My Bicycle Ride Across America

For an initial trial of endurance I decided to ride a bicycle across America. My initial plan was to walk, but I spent too much of my initial post-military time traveling and preparing for my ocean rowing project. In order to make it to the East coast before the boat constructions begins, I figured the next best thing was to ride a bike. Either way, I made it across the country using human power alone.

The Planned Route

Below was the planned route prior to leaving. It also happens to be the route for the Race Across America. I figured if the route is good enough for a race, it'll be good enough for me, and I wasn't wrong. Although it was my baseline plan, I made a few deviations along the way just for fun. Overall, I really enjoyed this route since it took me through such varied terrain and scenery.

My Ride

I decided on going with a recumbent bicycle, despite some warnings against such a decision. The main deciding factor was comfort, and it's definitely comfortable. The main disadvantage for this style of bike is riding uphill. There's no ability to stand out-of-saddle using your body weight to power up a hill. It's all quads. Add in the weight of my gear, and I found the hills were somewhat challenging at the beginning. But, after a few weeks of riding, it wasn't an issue at all.

The model I chose is a Bacchetta Giro 26 with a steel frame. I chose this model because of the equal sized wheels, the strength of the frame, and the feel of the ride. It's very comfortable, but takes some getting used to, especially at slow speeds or tight turns. But, I'm very happy with the choice, and if I were to do another long distance ride, I would still go with a recumbent.

Bacchetta Giro 26 - My Ride Across the Country

The Actual Route

Below you can see the exact route I took. Each circle marker is a point where I stopped for at least one night. The triangles represent my planned stop point and my actual stop point. I normally only took one day off at a time, but I occasionally took the liberty of spending a little extra time exploring and mingling with the locals. The distance between each marker was completed in one day.

Route Stats

All stats are via Google Earth

Totals

Distance: 3,114.4 Miles
Total Climb: 136,199 Feet
Total Descent: 136,110 Feet
67 Days of Riding
89 Total Days (22 days off)
Average Distance Per Day: 46.5 Miles
Longest Day: 102.0 Miles
Most Climb in a Day: 6,285 Ft
Crossed 12 States

Route Details

Departed: 16 May 2015 at 10:30 AM

Ended: 12 Aug 2015 at 9:30 PM

Day 1-3: Oceanside Pier, CA (01) to La Jolla Indian Campground (02)

Distance: 42.6 Miles
Elevation Change: +3,973 Ft / -1,772 Ft

Day 4-5: La Jolla Indian Campground (02) to Borrego Springs, CA (03)

Distance: 37.5 Miles
Elevation Change: +3,113 Ft / -4,562 Ft

Day 6-7: Borrego Springs, CA (03) to Brawley, CA (04)

Distance: 58.0 Miles
Elevation Change: +870 Ft / -1,728 Ft

Day 8: Brawley, CA (04) to Desert Camping (05)

Distance: 49.2 Miles
Elevation Change: +1,850 Ft / -842 Ft

Day 9-10: Desert Camping (05) to Blythe, CA (06)

Distance: 39.9 Miles
Elevation Change: +487 Ft / -1,133 Ft

Day 11: Blythe, CA (06) to Bouse, AZ (07)

Distance: 68.7 Miles
Elevation Change: +1,098 Ft / -413 Ft

Day 12: Bouse, AZ (07) to Salome, AZ (08)

Distance: 27.3 Miles
Elevation Change: +1,281 Ft / -314 Ft

Day 13: Salome, AZ (08) to Aguila, AZ (09)

Distance: 31.1 Miles
Elevation Change: +712 Ft / -454 Ft

Day 14-15: Aguila, AZ (09) to Congress, AZ (10)

Distance: 24.8 Miles
Elevation Change: +938 Ft / -69 Ft

Day 16: Congress, AZ (10) to Skull Valley Camping (11)

Distance: 37.3 Miles
Elevation Change: +4,055 Ft / -2,305 Ft

Day 17-18: Skull Valley Camping (11) to Prescott Valley, AZ (12)

Distance: 24.4 Miles
Elevation Change: +2,965 Ft / -2,648 Ft

Day 19: Prescott Valley, AZ (12) to Cottonwood, AZ (13)

Distance: 45.8 Miles
Elevation Change: +3,197 Ft / -4,880 Ft

Day 20-21: Cottonwood, AZ (13) to Sedona, AZ (14)

Distance: 21.8 Miles
Elevation Change: +2,188 Ft / -1,269 Ft

Day 22: Sedona, AZ (14) to Flagstaff, AZ (15)

