Gary's 2005 Cross Country Bicycle Adventure

A New Beginning -
Here we are once again, two years have past since I first set type to this page and I find myself in the interesting position of being able to complete the cross country trip I started in 2005. So I'd like to ask, what would you do if your were me? If you're a cycling fanatic then you said "Go for it Gary" and that is exactly what I am going to do!

I've been preparing by putting in a lot of riding time and respectable distances, my gear has been double checked. This time out I made the decision to purchase maps from Adventure Cycling, on the last trip only the western part of my route lined up with the Northern Tier Route, and since I am following the route almost exactly it made good sense to have a look at their maps, and I have to tell you, it was a great investment! Now I will actually know where campsites and services are located and I'll have bicycle specific information for my route... What a great advantage!

So again the question arises, Why? Why finish the trip? the answer hasn't changed, not by much any way. If anything I have more of a reason to finish the trip this time because I came so close the first time... Everything in life happens for a reason and I'm convinced that finishing this trip now is how things were meant to be all along.

From a philosophical standpoint my life has taken a few rather odd turns over the last 2 years, I traveled along a path (work related) that led once again to places that other people had created and dreamed of but where I could find no repose. Sometimes things just aren't meant to be, and sometimes we need to do what we feel inside. I met and got to work with some wonderful people but in the end I knew I belonged somewhere else. That's the only advantage of age, you finally figure out that life is to short to do things that aren't working for you.

Many of you may have already noticed that the site has changed considerably in the last year, the Rolling Roads site is now being used for it's originally intended purpose as Rolling Roads Bicycle and Active Sports Vacations. If you haven't seen it yet please take a look! In late 2006 I teamed up with Best Selling Author Joe Kurmaskie and Rolling Roads is now a sister company to Joe's Camp Creative, an Arts & Bicycle Expedition based summer camp for kids!

Because of these events an avenue has been created for me, the scope of which I hadn't previously envisioned, where by I am able to be an active bicycle proponent and share my passion for cycling and bicycle adventures.

Over the next two months I'll be updating the site regularly, I'm leaving the existing site as-is since pages from the initial trip are still relevant to this phase of the adventure. The "Route" pages (whose menu is found at the top of each page) will receive most of the new and updated material but keep an eye on the equipment and Thoreau pages as I'll be adding info there as well. And once again, Gary Sr. (my dad) will be at the helm of the web site during my adventure. Also don't forget to visit my new Blog!

So folks, the count down has begun, I will be setting off to complete my cross country adventure within the next 2 weeks!
I wish you all well,

Gary
May 11th 2007

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2005 Trip Conclusion - August 22nd, 2005
Due to professional opportunities I ended my trip 1400 miles short of it's original goal. Thank you to all of the wonderful people I met along the way and thank you to all my friends for their overwhelming support! Now on to the trip!

What a wonderful trip it was! I rode a total of 2170 miles from Bangor, ME to Minot, ND and I can say with full qualification that; 1) it was definitely worth doing 2) it was a happy challenge 3) I would do it again in a heartbeat. If you are thinking about doing a cross country ride my best advice is DO IT!

Some people may be wondering if I am unhappy about not getting to finish my trip, I am of course a little disappointed but the truth is that for the most part the trip turned out as I expected it would. After the first 14 days I knew I could do the rest of the ride standing on my head (figuratively speaking) and in fact I found the daily cycling ritual to be quite relaxing. Knowing all of this as I ended my trip and boarded the train home from Minot helped me deal with the "end of the ride blues." There is no doubt in my mind that I could have easily rode to the Pacific Ocean and then continued on South to points unknown. If anything I better understand the urge to just keep pedaling and never stop, it has a definite appeal! Of course this type of lifestyle is not for everyone, it either appeals to you or it doesn't. Personally, I relished every new vista, every new experience and every new adventure. I feel very fortunate indeed.

