Oh, the Places You'll Go and the People You'll Meet

Finally! 

The Wyoming headwind I had been fighting all day turned into a tail wind. It felt so nice! Maybe I would have some easier miles. 

Then I glanced over my shoulder and noticed ominous dark clouds building and moving toward me. Uh, oh. Could I out-bike this storm? I had only 20 miles until my stopping point for the day. I put my head down and started pedaling harder.

But the storm kept gaining on me. I thought about stopping to get out my rain gear but that would slow me down. The wind picked up even more and at one point was pushing me uphill at 20 mph without even pedaling! That was great but a little scary too. 

Then the rain started. It was light at first, but soon larger raindrops started pelting my back. Thunder boomed and lightning flashed all around me. Now I really needed my rain gear, but I couldn’t stop although I was starting to get cold. 

After a couple more miles, I looked up to see a truck stopped in front of me. The driver offered to give me a ride. He had seen me biking in the storm and made a U-turn to help. I was so appreciative, but I told him I was racing and couldn’t take a ride. But I did accept his offer to get into the cab to put on my rain gear. 

I jumped in and talked with him while quickly getting into my rain gear. He was reluctant to have me go back out in the storm, but I was less than 10 miles from my goal for the day, a highway rest stop on this lonely Wyoming highway. And with this tailwind, I would be there in less than half an hour. I thanked him, got out into the rain, and pedaled hard.

Soon, I wheeled myself into the rest stop’s family bathroom and locked the door, safe from the storm and ready to spend the night in my fancy “accommodations.” 

Deluxe lodging!

Experiences like that – the weather, the riding, and the people, especially the people – made my Bike NonStop US bike race more than just a ride across the United States.

Trans Am – Bike Nonstop US Bike Race

I have been participating in bikepacking races for a decade. During that time, the Trans Am – a self-supported road race across the U.S. from Astoria, Oregon, to Yorktown, Virginia, had always been on my radar. Many friends didn’t want me to do it, saying the route was too dangerous. 

The route was developed for road touring 50 years ago by the Adventure Cycling Association. Eventually people started racing it. But over the years several people have been struck by cars during the race and a few have died. 

In 2019, race director Nathan Jones came up with Bike NonStop US (BNSUS), an alternative route incorporating gravel roads and bike trails – many of which weren’t available 50 years ago – and ending in Washington, D.C. That seemed like a good, safer alternative. The last few years racers could do either route.

The Blue route is the original TransAm, the red is the new Bike NonStop US route

Since I retired in March, I decided this was the year to do the BNSUS. Eric and I would drive down, I would do the race while Eric drove across the states, and then we could leisurely make our way back home. The timing was not optimal for Eric with all his volunteer work, but he was willing to support me so that I could do this final big bikepack race. 

The Route

Pick your route across the country, just stay off the banned roads and areas. I did the red route.

This year, Nathan changed the race format again. You could still do either the original Trans Am route or the newer BNSUS, or you could also devise your own route, as long as you stayed off banned roads and areas deemed too dangerous by Nathan. You just had to start in Astoria, go through three checkpoints along the way, and end in either Yorktown or D.C. Nathan also mapped out some alternative shorter paved routes. 

With race director Nathan.  Official photographer in the background

This made the race less of a race since it was hard to compare what competitors were doing. Not everybody followed the same course, and routes could vary by up to 1,000 miles in distance. But I didn’t really care since I was racing only myself and doing it as much for the experience. I wanted to do the mixed-surface BNSUS route and ride the iconic bike trails it included. Only a few other racers I met wanted to do the BNSUS route. Some wanted to do the original Trans Am. Many planned to take the most direct route across the country. 

For the racing aspect, I wanted to finish in under 30 days, to see if I could still push myself over many days. The fastest riders would finish in less than two weeks. But 30 days would be hard for me. The route is about 3,500 miles, of which 30 percent is on gravel. I would have to ride about 120 miles every day with no rest days.

