The journal itself was not at all what I expected. I originally intended to write a journal entry twice or three times per week, and perhaps fill in once or twice with some musing about anything that occurred to me. Almost immediately, I fell into the routine of writing every day, or at least every day I was on the bike. It became a routine I could live with, despite a slight feeling of the tyranny of the deadline. The fear of the deadline was the biggest single reason I did not approach the Seattle newspapers with a proposal to write articles similar to the 1896 articles. But in the end, the journal turned out fine.
Another unexpected development had to do with the daily cycling routine. I fully expected it to be too hot to ride in the mid-afternoon sun. I figured that my schedule would be to ride from 7:00am to 1:00pm and then wait till the day started to cool before continuing on. In reality, I never started cycling before 8:30 and often not before 10:00. It was almost never too hot to ride, because the cooling effect of a moving bicycle was quite efficient, so I usually ended up riding from 9:30 till 6:00 with a variety of small breaks throughout the day.
I was often asked if I was lonely out on the road, all by myself. I explained that the reality was that I was only alone while I was on the bike; the minute I stepped off the bike everything changed. All I had to do was mention the pair of cyclists I was "chasing", and I immediately had a crowd around me. It was often difficult to break away from these gatherings to get on with the trip.
One thing I did not anticipate was how remote it would be staying in motels, especially when they were located outside the center of town, often near the interstate highways. The trend is toward moving the motels away from the town centers, thus limiting one's ability to "connect" with each of these places. The only way to overcome this obstacle was to spend an extra day, which I did about once a week. Invariably, the second day provided great insight into the history and people of the area. It is easy to see the trip becoming a 5-6 month endeavor.
I would awaken about 6:00 pretty refreshed after less than 6 hours of sleep. Usually I would have put off the writing of the journal until morning, because of fatigue and other distractions so I would spend an hour or two musing about the previous day and writing down my thoughts. I would determine where breakfast might be found and either eat and then pack up, or the reverse, if I was very far from the breakfast spot. I would then fill my pockets with food for the road and start the day's ride. My road food always consisted of bananas and some kind of pastry, and my back pockets were always bulging at the start of the day. This permitted me to nibble on food all day long, hence I never ran out of energy.
I would usually stop for lunch sometime between 10:30 and 3:00, depending on what the prospects looked like and how hungry I was feeling. Lunch was invariably some combination of soup, sandwich, milkshake, and pie.
Some time after lunch I would begin to home in on a destination for the night. Many days I would have called ahead after breakfast to reserve a room, but this was not always practical, because I often could not be sure how far I would get, or what direction I was headed. Securing the room was always a milestone, for once I had the room, my worries were over. I occasionally found myself in the last room in town so it was a tricky business to not wait too long to get a room. I found it best to call the motel in the late afternoon to confirm my arrival time, as at least once my reservation was fouled up.
When I arrived I had a very set routine. I would check my email, do the laundry (ie wash my shorts, shirt, socks and bandana), scout out the dinner options, and buy a six-pack of the weakest beer I could find, and try to quench my monumental thirst. It was usually right after I arrived that I would update the day-by-day page, because many of you were quite annoyed when I didn't announce how far I had gotten.
I would eat dinner, answer what email I could, (this was particularly difficult because of the primitive mail program I was using), call home, and go to sleep. There were usually some long conversations with townsfolk sprinkled into the evening ritual, adding a little variety to a very structured routine.
One piece of equipment which I have not heretofore mentioned, but which caused quite a stir wherever I went, was my BOB trailer. I had never pulled a trailer before but I decided early on that it would be the optimal way to carry all my stuff. I had a lot of electronic gear which has a zero tolerance for wetness, so I decided to pack all my stuff inside a single drybag, strap it onto the BOB and be certain it would be OK. The trailer also carried most of the weight, thus leaving my bike unencumbered. The combination handled very well, I could maneuver easily and on the flat and downhill I often forgot the trailer was even there. It was very noticeable going uphill, because the trailer itself weighs 12 pounds. All in all, I was pleased with the trailer; my only gripe was that I found I could not stand while pedalling the bike at any speed, or risk going into an uncontrollable wobble. I often stand while riding and this took some adjustments to my riding style. But the combination of a good familiar seat and good shorts meant there were no problems.