Regarding the challenges of the trip.
A lot of people fixate on the challenge aspect of doing a solo self supported trip, there are very real physical, mental and emotional challenges but I found out first hand that, much like anything else "its what you make it." I went in with a great attitude and a lot of enthusiasm, those qualities are almost an absolute necessity for this kind of adventure.

The physical challenge was a non issue, muscles get sore but you learn to pace yourself, you adjust to conditions and you get stronger every day. By the time I hit Minot my resting heart rate was in the low 40's and my legs were stronger than they have ever been. The real physical challenge was dealing with the sun, heat, rain and cold. I have years of all-weather cycling behind me and I know my own body and its limits very well, but I still found myself dealing with things like sunburn and mild dehydration. A person with little experience could easily find themselves ending a trip prematurely if they are not prepared for or accustomed to dealing with the fickleness of the elements. Rain gear, sun screen, warm clothing (even in summer) and water are all must have items.

The mental challenge is hardest during the first two weeks, I knew at the start that the first 10 days would tell the tale, after day three I was on easy street, all the rain and cold I experienced in Maine was truly nothing more than a nuisance, I smiled more than I grimaced through the grit and fogged up glasses, I was after all doing this by choice! As for camping in a tent, you either like camping or you don't, its that simple. I was very comfortable with only one exception, ND Mosquitoes can be Ruthless and Relentless, add in 100% humidity and no breeze due to a low lying valley and it gets just a little uncomfortable, those who shared camp with me that night know exactly what I am talking about. But I should add that North Dakota truly was a very nice place, I expected a long, boring and flat ride across North Dakota, instead I was pleasantly surprised by endless wetlands and a diversity of bird life.

The emotional challenge was something of an unknown when I began the trip, I had no idea how much or little contact I would have with other people but as it turned out loneliness was a rare occurrence and in fact most of the time I drew quite a lot of attention. Many people are naturally curious when they see a person on a loaded bike, not a day went by when I didn't make at least 3 new friends, there are a lot of wonderful people out there!

All good things must end. Someday I will cycle the remaining 1400 miles of my planned trip, as I said above I'm not disappointed that I didn't officially make it all the way across, I got much more out of the trip than I could ever have expected. It became apparent to me early on that the feat of cycling for weeks on end would in itself be an easy task. What does disappoint me is not getting to meet all of the great people who were still out there waiting for me to come along, and not getting to see all the new vistas or experience the uniqueness of each area. Those kind of things end up as stories to tell in years hence. Every persons life is a book of stories, I want my book of stories to be as voluminous as possible.

The things of true value that I received from my trip are; the wonderful times spent with new and old friends alike, the excitement of waking up each morning not knowing what the day would bring, the endless vistas, the exhilaration felt after riding a particularly strenuous stretch of road and the memories of wonderful out-of-the-way places that most people will never even know exist. Someday when I'm old and a little grayer I'll be able to tell a truckload of great stories, many people won't believe my stories but I understand now that this is only because they won't dare to dream. When I think about all of the great stories I already had before this trip (one has a lot of time to think when pedaling 5-8 hours per day) it occurred to me that the reason I have so many great experiences and stories is because I intentionally seek out these types of experiences, it is who I am, always questioning, always searching, as Thoreau said "Man generally hits what he aims at" Indeed we do!

Everyone draws a line when it comes to what they define as "living," for some it is seeing the world from the deck of a cruise ship or living vicariously through the feats of various celebrities. And for some people it means traipsing through a jungle in some far off land or perhaps riding a bicycle on some back road in the middle of nowhere to points unknown. Those who enjoy viewing life from a chaise lounge as the world passes by will never understand a guy like me and they probably won't believe my stories either but that is ok with me, as long as they stay out of my way as I leap over their version of "the line of life."

So what else did I learn from my experience? Maybe I'll tell you some day, we'll see...

Stray well and keep the rubber on the road.

Gary

The original pre-trip "Welcome to my site letter"