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From May-September 2014 I traveled 4,200 miles from the Pacific coast to the Atlantic coast by bicycle. We rode through 12 states, and across 5 mountain ranges. This slideshow is an FAQ presentation I created to share my experience with some of my co-workers.
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Cross-Country Bicycle Tour 2014
The plan!
• Tour overview and FAQ
• Show and Tell
• Your Questions!
Tour OverviewSo…. What exactly did you do?
We rode our bikes across the country!
Where have you been?!
More specifically we….
Started Memorial Day weekend by taking an Amtrak train from Oxnard to Seattle, WA
How was that, you ask?
….interestingFun facts: That train was 32 hours long! Which means we spent almost TWO DAYS on an Amtrak train. Takeaway: Amtrak trains are like glorified grayhound buses.
How long did the trip take you? • We rode coast to coast via bicycle in 117
days (or about 16 weeks)
Including…• 2 days on an Amtrak • 7 days in Seattle• 2 days in Glacier NP• 2 days in a UHaul• 2 days in Interstate NP• 10 days in Detroit• 6 days in Vermont• 3 days in Acadia NP• …and days off here and there whenever we needed them or if we found something really special
How Many Miles Per Day? Total?
4,200 miles total, West to East!
About 60 miles per day – every day. On days with a headwind or a climb, maybe 35 miles. On flat days or tailwind days, upwards of 80.
One day we rode 90 miles!
States and Stats!
• We rode across 12 states (including Ontatio as a “state” here)
• Crossed 5 mountain ranges• Cascades in WA• Rockies in MT• Appalachian in NY• Green in VT• White in NH
• Crossed the Columbia River Gorge and the Continental Divide
• Rode along the Erie Canal for three days in NY
What was it like climbing mountains??Crazy!
• The highest elevation was Sherman Pass, but Washington Pass was more of an elevation gain
• The East Coast mountains in Vermont are WAY harder than the West Coast mountains in Washington!
• Some of the hardest “mountains” were the dinky sideroads in the Midwest and Vermont!
• We soared down the other side of the mountains going 40 miles per hour!
The Weather….
Weight? What Did You Carry?
We each carried about 70 pounds – including the weight of our bikes.
This included:• Bike weight (about 35 pounds)• 35-40 pounds of stuff
• Tent + sleeping mats• Clothes & rain gear
• (I had three shirts and three pairs of socks!)
• Stove + cooking supplies• Food + Water• Everything you need to live!
HoboBike…
Where Did You Sleep??• Tent camping mostly
• Sometimes we stayed with strangers using the WarmShowers Network
• Once a month (or so) we’d get a motel
What Did you EAT??Everything.
• Mostly a lot of junk. (Too many Pop-Tarts!)
• Food you can find at a gas station and cook with boiled water.
• Lots of PB&J!
• Produce when available.
….. I don’t really recommend it.
How Did You Choose Your Route?
What Was Your Favorite Place?
Such a hard question!
Places I want to visit again:
• Adirondack Park, NY• Glacier Park, MT• Cascade Park, WA• North Woods of WI• White Mountains, NH• Sandpoint, ID
We saw so many amazing plants and animals!
Funny Stories? This store. Which was pretty par for the course in the middle of
nowhere.
Dustin rolled my glasses up in the tent TWO times. The second time it was raining and I didn’t even notice until we were a couple miles down the road.
The glasses were not broken!
We saw SO MANY SILOS!
What Was The Worst Part?
Eastern Montana in June!!!
The mosquitoes very HORRIBLE and the wheatgrass just keep on coming…
A panoramic of Eastern Montana… nothing but sky, dirt and grass for days.
Did You Get Any Flat Tires?
Did You Ever Want To Give Up? I never wanted to “give up,” but once I
woke up in Ontario and thought…
“This. Sucks.”
We took 10 days off in Michigan and we were tired and we still had 1,000
miles to go. That day felt discouraging. But quitting wasn’t an option.
WHY Did You Want To Do This??
#YOLO!
Just Kidding.
Kind of.
Show and Tell + Your Questions!
