A former Milwaukee resident living with a heart rhythm disorder recently completed a 2,400-mile cross-country bike trip with two friends that started in Anacortes, Washington, and ended in Milwaukee.Scott Selby, along with frien ds Dale Swindler and Kay Spangler, arrived in Milwaukee on Saturday, Sept. 26, after departing Anacortes, Washington, on Aug. 1. The trio, all over the age of 60, battled cold and hot weather, heavy rain, and wildfire smoke throughout the journey. Swindler said the wildfire smoke proved to be a particularly difficult challenge early on."It got pretty bad, and it affected all of us health-wise and probably me the worst I was actually thinking at one point I had to go home," Swindler said. "They kind of made it an easy day for me right after a rest day. And then, so after about a couple of days, I was ready to go again. But the smoke was probably a bigger issue than the rain, in my opinion." The trip was two years in the making, and the group, which met through their shared love of cycling, mostly followed the Northern Tier route, which is established by the Adventure Cycling Association. It begins in Anacortes, Washington, and ends in Bar Harbor, Maine. The group decided to adjust the route, finishing in Milwaukee, a choice that was no coincidence for Selby. Two of my children still live in the Milwaukee area, so having a destination here made sense for me because I had family here and because I had spent 15 years working in the Milwaukee area," Selby said. "I had a lot of close friends and other cycling friends here in the Milwaukee area."In addition to the journey being physically challenging, it also proved to be mentally challenging and, at one point, nearly made Selby want to turn back. However, Selby said Swindler and Spangler rallied around him and encouraged him to keep going.For Selby, who has atrial fibrillation (AFib), a heart rhythm disorder, that support helped him accomplish something deeply personal."I just proved to myself that, you know, even though I have this condition, it doesn't limit me," Selby said.The support extended beyond the group. Spangler said the trio received encouragement from people along the way, including in Hinsdale, Montana, where a woman outside a local bar recognized them as cyclists and offered to let them spend the night in the basement of the local church. "They bought us beverages, had a great conversation. It turned out that the minister, she showed up with her husband; their granddaughter was there," Spangler said. "The granddaughter's other grandparent was there and kind of, you know, kind of met the whole town in the bar that night. So it was a lot of fun." And while the group rotated between staying at campgrounds, RV parks, and hotels, they also found accommodations with Warm Showers hosts, a global hospitality community for touring cyclists.The trio also made sure to leave plenty of time for sightseeing and exploring, with the Badger State earning its place in the group's busy itinerary."I did not know there was so much to see and do and all the history of Milwaukee. So when we got to the finish line on that Saturday morning," Swindler said. "We spent those next three days, Saturday, Sunday and Monday, touring around Milwaukee." For Spangler, three days in the Badger State were not nearly enough."I'm coming back. I can't wait till next September. I'm going to get with Scott and his wife and my husband, and I think we're going to plan a trip to come back next September," Spangler said. "I like beer. I like trying different beers, so I really enjoyed the couple of beer gardens that we hit, but I want to do more of that. My husband has a German history, so we appreciate the German food." Despite completing their cross-country trip less than a week earlier, Swindler said he's already planning his next one. "I really missed my wife as the trip went along, so I want to do one with her, Swindler said. We've done organized tours with, like, Adventure Cycling together and, of course, a lot of local rides together. But we haven't done a long camping trip together and I wanna do that. The other thing for me is I have been to all 48 states now of the contiguous U.S., so I still want to get to Alaska and Hawaii. Probably won't take our bikes we'll probably rent bikes there."Its about time to watch on your time. Stream local news and weather 24/7 by searching for TMJ4 on your device.Available for download on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and more.Report a typo or error ...read more read less