The Transcontinental

Today, Clarabel and I embarked on my final little leg of the journey; reaching the Atlantic Ocean. To get there, we biked through Central Park, across Manhattan, over the East River, and through numerous city centers until reaching Rockaway Beach. It felt like we traversed across multiple countries in the span of those 25 miles. Streets completely packed with cars, intersections held at standstills with bikes and pedestrians weaving through the mess, roads shut down to traffic and open to runners, and cars double-parked along entire blocks. Biking in this city requires 110% focus to stay aware of your surroundings but it is such a cool way to see other neighborhoods.

Once we arrived at the beach and I dismounted my bike for the final time to jump in the Atlantic Ocean, my trip was officially complete. I had planned to dip my front tire in the water, but the shear number of people lying on this beach was too overwhelming to imagine wheeling a bike between all the tanning bodies. Instead, I nearly broke my wrist in my attempt to hoist my bike above my head in victory formation.

For my final entry, I wanted to share some thoughts I’ve collected throughout the ride. I’ve tried my best to synthesize these into something reminiscent of a lessons learned and closing remarks for everyone who cares to read.

First and foremost, I owe much of my success to all of you reading these posts and supporting me along the way. Whether it was emotional support cheering me on in person or from afar through the inter-webs, all of the people I’ve met along the way who shared their stories and wished me luck, the kind souls who opened their homes and welcomed me for the night, or everyone who was so generous to financially support me; thank you. This trip wouldn’t have been possible without you.

My biggest take away from the trip is reminding myself that I always have a choice. Life is full of paths (humor me as I attempt this metaphor). Sometimes we find ourselves at a crossroads where we are forced to make a decision. Other times, we realize indecision has led us further down a path than originally intended. These paths may run parallel to the one you are currently on, others may cross over, and some may be a complete U-turn. Though you may be able to peek over the trees and see parts of what that new path holds, you never know what turns of its own are beyond your view. Whether it’s comfort, fear, or laziness keeping you on your current path, I urge you to take a chance and deviate. Even if only for a quick detour. Do it just to remind yourself how big the world is, how many choices you have, and how much control you have over your direction. You always have choices. As they say, the world is your oyster and there’s a great happy hour right down the street selling them for a dollar a pop.

My other, slightly more stereotypical lesson to share, is to trust in the universe to take care of you. If not the universe, then trust in the people. Popular opinion would have us believe that we have become so different and polarized from each other. However, when you find yourself physically face to face, treating people with love and respect, you come to realize that we are all fundamentally the same. Just as you would care for someone else, they will care for you. Every time I found myself in a pinch, the solution seemed to present itself organically, and the end result was often better than I could have ever imagined. I just had to keep an open mind, stay flexible, and be willing to try something new.

Looking back, some of my favorite memories from the trip include biking past herding animals who joined together to gallop beside me, fields full of budding grass catching the evening sun and casting an amber glow, alpine lakes still and flat reflecting a perfect image of the mountain range beyond, shared meals that turned strangers into friends, the curiosity in people’s eyes when they asked about my trip, and the nights spent under the stars.

On the flip side, some of my least favorite things were headwinds, fresh roadkill, tornadoes, angry drivers, narrow road shoulders, and dairy farms. So as I wrap up this final entry, my request to you all is simple: please don’t open a dairy farm in my town, don’t drive angry, and be an advocate for cyclists in your neck of the woods.

Thank you all for being part of this ride.

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I did it:)

Today was amazing. The riding felt effortless and like I could go on forever. I saw more shades of green than I even knew existed. I finally got to hug Clarabel.

It took a little longer than normal for me to get out of bed this morning. After a couple pep talks I finally fell back into my routine and got out on the road a little after 6. I stopped earlier than normal for breakfast since I wasn’t going to pass any more services for a while. I got my first official New York bacon egg and cheese on an everything bagel, it was delicious.

Most of the morning was spent climbing a gradual hill. This paid dividends in the afternoon when the rest of my ride was downhill. For lunch I stopped at Softie Boy and got 2 Nathan’s hotdogs🌭🌭, French fries, lemon-aid, and a soft serve (it was softie boy after all). This meal was the power up I needed and my average speed cranked up to 17mph. I kept thinking I would start to get glimpses of the city skyline as I neared the city but the forest was too dense and blocked any far views. The bike path wove through city parks, skirted along riverbanks, and ducked under overpasses. Until suddenly, the forest ended. All of the sudden, my 50 shades of green was replaced by a thundering subway above a bustling road with people on every mode of transportation under the sun trying to navigate an intersection. All of my confidence in my biking ability left with the greenery and I felt overwhelmed with the sensory overload. Luckily, a local man on his bike was also heading into the city and I was able to follow his lead to build my confidence back. I eventually got back to a protected bike path along the Hudson that led me straight to Clarabel. She met me at the little red lighthouse under the George Washington bridge. It was an emotional reunion and one we’ve both been eagerly awaiting.

We biked the rest of the way into the city together. Before hauling my bike inside her building, I wanted to get a little victory lap in around Central Park. I plugged in my headphones and blasted some house music while absolutely flying around the loop. It was the first time all trip that I pushed myself to the limit and gave it all the gas I could. I was clocking over 25mph passing ebikers, and at times throwing on the brakes while passing cops as the speed limit was only 15mph. I’m so excited to have this park in my backyard now and can’t wait to explore it further and break my own speed records.

With only one afternoon in the city so far, I’ve already had some amazing food. Pizza from Mama’s Too, and a Bahn Mi from Saiguette. We enjoyed our sandwiches lying in the grass in Central Park watching the firefly’s emerge from the darkness. Tonight I will go to bed smiling.

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It feels so strange to be this close to the end. After chipping away at this goal for the past 72 days, I’m only 1 day away from New York City. I’ve been warned about how anticlimactic it can feel to finally cross the finish line on journeys like this. After months of yearning for the end, it eventually comes, then passes, and time carries on. I’m sitting here in my comfortable hotel bed trying to put feelings into words but keep coming up short. I’m nervous about returning to real life and resuming real responsibilities. I’m scared this trip will fade into distant memory and leave me unchanged. I’m overwhelmed by the thought that I might not have this type of time and freedom in the near future. In the same breath, I’m also full of excitement about this new chapter in a new city full of opportunities. In summary, I’m a bit stuck in my head. For now, I’ll return to what feels comfortable, sharing this journey with you.

Today’s ride started early, and for the last time, with Mike. After the final shared miles of the trip, we said our goodbyes and parted ways. I hope to see you back out on the road someday, Mike! The next chunk of milage carried me along a beautiful bike path. The morning fog was thick and felt as though I was pedaling through a cloud. Small lake towns turned to rolling farmland, then to dense forests.

At one point, I glided past a patch of vibrant purple loosestrife (pictured), the sound of my ticking wheels startled a flock of American goldfinches who all took off flying at once (fun fact: a flock of goldfinches is also called a charm). The sight of all the neon yellow birds flying above the foggy purple and green pasture was absolutely captivating. It was one of those moments that you just had to be there for.

All of the sudden, I emerged from the forest and was greeted by a very modern, metal, sculptural style building. I had entered Bard Universities campus. The grounds of this school felt like the New York equivalent of UC Santa Cruz.

Shortly after, unbeknownst to me, my bike computer rerouted my plan for the day. It found a more direct route to Poughkeepsie. Under normal circumstances, I would rejoice in the idea of shaving milage. However, I was really looking forward to seeing the whole length of the Empire State trail. I discovered the change 10 miles too late and decided to carry on instead of turning around. My day was shortened by almost 20 miles, but instead of protected bike paths through beautiful forests, I was sequestered to the dirty shoulder of highway route 9.

I arrived to my hotel in Poughkeepsie much earlier than expected and got both lunch (Greek) and dinner (Mexican) in town, but spent most of the afternoon lounging in the comfy bed. Maybe it’s the lack of movement that has left me feeling down in the dumps. It seems the days I spend the most time in the saddle turn out to be the best ones.

T-1 day until I arrive in NYC

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This morning was the coldest morning since I left the mountains back in Colorado with temperatures in the high 50’s. So cold, that for the first time, I wish I had my sleeping bag instead of my thin sheet I’ve been sleeping under. For the first few hours of biking I threw on my windbreaker safety vest to keep my chest warm. A hot bacon egg and cheese and cinnamon roll for breakfast also added some warmth.

I biked the final flat miles of the Erie Canal Trail before the Mohawk River runs into the Hudson and the path turns south towards Manhattan. The trails today were gorgeous and the reintroduction of hills added a bit more variety to the landscape. As we neared the larger cities, the bike paths came alive with people and pets.

Albany was the big target for the day. Mike and I arrived around noon, just in time for a showing of the new spider man movie. We figured if the movie was lousy, it was worth the money for a nap in a comfortable air conditioned chair. After the movie, we took a lap around downtown to see the State Capitol building and some of the surrounding landmarks. The severity of the hills in Albany caught us off guard. With steep city roads reminiscent of San Francisco, we left town out of breath and dripping in sweat. Luckily our hotel for the night was only 6 miles further and had some cold showers waiting for us.

One of Mike’s friends drove out and treated us to a pizza and wing dinner. I followed up dinner with my first Stewart’s ice cream, which was a delicious success.

This is my last night with my friend Mike. Our paths deviate tomorrow morning as he heads toward home in Boston. I’m so grateful to have run into this guy way back in Oregon. I never would have made it this far without his friendship and company. Tomorrow we will say our goodbyes after our last 10 shared miles.

T-2 days until I reach NYC!!!!

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I strongly believe that fatigue is mostly mental. Today should have been a breeze being less than half my daily milage for the past few days. However, mentally I was prepared for 48 miles, so by the end of the day, I felt the same as I did on my longer rides. I’m sure the drop in milage is great for muscle recovery in the long run, but today I’m still exhausted.

Mike and I ducked out of the marina quick this morning to avoid any more run-ins with the dock-master. With the small day ahead of us, we took every opportunity to sightsee and linger in establishments. I investigated my first canal lock, we met a lively couple from Arizona who have toured all over the world, and we lost track of time in two separate Stewart’s Shops. I’ve decided that Stewart’s might actually be better than Casey’s for the following reasons: they have indoor seating, and their milk and ice cream are delicious. Casey’s beats Stewart’s in every other category.

We burned a bunch of time in Amsterdam taking advantage of some shade and the proximity of local restaurants. Mike made the controversial decision to eat gas station chili for lunch, and I got to enjoy the airborne aftermath for the rest of the day. For dinner, I tried some award winning chicken wings. A unique blend of buffalo and parmesan garlic on some expertly crisped wings with some homemade blue cheese.

After dinner, we biked the last 5 miles of the day in some incredibly comfortable evening conditions. Overall, the weather today was superb. I accredit it to lower humidity. So much lower, that going to bed shower-less doesn’t feel like I’m a piece of steaming garbage. Tonight will be my last time pitching my tent and camping on this trip! We are camped out at Lock 10 under some trees serenaded by the sound of rushing water, the highway, and the occasional train.

I only have three (3) days of biking left before reaching Manhattan and seeing my love (Clarabel). Then just one more day of biking before the true Transcontinental journey is complete and I dunk my front tire in the Atlantic Ocean!

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I slept in until 6:30 this morning. I knew I didn’t have 100 miles to bike today so I tried to relax a bit and slow down the pace.

The sun was out this morning and it completely changed the scenery. The greens of the grasses came to life, and the murky water turned to a pristine reflecting pool (no nano-bubblers required).

I had my copilot (Clarabel) on the phone and she led me to a spot for breakfast. They served up freshly baked everything bagels and some freshly fried donuts. I had pizza lunch again today, this time from a gas station. Not just any old gas station though, Stewart’s Shops is quickly becoming the new Casey’s. Most towns have at least one location and the goods/services they offer are consistently quantity. I’ve been told that their ice cream is on another level, so that has become tomorrow’s mission.

I passed a section of the old canal that was overtaken with algae. Upon further investigation, I realized that nearly every exposed log was covered in turtles. Some logs had 10+ turtles on them!! It made me think of the movie Human Centipede and I nearly got sick thinking about it. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, you are leading a much healthier lifestyle and I beg you to not look it up. Anyways, the turtles were cute but hard to photograph. Every time I stopped my bike, they abandoned ship and hid.

I was impacted by the ever disappointing weather forecast again today when a surprise downpour soaked me to the bone with less than two miles left for the day. Luckily, the campsite for the night was the marina in Little Falls, NY, and they had an indoor lounge to dry off in. Here I was reunited with my friend Mike and we met Tom who was working at the marina. Tom would go on to lead us on an evening crusade of the small town of Little Falls that I do not have the energy to recount in heavy detail. Some highlights included driving 4 laps around town in Tom’s car, trying Riggies (infamous local pasta dish), meeting the entire family who owned the restaurant, and getting free dessert because we are now part of the family. It was a good night but dragged on much longer than I would have hoped, much to the fault of Mike being the friendliest most talkative man I’ve ever met.

Sometimes you just gotta release control of the reigns a little bit and let life take you for a ride. If I could do it again, I might not let 80 year old Tom drive us home after 4 drinks at the bar.

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Call me lame, but I had absolutely no desire to bike any further to round out a satisfying 100 miler. I got to my destination and I got off my bike, end of riding. The sweat, humidity, and miles are doing bad things to my butt. My saddle did a great job for so long, but I’m crumbling under the conditions in New York. If my butt didn’t hurt, I think I could go much further.

