Metro Roundup: A ride to remember: Birmingham author pens new book

Author Sean Dietrich and his wife, Jamie, finally followed through with a plan they came up with early in their marriage.

And being the writer he is, Dietrich decided to write about it.

“You Are My Sunshine: A Story of Love, Promises, and a Really Long Bike Ride” will be released on Oct. 11.

The couple had only been married a few years when Jamie had a health scare in 2006. She made Dietrich promise that they would go on a big adventure together one day, and they did, 14 years later.

Dietrich said that life happened and they forgot about the promise — or at least he did. It wasn’t until a fitness magazine mistakenly arrived in the couple’s mailbox that the idea for their bike ride on The Great Allegheny Passage and the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal Towpath trail was born. Dietrich said that magazine article was the catalyst that reminded Jamie about their plan from years before.

To get ready for their bike journey, the couple practiced riding, which Dietrich said added a new element to their relationship. He admitted he’s not coordinated with bikes, so Jamie purchased a used three-wheel trike that he rode the entire trip, even though the terrain definitely wasn’t made for a trike, he said.

The trip took place during the pandemic. Since Dietrich had to cancel all his performances and bookings, it opened up the couple’s schedule to take the trip.

The book takes readers through their 250-plus-mile trail ride across four states and also shares insights on the couple’s relationship.

“This is the first [book] I've done about me and Jamie,” Dietrich said. “I wrote this for her.

I wanted something that showed our relationship dynamic. I feel like it's unique. We don't have kids. She's the boss and I'm the follower. She's the person who plans out every day of her life for the next six years.”

Dietrich said he didn’t go into this planning to write a book. Several of his columns he wrote during the trip were published in local newspapers in the areas where they were riding, and he then became aware that people were interested in what they were doing.

It was about halfway through the ride that he thought it may be a good story. He began by writing about the trek in his notebook, and by the end, it was full and eventually turned into a 50,000-word book.

After completing the manuscript, Dietrich took a train to Pittsburgh, then rented a car to follow the trail again to do some fact checking. He said he couldn’t believe they had completed it, adding that they must have finished slower than everyone else who has ridden the same path.

“About one million people do that trail each year,” Dietrich said. “When you're out there, you realize how cool it is that people put their lives on hold to come out and do this. It's liberating.

I won’t do it again, though.”

Dietrich said he has lost several friends during the past few years, and he became acutely aware that life is short. This trip was a moment in time where he and Jamie were healthy enough and young enough to do it, and even though they may never get the chance to do anything this remarkable again, he will always remember it.

Dietrich has a dozen more events scheduled for this year, several of which are near 280 Living’s coverage area. For more information on the events and the new book, visit seanofthesouth.com.

Sean Dietrich’s column appears each month in 280 Living. Read his latest column "Appreciation for unseen good deeds."