may spur you to drop everything to ride a bike across the country with someone you love.
It's called "Bicycling Historic Route 66: Our Adventure Crossing the USA on a Bicycle Built for Two" and it's written by cycling advocates Tracy and Peter Flucke of Ashwaubenon. Released in late September, the book recounts the couple's journey in 2016 from their home to the Santa Monica Pier in California. It took them 49 days to pedal the 2,603 miles.
The ride was an impressive feat of physical endurance, especially considering as they crossed the deserts of New Mexico and Arizona they had to push through oppressive heat and prevailing headwinds that would often be in excess of 30 mph, plus options for water and food were few and far between.
But maybe more remarkable is that they were able make it through those mentally and physically exhausting days riding together on a tandem bike, which requires a high-level of trust, coordination and communication. Any kind of travel can lead to bickering among even the closest of couples; riding a tandem across the country might just be the ultimate stress-test for a marriage.
Peter is the captain on the bike, which means he's choosing how to make turns, when to brake and shift gears. Tracy is the stoker, providing pedal power, and the navigator, determining their overall course.
"I think, as a couple, yeah, it can be tough. There are times when I want to kill him," Tracy said.
The majority of their days are spent happily pedaling, sometimes chatting, often with their own thoughts in comfortable silence.
"I find being on the back of a tandem to be just a gas," Tracy said.
Cultivating an adventurous spirit
"Bicycling Historic Route 66" isn't a how-to book, although readers will get plenty of tips and strategies about how to go approach their own cycling travels. It's not exactly a tour book, although Peter and Tracy offer plenty of information about attractions along the old highway. It certainly isn't a cliffhanger, because you know from the get-go that the Fluckes were successful in reaching the goal.
"I'd say it is an adventure book," Tracy said. "It's about our adventure riding Route 66."
You'd be hard pressed to find any couple more suited to adventuring on a tandem bike than Tracy and Peter. Camping and sports have been part of their lives since they were children. That didn't change after they got married in 1987.
They spent the early years of their marriage in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota. Tracy worked as a program manager for the Minnesota Sports Federation. Peter became a park ranger for the Suburban Hennepin Regional Park District, a law-enforcement officer with emergency medical technician training. Two years into the job, he pitched the idea to use bicycles to patrol the parks. He got training and was part of one of the first police bike patrols in Minnesota.
Tracy and Peter also participated in their first multi-day bike tour while they lived in Minnesota, a three-day fundraiser for the American Lung Association in 1991. Their first daughter, Melissa, was about 6 months old. A support vehicle carried their camping gear, and Peter pulled Melissa in a bike trailer. Even as rain poured down, they kept Melissa warm and dry.
"We warmed baby bottles in gas station microwave ovens, changed cloth diapers along the side of the road, camped in city parks, and had a wonderful time," Peter wrote in the introduction of "Bicycling Historic Route 66."
Peter said he burned out on law enforcement by 1993 when the family moved to the Green Bay area. Tracy started a new job as director of parks, recreation and forestry for Ashwaubenon. Peter focused on building WE BIKE, etc. LLC, a consulting business that specializes in engineering, education, enforcement and advocacy for walking, cycling and healthier communities.
Peter and Tracy discover the joys of the tandem
Their second daughter, Alexandra, was born in 1995, and around that time Peter and Tracy purchased their first tandem bicycle. That bike allowed them to go on rides as a family. Tracy would pull Alexandra in a trailer and Melissa would ride behind Peter on the tandem.
The couple started to ride the tandem together after Tracy decided she wanted to participate in a 100-mile ride. Peter said she suggested they try riding it on the bike built for two.
"We discovered we really liked riding the tandem together," Peter said.
They started doing more trips together — some longer, others shorter — biking to breweries across the state, visiting relatives.
Tracy had earned a master's degree in public administration and became an administrator for Harrison, then Allouez. Putting in long hours in politically turbulent times was taking its toll. The couple decided they could afford for her to leave the job and work more with Peter with WE BIKE.
The change allowed them to do their first cross-country bike trip, from the Pacific coast in Washington state to the Atlantic coast in Maine. They blogged and posted on social media about that journey, and after they returned and recovered, it spurred them to write their first book, "Coast to Coast on a Tandem: Our Adventure Crossing the USA on a Bicycle Built for Two."
Their next trip crossed the country from north to south. They went from Green Bay to International Falls, Minnesota, then down to the headwaters of the Mississippi River at Itasca State Park. They followed the river south all the way to New Orleans and the Gulf of Mexico.
When they arrived at the southernmost point in Louisiana, Tracy asked Peter where he wanted to go next. He told her about his scheme to ride Route 66 and soak in some history.
"Sounds good to me," she responded.
Riding on America's quintessential highway
Route 66 is an iconic American road. Its development began in 1926 as part of the nation's first highway system. Mom and pop businesses sprung up along the way to cater to traveling motorists. At the time, rickety cars didn't go a whole lot faster than Tracy and Peter did on their bike, Peter joked.
They loved taking in the history and sweeping scenery for which the old motorway is known.
"It was just fun. We saw such weird things," Peter said. "The Americana is undeniable and probably at its finest."
They saw plexiglass sculptures of giant whales and figures like the muffler man, a cowboy holding a muffler, all designed to catch the eyes and business of motorists during the road's heyday.
They camped, stayed in motels and used an organization called Warm Showers, an online community that connects cyclists with homeowners (often long-distance cyclists themselves) who agree to put them up.
In the book, Peter and Tracy take turns telling stories about what they experienced along the way. They include information about parks, landmarks and other attractions.
The greatest compliment they received, they said, came from people who told them reading the book was like being on trip with them.
At the core of it all, Peter and Tracy hope they can inspire people to get out on their own bikes and find their own adventures. It doesn't need to be across the country, Peter said — it can be as simple as using a bike to go get some milk.
"Basically, we're public servants," Peter said. "How do we make our communities happier, healthier? How do we show them how the bicycle improves the quality of life?"
They hope to share the joy they find out on the bike. Yes, their trips can be grueling. Yes, nerves can get frazzled. But the positives eclipse the negatives, they said, and make it all worthwhile.
For example, riding a tandem bike can be challenging. But when things go right, and they do all the time, it can feel splendid, Peter said.
"Being on the tandem is a lot like ballroom dancing," Peter said. "If you are in sync with someone on the dance floor, there's nothing better."
How to buy the book 'Bicycling Historic Route 66'
People can purchase Tracy and Peter Flucke's book through their website, webike.org. It's also available on Amazon.
Keith Uhlig is a regional features reporter for USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin based in Wausau. Contact him at 715-845-0651 or kuhlig@gannett.com. Follow him at @UhligK on X, formerly Twitter, and Instagram or on Facebook.
This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Peter and Tracy Flucke recount riding Route 66 on a tandem bike