As part of the experience aspect, I wanted to ride all the bike trails. I was amazed by all the dedicated bike paths on the BNSUS route, especially once we got to Nebraska. These trails included the Cowboy Trail in Nebraska, Wasatch Trace Nature Trail out of Omaha (my favorite rails-to-trails trail), the Katy Trail in Missouri, the Ohio-to-Erie Trail (a series of several paved bike trails linked up through Ohio), then the Panhandle, Montour, Greater Allegheny Passage (GAP trail), and Chesapeake and Ohio (C & O) towpath. These paths meant that over 1,000 miles of the route were on rail trails (former railroads turned into trails) or other dedicated bike paths. I did get a bit bored with the rail trails as they are mostly flat with lots of trees and minimal change in scenery, but I enjoyed being off the roads. 

The Weather

In general, the weather was quite stable, mostly sunny skies with occasional afternoon thunderstorms, some severe. Fortunately, I got caught only by the one in Wyoming. The rest I managed to avoid with lucky lunch breaks or by getting to my hotel in the nick of time. There were headwinds a lot of the time, especially through the flat sections of Wyoming and Nebraska. All the racers I talked to said we would take hills over headwinds any day.

I took a longer lunch break to wait for this downpour to stop

But for me, the biggest challenge of the race was the heat. The lowest highs were in the 80’s F. Being from Alaska, this is hot. There were a couple of mornings in the mountains where it was around freezing, but as soon as the sun came up the temps would warm. For about half of my race, from the Midwest on, I was under a heat dome with the heat index being above 100 F most days. 

Cooling off in some shade by the side of the road

The heat was bad and humidity just got worse and worse. I kept getting up earlier and earlier to ride more while it was cooler. Most days I was on the bike by 3 AM! And by afternoon I was stopping in every convenience store I could find to cool off, get some ice, and get my shirt wet to help keep me cooler. It was brutal. I spent day 23 riding through corn, soybean, and wheat fields, which meant no relief from the sun. And with services only about every 50 miles, so minimal places to stop and get out of the heat. That was definitely one of the lows of the trip, but I made it through. 

The Scenery

There is so much beautiful scenery in the US and biking is a great way to see it and a major reason why I wanted to do this race. Most spectacular were the mountains of Oregon, Idaho, and western Wyoming. I also enjoyed the rolling hills of Missouri and going through Amish country in both Missouri and Ohio, sharing the road with horses and buggies. And then there were miles and miles of farms in the Midwest. There is still a lot of America that is rural and minimally populated. So many small communities. Each town had a church and a cemetery and a grain elevator but often not much more than that. 

Lots of hayfields, along with corn, soybean and wheat fields

Big rollers in Missouri

The woodlands along the rail trails in the east had their own charm. Lots of wildlife including deer, ground hogs, turtles, and lots of birdsong, especially in the mornings. And cool shade from the trees lining the paths. 

Bike and Body Woes - NOT

I bought my new Panorama Kahtadin gravel bike last fall and it had less than 500 miles on it when I left Fairbanks. I had no mechanical issues except for one morning on the Katy Trail when I somehow kicked up a chunk of wood that jammed itself between my front chainrings and my frame. It took me 10 minutes to get that sucker loose. I did not stop at any bike stores and did not swap out the chain, brake pads, or tires. I’m impressed that my Specialized 2Bliss Ready Sawtooth tires have over 4,000 miles on them and are still going strong. My bike will need a total overhaul once I get home, though.

The only thing I would have changed is adding aero bars.

You can see how much my back tire is worn down compared to my front at 2000 miles in.  Both tires are still going strong.

My 66-year-old body also faired very well. I had almost no issues, no saddle sores, or neck problems. I managed, food, sleep, the heat, and my mental attitude well.  I never really wanted to quit except day five when I was questioning my life decisions and also about halfway through the race, when I woke up with a terrible toothache in Marysville, Missouri. I was afraid maybe I was developing an abscess and I was headed to a remote area with only very small towns. I was able to see a dentist that morning who thought it was due to clenching my teeth (which I do) and a bite that was slightly off from a crown. He was able to adjust the crown and that fixed the issue. The only other problem I had was a small blister between my 4th and 5th toes on my right foot that developed into a small ulcer and caused a lot of pain later in the day from pressure of the toes against each other. I used some corn pads and that helped but it didn’t heal completely until two weeks after the race.  I guess this old body is built for endurance!

Accommodations 

I thought I would camp more but I ended up staying in air-conditioned hotels most nights to recover from the heat. I camped only two nights – one night near the Tetons and then the night I spent in the rest area family bathroom. 

