Done in Douglassville, Pennsylvania: What Did It All Mean?

Distance: 3,458 miles
Saddle Time: 31 days of riding; 33 days total
Terrain: Various. 100,000 feet of climbing.
Weather: Temperature 33F to 108F. Winds Calm to Heavy; Tail to Head. Sunny to Thunderstorms.


It’s done. I did it. Every Fantastic Inch. That’s what you call it when you don’t spend an inch of the ride in the SAG wagon. I did it all on the bike. I was the only one on the ride that did. I take some pride in that.

Though I have to commend some of the accomplishment to luck, I am struck by how much was actually in my control. I never got sick, not even a sniffle (I washed my hands obsessively; Efferdent in the water bottles); my knees and ankles stayed intact (I stuck to an ice and ibuprofen regimen to manage pain and swelling); only two days did I have to ride through an acute and extended energy debt (I recovered well—got the legs up, ate quickly and well in my post-ride glycogen window, ate continuously while riding).

Some of the folks offering encouragement before I left were really kind about telling me they were sure I would make it but couldn’t imagine going that far that quickly themselves because they weren’t as strong riders as I. Well, folks, having done it I can tell you that the main strength component was consistently the least important. You don’t fail to make it because you’re too slow or because the mountains are too high or too steep or the day is too long. You fail to make it because you do not choose to hydrate or eat right, because you don’t take care of your joints; because your attention lapses and you hit something that takes you down; because you chose the wrong equipment or weren’t prepared for it to break down. It is all controllable and doable by riders across the range of speeds, which isn’t to say that anybody does it right 100% of the time. The wild card for me was the equipment, and in particular my wheels. I was lucky in not having a spoke break because I didn’t have any spares and should have. That would have put me in the van for some miles.

The other thing that I would point out to the daunted is that you can’t help but become stronger over the duration of the ride. Yeah, you get tired, but much of it is neutralized by the inevitable increase in strength that comes with the mileage.

All of this is not to say that it’s not physically demanding. It is, and intensely, but the greater demand is the mental one. It starts with acceptance. This particular ride, the 113 mile per day average means that it really has to be all about the ride. There’s not much opportunity for leisure or sight-seeing or beers with the boys. The people who didn’t understand that they had signed up for this and accept it struggled. There is also a mental discipline that comes with riding large distances. Nobody rides a 150 mile day; you ride three 50 mile stretches; you ride from SAG stop to SAG stop. This is especially important if you’re suffering. The day after Blythe and the day into Las Vegas would have encompassed too much cumulative suffering if I had focused on the daily totals, but I can put up with anything for 10 miles.

So, would I do it again? If the question is would I ride 3500 miles in 33 days again, the answer is no. I’ve tackled the challenge in just the way I wanted to tackle it. I know now that I can do it and can’t get that excited about tackling it again. If the question is would I undertake another long distance bicycle tour, the answer is an emphatic yes. I would be thrilled to ride across a smaller country fast, or do this country on a longer duration tour that allowed for some leisure.

By way of endorsement, the company that I used, America by Bicycle, and the ride leader, Mike Munk, are the first place I would turn to do another ride. They’ve got a Ride the West tour that looks intriguing for some time in the future.

Some other insights / endorsements:

Specialized are the only cycling shoes. Everybody on the tour rode them because they are the only ones that offer enough support to keep the ankle from over-pronating when you are tired and climbing steep climbs.

Pearl Izumi shorts are the best for this kind of ride—expensive and worth it—but varying chamois placement is also important, so I also rode a pair of Castelli every third day. I threw away a pair of Louis Garneau and won’t use Descente for a long ride again.

Bontrager wheels do not hold up. My Shimanos did, and many other had success with Mavic Ksyriums. No tires will not puncture from radial wires on the interstate, but Armadillos and Gatorskins did hold up well.

Gearing. People with the lower gears go up the hills faster and get to the top in better shape. Period. All the folks who thought they were strong riding a 39 ring and 21 cog up the hills on their 40 mile club rides proved to be strong only for their 40 mile club rides. They saw a lot of me spinning by them every time the road turned up. Now I am going to the bike store this week to get rid of my climbing ring and move to a 50/34 chain ring and 11/25 cogset. I would be keeping the climbing ring if I climbed a lot of mountain passes even now, though. The granularity in the shifting outweighs the weight penalty in producing speed in my humble opinion.

Well, that’s it for me. I hope you enjoyed hanging out. Now I need to find a publisher, or employer, or pimp, or really any way of making the almighty dollar. Stay out of trouble. If you find yourself in Richmond, let’s go for a ride.

Andy