39 years ago I was living and working in Sacramento, California. I took a late afternoon stop to grab a bite at a McDonald's. Outside I saw a well-packed bike parked out front. There was just one customer in the McDonald's, a guy in his early twenties, about my age. I asked if the bike outside was his, and he said it was. I asked if I could sit down and talk to him. We chatted for a while. He told me the next day he would be finishing a cross-country bike ride, rolling into San Francisco. I recall asking about his training and he told me he never did any long rides before this one started. His first few days were 20-30 miles, but he rode himself into shape. He did the whole ride by himself, meeting interesting people along the way.
I was inspired. Someday, I said to myself, I am going to do that. I am going to ride my bike across the country. This is my dream. And, 39 years later, that someday is finally here.
About 9 years ago, I took up cycling more seriously. After a hip replacement, my doctor said I had to give up basketball, which I loved. "No more high impact sports." So I started riding a road bike. I met a group of riders, the Poudre Sunrise Cyclists, who taught me some of the intricacies of bike riding. Thanks to all of them, I gained confidence and learned to ride.
Five years ago I rode my bike from Fort Collins, Colorado (home) to Madison, Wisconsin. About 1000 miles over two weeks. That was my test ride. I survived and made plans for a cross country journey.
Two years ago, in spring 2020, I planned to ride across country. By then, my friend Dave had asked about joining me and I was happy there would be company. Then Covid hit and we delayed. Covid was still around enough in 2021 that we delayed again.
This year, another friend Bruce asked about joining and we decided the more the merrier. As we planned the details, we found that we had different visions for the ride. So while we will start the ride together, where those visions conflict, I may choose to ride on my own.
We will start together in San Francisco on May 21. The plan is to ride the Adventure Cycling Association's (ACA) Western Express Route from San Francisco to Pueblo, Colorado. From there, we connect to the ACA's TransAmerica Trail and ride that to Yorktown, Virginia. I anticipate arriving in Yorktown mid-late July. By then, I will have ridden about 3700 miles and climbed about 187,000 feet.
As I told friends and family about my plans, some said they wanted to follow my journey. This blog is my way to share my experiences with interested people and maybe other "dreamers." I got a lot of inspiration from other cross-country riders who blogged their experiences. I hope to post every day or two.
My wife and I stopped and spoke with you at Middlegate Station Nevada. I find you to be a true inspiration. Good luck and I will continue to follow your progress.
Joe - have an amazing time on ur journey cross country. Be safe, rest when ur body tells you too! You have all summer to finish one of ur dreams, as I’m sure you have many more to accomplish.
I will be looking forward to reading your blog.
have a ton of fun my friend!!
Great story. Now with Audible, your ride should be much more pleasant than that guy from 39 years ago!
Although my goal is only to ride my bike (which I really do plan to buy!) through my neighborhood, you are (and have been as long as I’ve known you) an inspiration. Looking forward to reading about your adventures.
I love hearing the inspiration and how this story stuck with you all these years! I can't wait to follow along.