Finding Adventure Above And Below Ground

“You have to be resourceful to go RVing, because you come to unexpected places, unexpected situations . . . ” Roger said. He and his wife, who live in Beavercreek, Ohio, began motorhoming in 2009 when they bought a 1995 Roadtrek 190 Popular, a Type B motorhome that three previous owners had driven 82,000 miles. Since then, Roger and Lynn have tacked on another 100,000.  

 

But long before they became motorhomers, the Bruckers often found themselves in unexpected places and situations, thanks to a shared passion for caving. Lynn borrows a line from “Star Trek” when she says caving offers the chance “to go where no man has ever gone before.” Adds Roger: “It’s fun to get involved in trying to solve a puzzle that’s bigger than you are.”

 

The three-dimensional puzzle that Roger has been helping to solve for much of his life isn’t just big, it’s mammoth. At 405 miles, Mammoth Cave, in south-central Kentucky, is the world’s longest. And Roger has been a key figure in helping to expand its known reaches.

 

“When you are exploring a cave,” he said, “the cave is sometimes small and you can understand it in one or two trips. Mammoth Cave just goes on and on and on. So, after years of exploring and surveying, we’re still finding new parts of it.”

 

Roger began his subterranean explorations in the Mammoth Cave area in the 1950s. Since then, he has become a caving legend. He once spent an entire week underground as part of a National Speleological Society expedition. A few years ago, a “CBS Evening News” feature story described him as “American caving’s top name over the last half-century.” 

 

He has written or cowritten five books: The Longest Cave (with Richard Watson); The Caves Beyond: The Story Of Floyd Collins’ Crystal Cave Exploration (with Joe Lawrence Jr.); Trapped: The Story Of Floyd Collins (with Robert Murray); Beyond Mammoth Cave: A Tale Of Obsession In The World’s Longest Cave (with James Borden); and Grand, Gloomy And Peculiar: Stephen Bishop At Mammoth Cave.

 

Roger has spent countless hours caving, but it is not his vocation. He retired from a business-to-business advertising agency and from teaching marketing at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio. In 1983 he married Lynn, an electronics engineer who retired from the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton.

 

They first met underground. Sort of. They were not in a cave, but in a Beavercreek, Ohio, basement where one of Roger’s friends had set up a cave “map factory” with drawing boards, plotting equipment, and the like. 

 

“I thought Lynn was the best storyteller I had run into,” Roger said. “I thought, anybody who can fix her own car and tell stories like that is somebody to get to know.”

 

Lynn had been caving for several years before meeting Roger. An avid bicyclist since high school, she ventured on her first caving trip one weekend when her bike club had no good rides scheduled.

 

“We got thoroughly soaked and thoroughly muddy. But it was rather intriguing in a lot of ways,” she said. 

 

It’s fair to say that neither Lynn nor Roger suffers from claustrophobia. Still, both have experienced some scary moments underground.

 

Lynn once crawled head-down into a hole that led to a twisting passageway. When it was clear that further exploration was futile, she had trouble backing out. And then she realized no air was circulating in the hole. “That was a little bit panicky,” she said, matter-of-factly.

 

Roger recalls exploring an underground river in Floyd Collins’ Crystal Cave, now part of Mammoth Cave. When his group began crossing a stream at what appeared to be a dangerous place, Roger decided to play it safe by proceeding on his hands and knees.

 

In the middle of the stream, he suddenly slipped headlong into a hole. Down he went, into the cold water. Don’t panic, he told himself. He floated toward the surface, but hit an underwater ledge. In darkness, his hands desperately searched for the hole he had fallen through.

 

“After what seemed like a minute or two — but I’m sure it was 20 or 30 seconds — I popped into the air, and I could breathe,” he said.

 

“Oh, going swimming?” one of his fellow explorers remarked. “Put on your bathing suit.” 

 

Above ground, the Bruckers’ adventures have included a number of long-distance bicycle rides. Among them: a 3,200-mile ride on a tandem bike from San Diego, California, to St. Augustine, Florida, in 2000; an 865-mile ride from Dayton, Ohio, to Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, in 2003; and a 1,280-mile ride from Dayton to Bar Harbor, Maine, in 2004.

 

A bike carrier on the front of their Roadtrek motorhome hauls their foldable bikes. They enjoy riding around RV campgrounds, meeting others, swapping stories.

 

“RVers generally are pretty gregarious people,” Roger said. “We’ve met lots of interesting people. We get to know some of them.”

 

Most of them own motorhomes that are much larger than the Bruckers’ Roadtrek, which is nicknamed Red Rover. But the couple said that with the modifications they’ve made — details are at www.redroverroadtrek.com — Red Rover suits them perfectly. And when compared to some of the tiny, narrow spaces where caving has taken them, Red Rover is downright roomy. The Bruckers sometimes take a couple of their four standard poodles along on trips.

 

Roger, who will turn 87 in July, said that he and Lynn “have enjoyed exploring the world together, and telling people about it. Part of the fun of this is writing so others can read about it and look at the pictures we make.” The Bruckers regularly contribute articles and photos to Roadtreking.com. 

 

“A lot of the enjoyment (of RVing) comes from seeing something new,” Lynn said.

 

Indeed, for a couple with insatiable curiosity, “The love of finding new things in life is one way to keep alive,” Roger said. 

 

In the coming months, we will profile FMCA members with interesting backgrounds, hobbies, occupations, and volunteer experiences, and we’ll highlight some of their on-the-road adventures. If you know members whose stories beg to be told — and yes, you can nominate yourself — let us know and we’ll consider featuring them. Tell us a little about them and send contact information (email address and/or phone number) to Associate Editor John Johnston, jjohnston@fmca.com. Or write him at Family Motor Coach Association, 8291 Clough Pike, Cincinnati, OH 45244.