Bike Across America

The proposed first section of the ride.

Photos

I’ve thought about riding across the US, admittedly very sporadically, since 1984 when a friend of mine did it. I was jealous at the time because I didn’t see how I could do it because it would take so much time. I could have taken a leave of absence, I guess. Or taken a lot of time off between jobs. But I feared being out of work for that long. I wish I had had more confidence back then to live a slightly less conventional life. Alas, I can’t change the past, but I can control my future. 

Due to always working and always saving and because of some past regrets and a bucket list that only grows longer, Sheri and I decided to retire this year — shortly after I turned “forty twenty”. I use that phrase to trick myself into thinking I’m middle-aged and can still keep up with my younger friends. Of course, once we hit the trails that fiction dissipates, but it’s useful to my mindset. It’s somewhat depressing to think that I have maybe ten years left of doing big adventures? Loobster is still going strong at nearly 80, but health isn’t a given. Injuries and diseases happen. Hence, the time to get on with things is now. 

The week I retired, according to Strava, I did 29.7 miles of activity, mostly on foot. Since retirement, my weekly mileage has gone like this: 51.8, 60.2, 116.6, 119.6. The last two weeks reflect the bike riding that I’ve been adding. I’ve done scant few training rides for taking on such an endeavor. You’d think that anyone wanting to ride across America would be so into cycling that they already do it every day. Nope. I’m a fair-weather cyclist and don’t ride in the cold. Or the rain. Or the wind. I hope America doesn’t have any of that in the months of June and July…

Two months. That’s what I allocated, completely randomly, for this adventure. I know a single person has ridden the breadth of this nation in under eight days, but, one, I’m not that person, and, two, I hope to have a lot more fun than he did. I chose a route across the northern part of the western US because I haven’t spent much time up there. Then my route will take me to states that I’ve never visited. To add a bit more direction to the trip (along with some checkmarks), I plan to hit the state highpoints of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Maryland. I plan to end in Washington, D.C. where I have a nephew. Also, because, embarrassingly, I’ve never been to my nation’s capitol. And, finally, because “Washington to Washington” (WtW) has a nice ring to it. My buddy Mark would appreciate this homage to a good name because the first thing he does after envisioning a trip isn’t the planning or the packing or the training. The first thing he does is to give it a good name. Check!

This route is over 4000 miles long and has over 80,000 feet of climbing (a remarkably small number for someone that lives in Colorado, as you’ll see). If I allocate 60 days for this and take 10 days for rest and/or weather, I’ll have to average 92 miles a day. Average. That’s 644 miles a week. Every week. I just had my most voluminous week at 119 miles. It reads like a failure waiting to happen. On the other hand, if I can ride every day, it’s more like 70 miles a day and if I ride 7 hours a day — just 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. — I only need to average 10 miles per hour. 10 mph! Now it sounds almost reasonable. 

It’s a big unknown for me. I’ve never tried to ride so many miles every day. I took up bike racing for three years and was really dedicated for one year, which was actually only seven months worth of serious riding. I didn’t approach this kind of mileage. I wasn’t that good either. Maybe I should have ridden more. Will my legs hold up, day after day? Currently, I’m much more worried about my neck and butt. Both have been sore after my training rides. But that’s what makes this an adventure, albeit a tame one: the unknown.

Tame because I have an ace in the hole: Sheri. She’s game for following me in our Jeep, with all our clothes, food, camping supplies, and even a spare bike. All I need to do it pedal each day without carrying anything more than I would for a long ride from my house. Sheri will run and bike (we have one for her too) whenever it moves her. She’ll break camp, meet me for lunch, and find our next camping spot. Our plan is to camp a few nights and then hit a motel, but we’ll see what works for us. 

In fact, the whole trip will be an exploration of what works for us. The goal is Washington, D.C., but it’s just one of many goals and it isn’t the most important goal. Our prioritized goals are:

    1. Be loving partners to each other.

    2. Have fun.

    3. See new places at a slow pace.

    4. Hit some state highpoints.

    5. Ride as much as I can from Washington to Washington

Sunday, May 29, 2022

Sheri picked our departure date to be the middle of Memorial Day weekend, to hopefully minimize some of the traffic. It should also work out nicely that the WtW ride will start on June 1. To get some exercise before sitting in the car for ten hours, I decided to ride thirty miles to Mead, which is just off I-25 and hence easy for Sheri to pick me up. I did almost all the packing the night before and then finished things off on the morning of departure. 

I was riding before 6:30 a.m. and that made for quiet streets, even on major thoroughfares. Strava found me a nice bike path further north and I had a very pleasant ride, helped by the overall descent and a tailwind. In one neighborhood I saw a fox cross the road with a bunny in its mouth and thought, “We need more foxes in Rock Creek…”

The pick-up with Sheri went well except that my phone died and when Sheri was a tiny bit late, I wondered if I was in the right spot or not. It was a good lesson. I need to ride with a small power brick and cable so that I can also have a powered phone. Also, I probably should carry my InReach, just in case.

I loaded my bike onto the open spot on our rack (after fixing the erroneously loaded gravel bike that was already on there) and we were on our way. Our aim was Twin Falls, Idaho for the night, as there was a ride I picked out for the morning. 

Later in the drive, as we crested a rise on I-80, it started snowing. Of course. Everywhere I go this year, it snows. When I told people of my plan to ride across the US in June and July, some people asked, “Won’t it be too hot?” I might regret saying this, but right now I crave heat I’m tired of cold hands and feet. And snow. In Colorado, I can ride in 80-degree temperatures and not feel hot at all (unless the hill is really steep). I know it will be different in the humidity of the east, but riding in the heat is so much easier than running in it. I can carry lots of water and I’ll always have at least a little breeze. 

Monday, May 30, 2022

Everywhere I’ve been this year, it’s been cold. I’m starting to think it must be me. The weekend before I retired, in late April, I drove out to Moab and fought snowstorms over the mountains in both directions. When I retired at the end of April, I immediately climbed Longs Peak. It felt like winter up there and indeed I was in my winter climbing bibs, mountain boots, crampons, ice axe, the full catastrophe. The next day I started towards Yosemite. There I found cold, rain, and even snow. On the return trip home I tried to climb Ibapah in western Utah, but deep snow turned me around thousands of feet below the summit. Shortly after I returned the Boulder area was hit with a big snowstorm that brought down tree branches. I spent a couple of days cutting up the branches in our yard. I hiked up Green in deep snow and froze my feet so badly that I had to come down the road instead of the trail.

When we arrived in Twin Falls yesterday the weather was 40 degrees, raining steadily, and winds of 30 mph. That’s basically the definition of misery. We drove through some light snow when crossing highpoint on I-80. I’d planned another 30-mile ride for this morning, but the weather was the same. Remember my goals? The one about fun? We loaded the bikes back on the rack and started driving, searching for drier weather in…Oregon? Granted it doesn’t sound like a solid plan, but it was our destination nevertheless. We were headed to the Portland area to visit family and a friend. I need an exorcism to release me from the cold-weather demons rooted deep in my soul.