Epilogue to our Cycle Across America

It’s been 2 blissful weeks since we crossed the finish line in Yorktown, VA and we’ve gotta say, it’s been nice having a Blog Break!

After spending our final cycle night in Yorktown with family and friends and dining at a fabulous Thai restaurant, we headed to Alexandria, VA to stay with Ellie, Mike and Olivia for a few days. We enjoyed our time with our kids and granddaughter, dinners, friends and not cycling. Then we made the trek back to Park City via the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, lunch with my sister and Brother in law in Chicago, and an overnight with friends in Custer, SD. (Where we had an amazing dinner at Skogen Kitchen (huge shout out!!👏👏👏)

Landing back home has been a mixture of bliss and confusion. We could’ve carried on cycling but it was sooooo good to see friends and our own bed. BUT, after 2+ months on the road, one does forget how to A. Cook B. Make beds C. Clean D. Grocery shop – or shop at all, for that matter. Thank goodness for all the parties and dinners we’ve been invited to since our return – though the matter of cleaning and bed making is still up for grabs.

During and after our ride we were asked many questions – here’s some of the highlights:

Q: Would we do it again?

A. NO. It was far too special and unique to try to repeat

Q: what inspired you to do this trip?

A: Tam first mentioned doing this 7 years ago when she bought an e-bike. Mark poo-poo’ed it and never brought it back up. When we attended the Celebration of Life of a good friend’s wife, she’d encouraged everyone to do something outside their physical and mental comfort zone, Tam said to Mark “this is it – we’re cycling across the country” at the service. I’m pretty sure Mark didn’t stand a chance at saying no, especially following Tam’s own breast cancer diagnosis in late 2022.

Q: How did you (Tam) manage your battery?  

A: I had three batteries. At the start of each day, all three were fully charged. One was in my bike, another on my bike, and another in the car. Some days, under certain conditions, the battery would be good for 24 miles and other days 80. It depended on hills, wind and how much I ate the day before.

Q: How many Trump signs did you see along the way?   

A:  Probably a few thousand

Q: How many Biden signs?

A: Two, which said “Fuck Biden”.  The rest of the election signs said, “Jesus in 2024, there is no other choice”

Q: How much weight did you lose?

A:  Mark – more than Tammy.   Tammy – less than Mark.  See e-bike section above.

Q: What sort of ailments did you have?

A: Mark – chafed butt, neck stiffness.  Tam – wrists, numb fingers.  I only had pains in my butt when Mark screwed up the navigation.

Q: What was your worst experience?   

A: M – First place, being chased by dogs. Second place, some seriously unsafe, inconsiderate drivers.  T – riding through the impoverished counties of Appalachia, mostly in Kentucky, plus some of the drivers.

Q: What was your best experience?

A: T – every single day.  M – The way we did this which gave us a tremendous amount of flexibility regardless of weather, fatigue, mechanical problems, or other factors.

Q: What was the hardest part?

A: M – The seven or so days that were very hot and humid, most of which came on days with a lot of short, but steep climbs.  T – The hills of Appalachia – high, hot, humid and hounds. Close second – the last 20 miles when the Colonial Parkway closed with a detour and we had poor guidance and no idea where were going or when we would get to the finish.

Q: What did you pack in your panniers/saddle bags?

A: Bike repair tools and spare tubes, first aid kit, extra water, snacks, extra phone charging blocks, rain gear and layers.

Q: What was the most unusual thing you saw?

A: M – Tammy getting up at 6 AM.  T – the armadillos – even though they were flat from having been run over, they were still really weird creatures.

Q: What was the most impressive part of your trip?

A: M – the way some towns are fighting with shear grit and/or creativity to stay alive.  T – how well and intuitively Sue and Brad worked out. Second, How kind people were (except the dicky drivers). 

Q: Prettiest part?

A: T – Heading to Dubois, looking back at the Tetons.  M – The Lochsa River and the Columbia River Gorge

Q: What surprised you the most?

A: The economic depravity from coast to coast and, although we were mostly in Red areas, the complete absence of Biden support signs vs. the huge presence of Trump support signs. T – All the cool things that we would have missed if we had driven the usual west-east route, plus the depravity.

Q: What did you learn?

A: T – the trip hugely underscored the fact that we live in a complete bubble. Also, that there are a lot of kind people out there who just want to talk to you. Also, that both of us can actually do something like this.  That Holiday Inn Expresses are great hotels as long as they have been renovated and they have excellent cinnamon rolls. M – that people are very generous, at times to a surprising degree.  That a lot of homes across the country proudly fly the American flag. …….

Q: What would you do differently next time?

A: M – Stay in campground for at least a few nights to experience that subculture and have probably another interesting subset of conversations. It would be worth the lost sleep.  T – add a fews days to the trip so we could be tourists a bit more, and skip Mammoth Cave.

Q: Did you make any dietary changes for the trip?

A: M – I drank about eight bottles of water per day, at least half with electrolyte powder.  Most days I drank another bottle of water with protein powder within 20 minutes of finishing our ride.  I never got any leg cramps, which had happened to me a few times on previous long multi-day rides.  T – no dietary changes and both of us made it to the end at the same time!  We also both ate less crappy processed food than we normally do. 

Q: How many flats did you have? 

A: M – 3, T -1

Q: Funny moments?

A: Mark – at the top of Lolo Pass, Brad had wheeled my bike from Thelma (our trailer) to the visitor center. When we came out of the center to go back to Thelma to top up our water bottles from our 5 gallon jug and hit the road into Montana, I carried my bike. When the others asked why, I said “so I don’t hurt my average speed”.  What a dweeb!  It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that 500 feet during an almost 4000 mile journey will make no difference!  Plus we pacing ourselves to not burn out, so speed wasn’t a big consideration anyway. Tam: Seeing Mark realise how stupid he was carrying his bike over short distances as described above. He got a lot of grief for that the whole trip.

Q: Why did you go West to East?

A. We live closer to the west coast. And thought we’d catch a lot more tailwinds. We didn’t, in the end.

Final thoughts:

We both think this is the best trip we’ve ever taken, both in terms of mental and physical challenges and in terms of getting to know our own country a bit more. If you can afford the time and have a goal or dream, (and Nike really got this right) Just Do It.

Oh, and don’t forget to do it for a cause…. We picked the American Cancer Society. We didn’t want to push too hard for people to donate so set our goal at $5000. We currently have raised over $16,500. Cancer sucks but people and their generosity are amazing!

Lastly, bring a friend or two along to help. We simply could not have done this without Brad and Sue. They were amazing, loyal, nonjudgmental and not just our buddies – they were our glue.