Today’s ride followed the Erie Canal trail again. Some small sections required biking on the road but most of the day was on dedicated bike paths. I biked over one of the canal’s aqueducts. These massive concrete structures allow the canal to pass over another river without disrupting any of the flow of either water way. I also got to follow a couple canal boats heading east. They create a mesmerizing set of waves in the glassy still water as they chug past.

I got a donut and a burrito for breakfast. Nothing has satisfied my craving Mexican craving since leaving California, I should stop getting my hopes up. The real star of the show was my lunch stop where I got my first New York style pizza. I got a slice of chicken bacon ranch, and hot honey pepperoni with ricotta dollops. The pizza was so good it distracted me from my sore butt for a few miles.

Within 10 miles of my final destination, Syracuse NY, I came across a really comfy lawn chair set out with a sign that said “rest stop”. Shortly after sitting down with a loud old man sigh, I got an alert from my phone that a storm was quickly approaching. I checked my map and realized if I left immediately I could beat it before it hit Syracuse. I said goodbye to my short lived comfort and started racing the storm east. The adrenaline did an even better job of keeping my attention away from my butt. I blasted past the New York Fair Grounds, and Lake Onondaga, before getting my bones and bolts rattled on some mangled city roads through downtown Syracuse.

I am staying with Keri, a Warmshowers host, in her beautiful apartment downtown Syracuse. She has an incredible balcony overlooking the city, and a pool and hot tub that I got some good use out of. Her AC works really well and the guest bed is super comfy. I’m turning off my alarm for tomorrow and making the most of this. Warmshowers can be such a crapshoot sometimes and you never know what you’re going to get, but tonight, I won the lottery.

Despite me saying that the star of the show was my pizza lunch, I have returned to this entry after eating dinner to tell you the real real star of the show was my rigatoni carbonara from Abbiocco. They served it with warm focaccia and a homemade garlic, parmesan, honey butter. My god it was delicious. I’m ending the day with a full belly in a cozy bed with time to read my forgotten book. Life is good on the road today!

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Sneaky early exit so as to not wake Sarah up. The first 25 miles seemed to fly by, despite the fact that I had to double back after finding that the trail was closed 5 miles into the ride. A combination of frustration about the wasted milage and disappointment in the lack of signage may have contributed to the speedy quarter century.

I stoped at Tom’s Diner for breakfast and got a waffle and bacon. At this point, breakfast food has turned into more of a vessel for me to consume as much syrup as possible. Savory breakfast sits heavy in my stomach, but sweet breakfast turns to jet fuel. With the waffle as my fuel and the bacon as my electrolytes (don’t fact check this), I was ready to hit the road.

By road I really mean trail. Today’s ride was almost exclusively on the car-less Erie Canal trail. A nearly perfectly flat path except for some steep downhills at the lochs. The silence I discovered on the trail was beautiful. Besides the crunching gravel beneath my tires and the bustle at each canal town, the trail followed the almost motionless canal in total silence. It was peaceful. I am trying to savor every moment as I draw ever closer to what may be the loudest living environment I have ever experienced.

Miles 25-75 were some of the best ever. I felt invincible and was already starting to think about how much further I was willing to go beyond my planned destination for the day. In my head, I could have done 150+ miles today. That all changed after lunch. I ate a combo chicken and beef shawarma wrap and sat for too long. Leaving the restaurant I felt like dead weight. Everything ached and I felt fatigued and lightheaded. Chugging some water helped with the dizziness but the fatigue dragged on all the way to my final destination in Rochester, NY.

Once in town, I quickly resupplied with some chocolate milk, power-aid, and a donut. I enjoyed my sugar meal on a shaded adirondack chair overlooking the Genesee River. I met my Warmshowers host for the night then headed to dinner. No amount of cold showers could fight the heat and humidity that persisted into the evening. I am writing this entry shirtless in bed in a hot house with no fans or AC. If only I could carry with me some of the cold air that I have been so spoiled with recently. My body is in such desperate need of sleep that not even this heat will keep me from it. I’m done with all my tasks and it’s 8pm, goodnight New York.

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Early start for a big day. There was a Sheetz right down the street from my campsite so I had the golden opportunity to sample some of their food. I stand by my previous assessment, this food is made for hungover people, or people on very long road trips. I got cinnamon french toast sticks with Cinnabon dip and a breakfast burrito.

The morning’s scenery consisted of lake views between people’s houses and rolling vineyards. When visible, the coast line of Erie transitioned from shallow beaches to dramatic bluffs the further east I went. The weather has been fantastic lately. Anything under 80 degrees feels like heaven with the wind blowing.

My body felt really good all day. It fills me with energy when I think about it. I feel so grateful to get to experience this trip with a strong healthy body and it makes me want to pedal faster and further. I crossed my last state line today when I entered New York. Strangely enough, NY will be my longest state of all with close to 550 miles of biking.

I discovered a small ferry that shleps people and bikes across the Buffalo River. I thought it would be a cool extension of the ride to bike down the harbor state park then ride the ferry to the main land. I ended up waiting in the sun for the ferry for over 45 minutes. It turns out the ferry captain recently had his identify stolen and was busy on the phone with his credit union on the other side of the river. I regretted taking that extension.

Once I got into Buffalo, I met up with my friend Sarah. We haven’t seen each other in over 3 years but it felt like we picked up right where we left off. She took me to a bar that is known for their Buffalo wings and I attempted to blend in with the locals by getting it with blue cheese and a Labatt Blue. Thank you for hosting me Sarah! Sorry I go to bed and get up so early!

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I started the day with a sleep score of 98! I’m not sure how much I believe in Garmin’s ability to accurately assess my sleep but I felt a confidence boost seeing that high score. The gang got moving much earlier than yesterday, hitting the road around 9am.

The first stop of the day was at “The Little Pie Shop” for breakfast. Austin and I each got the chorizo breakfast bowl special. It turned out to be an utterly enormous mountain of chorizo sausage gravy, eggs, potato, and cheese. Way too much food, even for a hungry biker to eat. This did not stop me from trying, even after eating a slice of cherry pie as an appetizer.

Along the ride today, we discovered that I did not know how to pronounce the word peculiar. After hundreds of repetitions in my head and out loud, I can now pronounce it and it has completely lost all its meaning to me. We had a flat tire scare with Dom’s bike. We took a loooooong break at a scenic overlook. We stopped at a roadside fruit stand where I housed a whole carton of blueberries. Then we cranked the last 20 miles of the ride into Erie, PA.

Our first stop in town was at a dinner for something fried and something frozen, onion rings and a caramel sundae were my choices. A long beach session on Presque Isle and a swim in Erie left me feeling sun-kissed and ready for a shower.

We made it over to a cute tapas restaurant for the final meal as a three pack. The food was great and provided healthy nutrients that double cheeseburgers cannot provide. I said my goodbyes to Dom and Austin before heading to my campsite. It was so nice having their company for this section. I doubt I would have been able to squeeze as much enjoyment out of the tourist town of Geneva-by-the-lake or the beach town of Erie without them.

I realized that tonight was my first night camping since Nebraska… For my first night back on the ground, I pitched the tent in a pretty unique location. Sarah’s campground is an old spot that allows tents directly on the beach with private access to the water. A 25 cent shower got the stick off my skin and set me up for a nice night of sleep on Erie coast.

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Wonderful amazing day today. Sunny blue sky, cool lake breeze, quiet coastal roads, lovely new company. Couldn’t have asked for more on this unsuspecting gem of a day. The weather forecast showed rain for the whole week. Recent budget cuts/de-funding bills have left the national weather service severely understaffed and lacking the money to launch as many weather balloons. I’ve gotten to witness the extreme inaccuracies of these forecasts throughout my trip. The forecast now feels more similar to the forecasts we made in elementary school; walking outside and announcing the weather in real time.

We slept in and had a relaxing late start. An early lunch of Chipotle and smoothies, enjoyed with lake front views, provided fuel for another 20 miles. I made a mandatory stop at the first Sheetz convenience store of the trip. It did not meet the same level of excellence that Casey’s exhibited. I felt like I needed to be much hungrier or very high to enjoy it to its fullest potential.

Along the ride, we rolled up on a lemon aid stand right when our thirst levels required something sweet. The kids gave us a great 3 for $1 deal, it was a cute experience.

Our final destination was Geneva on the Lake. I knew nothing about this town before arriving. It was like a fantasy land for a 10 year old kid from the 80’s. Arcades, amusement parks, themed restaurants, and gift shops galore. We spent the better part of the evening at Adventure Land where we played putt putt golf, raced go karts, and hit some balls in the batting cages. I ate two separate rounds of meals at Eddie’s Grille, getting a cheese burger on both occasions.

We caught sunset on a grassy knoll overlooking the water. It was hard to remember that we were still in Ohio.

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Despite my deep, icy sleep last night, I still found myself yawning all day. A sizable breakfast burrito in the morning got the day started on a good note. After eating, I spent the rest of the morning lounging on Nick’s couch as he packed up his apartment in preparation for a big move. I got some good reading in and mapped out the remaining days of my trip. Believe it or not, I’m going to be in New York City by August 12th!!! I’m trying my best to not get tunnel vision and focus too hard on that end date. I’m certain that once I get to the city, life is going to start moving way faster than any speeds I’ve hit on my bike. I want to savor the last 10 days of this trip as much as possible.

Luckily, my friends Dom and Austin are going to help me with that! When left to my own devices, I tend to bike unreasonable distances. However, when more reasonable people join me on a ride, I am naturally corralled into a conversational pace with more breaks and photo opportunities. They will be joining me for the next two days!

As you may have noticed, today’s entry is lacking in the photo department. It’s not from a lack of effort. Despite having the whole day to do this short distance, I chose the one single hour of continuous rain to ride in. Not wanting to get my camera wet, I resorted to some iPhone photography, but even this provided some uninspiring results. I hate to say it, but the parts of Cleveland I saw today were not very photogenic, especially in the overcast rain. I made a promise to myself to reserve more time and energy to put back into photography, as this was one of my goals for the trip. So stay tuned for improved photos.

Early morning start for the day. I was riding along the North Coast Inland Trail for most of the morning, a nice paved rail to trail path. The early morning was dark enough under the trees that I used my headlamp for the first time all trip. I got a French toast breakfast at a local diner after 20 miles, then pushed on.

Around mile 40, I noticed a slow moving train crossing the road a ways ahead of me. As I got closer it looked like the train was slowing down. It eventually came to a stop. All of the cars waiting to cross the tracks started turning around and leaving. I sat on a rock and waited for a bit, but a quick google search said that trains like this can remain stopped for hours as they wait for the tracks to open up. I peeked down the tracks and saw that the end of the train wasn’t too far away. I “biked” along the edge of the tracks over baseball sized rocks and all the other scrap you find along rail lines, crossed over at the end of the train, then double backed to the road.

I’m not sure if it’s the distance I’ve traveled or the similar scenery I’m passing through, but I’ve found myself getting somewhat bored while riding recently. I feel tired but I can’t point to any one body part or muscle that aches (besides my butt), and I feel like my brain might just be the most exhausted. I’m kind of leaning on the thought of just blasting out as many miles as I can to cross the finish line sooner.

Along route 6, I ran into Emma and Dan, father daughter combo who have made it their mission to walk across whole states. They are currently working on the state of Ohio. Dan was very eager to hear about my trip and it was great chatting with some fellow travelers.

As I approached Cleveland, I got some nice views of a cloudy Erie, saw some beautiful homes, got a fancy hot dog, and got rained on. I eventually arrived at my friend Nick’s house and had a great night hanging out with old friends. Nick offered up with room with freezing cold AC all night. I slept like a corpse for almost 10 hours.

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Said goodbye to my parents this morning. The time always goes by so quick when I stay with them. My mom dropped me off at my brother’s house in Royal Oak where I ended my ride yesterday. As demonstrated by this coordination, I’ve become pretty attached to the concept of completing a continuous path of biking from coast to coast. At this point, even a small gap of a few miles that weren’t traveled by bicycle would haunt me at the end of the trip.

I was pleasantly surprised by the bike friendly infrastructure in Detroit. While in the city and the surrounding suburbs, I found myself in a dedicated bike path or protected lane more often than not. I stopped and did a lap on a pump track just outside of Ferndale. It was sketchier than I originally anticipated with all my baggage on the bike. Luckily, I got away on two wheels. As always, the old Tudor revival homes outside the city caught my eye. Most of the city feels very safe and coming back to life, despite what the news or your coworker who hasn’t been to Detroit since 1995 says. The riverfront offered some nostalgic views and was my first time returning to the area since I ran it in the 2025 Detroit marathon.

After passing through Detroit, the views returned to those typical of the rest of the Midwest; corn and soybean. That is, until the Detroit River spilled out into Lake Erie and my route kissed up to the shore line. Around this point, I crossed the state line into Ohio and rode over a bridge spanning the width of the Maumee River. This was around mile 75 of the ride and the caffeine from the tall boy Coca Cola was starting to kick in making me feel like an unstoppable fright trail. The surge was somewhat short lived, around mile 90 I was struggling to reel in my heart rate despite a leisurely pace. I think this has something to do what my time off. Obviously the heat and the distance played a role, but I’ve noticed that after some time off the bike, my body shifts out of mile-munching mode into something more like muscle-mending mode. Changing gears sometimes takes a few days and the switchover period is felt with higher heart rates and excessive sweating.

After the long day, I met Gordon at his home where he is so graciously hosting me for the night. His son and grandkids came over for a steak dinner and we all helped cook. I nervously watched as Gordon’s son stabbed the sweat potatoes with a chefs knife dangerously close to his fingers, but no blood was shed. I excused myself from the company around 8pm for an early bedtime as tomorrow I have an even bigger day ahead of me to get to Cleveland.

There was a small voice in my head that told me to do an extra mile and a half to make it a clean 100 mile ride. Ultimately, I decided against it because any milage savings at this point is warmly welcomed in my book. I may regret this decision to pad my cycling stats when someone asks me how many century rides I’ve done, but I doubt it.

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I’ve spent the last 3 days chilling at home in Rochester. The weather has been fantastic, but I’ve been taking full advantage of the access to air conditioning and have been spending most of my time indoors. My dad and I watched The Odyssey in theaters, I revamped my bike setup after a trip to REI, and I ate some delicious food.

I really enjoyed seeing family and friends. It’s made it difficult to leave. I would be lying if the thought of throwing in the towel and ending the trip here hasn’t crossed my mind multiple times. Alas, after an early morning breakfast with friends, I find myself back in the saddle chipping away at the remaining miles.

Today’s ride was more of a warmup and a way get some miles out of the way for the coming days. I biked from my parent’s house to my brother’s apartment in Royal Oak. It was a much more enjoyable ride than I expected, with some protected bike paths and some beautiful homes along the way.

It’s always hard for me to leave my family. The time with them feels so fleeting and I’m not exactly sure when the next time I’ll see them is. I suppose that is one of the benefits of my move to New York, I’m just a short plane ride away.

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I finally made it back to my hometown!

This whole idea of biking across the country started as a plan to bike from my home in Santa Cruz to my childhood home in Rochester. To have finally made it to my original destination feels like an incredible milestone. The extension to NYC came after Clarabel got into school in the city and we decided to move our lives out east. From here it’s just another 914 miles, piece of cake.

We took our time this morning after enjoying some of Dana’s homemade banana bread. The closer we got to Rochester, the more I started to recognize road names and scenery. I was glad to have my mom with me to point out places along the route that I wouldn’t have remembered on my own.

We stopped for brunch with Patti near Sylvan Lake and I got a massive breakfast sandwich on freshly baked focaccia. After another 15 miles, we stopped for lunch downtown Rochester at the world famous Lipuma’s Coney Island🌭. I am aware that my hot dog count is much lower than previously anticipated. I wish I could reassure you that this low turnout is only temporary but it turns out that hot dogs just don’t sit that well while biking in the heat. I will continue to pump the numbers up as best I can.

The route home from Lipuma’s is one I’ve traveled many times before. My GPS was not necessary for this stretch, although surprisingly, the hill along the way seemed to have grown since I last remember.

Getting home was a relief. It felt so good to clean up and flop into my bed in my very own bedroom. I relished this feeling for a few hours before jumping back into motion. All of the gear I had sent home over the course of the trip needed organized, I had to take a drug test for my new job, and we had family coming over for dinner soon.

I’m looking forward to some rest days at home, but may try to work in some short rides to keep my legs fresh. Starting Friday, I’ll begin my final push to the Big Apple. This section will consist of some stout solo days along some beautiful trails.

Thank you to all my dedicated readers! More updates to come in a few days.

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Slept in again today. Not so long that we missed the hotel breakfast though. This may be a hot take, but I think hotel waffles are the best waffles. It’s hard to beat their consistently crispiness.

We hit the road around 8:30 this morning and biked past two prisons. The third prison came around mile 45. Despite the grim facilities just off the path, the trail conditions were spectacular and the surrounding forests were much more pleasant to look at. The route leap frogged across numerous trail systems. We moved at a much faster clip today due to the smooth paths and overcast conditions.

Later in the day a small trail-side booth caught our eye. They had a wide selection of home baked treats for sale and ice cold water. We indulged in a key lime pie and Carmel chocolate chunk cookie.

My good friend Dana met us at today’s brewery, Drafting Table. From there she biked with us the few more miles to her family’s house where we are spending the night. Thank you to the Pontious Family! We swam in Wolverine Lake right after finishing the ride then got Mexican food for dinner. A nice lake front sunset followed by a dead squirrel removal capped off the night before bed.

Tomorrow I will finish my traverse across Michigan in my hometown, Rochester Hills. I’ll be taking a few days off at home to chill out and prepare for the final leg to NYC!

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Today’s ride consisted of a wide variety of terrain. Smooth roads, protected bike paths, and surprisingly cute towns were the highlights. Deep sand, loose gravel, and ice busted Michigan pavement were the lowlights. I hate to be dramatic, but today may have been the bumpiest day of the trip so far. I’m thankful to be running such a light weight setup for this section, as I would be worried about bags falling off my bike under these conditions.

The small town of Marshall caught our eye today. A beautiful marble fountain welcomed us to town and the farmers market off Main Street made it feel homey. Downtown was full of cute shops and restaurants, and the river had a nice bike path and was flowing fast enough to tube along it. Passing through Marshall prompted a conversation between my mom and I about whether or not we could imagine living in a small town like this. In a lot of ways, we both agreed we could.

We continued the brewery tour today, stopping for lunch at Malleable Brewing Company in Albion, then a cold drink at Grand River Brewery in Jackson. I can’t quite tell if I’m just getting really picky with my food or if I’m getting tired of dinning out. Regardless, I think some home cooking in Rochester will do a lot of good for my health and morale.

After arriving in Jackson, we pedaled around checking out art sculptures along the bike path and large murals (referred to as Bright Walls) on the buildings downtown. After making our way along another treacherous section of Michigan roadway, we stopped for ice cream at Frosty Boy.

The lack of rest days and the addition of a few daily beers has made my body start to ache and tire. No amount of sleep feels like enough and I find myself yawning throughout the day. I think I may need an entire day dedicated to sleeping.

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I slept in today. Longer than I have all trip. I was treated to a fresh breakfast by the Flacks before hitting the road at 9am. Dave joined us for 15 miles and gave us the paparazzi treatment as we rode through downtown South Haven.

The first 35 miles were along the Kal-Haven trail, connecting South Haven to Kalamazoo via the old railroad tracks. It was nice, smooth, hard packed, crushed limestone. This was the last of the smooth riding for the day. The rest of the trails and roads rattled me to my core. My poor camera got the spin cycle in my front bag like nobody’s business. I stuffed my towel in around the camera in preparation for tomorrow’s ride to see if that improves the situation.

Along the way, we made a mandatory stop at Bells Brewing in Kalamazoo to welcome my Oberon “beer view mirror” to its homeland. The Bells merch store had everything I’ve ever wanted, but fortunately for my wallet, the space constraints on my bike limited me to a deck of cards and a pin.

The second brewery of the day, New Holland Brewing, was our choice for dinner in our final destination for the day; Battle Creek, MI. I hate to hate, but this place was kind of disappointing. The beers were detrimentally sweet, the food was not impressive, and the DJ out back was so bad we requested to move inside the restaurant. Despite this dinner strikeout, the vibes in Battle Creek were great. The evening temps were comfortable and live music in the park brought everyone downtown.

The late start resulted in the latest finish of the trip. We didn’t finish our ride until after 6pm. Hopefully this doesn’t haunt us tomorrow with less recovery time than normal.

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Today felt like a fairy tail. If you’ve never been to Lake Michigan, I don’t know if I’ll be able to describe it to you, but I’ll try my best. The vibe is vacation every day, the air is fresh, the water is tropical, the scenery is sandy with tree lined shores, the dress code ranges from beach formal to west coast casual. You can find homes right on the coast with incredible porches cantilevered over the water, and right down the block you can find a log cabin surrounded by maples and oaks. It feels like home in every town you stop in.

The ride today took longer than normal because I found myself stopping every quarter mile to take pictures. I’m fascinated by unique architecture tucked into beautiful landscapes. I’m sure I showed up on a few Ring doorbells with my camera in hand causing some confusion for the homeowners.

I stopped at the last Casey’s on my route. It’s a sad day but I was able to cash out all of my rewards points to get myself a free Gatorade. I could always count on Casey’s to deliver tasty food, clean bathrooms, and cold water. Hopefully a new gas station chain surfaces to sustain me for the remaining 1000 miles.

My final destination for the day was South Haven, MI. This has been on my radar since the beginning of the trip and has been a huge motivating factor and milestone achievement for me. After entering my home state, I queued Radical Face’s, “Welcome Home, Son” and got pretty emotional. The weight of the trip so far became very clear to me and I found myself in disbelief that I’ve made it this far. I was welcomed in by my parents and our good friends Dave and Laura. I got the full South Haven experience with a dingy ride on the lake, sandbar football, and waterfront beers.

Tomorrow, my mom and I set out on the stretch across Michigan!

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I crossed over the 3000 mile mark today! If I would have chosen to cross the US along the southern tier, I would be across by now! Luckily, I chose a very long, much less direct route, and I still have over 1000 miles left!

Today’s ride was the first half of my connection from Route 66 to the Great Lake to Lake trail in Michigan. I routed along as many bike trails as I could. The Wauponsee Glacier Trail brought me to Manhattan, Old Plank Road Trail took me through Frankfort, Thorn Creek Trail wound through Chicago Heights and Glenwood, and the Prairie Dune Trail took me the last 15 miles to Indiana Dunes.

For my single day in Indiana, my experience with the drivers here was not great. It could be that I’m just in more populated areas or that I’m used to the kindness of drivers in California, but today I had more close calls with cars than the rest of the trip combined. Drivers didn’t yield to me at crosswalks and tried to pass me on roads that didn’t have enough space. Up until today, I’ve been so pleased with caution and care exhibited by all the drivers who have crossed paths with me. This just means I’ll have to up my safety game and car avoidance.

Today was the first day since the mountains that I wasn’t dripping in sweat. Dare I say, early in the morning it was actually chilly. Once I got to my final destination, the sun came out right on time to spend few hours on the beach at Indiana Dunes National Park. It was a lovely day for reading but not for swimming. The red flag was up and lifeguards were not letting people swim due to the high winds and surf. Waves were coming in at 5-8’ high. I’m hoping the conditions are better tomorrow so I get at least one swim in Lake Michigan before I leave.

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The bike trails in Illinois are phenomenal. However, the roads are horrendous. I’d say less than 25% of my route through the state has been on bike trails, which means the other 75% of the time my small boy butt bones are getting thunder clapped by each crack in the road. Thankfully I have a healthy relationship with my saddle, the Brooks B-70. She’s rockhard, but after hundreds of hours together cheek to cheek, she’s molded to my exact dimensions. Instead of each crack in the road sending shockwaves straight up my tailbone, the impact is spread around my greater butt region. I still feel pretty damaged at the end of each day, but I imagine it could be way worse. Thanks Brooksie.

I was moving with purpose today, not for any real reason, it just felt good to fly. I had to slow myself down when I realized I was going to pass by the restaurant I wanted to get lunch at before they even opened. That spot was Polk-A-Dot Drive In. Opened in the 1950s, it’s a well kept dinner serving all my favorite things. I got a double bacon cheese burger with French fries and a vanilla malt, all for less than $10. It tasted like what I imagine McDonald’s tasted like before they opened their first corporate office.

Route 66 is full of strange road-side attractions. Each town seems to have a collection of large figurines and any other creative ideas the other towns haven’t thought of yet. Today, I stopped by the Braidwood Zoo, a small 10’x10’ square plot of fenced in land containing six very strange manmade animals. Each was constructed with slightly different methods, but all contained creepy beady eyes. I also got a picture with a jump sized Elvis and the Gemini Giant.

Finally, the weather seems to be cooling down a bit. Headwinds kept me a comfortable temperature all morning. The winds picked up to a level beyond just free AC in the afternoon and started to get on my nerves. Luckily I didn’t have far to go to get to my hotel in Wilmington, IL. It’s my last night in Illinois and I can’t say I’m going to miss it. At this point in the trip, I’m very eager to get to where I’m going and spend my days doing other things besides just biking.

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Karl joined me for the first 10 miles of today’s ride. He led me along a new section of bike trail that isn’t shown on the maps I’ve been using to navigate. Trading slightly more milage for the absence of cars is almost always a good trade.

After the bike trail ended, I was stuck on bypass and frontage roads that used to be the old Route 66. These roads are incredibly beat up and horrible to bike on. I think bumps are the hardest part about bike touring. Here is my ranking of the worst things you can experience while out on the road (most worst to least worst): Bumps, humidity, traffic, storms, heat, hills. Combine two of these and you’re probably not stoked, combine three of these and you question how you ended up in this situation. If you find yourself simultaneously experiencing four or more of these, you should probably get out of Missouri.

The bumps on the frontage roads made me envious of the smooth pavement on I-55 off to my side. Out west, it wouldn’t be a big deal to bike on the interstate, but suddenly, I’ve found myself in territory where it is, “strictly illegal”.