Distance: 28.3 Miles
Elevation Change: +4,376 Ft / -1,832 Ft

Day 23: Flagstaff, AZ (15) to Cameron, AZ (16)

Distance: 55.2 Miles
Elevation Change: +1,290 Ft / -3,945 Ft

Day 24: Cameron, AZ (16) to Tuba City, AZ (17)

Distance: 27.4 Miles
Elevation Change: +1,710 Ft / -1,089 ft

Day 25-26: Tuba City, AZ (17) to Tsegi, AZ (18)

Distance: 60.6 Miles
Elevation Change: +2,755 Ft / -1,411 Ft

Day 27: Tsegi, AZ (18) to Mexican Water, AZ (19)

Distance: 53.3 Miles
Elevation Change: +1,240 Ft / -2,508 Ft

Day 28: Mexican Water, AZ (19) to Towaoc, CO (20)

Distance: 48.0 Miles
Elevation Change: +2,280 Ft / -2,136 Ft

Day 29-30: Towaoc, CO (20) to Cortez, CO (21)

Distance: 27.4 Miles
Elevation Change: +1,874 Ft / -778 Ft

Day 31: Cortez, CO (21) to Durango, CO (22)

Distance: 52.4 Miles
Elevation Change: +4,310 Ft / -3,516 Ft

Day 32: Durango, CO (22) to Aspen Springs, CO (23)

Distance: 43.3 Miles
Elevation Change: +3,981 Ft / -3,879 Ft

Day 33: Aspen Springs, CO (23) to Pagosa Springs, CO (24)

Distance: 24.3 Miles
Elevation Change: +2,220 Ft / -1,352 Ft

Day 34: Pagosa Springs, CO (24) to South Fork, CO (25)

Distance: 28.4 Miles
Elevation Change: +4,323 Ft / -3,989 Ft

Day 35-37: South Fork, CO (25) to Alamosa, CO (26)

Distance: 51.0 Miles
Elevation Change: +470 Ft / -1,120 Ft

Day 38: Alamosa, CO (26) to La Veta, CO (27)

Distance: 58.5 Miles
Elevation Change: +2,311 Ft / -2,843 Ft

Day 39: La Veta, CO (27) to La Junta, CO (28)

Distance: 88.7 Miles
Elevation Change: +1,424 Ft / -4,345 Ft

Day 40: La Junta, CO (28) to Farm Land, CO (29)

Distance: 46.2 Miles
Elevation Change: +2,182 Ft / -999 Ft

Day 41-42: Farm Land, CO (29) to Springfield, CO (30)

Distance: 60.9 Miles
Elevation Change: +1,322 Ft / -2,223 Ft

Day 43: Springfield, CO (30) to Ulysses, KS (31)

Distance: 73.9 Miles
Elevation Change: +344 Ft / -1,657 Ft

Day 44: Ulysses, KS (31) to Montezuma, KS (32)

Distance: 52.3 Miles
Elevation Change: +535 Ft / -813 Ft

Day 45: Montezuma, KS (32) to Greensburg, KS (33)

Distance: 67.2 Miles
Elevation Change: +440 Ft / -1,003 Ft

Day 46: Greensburg, KS (33) to Kingman, KS (34)

Distance: 66.6 Miles
Elevation Change: +1,224 Ft / -1,924 Ft

Day 47: Kingman, KS (34) to Wichita, KS (35)

Distance: 48.8 Miles
Elevation Change: +1,046 Ft / -1,243 Ft

Day 48: Wichita, KS (35) to Augusta, KS (36)

Distance: 14.3 Miles
Elevation Change: +442 Ft / -552 Ft

Day 49: Augusta, KS (36) to Cottonwood Falls, KS (37)

Distance: 66.4 Miles
Elevation Change: +1,892 Ft / -1,942 Ft

Day 50-51: Cottonwood Falls, KS (37) to Emporia, KS (38)

Distance: 23.2 Miles
Elevation Change: +663 Ft / -700 Ft

Day 52: Emporia, KS (38) to Ottawa, KS (39)

Distance: 54.0 Miles
Elevation Change: +2,025 Ft / -2,239 Ft

Day 53-54: Ottawa, kS (39) to Harrisonville, MO (40)

Distance: 55.8 Miles
Elevation Change: +2,247 Ft / -2,270 Ft

Day 55-56: Harrisonville, MO (40) to Knob Noster, MO (41)

