USA Coast to Coast - Solo cycle ride

A short video of my 2024 solo (un-supported) cycle ride across America from La Push, Washington state to New York city. Started in late April (a bit too early!), and ended in early July.
I made up the route myself, stringing together places I wanted to visit. In the end, the trip was affected by bad weather (3" hailstones and tornados!), but this is a link to the 'as planned' version of the trip:-
drive.google.com/file/d/1A48S...
For navigation (and route mods), I used a combination of Garmin and Komoot on an iPhone (Definitely recommend Komoot! )
I have added some additional videos on bike/packing and route planning for the trip here:-
Bike: • USA coast to coast cyc...
Packing: • USA coast to coast cyc...
Route planning: • USA coast to coast cyc...
TIMESTAMPS
0:00 Intro
0:53 Washington state
4:28 Idaho
5:45 Montana
12:37 Wyoming
16:42 South Dakota
19:36 Wisconsin
22:37 Illinois
23:56 Pennsylvania
27:40 Washington DC
28:41 Pennsylvania(again)
31:30 New Jersey
32:20 New York
34:08 Close

[@TwainingWheels]

I am on day 80 of my ride from Miami to Seattle. This video makes me consider starting over and doing it all again! Great work.

[@jasonrees7434]

Do it!! 👍😃

[@joelbookhammer7893]

It was a pleasure meeting you on the GAP Trail in Pennsylvania. Glad to see you made it home safely.

[@jasonrees7434]

@@joelbookhammer7893 Hey! Good to hear from you! Hope all is good? … Really enjoyed the GAP!👍

[@joelbookhammer7893]

⁠​⁠@@jasonrees7434all is good! Going to be doing the trail again in the autumn this time my brother will be joining me.

[@simpletruth5224]

Nice job! Enjoyed it. And yes God Bless America and God Bless you!

[@jasonrees7434]

Thanks, you too!

[@rex758]

Remarkable, wonderful adventure beautiful country view. thank you sharing.

[@markmayfield4736]

Great video and editing. Really like the route you took

[@robertpalmer-wilson5591]

A beautiful, well-crafted video. Just the right length, with good video interspersed with well composed stills & voice-overs/commentary. A pleasure to watch.

[@jasonrees7434]

Thanks! I'm really glad you liked it!🙂

[@stefanomigliuolo3468]

Very nice video! Did the Mickelson in 2021; it was splendid.

[@jasonrees7434]

Yep, the Mickelson was one of my favourites! 👍

[@billysbikesbrews7183]

Amazing Bike Adventure.. Zero Punctures !! Amen 🙏 🚴‍♂️🤠💫

[@jasonrees7434]

Yeah, I wasn’t expecting zero punctures!!🙂 Big shout out to the Schwalbe Marathon Almotion tyres! 🙏 … fast and robust!!👍

[@reeceholmes8546]

EPIC!!! thanks man

[@davidkalvelage360]

Fantastic trip! Great to meet you on the Gap trail!

[@jasonrees7434]

@@davidkalvelage360 Great to meet you guys too! I really enjoyed the GAP!

[@evanlouis8853]

I want to do this trip. I'm hoping you can answer some questions for me. Did you stay in hotels every night? How many days did the trip take? Was it difficult finding places to stay? How many miles a day did you ride? Any rest days? What was the average price for a hotel? How was the food? What time of year did you go? Thanks

[@jasonrees7434]

@@evanlouis8853 OK… I’ll try and answer… Yep, hotels every night - I need good sleep! I’d planned the route knowing I wanted to use hotels/cabins/b&bs, and it worked out fine (c. $80/night avg). 42 days cycling + 3 rest/travel days. Food was fine - a lot of gas stations! 😁

[@Mike-vd2qt]

@evanlouis8853 70 year old here, retired 2016, and cycle toured across the U.S. twice, once across EU since then. Using Adventure Cycling Association (ACA) maps for Northern Tier route, and the Southern Tier route. This trip is very manageable and safe. People are helpful and friendly when you're traveling by bike. I camped out most of the way, and stayed in hotels sometimes ($80-$150 per night). Food, water, camping, is easy in most areas. Average 60 miles per day. Don't over plan, over train, or worry. Pack light, one change of clothes, light gear, puff jacket, rain jacket, baseball hat. My gear weight is 18 pounds without food and water. Happy trails!☮

[@evanlouis8853]

@@Mike-vd2qt thanks for the input. I’m hoping you can answer a couple questions for me. Do you know the total weight of your bike and gear? Did you use front and rear panniers? Thanks again.