I made a few stops in the various towns along the way today. Williamsville for Casey’s, Lincoln for Mel-O-Cream Donuts (a Route 66 staple), Atlanta for a pin and some photos of the big men, McLean for the famous Route 66 Dixie truck stop restaurant. When I arrived in Bloomington, I spent some time in the new public library finally giving some love to my book I’ve carried this whole way. When I left the library, I enjoyed a light drizzle while riding on the Constitution Trail to Kellie’s house. I’ve only biked along a 5 mile stretch of the trail, but after seeing the maps and experiencing the quality, I would rank Bloomington on a similar scale as Eugene, OR in terms of bike-friendly cities. I wish all cities showed bikers this kind of love.

To be completely honest, this was the section of my trip I was least looking forward to. I figured it would be more of the same scenery just along busier highways. To some degree, this is true. Most of my views are corn on the left, corn on the right, or corn on both sides. However, there’s an added element of history in each of the small towns along Route 66 that adds more flair than I was expecting. Old neon signs, vibrant murals, strange statues of massive men, old building and monuments, and historic restaurants that have stood the test of time over the last 100 years. Similar to all the other roads I’ve biked, it’s always going to suck a little, but if you push past that, there’s a lot of beauty to experience along the way.

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I said goodbye to my friend Mike this morning. I’ve been riding with him since we crossed paths way back in eastern Oregon a month and a half ago. He will continue on east on a diagonal path towards Boston. My path takes me north along the old Route 66 before turning east towards NYC. There’s a chance the stars align and we see each other again along the Erie Canal.

I snuck out of Pete and Jordan’s house early this morning, hitting the trails out of Edwardsville at 5:30am. Today was bound to be a big one with almost 90 miles separating me from Springfield, IL. At some point, I may have inadvertently made a deal with the devil, trading cooler temps with overcast clouds, in exchange for headwinds all day. Unbeknownst to me at the beginning of the day, these headwinds were also expediting the delivering of the Canadian wildfire smoke sooner than expected.

It was a slow transition from overcast gloom, to wildfire smoke. I thought I had a few days separating me from the smoke, but I slowly realized that the haziness in the air was not the humidity or morning mist I was used to. The wind is supposed to change direction tomorrow so hopefully that means no smoke and tailwinds.

I chipped away at today’s ride in 20 mile increments. I’ve learned that the best way to visualize the remaining ride is to completely forget what ground I’ve already covered. It sounds way better to think “I only have 47 miles left, that’s a short day”, instead of thinking, “I’ve gone 40 miles and I’m not even halfway done yet”. This approach relies on thoughtful disillusionment, it assumes after covering 40 miles, I’m still as fresh as I was at the start of the day, and another 47 will be a piece of cake. It’s worked so far, I try not to think about it too hard and just take it one 10-20 mile chunk at a time.

I got to Springfield around 1pm. I strolled by the capitol building and Abe Lincoln’s childhood home, before heading to a bar to watch the World Cup finals. I befriended the bartender who was excited to hear about my trip and let me bring my bike into the bar. He proceeded to over-serve me heavily discounted and free beer because he said I needed the calories.

I arrived at Karl’s house for the night. He took me out to dinner with his partner Chris, then showed me around the Illinois Fairground. It was great hearing all of his biking and historical stories. He is planning to join me for a few miles on tomorrow’s ride!

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Cute bed and breakfast does not mean comfortable bed and breakfast. I woke up this morning sweating. The house we were staying in was built in the 1800s and didn’t have the best central cooling, it also didn’t help that the host wouldn’t turn the thermostat down below 78 degrees. The furniture in the home was beautiful and of the same era when the home was built. It was all rock hard and creaky. If it wasn’t for the fun game of monopoly we played with the caretaker’s mom and daughter last night, I would have preferred a campground.

I started the day hot and sweaty in bed and continued it hot and sweaty on the bike. The beauty of the Katy trail was starting to loose its luster after three days of sweltering humidity. We stopped at mile 20 at the Bike Stop Cafe, well named, and got some breakfast. I left that stop in a bad place. The heat was taking its tole and I had fallen behind on my hydration. For the last 15 miles of the trail, I felt I like I was suffocating.

We finally emerged from the tree tunnel at the end of the Katy trail and were treated to less humid air and direct overhead sunlight. Rolling on pavement was a welcomed change after 200 miles of packed limestone. It allowed me to glide much further and use less effort with each pedal stroke. I was feeling slightly better after drinking a bunch of water, but my wet 3-days-worth-of-sweat clothing was keeping me far from feeling good. The stink record was set again, I was no longer feeling like a human and was struggling to keep up my act as a functioning member of society.

Around noon, I climbed the Clark Bridge and crossed the Mississippi River into Illinois (my ninth state!). I was welcomed to the state with beautiful PAVED bike trails through LESS HUMID tree tunnels. We ended the day in Edwardsville at Pete’s house. He welcomed us in his home with lunch and dinner, while him and his wife managed their two kids. I immediately hopped in the shower and regained my sanity. It’s incredible how amazing it feels to be inside, clean, and well fed. The people willing to provide this support to touring cyclists are real life super hero’s.

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A nice cool early morning start gave me the boost to hammer out 30 miles to get to the closest grocery store. I was experiencing the early symptoms of a bonk as we parked our bikes and headed in. The freezing cold AC snapped me back into reality and helped me make some educated decisions while shopping.

For brunch I treated myself to a bratwurst, a peach, a red bell pepper, an orange juice, and a blackberry pie. Eating this array of food in the grocery store lobby, while Mike sawed the top off his milk jug to use as a cereal bowl, brought out some uncontrolled laughter from me. If you’ve never experienced this moment before, it comes on every long distance trip I’ve ever been on. You get comfortable enough with the people you’re with, and after a long time in the wilderness or in a state of disarray, you descend into hysteria and no longer know how to act in public. Today, I crossed that line.

The cool weather was gone by the time we left the grocery store. For those of you who know me well, you know that one of my least favorite human experiences is sweating. I’ve been forced to face my demons out here and accept the fact that I will be drenched every single day in this humidity. I’ve been setting all sorts of records on this trip, sometimes they are in categories that Strava doesn’t capture. Today, I broke my personal record for being the stinkiest I’ve ever been. I’m worried that a residential washing machine may not be strong enough to remove this stench.

For lunch, we stopped and got food a the KT Caboose. A trail side restaurant serving food out of an old train caboose. The owner, Doctor John, was an inspiring dude who has done some crazy trips of his own. Most notably, his run across America, from Key West to San Diego where he averaged 40 miles/day. He fixed us up with a delicious 3 course lunch for $12.

After a good meal, with only 19 miles left, I plugged in my headphones and played Tame Impala’s record, InnerSpeaker. This album must have been recorded with this exact use case in mind because it sent me into orbit and I blasted those last miles at mock speed. I no longer felt the heat, my skin had goosebumps, and my heart rate was steady. I imagine this is what good steroids feel like and I understand why people like them.

I returned to earth when I arrived in Defiance, MO and was quickly transformed into a steaming puddle of salt water. We moseyed up an 18% hill to our bed and breakfast for the night and I immediately hopped into a cold shower and put myself down for a nap.

The scenery today was strangely post-apocalyptic. It was hot as death, there were hardly any other humans, it’s just a single gravel path surrounded by thick overgrown forest, and an occasional abandoned car overtaken by rust and vines. I suppose the image is lost when you consider the grocery at mile 20, the smoothies at mile 55, and the bed a breakfast at mile 73. I miss Casey’s.

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This morning was GORGEOUS. All of the photos included in today’s update were taken in the first 10 miles of the ride during the stunning sunrise and early morning light.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I’m in love with the way the sun shines through hazy morning mist. I frequently find myself turning my bike around to attempt to capture or simply re-live the experience of watching rays of amber light peek through gaps in trees.

Almost all of today’s ride was on the Katy trial. It provided the most consistent shade of the trip so far, keeping temperatures a little cooler than outside the tree tunnel. The forest around us was incredibly thick with billowing mounds of green growth covering sides of three, bushes and earth that were exposed to the sun. As we pedal along sections of Lewis and Clark’s original trail, I struggle to imagine what it would be like to traverse this landscape unaided by trails and roads.

Our accommodations for the night is the Turner Katy Bunkhouse. A 40 bed house that is reserved exclusively for hikers and bikers on the Katy trail. We met two other cyclists traveling east from Kansas City to St Louis. A cold shower and shelter from the afternoon thunderstorms were a welcomed treat after a surprisingly difficult 62 mile day. My body is used to the rolling efficiency you get on smooth pavement and it feels pretty rattled after riding on gravel all day. The storms today brought lightning closer than I’ve ever experienced. A strike landed so close to the bunkhouse that there was absolutely no delay in the sound of thunder and sounded more like a bomb going off than thunder.

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Super early start to the day today, rolling at 5:30am. Even this early in the morning, the humidity was high and it was almost 70 degrees. It only went up from there and without a lick of shade for the first 70 miles, this turned into the sweatiest ride of my life.

Starting before the sun provided some beautiful sunrise lighting. The light mixing with some morning fog made it feel like flames rising up from the valleys in the fields.

At this point, I think I’ve had Casey’s breakfast pizza for at least five days in a row. I’m not sure if this is something to be concerned about or something to celebrate. There is a Casey’s in almost every town and they are consistently clean, air conditioned, and always has an ice machine to refill bottles. The same cannot be said for any other gas station chain. I’m afraid for the day to come when I go inside my last Casey’s of the trip. I probably won’t know it in the moment, but all of the sudden, it’ll be gone…

The day was too crazy on paper, but the heat started to take its tole on my around mile 60. My water ran low, and all that remained was boiling hot. I took a break under a lone tree on the side of the road. Without the constant airflow from biking, the sweat streams running down my body multiplied, attracting a plethora of flying insects. Needless to say, it was quite difficult to relax.

The highlight of the day was finally linking up with the Katy Trail, the longest rail-trail in the US. The trail was a nice crushed gravel path with the first consistent shade of the day. This took us to our final destination at the casino in Boonville, MO. I’m not the biggest fan of staying in hotels because it doesn’t feel like I get to see or experience much of the town, but I would have paid anything for AC and a cold shower at the time of check in.🌭

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I said goodbye to my dad this morning before hitting the road at 6am. The temperature was delightful all morning, I wish he was still biking with us.

I mapped out a new route for today’s ride, different from the published route from Adventure Cycling Association (the map I’ve been following for most of the trip). In the past, I’ve done this when there is a town or attraction I want to check out, and it usually results in busier, bumpier roads. The route they choose are chosen for good reason. However, today I think I chose a better one. The road was buttery smooth with hardly any cars. The re-route also shaved off 14 miles and over 1000 feet of climbing.

In addition to the cool temps this morning, I also thoroughly enjoyed the reintroduction of trees to the landscape. The past three states have been nothing but straight roads and crop fields, aka no where to hide from the sun. Here in Missouri, the roads wind through lush forests with tree towering over the pavement creating a tunnel like canopy casting shade all day long. The air smells like life again, not poop. Each breath also feels like a small sip of water with this crazy humidity. Sink laundry has become a requirement with the amount of sweat I’m creating each day.

I made a big upgrade to my bike setup. I sent my rear panniers home with my dad along with some gear I’ve deemed less important. That leaves just my front fork bags, handlebar camera bag, frame bag and a single bag strapped to my rear rack. My bike has converted from a touring bike into a space ship. I feel so fast and light on this thing now. The only downsides to this weight shedding is that my sleeping pad is much less comfortable, and I’m running with almost no spare clothing. Worthy sacrifices if you ask me.

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We crossed the Missouri River first thing in the morning. I was welcomed to the new state with immediate hills and dense forests. This was the starkest transition across any state-line so far. Back in Kansas, some local guy got pretty defensive after we called Kansas flat. After just one day in Missouri, climbing hills over 14% grade, I’m starting to doubt that man has ever left his hometown. For those of you who have no frame of reference for what a 14% climb looks like, all I can do to help illustrate this is say that the steepest grade I’ve climbed this far into the trip has been 8%… These steep Missouri grades require me to stand up to pedal, using my full body weight, in my lowest gear, to move fast enough to maintain my balance.

Besides the challenges noted above, it was a pretty short day. We arrived in Smithville, MO around 1 pm and checked in to the Smithville Historic Inn. This place is a museum on the ground floor, with bedrooms on the second floor. Museum feels like a stretch, it’s more like a really old house that the hosts have packed with all of their flea market finds. Nevertheless, it’s a unique place to spend the night, and a cool town to explore.

For dinner I ordered a burger, big surprise, and it turned out to be the best of the trip. The restaurant we went to uses a special mixture of meat for their patties that includes local beef, bacon, and brisket. The burger had strips of bacon and bacon jam on top. I think it should have been called “Bacon Three Ways”, but instead they named it after the restaurant, “Gizmos Burger”.

Today was my last day with my Dad, he flys out of Kansas City tomorrow. It was great having his company and I was super impressed with his strength and durability out here. He managed to join for the flattest section of all, and is getting out of here right when the hills start back up (by his design). This next section may be a bit lonely as I embark on a solo stretch from Missouri to Michigan. It brings me back to feelings I had at the beginning of the trip. However, this time should be different. I know what I’m doing, I have more friends and family waiting to join me, and I’m in too deep to back out now.

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I slept so hard last night that I woke up sore. I spent so much of the night deep in dreamland, that my body didn’t feel like it relaxed at all. After my 5am alarm, I shook the drowsiness off with a pint of chocolate milk and stretched out my achy muscles by rolling around in bed.

