It was the winter of 2018, I was adjusting to my first year of university after having taken a 143 day break from the real world. A break that led me to walk from Georgia to Maine, covering around 2, 189 miles and traveling through 14 states, completing a thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail. Thru-hiking the AT had been my dream for years, I saved up every penny I made and put all my energy towards achieving that goal as soon as I possibly could. Then, suddenly, after months of walking, it was all over. Due to my frugality on trail I still had some money left over in my adventure fund. It seemed wrong to use that money for anything else than its purpose of living freely. A seed had been planted early on into my hike of biking across America after the endeavor, since it could be completed in a summers vacation. So, in the months leading up to May, I decided to water that seed. I bought an old bike off craigslist, recruited a couple buddies, made DIY panniers using kitty litter tubs, learned how to change a flat and got myself accustomed to riding a bike on a road with cars.
After arriving at the northern terminus of Mt. Katahdin in Maine, I caught a ride down to Maryland with some trail friends where my dad would meet us to take me back to Michigan. One of them, Surly (who got his trail name from the kind of bike he rode across the country), had happened to bike across America on the Trans-American bike trail, one of the Adventure Cycling Associations many mapped routes around and across the country. With one big distant dream completed and in the rear view mirror, I clung to the idea of biking across the country as I hounded Surly for more information. He gave me a few bike recommendations to keep an eye out for on Craigslist, as I had never done any road biking or even owned a road bike. He showed me some of his photos and I fell in love with the potential adventure, the open roads, exploring more of my own country and doing so sustainably, not to mention moving a heck of a lot quicker than my avg 3+ mph walking pace.
I returned to Michigan in a daze, after having walked in one direction for so long, I didn’t quite know what my next step was, I felt very lost and thrown back into the deep end. I would begin school within a couple weeks, but after having lived in the natural rhythms of the world for so long, it all seemed rather artificial. During the first couple months of school, I daydreamed about the bike journey on the side, looked for bikes that were in my price range and sent my buddy, Surly, many questions about various aspects of the ride. It seemed like such a daunting task and so out of the realm of familiarity. Nothing was set in stone until I found my soon to be vehicle across the states; a Trek 520 (one of the pre-approved steal frames Surly swore by, the other approved rides were the Surly Long-Haul Trucker and the Surly Cross Check). The bike was from the 90’s and I snagged it for $200, in great condition and my perfect size. It was just what I was looking for and my acquisition of the bike set the trip into motion. In the summer of 2018, I would bike across America along the Trans- American Bike Trail, a 4, 288 mile route that extends from Yorktown, Virginia to Astoria, Oregon. After having mentioned it to some of my new found outdoorsy college buddies, two of them, Jenny and John, said that they also wanted to go on the journey, giving me people to train with and hash out logistics.
The next step was getting comfortable riding on the road and learning how to do basic bike mechanics. I tried to ride between 10-20 miles every day but with working and school, I was lucky to get out a couple times a week. I made a google doc list of all the equipment I would need and I saved any and all websites that had helpful hints or pieces of advice. My goal was to do the bike trip in the cheapest manner possible, not paying for campsites and not spending money on fast food but sticking to what I would buy at the grocery store. This led me to researching alternatives for the standard Ortlieb panniers that cost upwards of $200 for a nice, waterproof pair (Panniers are what is attached to your bike rack that holds all of your gear). I stumbled upon the concept of Kitty Litter Panniers, a DIY project on the internet that repurposes old Tidy Cat litter tubs, mostly intended for practical commuting within a city. They were bulky, flashy and completely waterproof. I figured if they are good enough for the city they’d probably be good enough to bike across the country with. My mom had a cat at the time and happened to be a big Tidy Cat aficionado, so I was able to obtain the necessary materials for free. Thusly saving myself a big chunk of change and assuring myself I would be one of the most stylish bikers out there. My dad spray painted the tubs black and put reflector tape on them and I collected stickers along the way and signatures from fellow travelers or people who helped us on our journey.
I read what I could find on the internet and I continued to rely heavily on my friend who had done this before. I knew without a doubt that the toughest part would be the mental aspect and navigation would probably be a close second. I felt confidant in my ability to overcome and handle any mental challenges that would arise, but I wasn’t quite as confidant in my ability to navigate across the country, although I knew I would eventually adapt. The American Cycling Association has maps available with detailed information about what part of the country you are in, the wildlife, the roads you are traveling and available resources in each town, such as places to sleep and bike shops. We pirated a version of the route we found online, downloaded it as a kpl file and used an app called maps.me to save money from the costs of the maps. Using Maps.Me allowed us to follow our pre-planned route on our phones, even if our phone was on airplane mode. We eventually realized how crucial the extra pieces of information on the ACA maps were and would take pictures of the information on other bikers maps, sometimes east bounders would even give us their old maps!
You can bike across America with a brand new bike, bike shoes, real panniers, a big budget and lots of fancy equipment, or you can do it without any of that. It is really all up to you. What kind of stuff do you have right now, how much money are you working with, and how much are you willing to suffer? I was a big fan of carrying my own shelter and having a reliable bike, but I had already bought a tent before this trip and I lucked out on the bike I found and the price of it. Yet, you don’t need a nice bike, or even a tent to bike across America, as my two friends were a direct testament to. Jenny got her bike on craigslist for $100, also a Trek, but from the 80’s. John got his bike, (a fuji, notorious for having parts that constantly break) new off Amazon for $400 in 2011 and it had mostly been gathering dust in a storage locker. John did not carry any shelter at any point in his trek and Jenny started with a hammock and a tarp (which she never tried out in the rain beforehand) and it turned out to be just a little too small. John split up from us day one but kept us up-to-date with his travels. He was able to find places with a roof whenever it rained and tough it out through the mosquitos when he was just under the stars. Jenny later acquired a larger tarp but ditched the hammock in an attempt to shed some weight off her bike load. In times of true need she could flip her bike upside down and make a make-shift lean-to, yet more often than not she ended up cowboy camping or getting creative.
I remember a rainy night in West Yellowstone, I camped behind a dog walk area of a local RV park and Jenny, after it began to sprinkle, packed up her belongings and went to sleep under the ledge at the parks bathroom. John shared with us a story of him sleeping in an unlocked storage unit and leaving at 5am before anyone could notice. You’re probably going to want a shelter but the point is, it can be done regardless of your circumstances. You just need to be strong mentally. Accept pain, accept the boredom, accept the suffering. You don’t need to go fast, you just need to go forward. Everything is temporary. The climbs always end and the sun always returns. Stay positive and grounded in the moment. Its okay to have bad days but don’t quit on them. Go slowly. Stop to talk to strangers. Make connections. Soak in the beauty of the road less traveled. Stay humble, stay kind, be open to what the world has to show you and to teach you.
Thanks for reading, and be sure to check out the more detailed posts about the day-to-day riding
Lots of love,
Lynne
