Karina & Britta Schindler/Swanson

The Route

Hi everyone, Britta here!

Recently I’ve been getting a lot of questions about the route we’ll be taking. With the trip less than two weeks away, I thought now would be a great time to share where we’re heading. 

I’ll be starting in Duluth, MN a few days after I graduate then I’ll head down to Hudson to meet Karina. From there we’ll head through Wisconsin and take the ferry across Lake Michigan into the state of Michigan before heading through Ontario. We’ll then go to Niagara Falls, just like our Grandpa did before crossing through the treacherous hills of New York. Following this, we’ll bike through Vermont, New Hampshire, and at last to our final destination of Maine and the Atlantic Ocean! (Take a look at the top of this post to see the route that takes us through 7 states and 1 province).

For those of you who love looking at the numbers as much as I do, HERE THEY ARE! Our whole trip should be somewhere between 1,500 and 1,600 miles which means we’ll be doing somewhere between 75 and 100 miles of cycling each day. We also plan to incorporate a few rest days/bad weather days which will bring our trip to about 3 weeks in total.

Neither of us would describe ourselves as avid bikers before this, so this will certainly be a good challenge physically and mentally. To prepare for the mileage, Karina and I have been doing what we can training-wise. It’s tricky to make time for adequate training being busy with school, internships, and work. Much of my training has taken place on a stationary bike inside, so it’s been great to have nice weather in Duluth these past few weeks and get outside! We are hoping the hours upon hours and miles upon miles of training will pay off.

Though the trip is sure to bring some grueling moments of anger, frustration, tiredness, annoyance, etc. Karina and I know that we’re doing this for something bigger than ourselves.

For anyone interested the news station, Decorah News, from my hometown wrote a story on what we’re up to! https://decorahnews.com/news/11518/local-cousins-to-bike-to-portland-maine/ 

Also this Sunday (4/28) at 7 am, WCCO will have a little clip on what Karina and I are up to.

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The King of Bikes; Our Inspiration

Hello Loyal Supporters, 

 Karina here, coming to you today with a blog post. While it may be the most difficult one to write due to the personal nature of the topic, it might also be one of the most important ones we write. Today, I would like to share with you part of the inspiration behind this trip by introducing you to our Grandpa. To do this we will have to go back a few years. So now I invite you to join me in some sweet memories and laughs... 

Growing up, as the youngest in both of our families, Britta and I were thrust into the ever-so-chaotic lifestyle that is our family. It didn’t matter if it was hockey, soccer, running, biking, canoeing, or whatever else you can even think of, if it was active and outdoors, there was always a Schindler or a Swanson involved. Eventually, once Britta and I could stand up, we were right there keeping up with everyone else. At the head of the pack, stood our Grandpa, Richard “Dick” Schindler—the mastermind of the whole operation- towering in at a whopping 5’ 6”. 

For those of you who don’t know this man, he was invincible. He faced every challenge head-on. It didn’t matter what type of obstacle it was; fitness, family, or his work at the hospital. Somehow, he always came out of it with even more shredded calves than when he started. (I like to say that I have his legs, but then again, I am also just as short as he was.)

Almost 13 years ago, he and a team of 5 others embarked on the 3000-plus mile journey from Portland, Oregon to Portland, Maine. They rode to honor one of their dear friends, Dan Ulwelling and to raise money for the Hormel Institute of Austin. And our own journey will serve as a tribute to not only him but the rest of the team as well and the feat that they accomplished. 

For as far back as I can remember, if you thought of Grandpa, you thought of bikes too. It was his passion in his life, other than his family and being a physician. It was one of his true loves. He passed that love down from generation to generation. My dad, Erik, is the oldest offspring of the dynasty. My dad shared his intense passion for cycling and eventually, the lines started to blur between father/son and training buddies between them. They were as much friends as they were father and son when they were clipped in. 

His love of bikes origin story starts on a farm in Barnesville, Minnesota. He came from a farming family. So he had that natural, functional strength that comes from farm chores. And one day, he decided he needed a bike. And what does one do when one needs a bike but can’t afford to buy a new one? Well, he started to collect a ton of parts and an old frame that he found somewhere and built his first bike. A rickety old, single-speed bike. But it got the job done. Back then nobody locked their bikes up at all, especially a bike patched together like his was. But sure enough, there came a time when someone stole that pieced-together old bike. He always said that the person who took it needed it a lot more than him if that's the bike they stole! But really, this all just shaped him into being the compassionate human that he was. 

Our Grandpa’s impact stretched much farther than on two wheels. He was a doctor within the Mayo Clinic Health System for many years. He was described as having an impressive and unique ability to make all of his patients feel special. He always had a curiosity for learning and his brain was never satisfied. He craved knowledge and experience. Again, a quality that seemed to be passed down to his kids and grandchildren. 

There are 9 of us grandchildren in total. All of us share his passions and drive in life. And now, Britta and I hope to honor his legacy of unwavering strength and braveness as we trek from Minneapolis to Maine. And as we drink chocolate milk after every ride as they did, we will know that he is smiling as big as the country, with his warm crinkle around his eyes and crushing us in his signature bear hug.