AXC - The bike

AXC - The bike

Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Getting Started

So, I'm going to bicycle cross country. Welcome to my adventure.

Years ago, my friend Davey Rance did a cross-country ride and blogged the trip as he went. This sparked my interest at the time, and was something that persisted in the back of my mind in the years since as a thing that might be cool to do. A pipe-dream, if you will. The biggest 'what if' that existed for me.
But, I wasn't much of a bike rider at the time. That, along with a hundred other reasons that this just wasn't going to happen, have prevented me from doing it. There were just so many things in the way; job, cost, time, intimidation, and all the other bits of life that get in the way of something this big.

But then a switch flipped in my mind, and the idea went from a nebulous 'what if' to 'I can do this.' And instead of just dreaming about it, I started making it happen.
As of the fall, I've signed up for and put down a deposit on the trip. I've bought a new touring bike, a bunch of other gear, and am putting together all the plans to pull this off.

A lot of people had been asking me lately if I'm going to do an Ironman triathlon. The thing is, when I toss the thought of doing an Ironman down into the depths of my brain and bounce the idea around a bit, nothing comes back. For whatever reason, the draw just isn't there right now. But for years, when I rattled around the idea of riding across the US, the thought came back as 'that seems really interesting!' So, that is what I've settled on for 2014.
Many people insisted that I am going to do an Ironman, and when I said 'probably not' they gave me the 'yeah right' eye roll. Well... this is what I'm doing instead!


So, this trip seemed far off when I signed up in the fall, but now with the new year bearing down, it is actually right around the corner. I'll update this blog occasionally as the start date approaches and share my thoughts on the trip, the preparation, my growing excitement and nervousness about the adventure ahead.
Welcome to my blog. 


In the meantime, since you're probably curious, here are the details:

Trip is cross-country, shore to shore. Starting in Williamsburg, VA and finishing 93 days later in Florence, OR.  'TransAm' is the name of the route, meaning TransAmerican.
4305 miles (thus the URL of this blog), leaving May 3rd from Virginia.
The trip is through the Adventure Cycling Association, and is an organized trip with 14 other riders plus one tour leader. It is self-contained, meaning I'll be carrying my own tent, sleeping bag, all my gear, and we'll be camping each night. We'll average 55 miles a day, and take a rest day once a week.

I intend to blog the trip as we go, posting my thoughts about the ride, sharing experiences and pictures. The blog will be updated as I find the energy to write, access to the internet, and power to keep my ipad charged! (ie: so, probably not every day.)  I hope you'll follow along and enjoy the trip with me.

Cheers,
Aaron