The Transcontinental

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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