The Bike Diary

Approaching the summit of Logan Pass on the Going-to-the-Sun Highway, Glacier National Park, Montana

During the summer of 2001 I rode my bicycle from my home in Somerville, Massachusetts to my grandmother's house in Seattle, Washington, 4036 miles in 52 days. I had planned to keep a journal, which I called the "bike diary", and to email it to a few friends of mine, especially some who had made similar journeys in the past. It turned out to be way more popular than I had ever anticipated, by the end of the trip there were 66 people on the direct mailing list and I believe about as many more who were regularly getting forwards from people on the list.

What follows is the emailed text from the bike diary, reformatted as HTML (with some minor spelling and typographical corrections) with photographs I took during the trip inserted where they belong in the narrative. Purely for archival purposes, I have also preserved the original, unformatted email text (in Unix mbox format).

I would also like to thank all the folks who helped make this ride so much fun: my dad for coming along for the last 700 miles of it, Cindy for being there when I came home, da Boss for letting me take a looong vacation, Maria and Kate for sending mail, Chuck, Barb, Seth and Micah Childers for their hospitality in Bowling Green, Ohio, the Heidemans and Tholens of Ashkum, Illinois for shelter from the storm and many many other "ordinary" people I met along the way who took an interest in my project.

Predeparture
Bike Diary #1 Somerville, MA to Austerlitz, NY June 23-24, 2001
Bike Diary #2 Cooperstown, NY to Rochester, NY June 25-27, 2001
Bike Diary #2 addendum
Bike Diary #3 Lockport, NY June 28, 2001
Bike Diary #4 Amherst, NY June 29-30, 2001
Bike Diary #5 Erie, PA to Tontogany, OH July 1-4, 2001
Bike Diary #5 addendum
Bike Diary #6 Monroeville, IN to Rensselaer, IN July 5-7, 2001
Bike Diary #7 Ashkum, IL to Henry, IL July 8-9, 2001
Bike Diary #8 Orion, IL to St Louis Park, MN July 10-15, 2001
Bike Diary #9 Milaca, MN to Fargo, ND July 16-22, 2001
Bike Diary #10 Cooperstown, ND to Williston, ND July 23-27, 2001
Bike Diary #11 Wolf Point, MT July 28, 2001
Bike Diary #12 Glasgow, MT to Malta, MT July 29-30, 2001
Bike Diary #13 Havre, MT to Troy, MT July 31 - August 6, 2001
Bike Diary #14 Sandpoint, ID to Seattle, WA August 7-14, 2001
original unformatted text (email) version

Frequently Asked Questions

How far did you go, how long did it take, and how far did you ride on an average day?
4036 miles in 52 days means the average was 77.6 miles per day, but I took a total of five days off. If you exclude those then the moving average was 85.9 miles per day. I made a histogram of daily mileages which gives a better idea of what the distance distribution was like.
Did you ride alone or with a group?
I was mostly alone. My father joined me in Whitefish, Montana and rode the last 700 miles to Seattle with me.
You rode east to west across the country; isn't that against the prevailing winds?
Yes, and I knew that when I started. See the screed in Bike Diary #6 (day 13) for details on why I did it that way. In the end, I think it was pretty much a wash: I had about as many tailwinds as the eastbounders.
Have you ever done anything like this before?
Yes, in 1990 I bicycled from Gainesville, Florida to Seattle, Washington; 5000 miles in 100 days. I've also done some shorter trips: Gainesville, Florida to Durham, North Carolina in 1986; Boston, Massachusetts to Bedford, Virginia in 1992; Tucson, Arizona to Albuquerque, New Mexico in 1999.
Will you ever do it again?
Definitely, next chance I get. Probably Boston to San Francisco next time. 2002 is already booked up, maybe 2003?
Were you raising money for a cause?
No, this expedition was entirely self-financed and for fun.
Did you have a lot of mechanical problems with your bike?
Hardly any: two flat tires, one broken toeclip strap and one of the bolts that held the rear rack to the seat stay vibrated loose and fell out. I was able to repair all of them along the way.
Who are you?
You can find out more about me, including contact info, on my homepage.