We had a little bit of fog again this morning. Not enough to risk visibility issues but enough to cast some beautiful sunrise light. I turned around at one point to capture a video of the light passing through the branches of a tree sending beams of misty orange sunshine outwards like fingers.

Kansas has not been as flat as I was led to believe. The north eastern corner that we biked through was carved out by glaciers, resulting in lots of rolling hills. It’s nothing like climbing the mountains out west, but it leads to a never ending changing of gears and speeds going up and down all day. Today is my last day in Kansas. We are staying in Atchison, Kansas, right along the Missouri River separating it from its namesake state.

The city pool was the largest of the trip and was the least expensive at $1/person. It was a welcomed reprieve from the heat and a good finish line for the 67 mile day.

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Suuuuuuper thick fog this morning. Thickness levels were borderline dangerous. Viability was probably no more than 30 yards. A police officer pulled us over and asked if he could give us a ride anywhere because he was worried about the lack of visibility. Luckily, the fog burned off shortly after our conversation with him and we felt much more comfortable on the road.

We followed route 36 all day. The landscapes and lighting were gorgeous. Rolling hills of green and golden corn, oak trees, wind turbines, and babbling creeks. The biggest thing missing from the ride today was shade. Shade went missing somewhere back in the mountains of Idaho. It’s only since Colorado that I’ve really started missing it as temperatures have consistently climbed over 85F. I’m hopeful that as my route starts to incorporate more trails, shade will find its way back to me.

I’m afraid I may have hit my Casey’s limit. Today I got free french fries and pizza for signing up for their rewards program, but it didn’t really hit the spot. To counter this lack of enthusiasm for fried food, I tackled some pineapple and blackberries for lunch, then a banana and grapes for a snack. Hopefully I wake up tomorrow feeling whole again and ready to fry.

The pool in Seneca, our destination for the night, was the best of the trip so far. It featured the typical diving boards, a large lap pool, an obstacle course, and two water slides. My riding partner, Mike, enjoyed the water slide so much we may have ridden it over 20 times. It reminded me of the zip line bit in Time Robinson’s show, “I Think You Should Leave”.

Mexican for dinner was righteous, FIFA soccer games were entertaining (Go England!), motel AC is cold, and I’m not sunburned. Can’t complain.

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An early morning start got us rolling right after some rain dissipated. Temperatures were cool and the sun was hidden behind overcast clouds. It was the most consistent comfortable weather I’ve had since leaving the mountains.

The storm clouds above cast dramatic lighting across the farm land. There’s something so satisfying about the perfect order in modern day crop fields. The corduroy like texture, clean edges, and contours scratch both the mathematical and artistic sides of my brain. I tried my best to capture these views with my camera, but nothing came out as impressive as it looked in person, so you’ll have to trust me on this one.

The morning’s storm blew east in the same direction we were traveling. The tail end of the bulbous storm clouds left rays of light peeking through the thick morning air. Unfortunately, we eventually caught up to the storm and proceeded to get soaked to the bone for the last 10 miles. An abandoned gas station awning provided some protection from the rain just before arriving to Washington, Kansas.

Today was a big day for Casey’s (my favorite place ever). We had one at mile 30 and one in our final destination. For breakfast, I got the classics: a loaded burrito and a slice of breakfast pizza. For lunch, I tried the BBQ bacon cheeseburger sliders and a spicy crispy chicken sandwich. Later in the evening, I returned to get some change for the laundry mat. My final visit was to get some cold drinks. In total, I visited the Washington Casey’s three times today, wearing three different shirts (because of the laundry), and checked out with the same cashier all three times. I don’t think she recognized me.

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Today started with a torrential downpour. Luckily, we hadn’t left the RV yet. After half an hour of rain and lightning, the storm passed and left us with slightly cooler temps and shade for the morning.

We unceremoniously crossed into Kansas, I guess not enough people enter the state along this route to warrant a welcome sign. I only knew I was in Kansas after passing a billboard that read, “please don’t hit Kansas road workers”.

Today, the roads were smooth and the wind was minimal. I may even go so far as to say the conditions were good. The highs only reached 89F which is still quite uncomfortable, but felt worlds better than 95F. I think I felt stronger in the heat because I hydrated better and consumed copious amounts of electrolytes. Who knew all it took to survive out here was one liquid IV, one pedialyte, and two nuun tablets.

It sounds like we may be relying on Casey’s for most of our hot food for the next few days as these small towns don’t always have any other dinning options. I am not upset about it. Today I had their breakfast pizza, as recommended by @lizzie, and was blown away. The pizza did not look very visually exciting; Cheese, sausage, and egg didn’t exactly provide much of a color pop. However, the magic was under the cheese. The pizza had a sausage gravy base that was savory and buttery with a hint of sage. I highly recommend it.

We passed by the center of America. I celebrated by pointing to the center of Matt. This lined up almost perfectly with the halfway point on my trail 2,150 miles! The second half of the trip should move quicker than the first with higher milage days, less climbing, lower elevation.

I was able to sweet talk us into the basement of the local Methodist church here in Mankato (pronounced with a hard midwestern A [man-kay-toe]). We fell into our usual routine like clockwork after securing the church. Find a cold drink, drop off the bikes, head to the public pool, find dinner, crash. A huge bonus at this church was the 3 couches in the back room. I’ve grown used to sitting in the gravel on the side of roads, picnic benches, and my leather bike seat. I feel luxurious when I pull out my small foam pad to provide a little cushion. A couch feels like Heaven when you’re this deprived.

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I’ve gotten some feedback that my journal entries focus too heavily on food. It made me reflect on my trip as a whole and I realized something. I spend virtually the entire day doing one of three things: Eating, Sleeping, and Biking. If I’m not doing one of those three things, I’m either planning to do them, hoping to do them, or trying to avoid them.

Today’s ride was pretty short, but I made the mistake of thinking it would be easy. The heat blasted me like a gut punch with 6 miles to go. A lack of electrolytes mixed with a salivating craving for a Casey’s Bacon Cheeseburger pizza made my knees weak and my vision blurry. I was rewarded for my determination immediately upon entering Franklin, NE with the AC from the open-air beer refrigerators and the freshly made pizza of my dream’s.

After a sweaty shirtless laundromat run, another public pool finally brought our core temperatures back to steady state levels. We lounged here for a few hours straddling the peak heat of the day at 95F.

Our accommodations for the night were with a local couple we found on WarmShowers. This website is specifically designed for touring cyclists to find housing and support during their trips. Most of the hosts are bikers themselves and love nothing more than to help out a fellow cyclists. This is my first time officially using this site and was very pleased with our hosts Mike and Ann. They cooled down the RV in their yard for us to sleep in and welcomed us in their home for showers and dinner. The people of Nebraska continue to set the hospitality bar higher.

We learned that the slogan for Nebraska used to be “honestly, it’s not for everyone” and I thought that was honest and clever.

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Believe it or not, it was hot again. I guess the whole country is hot right now (except Santa Cruz), so I’m sure you understand what I’m feeling. We got up early today and hit the road by 6am, which actually felt like 5am since we entered central time zone yesterday. This made a world of a difference, starting before the sun ever rose, gave us a huge head start on the heat. It wasn’t until around noon when temps climbed over 90 that the heat started to affect our performance.

I stopped at the first Casey’s gas station of the trip. This place is an A tier roadside food stop and was serving up loaded breakfast burritos this morning. I will be ordering their cheeseburger pizza next time I pass by one. A footlong subway sandwich served as a nice snack and carried me the last 15 miles to Oxford, NE.

We have developed quite an efficient method for locating a place to sleep. Locals usually spot our bikes and get curious, we tell them about our trip and explain our worries about camping outside in the heat, they suggest names and places of people/establishments who may be able to help us out. Today, we met Chloe at the gas station while eating some ice cream cookie sandwiches. She connected us with Pastor Brian at the local Baptist Church, who immediately drove down to meet us and was thrilled to open his doors to us for the night. The church provided an air conditioned gymnasium all for us. We parked our bikes, unloaded our gear, then walked one block to the local pool where we got to experience scenes straight out of the movie Caddy Shack while cooling off in the pool. It’s hard to describe the feeling of arriving in these small towns, living amongst the locals, and being welcomed in like one of their own. It was what I was hoping to experience when I set out on this trip, and it fills me with optimism seeing it come to fruition.

As if Oxford hadn’t already done enough for the crazy three bikers rolling through town, Chloe’s mom arrived at the church with a home cooked dinner for us to chow. Salad, goulash, garlic bread, brownies, and snacks for tomorrow. I feel like a movie star, but probably even better.

Strawberry Super Stuffed: 6.5/10 (tastes exactly like the regular strawberry but probably ruined the regular version for me because I will always be looking for more filling).

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Smoking hot day today. Headwinds helped keep the temperature manageable for the first few hours but resulted in a battle for every mile. After 12 pm it turned ugly. No amount of hydration seemed to be enough. Shade was few and far between, we jumped on every opportunity we came across.

Earlier in the day, I was more appreciative of our surroundings. This part of Nebraska is very green and luscious with rolling hills and soft grass. Our destination for the day, McCook Nebraska, is apparently known as tree city. I have yet to see a good reason for this. At my first stop for the day, I grabbed two breakfast tornados, I’m counting these as roller dogs 🌭🌭(sue me).

Walmart was our first stop in town for some cold drinks, pop-tart reload, and some AC. Then we made our way over to the YMCA for the pool, showers, and more AC. We weren’t having any luck calling local churches for a place to stay for the night. Luckily, we met Eric in the pool who offered us a spot at his mom’s business. She runs a used book store/yoga studio/event space in downtown McCook. It was the perfect space to roll out our pads and protect us from the hot hellscape outside.

We watched USA fumble the bag at the local axe throwing bar before calling it an early night. Planning to get rolling as early as possible tomorrow to avoid the afternoon heat.

Pop-tart review: inspired by Chloe Huggins, I’ve decided to share some thoughts on the newest release in food tech, the Super Stuffed Pop-Tarts. These come in single sleeved pouches with 5/box, unlike the double pouches with 4/box in the typical variety. From previous analyses completed before through hiking the John Muir Trail, I found that Pop-Tarts pack the most calories/gram out of all other typical snack foods (more than nuts and dried fruit!). I believe these super stuffed pop-tarts take them to the next level. These are like double stuffed Oreos, more of what you like, less of what you don’t like. So far I’ve tried the lava cake and cinnamon caramel flavor. I just restocked with the strawberry and will let you know what I think. Give them a try if you want to get out of the rock you’re living under.

Molten Lava Cake SS - 8.5/10 Cinnamon Caramel SS- 7/10 Strawberry SS- TBD

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Greetings Nebraska, it’s nice to finally meet you. I was a bit disappointed to see the shoulder on the road disappear immediately upon crossing into your state boundary, but you’ve got a couple hundred more miles to make up for it.

Today’s ride wasn’t anything new. More farms, more silos, more manure. We only passed through one town, Imperial. Here we got double cheeseburgers and milkshakes for lunch, and bagged 2 king sized burritos to saved for dinner. After lunch, the temperature had risen quite a bit and the wind started blowing against us. It’s crazy how fast you can get drained in heat like this. We pushed through the last 10 miles to get to Enders, NE.

The reservoir at camp was our saving grace. The water was colder than I expected and felt better than AC. We recouped at the beach for a bit, took a break to watch Norway vs Brazil, went back in the water, took a break to house our burritos, then watched the England vs Mexico game. The beach was packed full of people with boats and RVs backed right up the to water. The picture makes it look more overwhelming than it was.

The mosquitos came back with a vengeance after a few days in dryer climates. They devoured us both through socks, pants, and rain jackets. I’m glad the last soccer game of the night didn’t go to extra time. Going to bed itchy.

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This morning did not go according to plan. We slept in because of the low milage for the day. After getting dressed and beginning to pack our bikes before leaving, I discovered that my front tire was completely flat. There were 2 small punctures I must have gotten right at the end of the day yesterday. I threw my last spare tube in and patched the holy one. Since the next few days are going to be pretty remote, I backtracked to Walmart to grab an extra spare, only to find that they were all out of my tire size…

After finally getting rolling for the day, we were delighted to feel a tailwind. This carried us for most of the morning and made for a very easy first 40 miles.

The scenery today made me feel like I was biking along the board game of Catan. To my left was a golden field of wheat. To my right, an endless field of green corn stalks. Directly ahead of me stood the knight, a towering array of silos, visible from over five miles away, indicating the location of the next small town.

If anyone can tell me why all the semis that passed me today left a sour smell in the air, that would be great.

My dad and I celebrated the holiday with a six pack of Montuckys, California burritos, and Kansas City hotdogs (in honor of Joey Chestnut).

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Hot and windy day out here in Kansas, I mean eastern Colorado. Today we biked through 2 towns, each of which had nothing to offer for weary bike travelers. We were able to sneak some hot water out of an unlocked fire department sink. Lunch consisted of a wide spread of sweet and savory snacks as the restaurant we were planning to stop at was closed for the holiday. Dad did great on his first big day with all the gear!

We broke the day up into 10 mile sections, trying to find shade where possible. The terrain was mostly rolling hills and cross winds.

