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Peter Doubilet and Carol Benson's 3,800-mile bike tour across the country begins at 75 Francis St. earlier this week
There are two rules for the teaching portion of Carol Benson and Peter Doubilet’s three-month sabbatical: They won’t accept any form of payment for their lectures, and they won’t be wearing their finest attire.
That’s because volunteering to teach at 13 medical centers is part of their 3,800-mile cross-country bike trip, as they lecture on obstetrical ultrasound and help Radiology residents prepare for the specialty board exams during the next 12 weeks. The radiologists, who are married, hopped on their Trek Pilot bikes after a farewell breakfast with their colleagues in Ultrasound on April 20 and began the first leg of their long journey.
“For us as a couple, it’s our longest bike trip,” said Doubilet, MD, PhD, senior vice chair of Radiology. “Every summer, we take a 900-mile trip for 15 days, so this is a longer version of our annual trip.”
The radiologists timed their trip to coincide with the intense preparation of fourth-year radiology residents for their boards, which are held each year in late May or early June. “Both of us teach and lecture all over the world, and we love it,” Doubilet said.
Their teaching stops include Yale University, Columbia University, Cornell University, Brown University, University of Chicago, Mayo Clinic and others.
In their free time, Doubilet and Benson, MD, the BWH director of Ultrasound and co-director of High-Risk Obstetrical Ultrasound, will write the second edition of their academic textbook “Atlas of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology.”
Preparing for a trip of this magnitude involved a great deal of planning and coordination. “We had three phones going while we looked at our route map and the internet to plan each stop,” said Benson, whose parents used to organize long bike trips for large groups. “We plan to go about 55 miles a day, so we needed to map every road we are going to take and book lodging nearby.”
They examined a map with topography of every road in North America to determine whether the road is flat or mountainous. They will use handlebar GPS devices to ensure they stay on their planned route, which involves biking 400 miles from Boston to Philadelphia. Then, they will fly to Oregon and bike another 3,400 miles back to Philadelphia, teaching and writing during stops along the way.
They also needed to take into account the weight of their luggage and packed as lightly as they could. “We’ll have enough clothes for three days and then do laundry at our hotels,” Doubilet said.
One item both are packing is a computer, so they can blog about their adventure along the way. “We thought at least our kids would want to follow our progress and see a picture of where we are,” Benson said.
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Follow along at http://pdoubilet.blogspot.com/