Ok, folks. I tentatively plan to bike across the US in a year. I have been biking all my life but never competetively or for long distances. Do I need to be in say, super-human lance armstrong kinda shape to do this? Or can any 20 something who can run a 6 or 7 minute mile accomplish the feat? About how long will it take? I'm guessing a month or two, depending on if we come back on the bikes or a plane. Oh, and what sort of bike would I need? I hate those paper thin road bikes that look as if a pebble will send their rider vaulting into next year. But I'm guessing a mountain bike isn't exactly road efficient. What sort of price range am I looking at? Has anybody tried this, or know anyone who has? Cheers
If your doing it more as a tour and not a race than I would say anyone can do it that can ride a bike and able to walk a few miles if they dont quite have enough power to get it up the major hills. I drive all over America and see lots of others on mountain bikes with pretty good size packs and these like racks on there bikes over the front and rear wheels that hold more bags. Likely if you went on a weekend trip or week long you could get the general idea of how man miles you could cover a day. Get with Fitzy21 he was looking at doing something simular and does ride alot so he might have some real good ideas and maybe a riding partner too.
i have done this. i did the trip 5 years ago. from the coast of Washington, just north of Seattle - to the coast of New Hampshire, ending in Rye beach. i flew out to WA, and the whole trip took 2 months. i did it with a group of people, i never met them before i flew into Seattle. bike - you can use pretty much any bike, but i'd go for a high quality bike. just go to a reputable bike shop - do not get a bike from walmart or any other place - once at the bike shop, explain what you're planning on doing. for my trip, i used a touring bike, most people did. has a bigger frame and wider tires than a road bike. though, we did 2 people with a road bike, 1 with a hybrid, 1 with a MT bike, and 6 with touring bikes. you're going to need a bike rack and side panniers (saddle bags). the rack can go on the back or front, or you can have it on the front and back, depending on how much you bring. i only had a rack on the back of the bike. fully loaded bike with rack and panniers on back and front: as you see, you'll put your tent and cooking supplies on the rack too. you can also use a wagon type thing. when i did it, i had a Cannondale T800 - it cost $1100, but that was 5 years ago. you should have a good amount of money saved up before you do this. training - i didn't train. i just decided to do it and i did it, haha i do suggest training though, atleast get in some long rides before you start. we averaged 70-90 miles a day. the highest i got in one day on the trip was 147, in 9 hours total, 8 hours actually biking. the highest group total was 127 miles. even if you don't train, you'll improve drastically as the trip goes on. the whole trip was about 2 months long. i hope i answered most of your questions...if not, just ask more and i'll do my best to answer
wow, thanks man. You're only 21 and you did this five years ago? Jeesus fuck. Did your parents know? I'll be 22 when I plan on doing this. The one thing that you said that dissapoints me is that it took two months to go one way. I thought it wouldn't take that long, but whatever, if I can go for a month, I guess two isn't much different. I'll keep you in mind in case I have any more questions in the future. Thanks, and more advice from anyone would be great.
' oh, you can definately do it faster. we did some tourist things and took days off. plus we had 10 people. but you can definately do it faster than 2 months. but yea, i did it when i was 16. and my parents knew about it, they had to sign a release form. so far, greatest experience of my life. the sites i saw, the people i met, the things we did, the time i got lost fun fun fun. my experience, lots of people are willing to help you out, whether its giving you some water or food, to letting you stay at there house during a storm. make sure you know bike mechanics, i had to learn a lot on the way. Truing a wheel on the go is fun, haha. just make sure you know the basics and you should be fine. and let the bike shops you visit know what you're doing...if you chat with them, they'll hook you up, they might even go on a ride with you.
wow that sounds so freakin awesome, good luck sheeprooter i hope you do it and tell us about it! mannn i think i need to plan something crazy to do when i graduate.... the little mice in my brain are awake now