The most interesting things we passed on the road today were some unidentifiable sites. The first being a large scale construction site of unknown industry. They had a 5 mile long water pipe with mobile pump stations providing water to the site, over 50 semi trucks hauling strange funnel shaped devices to and from the site, and a 40 foot tall wind barrier constructed along 2 sides of the site (40.6233054, -103.9861942). The second was were I took an emergency bathroom break in an unlocked porta potty. This toilet was next to a heavily secured pad of concrete, with cameras, prison like fences, and antennas. It appeared to be the entrance to some underground facility/storage. Missile silo? (40.6120604, -103.7622086)

We’re spending the night in a cute motel in Sterling, CO. Booking hotels sucks. I’m stuck in a catch 22 where we don’t have a reservation number for a room we booked but can’t get through the AI help desk to a real human without a confirmation number. My brain feels like it’s going to explode.

Had a great burger and beer while watching the Argentina vs Capo Verde game. Finished the night off with a scoop of root beer ice cream while watching a storm roll in.

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This morning I got to sleep in a bit. It was my first true hotel room of the whole trip and I was enjoying the white bed sheets and excessive amount of pillows.

I didn’t include it in my entry from yesterday, but last night after catching up with my Dad, we ran some errands then watched the US men’s team win their first knockout game inside a cozy Irish Pub. I helped him settle in some of his loose gear and tried to ease his nerves about the miles ahead. It made me think back to my first night, feeling completely overwhelmed thinking about the trip as a whole. Over time I’ve adjusted to thinking and planning a few days ahead and no further. One state at a time. Shrinking my trip into digestible chunks.

The ride today was mellow. No strong winds, no big hills. The hardest challenge to overcome today was the smell. Immediately upon leaving the Fort Collins city limits, we were smacked with some rancid aromas. First it was the smell of steaming cow poop from crowded dairy farms. Then it was hot garbage from the landfill. To top it all off, we finished with a long stretch of sour fertilizer steaming of the freshly sprayed earth. I miss the mountains. I’m afraid that the photography department is going to be lacking as compared to previous posts.

Services are pretty limited out here. We passed through one town and grabbed a slice of pizza. The town across from our campsite tonight has a small market that stocked less merchandise than a typical gas station. We spent the afternoon avoiding the sun and chugging water. A water bottle bath sufficed to rinse off the day’s sweat.

It was a good day. We’re gearing up for an early start tomorrow to tackle 60 miles.

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Today was a blast. It was 30 miles of uphill, then 70 miles of downhill. First Benjamin ride in the books. To say I bombed the hill would be an understatement. I had access to the launch codes and when completely nuclear down that canyon. My fastest five mile split was over 30mph average speed. My top speed was 46mph. I felt like I had wings.

The day didn’t start as good as it ended. I got going early, hitting the road at 6am. Within the first 10 miles, a tendon in my right knee was screaming at me. I made some adjustments to my cleat that seemed to reduce the pain, but it had already swollen up and hurt to pedal. I was really doubting my ability to make it to the top of Cameron Pass, let alone the 100 miles to Fort Collins. Every truck and RV that passed by me as a potential escape route that crossed my mind. After a few more miles and confidence that the pain wasn’t increasing, I took some ibuprofen to reduce the swelling and told myself that if any sharp pains surfaced, I could call it quits. Either my ibuprofen was super strength or my adjustments were perfect, because I went the rest of the day pain free.

My only stops along the way were breathers going uphill, photo stops, hot dog stop🌭, and a beer break (for the carbs). I got the beer at the Mishawaka, a really cool restaurant and music venue. It felt like the smaller, more underground version of red rocks. If you’re in the area I think this place is worth checking out.

Biking through the Poudre Canyon was hands down the best ride of the trip so far. Debatably, the best ride of my life, so far. The road was butter, the grade was delicious, the traffic was friendly, and the views were enchanting. 10/10 would do again (either grind the ride up or hitch hike to the top of the pass).

I rolled in to Fort Collins and hit 99 miles. I’m against the idea of adding an additional mile just to hit a special number. However, after running some errands, I happened to cross the century threshold. My legs are a little jelly feeling but for the most part I feel pretty good. Maybe next time I’m ready for a big rip I need to set my sights longer.

A lot of personal records were broken today. This was my longest ride ever, and with the help of the downhill, I broke every single distance speed record up to 100 miles. I also set my record low temp this morning in Walden at 32F and my record high in Fort Collins at 90F in the same day. I think the low is going to stay for the rest of the trip, unfortunately, I think the high is going to be surpassed in the days to come.

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Like the boys from Boston said, I’m back in the saddle again. And boy do I have mixed feelings.

Wyoming was quite a challenge. It was beautiful, wild, windy, and for the most part, deserted. I found myself on all ends of the emotional spectrum in this state. I was thrilled to be crossing the border into colorful Colorado.

The Colorado welcoming was not what I hoped for. Instead of ice cream and downhills, I got demolished by a direct headwind and the gnarliest bumpy road of the trip. The last 27 miles of today’s ride just about rattled my bones apart. I’m figuratively throwing all of the resting and icing I did on my joints yesterday out the window. I didn’t really take many pictures today. Nothing caught my eye and I wasn’t really in the mood to extend my commute time on the already lengthy day.

My appetite has reached an all time high. I started the day off with 2 packets of oatmeal, 2 yogurts, and a package of raspberries. Over the course of the ride, I ate a fruit pie, 2 bags of chips, nuts, and a bar. Once I got to town, I stopped for a burger, then got 3 tacos at the food truck, then went back to the food truck for a quesadilla. I can promise you, I will wake up starving in the morning.

I’m relying on the fuel to carry me 100 miles to Fort Collins tomorrow where I will meet my dad! He is joining me on the leg from Fort Collins to Kansas City. I’m really excited to get to spend this time with him and show him the ropes of bike touring. Unfortunately, I think he chose the hottest, most boring section of the entire trail. Together we will get to explore the vast flatlands of eastern Colorado, Nebraska, and Kansas. While the terrain may not be very stimulating, at least we will have each other’s company.

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My dues have been paid, I finally got some tailwind!

The first 20 miles of today’s ride were straight east through Sinclair, Wyoming, home of a massive Sinclair oil refinery (the dinosaur gas brand). Most of this section was on interstate 80. Under normal circumstances, this would have sucked. However, with a 25mph tailwind, brand new pavement, and minimal traffic during church hours, it was incredible. I was smiling ear to ear as I blasted down the shoulder in my highest gear. I promised myself, I will never end a day early when there are active tailwinds, I’d rather bike into the night than give up this precious opportunity.

Sadly, all good things must come to an end. My route turned south and the trail winds turned to cross winds. Nothing to cry about compared to previous days. The landscape was incredibly bland, the most interesting feature being the fact that I could see cloud shadows moving across the desert floor before they engulfed me in darkness.

I arrived in Saratoga before noon, one of the shortest and quickest rides of the whole trip. I’m staying at a local church that hosts bikers in their annex house. It’s basically a free Airbnb complete with my own bedroom, a full kitchen, and a bike shop garage. Saratoga is also home to Hobo Hot Springs, a free public natural hot springs. This what my body has been dreaming of since I started biking every day.

I grilled some chicken for dinner and was joined by a young 6 point buck. He seemed pretty familiar with the joint and had no issue with the space I was occupying, he also didn’t seem too interested in chicken. He just laid down, watched me cook, scratched his head, took a piss, then headed back to work.

In other news, the roller stations are becoming bountiful, I think I’m finally entering the promise land. Today I snagged a breakfast tornado and a jalapeño cheddar dog. Adding +2 to the stats page.🌭🌭

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Well, I have good news and bad news. Good news, it wasn’t as windy as yesterday. Bad news, only slightly.

There was one gas station along the route today, other than that, it was completely barren desert. Any green grass had been munched up by the cows, only sage brush remained. I ate a burrito and a berry danish at the gas station, then pushed on.

The morning was fairly calm with a slight cross wind. Right when I was starting to think I got lucky and avoided the wind for the day, I was struck by my first gust. These gusts continued for the last 30 miles and into the evening. They persisted even in downtown Rawlins while I grocery shopped and picked up a Dominos pizza, it makes everything harder and louder.

I saw some cool wildlife over the past 24 hours. I spotted a few Pronghorns, the fastest land mammal in North America reaching speeds of over 55mph. I watched a Western Meadowlark sing his tune. I dodged a Prairie Rattlesnake shakin his tail. The wind has completely worn me down at this point. I am planning to take a rest day in the next town to let my joints heal and my legs relax. There is a church hostel and a hot springs in town so it seems as good a place as any to spend an extra day.

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Today was a challenging day. I faced 30mph wind with 50mph gusts. It required me to ride with my bike at an angle to compensate for the wind. To help visualize this wind speed, I was able to spit clear across the three lane highway into the other shoulder with the wind assist.

I arrived at the big climb for the day. Before beginning to climb, I ate the last of my McDonald’s reserves, popped a gel, and plugged in my headphones with some fast paced EDM queued up. Then I started up the 5 mile 2,000 foot climb that would end up taking me almost 2 hours to complete. This climb was pretty typical compared to previous climbs on the trip, it wasn’t super steep and wasn’t crazy big, but the wind was a completely new factor. Much like the previous 25 miles, it blew directly at me or diagonally across my body the whole way up. In the more positive moments, it felt like I was flying a space ship through an asteroid field. Unpredictable gusts of wind forcing me to overcompensate my navigation of the broken glass and shards of metal on the side of the road while staying between the 24” strip of pavement with rumble strips to my left and a steep gravel bank to my right. In the more negative moments, it felt like hell.

It’s hard to describe what I went through on this climb, so I’ll just explain objectively what happened to me. I was struggling to keep my bike moving fast enough to maintain my balance. It required a level of continuous exertion I haven’t used on this ride so far. My heart rate rose above my previous zone 2 limits and kept me out of breath the whole time. The music allowed me to zone out and just grind up the hill, the beat of the song commanding my legs to keep pumping. However, when the song ended, I would typically find myself crying. I wasn’t really sure why and it kind of scared me. Between songs, I would return to my body and find that my fingers and toes had gone numb because I was so gripped trying to stay balanced while pushing so hard. The next song would start and I would lock back in and the cycle would continue. But I kept crying every few minutes, I have never experienced this before. I think it was a combination of fear and a general lack of control of my bodily functions. Fear of the wind and what it’s capable of, at times it sounds like music, but today it was overpowering and threatening. The thing that concerned me most about the tears was that I didn’t have that much water on me and didn’t want any more leaving my body on top of the sweat already steady flowing in the 80F heat.

Climbing the hill was the hard part, not the bad part. The bad part started right at the top of the hill. The storm cell causing all the high winds arrived and brought with it even stronger winds and sideways rain. I have no idea how fast the wind was blowing but it brought out a primal fear in me. Biking was impossible, holding my bike upright while standing was extremely difficult. I started to worry about the possibility of a tornado, and with nothing to shelter beneath/next to for miles in either direction, I laid down in the ditch along the road until things settled down. Thankfully, there was no tornado, the storm blew over after 5 minutes and the regularly schedule 30mph winds resumed. This pattern repeated 2 more times over the course of the day.

I finally arrived at my destination for the night, an old church converted into a biker hostel in the ghost town of Jeffery City. I guess this place was a big uranium mining town, but it’s just about empty now with only 47 people living here. The church is pretty creepy, it’s just a bunch of empty rooms that you’re allowed to sleep in.

I’m ready to leave this desolate wind blown section of the country.

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Today’s ride crossed through the Wind River Reservation. It was a 70 mile stretch of completely barren desert wilderness outside of 2 small villages single gas stations. The threat of afternoon storms combined with the lack of services kept me moving at a fast clip all day.

Similar to all the gas stations I’ve visited already, the 2 on today’s route did not delivery any roller meats. I settled for a microwaved burrito at the first stop and a microwaved pizza at the second.

Shortly after leaving the last gas station for the day, the storm clouds that I had been trying to outrun finally caught up to me. The sun was almost completely blocked out, creating an eerie twilight world at 12pm. The winds picked up and thunder rolled around me. The skies opened up and soaked through my rain gear in a matter of minutes. Lightning struck within a few miles of me, assuming my memory that sound travels at 1 mile/second is correct. I arrived in Lander WY to the local bike shop looking a little worse for wear. I was hoping to get some help re-sealing my rear tubeless tire that was punctured in Yellowstone. While trying to find the small hole that caused that deflation, we found a nail poking straight through the tire that must have been picked up at some point today. I ended up replacing the whole tire with the bombproof marathon plus tires commonly used by cross country tourists.

The camping location for tonight is at Lander’s City Park. It also happens to be the first of their summer concert series tonight with a free show for the whole town. It feels like I’m at a music festival with food trucks and live music right outside my zipper door. Might be a late night for me.

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Wyoming is the best. We had a huge pass to climb today but the views were so beautiful, I hardly felt like I was working that hard.

I was the last one out of camp this morning at 7:30am. Everyone else in the group was intimidated by Togwotee Pass (TOE-guh-tee), a 3,000 foot 15 mile climb. The whole way up, I had hazy views of the Tetons behind me. At to top of the pass, I reached my new highest elevation of the trip, 9,858 feet.

It was here that I met Bernie/Sea Otter. He has been walking all over the world for the past 15 years. He is currently 80 days into his trip from Washington DC to the pacific coast in Washington State. He was so high spirited, he would have probably talked with me for hours if I didn’t have to keep moving. Happy Trails Sea Otter!

