Biking across America, coast to coast
04-05-05, 11:04 PM
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Biking across America, coast to coast
Me and a couple of friends are thinking about biking from FL to CA this summer. 3000 miles. We're 20-21, in the best shape of our lives, and this summer will probably be the last chance to do something like this. Does this sound doable with over a month of free time, a lot of carefull planning, doing about 100 miles a day? All the gear will of course be in bike trailers; planning to sleep in a tent most of the time. Anyone with any kind of similar experiences, please chime in.
04-06-05, 07:24 AM
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I don't have a similar experience but as a 40 year old deep in the throes of raising a teenager, mortgage, financial problems, and other limiting constraints in my life -- I have to say PLEASE GO FOR IT!!!! how on earth could you not given the opportunity? DO IT - there's no way you could regret it. DO IT and I wish you the best of times. You should post a journal somewhere along the way to keep us updated on your progress and experiences. Or keep the journal updated and then post it after you've completed it. There's a neat little thing called Pocketmail that long distance thru-hikers use to post their journals everytime they find a pay phone. Check it out at trailjournals.com.
Allie
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04-06-05, 07:31 AM
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definately doable. Couple of my friends did it last summer, but they went from NYC to washington and then down the westcoast. They mainly slept in camps with sleeping bags. I think they did it under a month. One of those psychos did it on a fixie, don't know what possesed him to do that.
04-06-05, 08:00 AM
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There are quite a number of books written by various folks who have done "coast to coast" rides, going all the way back to 1880 or so. One of the most interesting of those books was a family that tried to ride from New Jersey to California back in 1969. They rode 40 pound Schwinn bikes with wire baskets on the handlebars and rear with tents and gear. A toddler seat for their two year old riding behind Dad.
THAT effort ended in New Mexico. "Dad" had not done his homework, so he did not know that going across Kansas, and Oklahoma in July he would be riding into twenty mile an hour winds blowing from west to east...nor had he thought about the July temperatures in the deserts of New Mexico and Arizona.
So, if I ever attempt that ride, I would probably ride from west to east...keep the prevailing wind at my back. Maybe get through the deserts of the west in a cooler month, such as March. And, at my age, that would get me to Florida around...November?
THAT effort ended in New Mexico. "Dad" had not done his homework, so he did not know that going across Kansas, and Oklahoma in July he would be riding into twenty mile an hour winds blowing from west to east...nor had he thought about the July temperatures in the deserts of New Mexico and Arizona.
So, if I ever attempt that ride, I would probably ride from west to east...keep the prevailing wind at my back. Maybe get through the deserts of the west in a cooler month, such as March. And, at my age, that would get me to Florida around...November?
