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Biking across the country, i.e. Ride for World Health
- Thread starter MrsBugi
- Start date
giantpinkbunnyhead
Diamond Member
I've only ever done a few 100-mile days on a bicycle back when I was 15-17 and still cycling with my dad and his group, but I loved it!
arrfep
Platinum Member
I rode coast-to-coast, self-supported in the summer of 2004. Best experience of my life. I literally would not trade the memories for a million dollars. Met plenty of people doing it self-supported as well, just for the fun. But I also met a few doing it to raise money for various charities/organizations to which they had personal connections, but they were all also self-supported.
I've heard plenty of great things about these charity rides; from the 5 or 6 day AIDS rides to the American Lung Association's coast-to-coast Big Ride (the one that planted the idea in my head.) I did a two-day 150 miler for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and it was excellent to have my gear carried, meals cooked, and showers provided for me.
Either way, riding by yourself or for a charity...it will probably be one of the greatest things you ever do.
I've heard plenty of great things about these charity rides; from the 5 or 6 day AIDS rides to the American Lung Association's coast-to-coast Big Ride (the one that planted the idea in my head.) I did a two-day 150 miler for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and it was excellent to have my gear carried, meals cooked, and showers provided for me.
Either way, riding by yourself or for a charity...it will probably be one of the greatest things you ever do.
DivideBYZero
Lifer
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Turin39789
Lifer
How long did it take you / how did you go about it?
I've never ridden more than 30 miles myself, but I've been thinking about trying out long stretches. I have a friend who rode from Louisville Ky to Mexico, packing everything with him. He tent camped and stopped somewhere in texas with a friend for a few days.
arrfep wow! Most people only dream of doing that or walking it.
How did you do it? Did you carry everying in a backpack on your back? Camp out every night accept when you could catch a shower or meet someone that invited you home?
Very interesting.
I think the furthest I ever rode is maybe 30 miles.
How did you do it? Did you carry everying in a backpack on your back? Camp out every night accept when you could catch a shower or meet someone that invited you home?
Very interesting.
I think the furthest I ever rode is maybe 30 miles.
KarmaPolice
Diamond Member
I am buying my first road bike when it stops snowing. Well i had a road bike in Japan but this will be my first new one and plan to do some actual riding. I hope to be able to do long distances by the end of the summer. 100 miles would be sweet but I dont know if I will be that good at that point. Riding accross the country would be awesome, but would need some days off.
GalvanizedYankee
Diamond Member
I have done 60 mile days, stopping for a light lunch near mid-point.
I do go downtown & back often and that's a 20 mile round trip. Steep hills kill my old knees. 🙁
Fun link, http://www.downtheroad.org/
I do go downtown & back often and that's a 20 mile round trip. Steep hills kill my old knees. 🙁
Fun link, http://www.downtheroad.org/
Dirigible
Diamond Member
I headed east from Seattle in '96. Made it to Minot, ND before I ran out of time. It was definitely a fabulous experience.
Self-supported. Mostly camped, stayed at a motel twice, several times just pulled over to the side of the road and went to sleep for the night. On a bike you don't typically use a backpack - you use panniers bags on the rack(s) of your bike.
I'd never ridden more than 50 miles in a day when I started out. I rode a cheap crappy mountain bike. I'd never tried cycling shorts. By the end, I was a confirmed cyclist, and rode over 100 miles a day, every day for the last week. Now, 11 years later, I ride about 4 times a week, and have met a huge group of friends through cycling.
Self-supported. Mostly camped, stayed at a motel twice, several times just pulled over to the side of the road and went to sleep for the night. On a bike you don't typically use a backpack - you use panniers bags on the rack(s) of your bike.
I'd never ridden more than 50 miles in a day when I started out. I rode a cheap crappy mountain bike. I'd never tried cycling shorts. By the end, I was a confirmed cyclist, and rode over 100 miles a day, every day for the last week. Now, 11 years later, I ride about 4 times a week, and have met a huge group of friends through cycling.
JulesMaximus
No Lifer
I rode a century (100 miles-completed it in just over 6 hours) last September and I rode about 3,000 miles in the past year between weekend club rides and commuting.