Only night I spent camping. Not a bad campsite although the mosquitoes were moderately bad and I had lost my bug dope

A really fun stay was at the Spoke’N Hostel in Mitchell, Oregon at Checkpoint One. I arrived there on day 3 along with eight other racers. We each had a bunkbed to ourselves complete with outlets to recharge electronics and were served spaghetti for dinner. It was fun to talk with all the other racers after a few days on the route. I did not sleep quite as well there, though, as several other racers were snorers (I had brought my ear plugs and used them which helped!)

Communal dinner at the Spoke'N Hostel in Mitchell, Oregon

A favorite stay was at the South Fork Lodge in Lowman, Idaho, on day 6. Melissa (you’ll meet her later) had made a reservation 17 miles further on and wanted me to join her, but I knew I didn’t have it in me to get that far. So, I stopped when I saw the lodge and luckily, they had a room. The kitchen was closed but the family, who had just bought the lodge that year, was about to sit down to their dinner so they invited me to join them. The wife, Robyne, had done long-distance bike adventures in the past, so they were very interested in my race. It was such a great evening sharing stories and good food and learning about their dreams for the lodge. Good people and a great place to stay.

Dinner with Robyne and Nick and their kids

I had another great stay at the Hearthstone Inn in Cedarsville, Ohio, on the Prairie Grass Trail, part of the Ohio-to-Erie Trail, on day 25. Eric had texted me that morning saying that the owner had posted on the Trans Am/BNSUS Facebook page saying that they hoped I would make it there that evening. So, I made it my goal to get there, even though it would be a 160-mile day, my longest day yet. I texted the owner Stuart and told him to hold a room for me, though I wasn’t quite sure I would get there. I finally pulled in at 8 PM to cowbells and signs cheering me on. Stuart did an interview with me, which he posted on the race’s Facebook page, and gave me a discount on my room. I felt like a rock star, not a back-of-the-pack racer. It was so fun. He even told me I only had 630 more miles to go. Almost done! 

Stuart and Hearthstone Inn greet me with signs and cheering

The People

Although I wanted to do this trip to see the country and push myself, meeting people along the way was the highlight of my trip.

The Racers

A lot of bonding occurs on endurance races. We racers all suffer the same things, the weather, long days in the saddle, bodily aches and pains, figuring out where to stay, etc. I ended up back and forth with a core group of about five cyclists. I probably spent the most time with Chuck Lee, a 75-year-old from North Carolina. We had met at the Arkansas High Country Race last fall. We also figured out that we had both been at the grand depart of the Tour Divide in 2018. He was a stronger rider, but I did more longer days. We texted daily to see how each other was doing. He finished a day-and-a-half behind me as he played tourist one day in Dubois, Wyoming, and stopped to see the National Museum of Military Vehicles (out in the middle of nowhere!). He was never able to catch me after that. 

Chuck and I (the 2 CL's) at his race finish. We were the oldest man and woman to finish the race this year.

Another cyclist, Melissa, was not doing the race but was touring across the country (her first bikepacking trip!) and ended up linking up with us back-of -the-pack racers. She rode most of the way with us, just veering off at the end to head to New York City instead of Washington, D.C. She and I really hit it off. She is a much stronger (and younger - age 50) biker, so she would leave later than me but catch me sometime during the day. We shared hotels several nights including a memorable night in the tiny town of Unity, Oregon, in a tiny hotel room, sharing one double bed that squeaked anytime you moved! 

Melissa and I share a dumpy hotel room and a day old pizza sub sandwich!

Even though I mostly cycled alone, we fellow racers would text each other about what we were doing and encouraged each other. We finished within a few days of each other and met up at the finish to share stories. These relationships are long-lasting after such a shared endeavor. 

At the finish with Mike, Tim and Rob who finished before me.  Chuck and Massimo finished 2 days later.

Dot-watchers

Dot-watchers are people who use an app or website to follow the racers during the race. Several of my friends were dot-watching and would text me encouragement along the way. That really helped. So much of the time, I was cycling all alone and it really helped to know that others were following my progress and cheering me on.