The road followed the Wind River on the descent from Togwotee. It brought me past the most amazing views of Pinnacles Buttes and Lava Mountain. The rocky peaks gave way to rolling hills with the incredibly swirly Wind River winding through it all. Suddenly the green and blues turned to dusty reds and oranges as we neared Dubois. It felt like scenes from southern Utah compete with cowboys herding cattle atop desert mesas.

Dubois is a cute little town. I took my first shower in 4 days at the laundromat. The entrance to the building was a huge buffalo skull, neat. We spent the night in a church, I’m thanking God for the protection from the mosquitos tonight.

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I am obsessed with this range. Almost every turn of the ride today was photo worthy. The terrain was gracious enough to take it easy on me today and give me plenty of time for photo stops. I think today was my favorite day of the trip so far.

An early morning 20 mile blast took me past a deep canyon carved by the Lewis River. Then I suddenly crossed over the Snake River. I was surprised to see it again as I passed over it back in Idaho, I guess the Snake snakes.

Then the Tetons started peaking out. I’ll let the photos do the rest of the talking.

As I turned east and faced away from the Tetons, I was able to watch them shrink through my beer view mirror. While heading away, it felt like the mountains were pushing me along and encouraging me onwards, or maybe it was just a tailwind.

We linked up with another eastbound biker. Hung Ming from Taiwan. He’s taking the long way across the country, hauling a larger load than I would have thought possible, and getting by with next to no English. Looking forward to piece together some more of his stories over the next few days.

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Today was meant to be an easy day. The plan was to pop in to all the popular scenic spots and wind up at camp a little ways down the road. Over time, “a little ways down the road” has grown and grown and grown. Today, it meant almost 50 miles and crossing the continental divide 3 times (in simple English, lots of climbing).

Despite the intensity of the biking, I was able to see the top two places on my list: the prismatic pools and Old Faithful. I learned that the array of colors you can see in the pools is created by the bacteria in the water and the variations in color are due to the water temperature differences. Red streaks exist where water temps are around 120F, the darker blue areas exist in water temps between 160-180F. Pretty hot. Old Faithful was a trip, the geyser was cool, but I was more entertained by the THOUSANDS of people gathered around this thing like a sporting event awaiting the blast. The park has a time table, down to the minute, telling you when it with erupt next. However, the lack of patience of the average American was put on full display as people grew tired of standing and asked for the third time, “when is it supposed to happen?”

Yellowstone could use a larger shoulder for bikes and RV drivers should require additional training before being allowed on the road.

After the roaring success of last night’s dinner, I splurged on a metal bowl that should allow me to more easily cook some higher quality meals. Tonight for dinner, I made broccoli cheddar rice with a fresh red pepper. I know this may not sound like much to all of you folks at home, but my body celebrates every fresh vegetable I can get in me. Plus, this recipe included a secret ingredient, the rice was boiled in water scooped straight out of Lewis Lake on the dock the meal was cooked on. Call it, “lake to table”.

I spent the evening lounging on the dock in the sun and breeze to escape the mosquito nightmare that awaited me back at my tent. If you read this far and scrolled through all the photos from today, you deserve an award. Thanks for following along.

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I woke up from an amazing 10 hours of sleep. By sleeping indoors, we avoided thunder, lightning, and heavy rain that lasted until the early morning.

A massive raspberry pancake with eggs and bacon by the Madison River at mile 15 was a huge boost to the morale. Around this area, I passed through Earthquake Lake. A magnitude 7.8 earthquake hit this area in 1959 and caused an enormous landslide. The slide unfortunately killed many campers at the site below, and it also dramatically altered the surrounding landscape. The loose earth blocked the road and the river, thus creating Earthquake Lake.

The rest of the ride consisted of rolling hills, lake views, and the sea of humanity that is West Yellowstone. A quick smoked brisket sandwich and a McDonald’s ice cream cone to top off the fuel tanks, and a grocery run to feed me for the next 2 days were all the purchases I made in town.

Shortly after entering Yellowstone National Park, I was forced to address the elephant in the room; I had made it over 1,200 miles without a flat tire. That clock was reset with only 5 miles to go for the day. I’m still new to tubeless tires, I spent half an hour trying to refill, add sealant, and plug a small hole in my tire. I eventually gave up and threw in the only inner tube I had on me to get rolling again. The whole ordeal required me to completely strip my bike and spread out on the side of the road for all of the passing drivers to witness. Fingers crossed these puppies stay full until the next town in 3 days…

I ended the day on a good note with one of the best camp meals I’ve ever made. Smoked brisket ravioli, pesto, tomatoes, and bacon bits. Yes Mom, I like tomatoes now.

Thank you to the kind people who let me use their Star Link to upload today’s post.

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A bad weather day was overdue. I battled the cold, the rain, and the wind all day today.

I awoke to a slight drizzle in the Virginia City KOA. Right after packing up camp and hitting the road, the drizzle turned into steady rain. Once I reached the top of Virginia Pass, the steady rain turned into a downpour. My wet legs started to freeze up with the cold wind blowing over them, I had to pull over and put on my rain pants. It was at this point that the voices in my head convinced me that 15 miles was enough for the day and I should find the closest motel to hide in.

Energy levels were at an all time low after stopping at the grocery store in Ennis MT. I was feeling annoyed with the weather and didn’t want to talk with anyone. I resorted to putting my head down, plugging in some headphones, and grinding out the rest of the daily milage.

We were able to find a cheap cabin to rent for the night to avoid camping in the storm. Some warm chicken noddle soup, alfredo pasta, and pop tarts for dinner cured all my ailments and set me up for a deep and rejuvenating sleep.

Tomorrow we enter Yellowstone National Park!!!

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I didn’t sleep that well last night, despite being indoors and warm. I think the altitude may be playing a role.

Huge milestone achievement today: I successfully located and consumed my first roller dog of the trip🌭. Seeing the big goose egg on my stats page for the past 18 days has haunted me, but no longer. Bring on the glizzies, unleash the pork pistols, load the grease missiles, it’s dog time.

The biking today was pretty uneventful besides the aforementioned encounter, until I arrived to my final destination. The towns of Nevada City and Virginia City are beautifully preserved towns from the 1800’s when they were gold mining towns and the original Montana State Capital. It was a combination of really interesting history and architecture, and really expensive tourism and dinning. The bison ravioli was good but not quite worth the price tag.

We’ve started to see a lot more bike tourists heading west. These guys started their journeys back in April and are nearing completion. At this point, I would describe cross-country bike touring as an active retirement organization. I can count the number of people I’ve met under the age of 55 on 4 fingers.

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Started the day same as most, with 2 packets of oatmeal. The special side quest this morning was dipping my feet in a hot spring right on the edge of town. The water must have been over 105F because after a couple minutes, my feet felt burned. Not sure if this was a healthy decision but I’m happy to have made it.

I covered two passes today, Big Hole Pass and Badger Pass. Both were fairly mild climbs, but the descents were primo. I ended at a lower elevation than I started today which means more time was spent going down hill and it was FELT. I was clocking speeds over 40mph going down some of these sections. Going fast down hill, the wind transforms into a sort of music. At the bottom, I’m left feeling like I just heard a great song with a strong desire to click replay.

At one point, I saw two bikers on the horizon and realized I was gaining on them (which was strange because it didn’t look like they had any baggage on their bikes). They turned out to be competing in the continental divide race. These guys were riding single speed bikes, averaging 130 miles and 10k feet of climbing per day with only 4 hours of sleep each night. Just when you start to think you’re pretty cool, you discover that the world is full of people who do what you do in their sleep. These guys were looking forward to their first shower in 7 days while I was looking forward to the Mexican Food truck in the next town over. Props to Geoff and Tanner, good luck on the rest of the race!

I’m staying at a biker resort in Dillon MT tonight. This guy built a few cabins has has them kitted out with a full bike mechanic work bench, a mini kitchen, showers, and plenty of indoor/outdoor places to camp. Spending time in these unique places has been one of the best parts of the trip. The smallest amenities mean so much, any night that I don’t need to pitch my tent feels like a win.

I spent the better part of the afternoon laid out on a lounge chair in the shade listening to music. This is exactly what the doctor ordered.

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Started the day climbing over Saint Joseph pass. 2,200 feet of vertical climbing to reach my highest point yet, 7,264 feet.

Crossed over the Continental Divide and got to see one of the CDT markers! That means every drop of rain from here on out leads back to the Atlantic Ocean.

Got lunch in Wisdom MT, picked up a couple beers, then made the push to our final destination. This area is called the Big Hole because of the circular shaped mountains that surround the area. It’s full of agriculture that uses flood irrigation to water the land. This environment provides the perfect breeding ground for the largest, nastiest, most blood thirsty mosquitos I’ve ever come across. These monstrosities were able to keep up with me while pedaling at 19 mph and lay siege to my highly sugar enriched blood. It became obvious to me that sleeping outside tonight was not an option.

Luckily, the Bunkhouse in Jackson was the answer to my prayers. This building serves as the post office, laundry mat, bar, and hostel for the town of 36 people. The top floor of this 116 year old building is full of queen beds for rent, and comes complete with couches, satellite tv, and a warm shower. I’m in heaven.

Today I crossed the 1,000 mile mark! In my head, I thought this moment would feel more significant, but really, it just felt like another day of biking. I can feel myself slowly starting to lean into the adventure side of this trip rather than the mission side. It’s very easy for me to focus on the task that needs completed and loose site of the joy of the process. After 17 days, and over 1000 miles, it’s become clear that this trip is going to last a while and that I may as well enjoy every moment.

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Another chill day out here in Montana. Woke up to a dry tent for the first time all trip, it’s starting to get pretty hot and dry.

Got my hair cut in Darby MT today. Feeling lighter and cooler with some extra airflow through the helmet

Stopped by a farmers market and picked up a bag of dried lavender to stuff in my nasty clothing bag. Mike bought a sweet knife. We split a half gallon of chocolate milk.

My newest strategy for staying fresh on this ride is stopping in at all the public libraries. They usually have a nice couch to lounge on, outlets to charge up, AC to cool down in, and a nice librarian who has most of the things you may need on the road.

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Slow start to the morning leaving the Shady Spruce Hostel in Missoula. We stopped by and chatted with Jeff at Adventure Cycling Association (the organization that builds and organizes the network of cycling maps I used to build this route). It was awesome to hear about all the history of bicycle touring in America. The coolest story we heard was that of 25 year old Frank Lenz from Pittsburg. In 1892 he was the first documented person to tour through Missoula on a bike. He rode a single speed bike with his camera equipment and the bare essentials weighing in over 110 lbs. He crossed the country in 107 days, averaging 45 miles per day (not that much slower than in doing right now). He went on to travel all across the world, unimaginable with the lack of technology and rudimentary gear of the time.

The biking today was pretty uneventful. I spent some time at the Bitterroot Public Library making some changes to my planned route (less milage, less mountain passes, less dogs, more services, better). Then I grabbed a beer and dinner at Bitter Root Brewing. Their flagship beer is the Dirt Church Hazy. Their merch says, “Biking solves most of my problems, Dirt Church solves the rest”, and I really felt that… I ended up spending more money at this brewery than I have for any other meal this trip and it was worth every penny.

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Biked around Missoula today running errands. Eating, buying gear, chilling in a library, eating again, reading, eating again.

I’ve included a few pictures of all the gear I have on this trip. My bike has the following storage areas:

• 2x front fork bags
• 2x rear pannier bags (named Russell and Angelina)
• Rear rack bag
• Handlebar bag
• 2x feed bags
• Frame bag
• Top post bag
• Saddle bag

Most of the gear is self explanatory. The different kits I brought I added text describing what they are (let me know if you would like deeper dives into any of the kits).

Some recent gear upgrades include: a larger pump, some extra replacement parts (brake pads, master link, valve stem), padded gloves, additional water bottle.

Doing this gear review was helpful as I came across items I haven’t touched yet and plan to send home. I don’t think my bags can get any smaller or lighter at this point in the trip. Once I clear the mountains I may send home some of my cold weather gear but that remains to be seen.

Missoula has been pretty awesome. I had the best donut of my life (huckleberry danish from Veera) and the neighborhoods have been beautiful to ride through.

Excited to see what Montana has in store for me!

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I guess that big day took its tole on me. I felt immediately fatigued when I started climbing up over Lolo pass this morning. After crawling to the top, I figured the hardest part of my day was over. Unfortunately, this was wrong. I faced a massive headwind all the way down the pass into Lolo and north into Missoula.

The extra effort was unaccounted for in my meal plan for the day and I bonked pretty hard. The snacks I was carrying weren’t cutting it. What I really needed was 2,000 hot calories straight to the face. That’s when old Ronald McDonald saved the day.

I crossed the board from Idaho into Montana! Woohoo third state here we come!

After getting into Missoula and showering off 4 days worth of life, I spent some time running errands that have been building up until I arrived in a city with bike shops and an REI. This town is really pretty and I like the layout. It feels like Michigan with mountains.

Tomorrow is going to be a zero day, figured after 2 weeks of nonstop biking it might be time to let my body rest a bit.

Go Knicks!

