Biking across the country is a serious Endeavour that is not
to be taken lightly. I decided to bike across the country at the age of 24, I
met someone, Sam Ryan, interested in joining me, and we started training
in earnest. I started cycling 3-4 hrs per day everyday, I cross trained and
tried to get as fit as possible. Then the trip started, I instantly understood
there was no way to train for this! I was beaten up after one day, and I had to
go again the next. It took me and Sam a few days to figure out we did
everything wrong. We packed jeans, sweatpants, enough food for several days,
extra shoes, dress clothes, tools, extra bike parts, the list goes on and on.
Our bikes weighed about 80lbs loaded it was impossible to climb hills, no
matter how fit we were. So we made some changes to make the trip manageable.
We did the following:
1. We ate all our extra food and carried a minimal supply of
food, since there were towns with stores everywhere, we just shopped when we
were hungry.
2. We sent our tools, bike parts, jeans, sweatpants, non
cycling clothes and shoes home. We did not need any of this stuff and it was
really tough to haul.
3. We picked paths that followed water flows such as the
Hudson river and Erie Canal. There were big hills away from the water, however
the elevation change on roads near the water was minimal. This really helped!
4. After a three weeks I finally got a sustainable concept
for long distance cycling that would not beat me up. I sent my panniers home
and kept one rackpack, one mosquito net, one sleeping mat, and one sleeping
bag. How did I fit all this on one standard bike rack? I didn't, I bought a $5
Hibachi grill, threw away everything except the top grill. I placed the grill
on my rack to create a super large mega rack. I placed all my stuff on this
Hibachi style mega rack to keep it behind my back to minimize wind
resistance.This did the trick, I biked from Minneapolis to Seattle with no
problem it worked great.
5. Go west to east. In NY, Canada, Michigan, and Wisconsin
we were hit by plenty of cross winds. No matter which way we went we would have
to fight the wind resistance. However in the plains the wind was predominantly
from the west and it was very strong from morning until night. I travelled East
to West so I had to to fight the wind every day. I got all my serious mileage
in after 7PM, when the wind dies down. Going west to east would be so much
easier in the plains.
6. Skip national parks and other major tourist areas during
peak season. I biked through Yellowstone park and it was beautiful, however it
was very dangerous. The park is full of RV's that are in a rush to finish their
vacation, I was almost run over many times.
7. Don't be ashamed to hitch hike. I had to hitch hike a few
times. Once to get to bike shops ( bike problems ). Once to get out of near
tornado force winds, once to get pasta prison ( no cyclists near some
prisons ), and once to get out of the rain ( after 4 days of rain in Washington
state I had enough )
To summarize, I would recommend a first time tourist to take
nothing with them, bring everything onto a mega-Hibachi-style rack. Keeping all
the mass behind them to minimize wind resistance. Stay on paths that follow
bodies of water. Go west to east, do not visit major tourist attractions during
peak season. Use only two changes of clothes, if anything happens you can buy
more clothes. Don't forget you will be in America, you can hitch hike if your
bike or body breaks down.
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