Prior to the race start, Eric and I had visited our friends Bob and Deb Wilkinson, in Bend, Oregon. Bob (who is also a big cyclist) thought they might show up somewhere along the route in Oregon and cheer me and the other racers on. One day, after a big gravel climb, a long descent, and then a water crossing, there was Bob in his camper with cold drinks and watermelon for all the racers. It was so fun to see him. 

Friend and avid cyclist, Bob, greets me and the other racers with watermelon and cold drinks

He also passed me the next morning after a long, cold descent into Dayville and joined me for breakfast. And later that day he biked up the next big pass with me and Melissa who had caught me on the final climb. 

Deb couldn’t come with Bob, but a few days later, a friend of Deb met me just outside of Dubois with a sign and food and drinks, too. I would have spent more time chatting with him, but a huge storm was barreling toward me, and I wanted to get to my hotel before it hit. Sorry, Lynn, I really appreciated you being out there!

Many other dot-watchers came out to meet me. Lori meets most of the riders in Oregon and again at the finish (she has family in Virginia). She has done the race, most recently in 2019, so knows what we are going through. Mike met me in Horseshoe Bend, Oregon on day 6, and rode up a long gravel pass with me entertaining me with stories as I could barely breath, much less talk while climbing. He had been a smoke jumper and had spent time in Fairbanks, and we knew some of the same people. 

Barb met me right before North Vernon, Indiana, on day 24, with cold drinks and snacks and offered to let me stay at her place. Unfortunately, I had already paid for a hotel, otherwise I would have taken her up on her offer.

Barb offers me food and drinks and place to sleep

Another Mike met most of us racers on the Montour Trail in Pennsylvania. He met up with me on day 28 when I was in a funk, feeling tired and unmotivated. He rode about 20 miles with me, which got me motivated again. He also had everything waiting at his truck that a biker could want including food, cold drinks, a bike pump, first aid supplies and bug dope. He was the best Trail Angel! He also knew some friends of mine, which was wild. It is a small world. 

And finally, Steve met me and all the other racers less than 30 miles from the finish. I was feeling hot and lightheaded at the time and his camaraderie and cold drinks fueled me the last miles of my race. 

There were also many random encounters with strangers along the way. When stopping for meals in small towns, locals (usually retired men) would start talking to me and end up eating a meal with me while sharing their life stories. They all told me to be safe when I would take off. And, of course, the nice man who let me use the cab of his truck to put on my rain gear in Wyoming. Meeting locals was fun, and I loved how they all loved their communities and where they lived. Most people are good and this race reiterated that.

Another great encounter happened while riding through Amish country in Ohio. Eric’s dad grew up Amish (Troyer is a very common surname for the Amish). I was taking a photo of a mailbox that said Troyer, when a conservative Amish man walked by. I explained about Eric’s dad and what I was doing, and we had a great conversation about being Amish. I had noticed several Old Order Amish using e-bikes. He explained that each community decides what is okay and what isn’t, and his community had decided a couple of years ago that e-bikes were okay. I had also just listened to an audiobook that talked a lot about the Amish in Pennsylvania, so it was fun to have this conversation and see how it compared to things from that book. Just another amazing random encounter.

Horse and buggy tied up at a store in Amish country

Final Thoughts

While I was doing my race, Eric drove across the country staying within a day or so of where I was at, just in case. He was able to mostly keep up with his volunteer duties and got to explore some new places. He met up with me a few times along the route cheering me on and always giving me encouragement when I needed it most. We spent two different nights together as we were in the same town and it seemed stupid to get two separate hotel rooms. (I know, I’m supposed to be self-supported, and I was for 99% of it.)

At the finish, good friends Steve and Elisa who live just outside D.C., along with their long-distance Guiness-World-Record cyclist friend, Lynn, (and of course, Eric) met me four miles from the end and biked with me to the Lincoln Memorial, the official finish. And several racers who finished a few days before me also came out to see me. It made my finish truly a celebration! The race took me 29 days, 8 hours, 49 minutes. I did it! It felt so good to accomplish one more hard pushing event. 

But now I’m done with “racing.” So many times on the BNSUS I wanted to stop and take in more of the local scenery or culture or history. Now I can do that. I still want to do long bike rides, but now I can do them a little more leisurely, at least for me!