It’s now 4 weeks after we returned from the bike trip and I’ve
been urged to write a post reflecting on the trip now that some time has
passed. I find myself occasionally
(actually often) looking at a map of the US and finding it incredible what we
accomplished, self supported, in such a short time. But if I had to do it again, what changes
would I make?
1 – The start.
Choosing Seattle as a starting point made it impossible to avoid 90 for
a significant stretch. It was here that
we ran into a number of problems which could have been avoided by moving the
starting point north to Anacortes or south to Astoria, Oregon. Either one would have meant flying in earlier
that Friday like Justin did and getting to the starting point that night.
2 – The distances should have reflected the difficulty of
the riding. When we made our route and
the potential stopping points, we of course were limited to where the campsites
were but we had decides on roughly 120 miles a day regardless of terrain. We should have shortened this to 100 or less
when the riding was tough (i.e. Rockies) and lengthened it to 130 or more when
the terrain was flat (i.e western Iowa).
3 – The timeline – If anyone wants to do a cross country
bike ride, I would suggest at least 6 weeks instead of the 4 weeks that we blocked off. At times I felt we were
racing and we rarely reached our destination early enough to do local
sightseeing. For example the Winnebago Factory Visitor’s Center in Forest City,
Iowa closed at 4:30 –we missed it by 5 minutes.
With a little more time, we would have had flexibility in our schedule
and a chance to stop more often, but then again, both Dave and I only had a
month of available time and with that restriction, we did very well.
What did we do right?
1 – The gear. Our
gear was light, efficient and sturdy. We
used everything we took, needed nothing else and all of it was less than 13
pounds. Once I got used to the idea that
I would have a one set of biking clothes and one set of camp clothes,
everything else fell into place. I think
Dave may give a good review of the gear, but the items that impressed me the
most on this trip were the Montbell plasma 100 – super warm and only 4.8
ounces, Montbell tachyon anorak – great layer for the morning ride and only 2
ounces, the Katabatic sleeping bag and our Easton 3man tent. Most cross country bike riders seem to have
enough gear for a month survival after an apocalypse. We really cut our load by not carrying
cooking gear with the correct assumption was that we would find enough places
to eat along the way – grocery stores, convenience stores, diners and
restaurants.
2- Aerodynamics – We had only one bag, a dry sack, attached
to the rear of our bikes to maintain the most aerodynamic configuration
possible. We each also had a small bento
box and a hydration pack, which still maintained a very clean line. This gave us the ability to cover the number
of miles we needed to do each day, averaging in the high teens for MPH. I
can’t imagine riding that same pace with a handlebar bag and two saddle bags. We also
used our road/racing bikes for this trip instead of a touring bike. Our only modification was 25mm tires. This probably was the right compromise
between speed and stability but not using the traditional 28mm touring tires may
have had something to do with our 8 flats tires.
3 – The group – Although the three of us had ridden only
once together before we left, we were roughly the same ability and got along
very well. I had only recently met Justin
but had been friends with Dave for over a decade. In the past when we’ve traveled together he
and I have fought, but not at all this trip.
I think the focus of the mission and the realization that we were all
tightly interlocked (we couldn’t leave anyone behind) made this crucial. We all annoyed each other at times, but we
were very good at letting it roll of our shoulders and continuing on. Our personalities, interests, sense of humor
were all well matched and made for a great time.
4 – Command Central – Even though I wrote that the ride was
self supported, it was virtually supported probably more than any other ride to
date. We relied heavily on the daily
briefings from my sisters with the suggested stops, options for eating a place
to stay for the next night. One thing
that I learned when I got back was that when my sisters couldn’t find a place
to stop for the night, they would take the little yellow google man and walk
the route looking from side to side for a sign for a campsite or a collection of buildings that
might be a motel. For example, this is
how they found Steelman’s Brite Spot in Hiland Wyoming (the place with the
stuffed rattlesnakes) the only place for miles.
When we returned my sisters unanimously said that they felt like they
had been on the ride also.