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Set out on my own for the next few days. Felt charged up and needed some miles to settle my legs. Today was a beautiful steady uphill all day. Highway 12 follows the Middle Fork River, a very popular white water rafting destination. The rapids were enchanting with the churning sage green colored water. I had to hold myself back from stopping at every single rapid to take pictures, I had ground to cover!

Today is my last full day in Idaho as tomorrow I will cross over into Montana. So far, it’s been about a week/state. My daily milage has been determined more so by the amount of elevation gain and less by the milage. Today’s 89 miles covered the same amount of elevation as yesterday’s 45 miles. I’m excited to see what I’m capable of once the terrain levels out east of the Rockies…

I’m not sure if this is common practice in Idaho, but my relaxing riverside dinner at the Lodge next to the campground was mildly disturbed by the table behind me testing out their new rifle scopes. After realizing that they had their guns held up right behind my head aimed out at the woods, my Salmon Caesar salad started to taste pretty bland. No one else seemed to care about the firepower on their table so I guess I’m just out of touch.

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Two freshly made donuts and a tri tip burrito was the fuel of choice for this morning’s ride. With the tank full, I absolutely smoked the climb today. I did it with the tarp off and felt the most alive I think I ever have. Massive downhill off White Bird summit into Grangeville for a super market lunch.

Rolling hills through mega farmland offered some cool views. Terrifying descent down Lamb Grade made me worried my brakes were going to give out. I stopped halfway to let them cool down, they singed my fingers when I felt them.

Made it to Kooskia and negotiated a free night of camping at the City Park. This trip is teaching me that it never hurts to ask. Took a river laundry-bath in the South Fork while watching a little league baseball game. Celebrated with a bacon cheeseburger, apple pie, and some beer from the local cafe.

Missoula on the mind.

Song of the day: Gelatin Mode - Post Animal (this song carried me up the steepest point of the climb)

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Started the day slow waking up in the cabin as we waited out some morning showers. We started biking at 10am and proceeded to get hit with sporadic rain storms every 30 mins for the rest of the day. It made for a challenging day to dress for; rain gear on when the storm rolled in, rain gear off as the sun came out and the temps rose (repeat 8x).

I enjoyed reading all of the road-side signage courtesy of the rural Idaho churches. The AI sign was the most intriguing, however, I passed it on a one lane down-hill with traffic behind me and was unable to snap a photo. So, I used AI to generate a pretty accurate replica of the sign I saw, please enjoy the metaphor.

Another highlight of the ride today was watching an Osprey return to her nest with food for her babies. If you haven’t seen the movie on YouTube called “Listers”, it’s a must see. It has turned me into somewhat of an amateur birder.

After chatting up the town hall contact for the park we were supposed to camp at in the town of White Bird, we were upgraded to full access to the elementary school for the night. The classroom had a TV and a couch so I had an amazing spot to watch game 4 of the NBA finals while enjoying my Huckleberry milkshake from down the road.

Big climb tomorrow. Dreaming of thunder thighs.

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Rough night of sleep. 30 mph winds and rain blew through our camp until around 11pm. Finally got some rest but was awaken an hour earlier than normal due to the time zone change.

The 2 landscape photos are taken at the same time of opposite sides of the road. Unfortunately, we were traveling towards the darker side. Got some miles under our belt and stopped for lunch just as a hail storm passed over head. Timing couldn’t have been better as shortly after eating, the skies cleared up and the sun came back out.

I did today’s ride in my Tevas and without padded shorts in an attempt to give my body some space to breathe. In theory, today’s terrain looked easy and I was thinking it would be somewhat of a rest day. However, soreness from the big climb yesterday, poor sleep, and crazy weather turned today into one of the most time consuming rides of the trip so far. Something about spending all day getting passed by semis, RVs, lifted trucks, and every other piece of cargo seemingly every Idahoan has strapped to their vehicles, is pretty exhausting.

It was worth it in the end. The last 10 miles followed the Little Salmon River down to our six person cabin in Pinehurst. Frozen Stouffers lasagna is on the menu with Oreos for dessert. I think sleep should come easier tonight

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We left our campsite at the RV park and got some breakfast burritos for the road. We arrived at the Snake River and followed the Oregon side for a few miles before crossing over into Idaho to begin some massive climbing.

The biggest climb of the day, a 7 mile stretch with over 2,000 feet of vert, was the focus for the day. The road along this climb was covered in thousands of Jurassic park sized grasshoppers. They were doing a combination of mating with each other and eating each other (unfortunately this seemed to apply to those who were alive and dead). I tried my best to avoid them but with so many on the road there were a few unlucky crunches.

I was able to unlock the strength required to hold a steady pace up the whole climb with no stops. I think it also helped that I plugged in some headphones for the climb after 3 days of music-less riding. Conquering this climb made me feel pretty unstoppable.

We are now camped next to the water tower under a pavilion in a small down awaiting our first storm of the trip. Happy to have a sturdy roof over my tent tonight.

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Can’t believe I’ve been biking for 7 days. Tomorrow we are crossing over into Idaho, it’s been real Oregon!

Today was pretty chill on paper, but in reality, almost all of the climbing was in a single hill. On grades that steep, I am unable to find a pace that is sustainable. I end up having to stop every 1-2 miles to catch my breath or let my legs sit still.

We biked over the Oregon Trail today and got to see tracks from some of the original carriages people rode out west. All of the small towns we’ve biked through have been full of cool history.

Legs are feeling strong and my soul is feeling filled (or maybe that’s my belly after eating 5 meals today).

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Last big push for now. The next few days should be a lot lower milage and hopefully provide some rest for my aching body.

Thanks to the hot breakfast Jimi cooked up, I was able to tackle Dixie pass first thing in the morning. A second breakfast from Austin House fueled me up the second pass. A gel and a pop tart did a decent job getting me up the last pass.

I got a lot of bugs in my mouth today. The first 2 I immediately coughed up and spat out. When the third bug flew in my mouth, I decided to relax a bit and taste it. It reminded me of spinach with a very earthy flavor, quite nice actually.

Oh and did I mention, I FINALLY FOUND OTHER CYCLISTS DOING THE TRANS AMERICAN TRAIL!!! Our paths finally crossed and I think we will have a team of 6 of us mobbing through the Idaho hills for the next few days.

It was a good hard day.

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Big climb to start the day, followed by the best descent of the trip so far. The winding road snaked through a scraggly basalt canyon. The river bed was filled with fragrant blooming jasmine, with wild cattle carved terraced hills sloping up to jagged rocky peaks. I was able to capture some of the beauty in photos but most of it was just for my eyes as I bombed down the hill at 35 miles per hour.

Stopped for breakfast #2 in Dayville and got some homemade brioche French toast. I have been pleasantly surprised with how yummy the food is out in these small Oregon towns.

After breakfast I locked into a biking trance and hammered out 30 more miles to get to John Day.

I pushed on to Prairie City after dinner to round out another 80 mile day. I stayed with Jimmi after meeting him outside the hardware store. We watched the Knicks game and talked about the local geology. Nice to have another shower and bed to sleep on.

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Starting to feel the miles and the isolation. I’ve somehow managed to time this trip perfectly so as to not cross paths with any other riders. I hear stories of groups of people riding east passing through, “just a few days ago”. It’s wearing me down, I didn’t plan to be alone for this long. Trying to enjoy it and learn from it but feeling down.

My right knee has been aching for the past few days and was really talking to me today. Some adjustments to my cleats seemed to help but not consistently.

Today would have been a complete down day if it weren’t for my final destination. I’m staying at the Spoke’n Hostel tonight. A hostel designed for bikers in the small town of Mitchell, OR. This place ROCKS. They have every accommodation imaginable and it is so perfectly curated to be a comfortable landing place for weary travelers. I am the only one here tonight, and will be sleeping alone in the converted church with 11 empty beds around me🙏

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Oops, I biked 80 miles again. Today was only supposed to be 65 miles to get to Smith Rock, but a late road-closure-discovery on McKenzie Pass resulted in a U-turn after 4 miles and a much longer route for the day.

The morning was filled with ferns, Douglas firs, and water falls. At the summit of the cascade range, views of Mount Washington and the three sisters commanded my attention. Further along, the landscape shifted to high desert, reminiscent of Flagstaff AZ. Juniper, sage, and other crispy variety plants ruled the dry land.

While rounding a corner, I started to see some alpacas. Some alpacas quickly turned into over 1,000 alpacas. It was as if someone decided to play Minecraft in real life, I couldn’t believe it. It’s called Alpaca Country Estates, for anyone who would like to visit.

I made it to Smith Rock as the wind started picking up. Eager to avoid any additional miles on my bike, I asked around for a ride into town. I met Brandon, who was kind enough to offer a ride and we spent the rest of the evening together watching the Knicks and talking books and photography. Great hanging with you Brandon, good luck in Sacramento!

Bird of the day: Quail (CA state bird)

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Very happy with how I felt today. Followed the McKenzie up into Willamette National Forest. Today’s mission was to slow it down, and I think I was successful. I stopped and ate at every gas station I passed (sadly no roller dogs yet) and kept my pace slower than yesterday’s blitz.

Pretty hot out there today. I swam in the McKenzie at 2 different points, including my river side campsite complete with the loudest white noise ever (class II white water rapid).

I met my first bikers today! It was short lived as I somehow lost them immediately, but they were a cute old couple riding a tandem bike with a trailer. I don’t think our paths will cross again as they are taking a much more relaxed approach to the cross country trip and a different route over tomorrow’s mountain.

Town of the day: Nimrod, OR

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This is more than I initially planned for. Despite all the advice I received to start off easy, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to sleep in a bed and see friends. Knocked this ride out quite a bit faster than I should have. A lack of electrolytes and an excess of sun has resulted in some very yellow pee.

My route followed the Lake Creek River Valley. The grade was gentle, the fields were lush, and the river provided some tranquil rest stops.

I struck out on food options between miles 30-70. Devoured a cheeseburger at mile 75 so fast that my heart rate jumped into zone 3.

I have a feeling most rides will go like this: I have a lot of energy and stoke in the morning and pull over at every photo op. Then as the day wears on and the temps rise, my photographic inspiration dwindles to an occasional iPhone shot.

Planning for an easy day tomorrow to give these legs some time to get used to this.

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Arrived in Eugene rocking 4 hours of zombie train sleep. Refueled by the stoke from my friends Abby and Luke. Together we drove to the coast and enjoyed a seafood dinner. Dipped the ole tire in the pacific to be official, said goodbye for a bit to the homies, then made my merry way to Honeyman State Park.

I planned to hike out to the sand dunes further, but I’ve become overwhelmed with nervousness for tomorrow. The weight of it all has finally arrived.

I shared a campsite with the only other biker in the park, a 60 year old Aussie man. He assured me that with time, my world will shrink to a couple days ahead of me and become more manageable; “I reckon if you weren’t a bit nervous, that would be concerning”.

Call this day zero part 2, because tomorrow it truly begins.

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Started the day with a trip to Ocean Beach to watch Rachel, Hannah, and Miles play in a volleyball tournament. Said my final goodbyes and had a tearful send off full of NYC well wishes.

Ran some final errands around town, got rid of my final non-bike-essential items, fully packed the bike, and received an escort to the ferry building from Connor. Ferried across the bay, got sketched out in Oakland, then boarded my train to Oregon.

The weight of this trip has been building for the past couple months to a point of discomfort. With so many variables to prepare for, and setbacks to work through, I’ve adopted a fairly pessimistic outlook on things. I’ve started to assume the worst and overcorrect in an attempt to protect myself and preserve the possibility of this trip. However, as I sit on this train, I finally feel capable of relaxing and trusting that I am on my way to the starting line.

Here’s to hoping that I didn’t just jinx myself and that I can get some sleep on this 15 hour ride.

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Preparing to leave California has not been a smooth process. The endless list of tasks required to move cross country while simultaneously planning a bike trip has been exhausting. Outside of all that can be planned for, life decided to throw a few extra challenges my way, most recently, rebuilding my bicycle.

I’ve been pampering and refining my bike for the past three months. Cleaning every surface, greasing every bearing, and testing every component. She was perfect, ready to hit the road, just not literally. While driving to San Francisco with my bike on the roof, the high winds of highway 1 ripped her from the rack and sent her tumbling (front wheel-less) traveling 60 mph along the unforgiving pavement. The tumble left my fork fucked, derailleur deranged, pedals perished, and chain rings ring less. Bike shops gave me estimates ranging from 2 weeks - 6 months for the necessary repairs. The largest factor being the sourcing of a new Marin Fork. Unwilling to take no for an answer, I drove to the Marin Bicycles headquarters in Petaluma, CA where Eric was able to find a replacement in the warehouse inventory. With all the parts in hand, and the amazing support from Max at the Bike Kitchen, I was able to repair my bike in under 48 hours.

Besides the traumatic bike incident, my last week has been amazing. I got to say goodbye to Santa Cruz and San Francisco with my whole family, enjoy delicious food, and sleep in every morning.

For my last night in California, I was stoked to have my friends of Wormsalt and Queen Tide perform during my going away party.

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First official training ride in preparation for my even bigger ride… For those who don’t know, I’ll be biking across the country from the pacific coast in Oregon, to the Atlantic coast in NYC (my new home!).

I’ll be posting daily updates throughout the journey on Strava and my website (mattbikes2nyc.com). Follow along as I continue to prepare before starting the journey on June 1st!

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