How to Bike Across the Country

I have riden in group rides with people that have rode across the country. When I did Texas Hellweek in 2001 I rode with several people that were training for the Race Across America. Personally I'd want to do such an effort on a supported trip with a rest day a week. This post is great with very specific discussion on how he approached and completed this.

What's more important than any physical preparation is the willpower to get the trip done. There will be hard moments on the trail - I found myself crying on the side of the road more than once. No amount of training could have prepared me for the daily struggle of simply getting up and making progress.

In his "Joys of the Journey" I loved this callout.

Never have I felt more connected to, or grateful for, natural wonders than during this ride.

And this was suprising and amazing to me.

Another memorable aspect of riding along the TransAmerica trail was showing up to restaurants/rest stops in small towns that regularly see cyclists. In one such restaurant in Sugar City, Colorado, the owner took a quick look at me as I walked in before saying “I have something for you” and disappearing into a corner. She came back with a spiral notebook and told me to take a look. Inside were log book entries dating back years - every cross-country cyclist who'd passed through had taken time during their meal to write a personalized note. Some wrote little else but the date and the direction they were headed. Others wrote paragraphs of gratitude for the delicious meal they’d been served or diatribes on the struggles they’d endured to make it to this point. As I continued to head east from Sugar City, I found that these log books were not a rare occurrence, nearly every spot on my ACA map had something similar. The books, of all things, were what made me feel most connected to something bigger than myself during the ride.

Great stuff. 🚴