Across the USA on a bicycle! That’s what I’m doing this summer. It’s March and my start date of June 18th is just a little over three months away. I’ve been busy training on the bike when our Central Pennsylvania weather allows, and in the gym otherwise.
3722 miles. Starting in Seattle, Washington, through Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia, Maryland, and ending up in or around Bethany Beach, Delaware. 14 states in 6 or 7 weeks.
I’ll be riding with the Cycle America group tour from Seattle to Devil’s Tower, Wyoming, and from there on my own to the Atlantic.
Why? That’s a good question with a very much longer answer than I’ll get into here. The short version: I started serious road riding 6 years ago, and I’ve cycled over 10000 miles in that time, but never more than 3000 miles in a year, and most of that in Pennsylvania. I’ve been to the Southwest, the South, the Midwest, and the Northeast of the U.S., but never to the Northwest, and it seems like I’ve seen more of the world than I have of my own country. After talking to people who had done a cross-country ride and getting a little taste of bicycle touring on a few short trips, well, I got the bug. And turning 50 this year has a lot to do with it, too. I’m making this trip part of the celebration, and I’m shooting for 5000 miles plus this year, which should be pretty easy with a 3722 mile head start. 😉
In his book It’s not about the Bike, Lance Armstrong called serious riding "pointless suffering," a description that is sometimes right on the money. To make the whole endeavor a lot less pointless, I’m going to be riding for charity, too. Collecting a penny or more a mile for a yet-to-be-chosen charity in Central PA ;). ALL of the money donated to charity will be given to the charity — not to pay for the trip (that’s taken care of).
So, with the support of family and friends, and the cooperation of my business customers (even though I get a lot of "you’re absolutely crazy" looks), the dream trip is well on it’s way to becoming reality.
More to come…