Distance: 51.2 Miles
Elevation Change: +2,378 Ft / -2,487 Ft

Day 57: Knob Noster, MO (41) to Tipton, MO (42)

Distance: 45.7 Miles
Elevation Change: +2,491 Ft / -2,385 Ft

Day 58: Tipton, MO (42) to Jefferson City, MO (43)

Distance: 35.6 Miles
Elevation Change: +1,655 Ft / -1,916 Ft

Day 59: Jefferson City, MO (43) to Hermann, MO (44)

Distance: 48.7 Miles
Elevation Change: +2,175 Ft / -2,250 Ft

Day 60: Hermann, MO (44) to Augusta, MO (45)

Distance: 39.6 Miles
Elevation Change: +1,518 Ft / -1,511 Ft

Day 61: Augusta, MO (45) to Wood River, IL (46)

Distance: 58.4 Miles
Elevation Change: +2,053 Ft / -2,191 Ft

Day 62-63: Wood River, IL (46) to Greenville, IL (47)

Distance: 44.0 Miles
Elevation Change: +1,538 Ft / -1,434 Ft

Day 64: Greenville, IL (47) to Effingham, IL (48)

Distance: 50.8 Miles
Elevation Change: +1,258 Ft / -1,200 Ft

Day 65: Effingham, IL (48) to Sullivan, IN (49)

Distance: 74.2 Miles
Elevation Change: +1,524 Ft / -1,612 Ft

Day 66-67: Sullivan, IN (49) to Linton, IN (50)

Distance: 19.0 Miles
Elevation Change: +929 Ft / -939 Ft

Day 68-69: Linton, IN (50) to Bloomington, IN (51)

Distance: 40.4 Miles
Elevation Change: +2,549 Ft / -2,295 Ft

Day 70: Bloomington, IN (51) to Columbus, IN (52)

Distance: 35.6 Miles
Elevation Change: +2,057 Ft / -2,181 Ft

Day 71: Columbus, IN (52) to Greensburg, IN (53)

Distance: 33.8 Miles
Elevation Change: +959 Ft / -626 Ft

Day 72-73: Greensburg, IN (53) to Oxford, OH (54)

Distance: 49.9 Miles
Elevation Change: +2,100 Ft / -2,075 Ft

Day 74: Oxford, OH (54) to Dayton, OH (55)

Distance: 55.3 Miles
Elevation Change: +1,946 Ft / -2,026 Ft

Day 75: Dayton, OH (55) to Jeffersonville, OH (56)

Distance: 34.8 Miles
Elevation Change: +1,027 Ft / -855 Ft

Day 76: Jeffersonville, OH (56) to Chillicothe, OH (57)

Distance: 44.5 Miles
Elevation Change: +673 Ft / -1,107 Ft

Day 77-79: Chillicothe, OH (57) to Athens, OH (58)

Distance: 57.2 Miles
Elevation Change: +2,589 Ft / -2,578 Ft

Day 80: Athens, OH (58) to Parkersburg, WV (59)

Distance: 40.6 Miles
Elevation Change: +1,544 Ft / -1,571 Ft

Day 81: Parkersburg, WV (59) to Clarksburg, WV (60)

Distance: 84.0 Miles
Elevation Change: +6,017 Ft / -5362 Ft

Day 82: Clarksburg, WV (60) to Grafton, WV (61)

Distance: 19.2 Miles
Elevation Change: +1,871 Ft / -1,944 Ft

Day 83-84: Grafton, WV (61) to Mt. Storm, WV (62)

Distance: 52.2 Miles
Elevation Change: +6,285 Ft / -4,632 Ft

Day 85: Mt. Storm, WV (62) to Winchester, VA (63)

Distance: 73.2 Miles
Elevation Change: +5,388 Ft / -7,432 Ft

Day 86: Winchester, VA (63) to Frederick, MD (64)

Distance: 55.3 Miles
Elevation Change: +2,842 Ft / -3,330 Ft

Day 87: Frederick, MD (64) to Laurel, MD (65)

Distance: 45.3 Miles
Elevation Change: +2,715 Ft / -2,803 Ft

Day 88: Laurel, MD (65) to Grasonville, MD (66)

Distance: 39.0 Miles
Elevation Change: +1,625 Ft / -1,824 Ft

Day 89: Grasonville, MD (66) to Ocean City, MD (67)

Distance: 102.0 Miles
Elevation Change: +840 Ft / -847 Ft