9,000-Mile Bicycle Tour

I never thought aging would bother me. I thought I'd grow old gracefully, accepting the marks of experience as they appeared on my body. But as the signs began to appear, one by one, I became more and more distressed. I needed reading glasses; I began daily medication for hypertension; body parts sagged southward. The worst part was the weight. With no change in exercise or eating habits, the pounds kept adding up, and I couldn't get them off. What I saw in the mirror no longer matched the image of myself I carried in my mind.

But was it really the physical aspects that distressed me so much? Or was it the equation in my mind: Signs of aging = old age = diminished abilities = loss of dreams?

I've always been attracted to epic quests and physical challenges. Something stirs inside me when I read of someone's walk across the country or a bicycle trip around the world. It makes me long to go, to break away from everyday life and challenge myself to a task that will test my fortitude and resourcefulness.

Adventures take time and money. Over the years I'd tackled these quests as I could, squeezing them in between various jobs. But then a sense of urgency set in. I was approaching age 50, and it felt like there weren't enough years left for everything I wanted to do. In a fit of rebellion, I decided to meet my fiftieth birthday head-on instead of trying to hide from it. I challenged myself to take a year and fit in as many experiences as I could until the money ran out. My U.S. perimeter bicycle tour grew from that challenge.

This ride was a self-supported tour, which means I carried everything I needed - clothing, food, maps, and cooking and camping gear. I had only a few maildrops, in which someone at home sent me things I needed, such as the next set of maps. My bike was a Diamondback Transporter, and I used front and back Lone Peak panniers. Since money was tight, I cooked much of my own food and looked for free places to camp. I checked email and updated my blog at libraries along the way.

For the most part, I followed the mapped routes from Adventure Cycling. There were a few areas where I had to come up with my own routing, a tricky task since I'd never been in those areas. My atlas wasn't nearly detailed enough. I used Google's terrain and satellite maps to get an idea of hill climbing and population density. I searched the internet and found quite a few bike trails to link together.

In July, 2008, I rode west from my Ohio home, roughly paralleling Rte. 30, until I met up with Adventure Cycling's North Lakes route, which I planned to follow up through Michigan's Upper Peninsula and into Wisconsin, before dipping south to visit my son's family in Madison. However, my beginning mileages were lower than hoped, and even that early in the ride, I feared I wouldn't have enough time. At Ludington, Michigan, I short-cutted, hopping on the SS Badger for the four-hour ferry ride to Manitowoc, Wisconsin.

I navigated all the way across Wisconsin mostly by the advice of local bicyclists I met along the way. My planned route seemed to change daily. I joined Adventure Cycling's Northern Tier route near Minneapolis, Minnesota, following this route through Minnesota, North Dakota, Montana, Idaho, and Washington.

From Anacortes, Washington, the Pacific Coast route took me south along the west coast. I did not want to bicycle alone through Los Angeles and San Diego, so I picked out a route that cut across the middle of California and joined the Southern Tier at Quartzsite, Arizona. The Southern Tier took me through Arizona to New Mexico, where I spent the winter with my daughter.

When I left New Mexico in spring, 2009, I continued on the Southern Tier route through Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida. I took Adventure Cycling's Atlantic Coast route north through Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine.

From Bar Harbor, Maine, the Northern Tier route led me west through New Hampshire, Vermont, New York, Pennsylvania and into Ohio. I left the official route at Geneva-on-the-Lake, Ohio, and pedaled south to arrive home on my fiftieth birthday in July, 2009.

Mechanical

I went through three sets of tires and four chains, and broke two spokes. There were no mechanical problems.

Expenses

These figures are probably a bit low, as I didn't get every penny logged. Also, I only included the amounts I paid, not the meals or lodging that someone else paid for.