How much stuff did I bring along and never use? The cell phone wore a hole in the bottom of my electronics bag, as did 6 rolls of camera film. I carried a bedroll (of sorts) in case I found myself in the middle of nowhere with no motels around. This bedroll consisted of a sheet sewn on three sides, and some mosquito netting to throw over me. I intended to crawl into the sheet clad in fleece tops and bottoms and I carried a plastic tarp for use as a makeshift tent if the weather was bad. As it turned out there were plenty of motel options on every night.
I took a huge bottle of ibuprofen, figuring that my aging knees were going to be the weakest part of the whole system. As it turned out my knees haven't felt better in 25 years (proving once and for all time how much kinder cycling is to an aging body than jogging). The only use I had for the ibuprofen was to assist others. The only thing remotely like a medical problem was when the insoles of my 4 year old shoes wore out and caused some soreness on the bottoms of my feet. New inner soles and I was like new. I was very concerned about saddle sores, but there was no need to worry. I was blessed with good weather for most of the trip, and there is little doubt that the dryness assisted me in that department.
It was not until I got to Minnesota that I felt the need to venture out onto the county grid. I was carrying AAA maps of each state, and in general they were superior to most state maps. That said, the Minnesota highway map makes an effort to show county roads, and with some effort I was able to navigate without too much difficulty. But further east, the secondary road system is too densely packed to show on a statewide plan. Wisconsin has a wonderful bicycle map which shows all the county (and lesser) roads and highlights the optimal routes as well as all of the rail-trails. In the vowel states of Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio (perhaps Iowa too) I found it necessary to navigate by county maps, and they were a bit difficult to come by. Usually I could procure one for the county I was currently in, but that would only help me for another hour or so. The public libraries often had some maps of the surrounding counties, but you could not count on finding a library when you needed one.
In New York, I purchased a Delorme gazetteer, which proved to be a great help. I am a great fan of the Delorme Street Atlas CD-ROM. It shows all roads as well as lots of other landforms, but unless you know your exact route ahead of time, it is very difficult to print out enough maps to get across the country. I did carry my CD with me, but did not use it very often. This also argues for bringing a laptop computer along.
Throughout New England, I was able to use maps generated from the Street Atlas CD to get me to the end, but I had much assistance from friends and acquaintances in selecting the exact route.
It is a wonderful experience to ride a bicycle across the country. You get a sense of place that cannot be duplicated. The pace of your travels is fast enough to actually get somewhere, and yet slow enough to see and feel the places you go. People can easily identify with a cyclist, for almost everyone has ridden a bike. You are easily approachable (if you want to be), and everyone is curious. There truly is no better way to travel.
Obviously, to ride a bike across the country, you cannot be in a hurry. Once you realize that it is the journey itself (not the destination) that is the experience, you can then settle into an on-the-road lifestyle that is both relaxing and comfortable. People often congratulate me on making it to Boston, and I thank them and try to explain that what was special to me is all of the day-to-day experiences that I had between Seattle and Boston.
Part of not being in a hurry was having more than enough time to complete the trip. I almost never had to be looking at the calendar to see if I was going to arrive on time. This allowed me to let the trip take on its own pace and it permitted me to make ad hoc decisions not dictated by timetables. I cannot overstate how important this was to the success of my trip, and how strongly I recommend a similar tack.
And the last, and perhaps the most important point to mention, is to encourage you all to gather as much history and as many stories about your relatives as you can. Every family has a story like this to tell, and it is important to capture and document these stories or they will be lost forever. Engage your parents and grandparents in telling the history and legends as they recall them. Get one of those little tape recorders and use it relentlessly. You won't regret it. The rewards are immediate and the satisfaction lasts forever.
This trip is now over. But I am already beginning the next one. It will undoubtedly be different, but it is remarkable what you can discover about yourself and your surroundings once you really throw yourself into it.
See you on the road.
Dennis