Riding a Bicycle Across America: 8 Things I Learned

On June 17th 2015, I set out on a journey across America. Alone. On a bicycle. My plan was to start in Seattle WA and ride 75 miles a day for 45 days, finishing in NYC. As you can see from my pic in Times Square, I made it! It took me 47 days. Along the way I slept in softball fields, on the side of highways, in parks, with Tinder matches, and with families that pulled over and offered me their couch for the night. I sometimes carried a loaf of bread and some PB&J, but usually I dined on fast food and roadside diners. As you can imagine, I learned a lot from this challenge. Here are my main takeaways:

People are good if you give them a chance - Many people don't trust strangers and even their own friends. They think the world is a dangerous and nasty place and this is reinforced by the media. Throughout my whole trip I was never wronged by anyone. When I began my trip I was expecting to get fucked with on a regular basis because I would be sleeping in public places, riding on the side of freeways, and totally alone, but it never happened. Instead, I was befriended by random strangers, taken in for the night, and fed delicious meals. Several times random strangers handed me money even though I never asked for anything. One thing that I think is very important is putting out positive energy by being in a good place mentally. If you have good intentions and are enjoying life, people will sense that and be drawn to you. If you go around being an asshole and are only out for yourself, it will put other people on edge and they will treat you accordingly. I think that even the "bad" people in this world are looking for an opportunity to be good to someone. If you give that otherwise bad person a chance and treat them with dignity, they will most likely be thankful for your kindness and want to return the favor.

You don't need a lot of stuff to be happy - Everything that I took with me fit into the pannier bags that you can see in the pictures. Fully loaded, my bicycle weighed 75 lbs. That's not a lot of stuff. Most of that weight was a sleeping bag and pad, tools for fixing my bike, a rain jacket, and a couple pairs of clothes. My two luxury items were my MacBook Air and iPhone, and honestly, I didn't need the laptop. Despite only living with possessions I could fit on a bike, I was happy. Every turn of the pedals took me to a new place I hadn't been before. I was outside in the fresh air and I was free. I knew I was making memories that I would never forget and that was more valuable than anything I've ever owned.

The Universe will provide for you if you let it - Throughout my journey I was very vulnerable to bad things happening. I was alone in places where I didn't know anyone and could only travel as fast as I could pedal. This meant that any bad situation I got myself into, I would need to rely on myself and a little bit of luck to get me out. Whether I was stuck outside in a rainstorm, or cramping up on the side of the road with heat exhaustion, it seemed like whenever I truly needed help, the Universe would provide it. Instead of worrying about every single thing that could go wrong and letting that stop you from fulfilling your dreams, just trust that the Universe will provide for you and it will all turn out ok.

Don't over plan - I really didn't plan at all for my trip. My only plan was to ride at least 75 miles a day and just stop wherever seemed good along the way. I had a general idea of my route from what google maps gave me when I typed in Seattle to NYC, but that changed almost every day when new data would present itself. If I had planned every single day out, it would have taken me forever and the journey might have appeared to daunting by over analyzing it. Instead, I just bought the gear I thought I'd need and started riding. You gotta trust yourself that you will make the right call when the decision presents itself. It is inevitable that once you start on a journey, shit's gonna change and not everything is going to turn out the way you planned. Instead of trying to stick to a plan because you are already invested in it, just start with an overarching goal and make the plan up as you go.

You set your own limits - One thing people told me every day when they read my flag that said SEA to NYC or asked me what I was up to was, "I could never do that." That's bullshit. Riding a bicycle is actually pretty easy. It doesn't take any more effort than walking most of the time. You would need to be pretty severely physically disabled to not be able to ride a bicycle down the road. To get across America, you just have to do that for a really long time. The limiting factor is your own mind. If you tell yourself you can't do something, you're right. Of course some things have physical limits or are just very improbable like getting drafted in the NFL or winning the lottery. But things like riding a bike across a continent, losing weight, making more money, or getting better grades, those are all things that you mostly control with mental discipline and effort. Don't let your own laziness or insecurities stop you from making your dreams a reality.

You can have a great time just about anywhere - If you think you need to go somewhere else to have a good time, the problem is probably yourself. Some of the best times I had on my trip were in the most unlikely places when I wasn't even looking for it. If you open up and just let the Universe provide for you, good people will come into your life and you will enjoy where you're at. I sometimes experienced extreme bliss just spending a nigh alone on the side of the road gazing up at the stars. If you're always looking for the perfect place, you're most likely going to spend most of your life thinking that you're not there yet.

Don't listen to advice - I know this post is basically me just giving you advice, but you shouldn't take anything I or anyone else says as truth unless they have skin in the game or very relevant experience. During my ride strangers were constantly offering up random tidbits of advice like, "you should go check out such and such place," or "you really shouldn't ride down this road, it's too dangerous" or "you should really buy such and such gear for you bike." Most of these people had never ridden a bicycle for more than a couple miles and wouldn't have suffer any consequences if something they told me ended up not being such a great idea. I learned to just trust my instincts when making decisions or listening to advice. A couple times when I did take someones advice, I ended up regretting it.

Just keep moving forward - Slow and steady wins the race. Most things really worth doing take a long time to complete. As long as you keep moving forward towards a goal, you will eventually get there. It may not seem like it but all the little things you do will add up over time. It could be saving a couple hundred bucks a month, it could be putting in that extra hour of studying for an exam, it could be hitting the gym for the 5th time that week; keep doing the little things that bring you closer to your goals. And most importantly, believe in yourself!

I hope you enjoyed this article.
Here is the Youtube version of this article:

Here are a couple vids from the actual trip: