I have fielded many questions from many people and thought maybe a quick post to catch the whole group would be a good idea.
Why are you doing this? Answered in an earlier post but the answer is I have no idea. It has always appealed to me is the best I have. If pressed, I was out of stories and this seemed like a good way to gather more cocktail banter. It is proving to provide copious stories for future social interactions!
Where do you stay the night? I had intended to mostly camp. Whether forest land, town parks (yes many small towns let you do that), state parks, and commercial campgrounds. Then use hotels for cleaning up every 3 to 4 days or in big cities where camping was not an option (Seattle). Reality has been fifty fifty. It was so hot early that AC was needed. Now that I have been making more miles I have had the chance to spread it out with more camping. But it seems one or two nights camping then a motel has been the sweet spot. I am soft I guess.
How many miles a day do you want to make and how many have you been doing? That is a complicated question. My original programming was to average 6 days a week cycling with one “zero” to account for golf, weather and needing to recover. That meant 55 miles a day. I did not think that mileage “off the couch” was doable so I anticipated more like 30-35 for a couple weeks then ramping up as I got in better shape. Add to that the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route is gravel and hilly so I anticipated 45 daily for that. That means Kansas to DC needs to be more like 65-70 but that is rails to trails or paved and should be doable??? So far, as of this post I have averaged over 45 per day so maybe a little behind or pretty close to what I had hoped for. There are so many unknowns at this point I am unsure if I will ride the whole way but it still seems possible.
Do you have a gun? I was surprised by how often this comes up with people I know or people I meet along the way. It is by far the most asked question. The answer is no. For starters too heavy. Secondly I am not that guy. I would constantly be thinking about it and frankly I worry about my bear spray going off accidentally (the vibrations on a gravel road are intense) I can’t imagine having a loaded weapon on board. Thirdly a gun puts people on guard and sends a message I am not wanting to put out there. I am on this trip to meet and interact with people. Lastly people are insanely friendly when you are on a bike. Oddly there is a certain acceptance of people that are vulnerable in this way. No one is concerned with a dude on his bike. In fact the hardest hombres I have come across seem to be the most interested in and excited about what I am up to. As for wildlife my concession was bear spray through Colorado.
Do you have every thing mapped out and know where you are going to stay every night? Not even close. I have a fairly good idea of my route. It is a collection of Rails to Trails and the GDMBR with road routing to connect them, visit friends, family, and golf courses. I know where things may be more difficult like the Great Basin in Wyoming or big towns and have better plans for that. There are two big reasons not to have a rigid and thorough plan. The first is you just don’t know what’s going to happen. You can feel bad, feel good, or run into something worth staying an extra night. You can get lost. You may want to change your path. Being open to what is presented is important to getting the most from a trip like this. The second is you would certainly fail. Either you would make your miles but not enjoy them, worse yet hurt yourself in the process or you would not make your miles and then you would unravel mentally. I believe having a realistic idea of average pace, listening to your body, and giving yourself space to linger if there is a good reason creates the best possible chance for success.
Are you worried you will fail? Yes, I have leveraged more than I would like to admit and by that I mean time with family, money, stepping away (temporarily) from a job I love, and told the world I was doing this opening myself up to ridicule. That said deep down I have never thought I would do anything but have the time of my life or that it was anything extraordinary (there are people doing much more outrageous things). More importantly I have already succeeded. In a little more than a month I have had a greater experience than I ever imagined. I succeeded the minute I started.
Are you lonely? short answer NO! I don’t know if it is a flaw or a superpower but I have always been comfortable if not content being alone. You get to do what you want when you want and have no one else’s desires to concern yourself with. That said I am not lonely because I am not alone. I talk to my family and friends regularly, I meet people everywhere I go, and I have this blog to shout into the void of the World Wide Web what I am feeling or thinking.
What do you think about for hours on a bike each day? Very little. I had grand ideas about evaluating my life, plotting my future, listening to books on tape, solving the world’s problems, and discovering the meaning of life. In reality I mostly think about the 6 feet in front of me (the road is smooth and clear nowhere), have I eaten or drank enough, when is this hill going to end, what is that weird noise Alister is making, where am I going to sleep tonight (campgrounds have been full lately), where is the next place I can get a soda, and how lucky I am to be here? So basically I think of nothing. It takes all of my time and I am wiped out mentally everyday.
What do you eat and where do you get it? I eat everything I can find. The beauty of being on a bike is you cover so many miles compared with hiking. I have come across somewhere nearly every day at least once. I try to have one big meal in town wich is most often dinner. Breakfast typically consists of precooked bacon and pop tarts with an occasional muscle milk when I find one. Lunch is more snacking all day. Cliff Bars, nuts, jerky, candy bars, Goldfish crackers. and cheese. I carry a couple days worth of food and more if the stretch seems like I will need it but mostly I have not needed more than a day or two. I have a stove and use it occasionally.
Why does it look like every picture of you was taken on the same day? Because I am always in the same outfit. I have one riding outfit (but two bike short liners) and one townie look, a polo. Of course I have a jacket and rain pants and also a fleece but most of the time I am in a grey sun hoodie, and black shorts. I wear my Goretex while doing laundry so I can clean everything in one load. You get used to the people staring. Most of the time a guy in Goretex at the laundromat is not even close to the craziest thing going on. There should be a reality tv show set in a laundromat it will do well.
If you have other questions leave them in the comments and I will do another round of QandA.