[@Mike-vd2qt]

@@evanlouis8853 My bike was a Surly Long Haul Trucker, 35 pounds with racks and fenders (too heavy). I used front and rear Tubus racks with Arkel panners. My base gear weight was only 20 pounds, total weight I did not check (about 55 lbs totl). The Surly Trucker is too heavy and stiff for a U.S. tour where you do not need to carry a lot of weight. Today I would use a gravel bike with hydraulic disc brakes, 1x12 gearing, no fenders. 1 person free standing tent, pad, 3 season bag, small backpacking stove. For panniers today on a U.S. tour or EU, I use Revelate Designs Nano Panniers, very light weight, total volume capacity is 40L for four bags, plus top of rack for tent etc.. I use Tumbleweed Chromoly racks front and rear (small and light). That is plenty of space for tours in the U.S. or EU. Skip the fenders for several reasons, use tubeless tires and take one spare tube for backup. Insta is, mikehikebike for photos of trips. ☮

[@evanlouis8853]

One last question, if you will be so kind. How did you get out to La Push?

[@jasonrees7434]

No problem. I flew to Seattle, assembled my bike in the airport, took a train to Olympia, then rode to Aberdeen, Quinault Lake, and on to La Push. It took about 4 days to get there. There aren’t many travel options to get to La Push.

[@grewell912]

I want to do this. I set a goal of doing it 3 years from now. Do you have any way of sharing your route?

[@jasonrees7434]

I've added a link to the description to a bunch of GPX files I used in planning the route. (I made a few changes in the trip, but didn't modify the files...)

[@evanlouis8853]

I was just about to start the northern tier on saturday...then the heat moved in....when did you start?

[@jasonrees7434]

@@evanlouis8853 I started at the end of April. I think that was really a bit too early… I had freezing temps on the west coast and 95F+ on the east. Are you rescheduling?

[@jasonrees7434]

@@evanlouis8853 I started at the end of April. I think that was really a bit too early… I had freezing temps on the west coast and 95F+ on the east. Are you rescheduling?

[@evanlouis8853]

@@jasonrees7434 Long story. I'm 67 and have wanted to do this trip for a long time. I have sleep apnea and need to bring along a cpap and butteries if I am going to camp. I bought all my gear, including camping gear, and it was so heavy that I bought a trailer. I put everything together about 10 days before I was to fly into seattle and I took a test run. I ended up straining a couple of muscles...one in my groin and the other along the side of my hip. The a heat wave came in and it was supposed to reach the mid to upper 90s in seattle and the norther areas. I bailed on my trip. I still want to do it, but now I am considering a credit card trip...not carrying camping stuff or cooking stuff. And I'm wondering how feasible that is. Thanks for your reply.

[@Mike-vd2qt]

@evanlouis8853 Apologies, just saw your next questions and problem with heat. I started the Northern Tier from Anacortes, WA on June 1. I had one morning of light snow in Glacier Nat'l Park, and some rain in Whitefish, MT around June 18. Otherwise great weather, but did dodge a few rain storms in MT crossing the plains. Stayed in motels those nights. I also rode half of the GDMBR with some friends, much harder then a road tour, but no traffic and very remote in areas. I've done a lot of backpacking so my gear carry is based on that experience at 18-20 pounds maximum. Eg. one change of clothes, puffy and rain jacket, tent 2.5 lbs, bag 1.2 lbs, sleep pad 12 oz, JetBoil stove for coffee, one pair trail running shoes for flat pedals on bike. Navigate with phone and maps, road tours no need for GPS, or InReach. People carry too much stuff which makes life on the bike more difficult. Tools: 1 tube, patch kit, Allen key set, two extra spokes for rear wheel, no need for cables, brake pads, extra tires, etc. Good luck, happy trails.