A friend of mine is a CAT1 racer (highest level in professional cycling) and he did the first leg of the RAAM last year...the team relay and they set a new course record riding from Oceanside, CA to Phoenix, AZ. He was part of Team Beat Cancer. Pretty cool IMO. :thumbsup:
A friend of mine is a CAT1 racer (highest level in professional cycling) and he did the first leg of the RAAM last year...the team relay and they set a new course record riding from Oceanside, CA to Phoenix, AZ. He was part of Team Beat Cancer. Pretty cool IMO. :thumbsup:
KarmaPolice
Diamond Member
i want to really get into cycling..and join a club. It just seems that everyone in the club near me is like 80.
sciencewhiz
Diamond Member
My Uncle has done 2 cross country rides and one from SoCal to Alaska.
crazyguyonabike.com is a great website.. i like reading some of the journals there
recently some mid 30s greek engineer guy rode 100% self-supported from atlanta to los angeles in 16 or 17 days... it was incredible
most cross country tours ive seen average 70/80 miles per day with 1 rest day per week
recently some mid 30s greek engineer guy rode 100% self-supported from atlanta to los angeles in 16 or 17 days... it was incredible
most cross country tours ive seen average 70/80 miles per day with 1 rest day per week
KarmaPolice
Diamond Member
I live in PA. There are clubs in the two places i live(home and college) but the websites of both show pictures. Not one person in the picture looks younger then 35 and most like 50-60. Not saying thats a bad thing, they could all kick my ass no doubt. i also have no problem talking to people much older then me. It would just be nice to have some people closer to my age is what i am saying.
KarmaPolice
Diamond Member
those look like all teams...not just recreational clubs.
arrfep
Platinum Member
The trip itself took me 66 days, from the first day of riding to the last. In that span were probably 7 days where I didn't ride at all, except for incidental miles around the town I was relaxing in. Total mileage according to my cyclometer (which I meticulously calibrated) was 3967 miles. Again, that includes some random mileage like wandering around Pueblo, CO on an off day trying to find a bar showing Le Tour or the Post Office that I'd had my drivers license mail-dropped to.
My longest day was 161 miles. Actually that wasn't technically all in one day, since we were up for more than 24 hours.
The desert is a b!tch. It was 122 degrees when we passed through Baker, CA.
I carried all my stuff in front and rear panniers, and lashed to my front and rear racks. All told, my bike probably weighed around 110 lbs. when I started the trip. I know it was enough that I could barely lift it off the ground. In it I carried literally everything I needed to survive. I was 100% self-sufficient (mostly because I can be paranoid sometimes) so I could go a few days without finding civilization if I needed to (I never did).
"Accomodations" were mostly parks. That was actually a new thing to me. I was riding a route called the Transamerica, planned by a company called Adventure Cycling. The company maps the route for you, and gives suggestions on where to find a place to stay. Well plenty of these places, especially in Kansas and Missouri, were public parks. As in "slides and swingset in the middle of a neighborhood" parks. It was weird at first but you get used to it. By the second month of the trip, I'd joined up with a guy my same age doing the same route, and we pretty much just guerilla camped wherever we found a plot of land.
Of course once you get out to Colorado and west, pretty much everything is a National Park or National Forest Service, so there is always someplace "legal" to pitch a tent. I spent probably 8 nights in hotels, and a couple nights in houses of people I'd met in town earlier in the day. The trip helped reaffirm my faith in people. I met so many amazing people that opened their homes to me without hesitation.
As for showering...I did it when I could. By my 3rd week in or so, I could have a complete shower with 2 22oz water bottles.
I had an online journal for a while at Crazyguyonabike but I got distracted the second half of my trip and stopped writing it. I never updated it, and the webmaster ended up taking it down. LOL, email him and ask if he has a copy of the "Struggle Bus" journal....maybe he'll let you (or me) read it. That really is an excellent website though, and it helped me tremendously, both before the trip and during.
Anyway. That's pretty much it. Well, now that's not the tip of it but I'm tired of typing. My advice to anyone who is planning a tour is Buy and break in a Brooks Saddle, and use some chamois cream! Your ass will thank you for both of those things....if anyone has any questions, feel free to ask!
Oooh yeah. Here's a few Pics
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