DONE

(For those of you wondering what I did about the broken bike rack, I got another new one @ The Hub in Athens.)

So my final day turned out to be one of my more stressful. The coolest part of the day was when 2 F-16s popped out of nowhere, skimming the tree tops right in front of me. But aside from that, what was supposed to be a leisurely victory cruise also included my closest call yet with a dog, a run-in with the only Subway employee in the entire country who wouldn't let me bring my bike inside the store, and a severe underestimation of the distance from Augusta to Isle of Palms. I thought it was on the order of 120 miles. I first realized I was in trouble when, after already logging a couple hours and 30+ miles, I passed a sign that said "Charleston 107". "Uh-oh...." So the final stage turned out to be the longest of the tour: 155 miles, complete with a finish in the dark. As much as I didn't want that to happen, it's pretty fitting I finished this trip in darkness after a long day, since that's how so many of my days went. But there was a huge spectacular orange full moon that popped up over Charleston and the Atlantic Ocean as I rode across that huge suspension bridge from Charleston over to Mt. Pleasant. That was awesome.

My final day also included a late near-crash as I drifted off the road in the darkness at 20 mph. Over the course of the entire coast-to-coast ride, I only had about 5 close calls or near crashes. How bad would that have sucked to crash right at the end? Oh, and I almost forgot to mention I lost my sunglasses, red blinky light, and one of my gear bags (zipper broke) at various points on the last day. I sure did fall apart there in the 11th hour. Good thing this day was the last!

Special thanks to my parents and brother, Jeff, for being there at the beach to welcome me and celebrate the finish of this whole thing.

Some final thoughts:

I have to tell you, this is one cool way to see the country. I saw all kinds of things I normally wouldn't otherwise. I love the way the scenery changes very gradually. And this country is so diverse. To think I only saw a small part of it. I found that I love being outside everyday, all day long. I love being on my bike everyday, all day long. I loved exploring this new way to ride a bike. It's totally different, both physically and mentally, from all the other forms of riding I do. Would I do it again? In a heartbeat. It was hard, but it was a blast. I don't think I need to do it solo ever again, but if you want some company, just let me know.

I'm glad you all enjoyed the blog. It started as an idea just to track my progress, but turned out to be a really cool interactive way to share the experience, post stories, pictures, and comments from all of you. Thanks for all the comments and keeping me company on the road!

Special thanks, also, to all of you who helped me along the way by giving me a place to stay, feeding me a meal, loaning me some gear, giving me a power bar or some batteries... You helped make this trip possible, and I really appreciate it.

Final Stats:
Laguna Beach, CA to Isle of Palms, SC
4,029 miles total
40 days riding + 6 rest days = 46 days total
259 hours riding time (10.8 continuous days of riding)
17 flats (6 front, 11 rear)
Shortest stage was 31 miles
Longest stage was 155 miles
27 stages were centuries

Via the route I took:
5 days to cross California
6.5 days to cross Arizona
4.5 days to cross New Mexico
13 days to cross Texas
5 days to cross Louisiana
1 day to cross Mississippi
4 days to cross Alabama
2 days to cross Florida
4 days to cross Georgia
1 long day to cross South Carolina

Top 15 Observations and Lessons Learned While Cycling Across the Country

15. There are a lot of abandoned buildings in Small Town, America.
14. There is a lot of broken glass on the highways of America.
13. There are 7 different varieties of rumble strips on the highways of America.
12. Whoever says winds prevail from west to east is so wrong.
11. Tailwinds rock.
10. Headwinds get old.
9. Good/Bad moods are often directly proportional to Tail/Headwinds.
8. Texas has a lot of headwind.
7. Whenever you ride by a herd of cattle, one always watches you by turning its head, but not its body, while all the others continue to graze.
6. A GPS receiver loaded with maps has great potential to avert disaster.
5. Dollar General stores are everywhere.
4. There is something really cool about rolling up to a friend's house, hundreds of miles away, on your bicycle.
3. You aren't safe from chasing attack dogs if the fence's gate is open.
2. There are all kinds of stupid things out there that are fun to make fun of.
1. The iPod is the coolest invention ever. That, and the bicycle.

Thanks for reading,
-Bry

isle of palms, charleston, sc

I made it! The atlantic ocean. Coast-to-coast, baby. Feels great. Once i got within 1k of the beach, technically it was official. But i went ahead and took it all the way to the water just to make it complete.

Not sure whether i found any answers out there, but i sure am glad i did it.

Check back in a couple days for some final thoughts, stats, pics, and a top ten list.

North Augusta, SC

Arrived in Augusta and my parents' house. Mom, Dad, Jeff, and Janis say hi!


Piedmont Park and Midtown skyline, Atlanta, Ga. A new building popped up while I was gone.


My former employer. Thanks, Panasonic, for 10 awesome years!


My favorite Quick Trip

athens, ga

I made it to athens, via the a2a route in reverse. Another great day for a ride. It's springtime here in the southeast and it's awesome. Athens is a cool town. I'm glad it made the tour.

At this point, the trip has become surreal. Now that i'm seeing familiar sights, faces, and riding familiar roads, i have to remind myself i biked here from california.

You're not going to believe this, but my bike rack broke again. 20 miles outside of athens. Same as before, sheared off at the clamp. Man, this one didn't last nearly as long as the last one. Piece of crap.

Atlanta, Georgia

Sunday, April 9th

Made it to ATL. Feeling much better. I think that stomach bug is finally behind me. I'm going to sleep in my own bed tonight.

War Eagle!


Here's a welcome sight I haven't seen in almost two months:


The Legendary Terry Mathison:

JVO2max

Check out who flew in from Romania. Jon Van Order says hi!

stomach bugs suck

no ride today.  taking another unscheduled, reluctant rest day.  this stomach bug is kicking my ass.  very disappointing to get held up so bad so close to the finish.

Auburn, Alabama

War Eagle, Everybody! I made it to Auburn. Anne and Duke say hi!


Today was rough. I felt bad. Turns out I definitly got a stomach bug. I just took it slow and easy and drank lots of water.

Here are some misc pics from the past several days.

Welcome to Alabama


Steve Worth says hi!


Gulf Shores


The End of the Road


Destin Pass


This is the boardwalk where I used to play guitar


This is the Boll Weevil monument in downtown Enterprise. I was surprised to find it in the middle of the road. Legend has it they honor the boll weevil because it killed their cotton crops. This forced them to switch to peanuts, which turned out to be more lucrative.


Check it out. I went through a town today called Blues Old Stand. It wasn't even on the map.

the boll weevil says hello

I'm still in Enterprise, taking an unscheduled rest day.  One thing I didn't mention in yesterday's post, I had a bad experience last night at dinner.  I felt fine when I checked into the hotel.  Tired, but fine.  But when I went across the street to get dinner at Subway, I got light-headed, blacked out, and fell on the floor.  I awoke to find myself laying on the floor in the middle of Subway, still clutching my sandwich and now-spilled juice cup, with all the Subway employees huddled around me.  "Dude, you ok?!"  They were on the verge of calling 911, but I talked them out of it.  I found this whole experience very strange because my effort yesterday wasn't any longer or more intense than all the other days.  I think it may be my body's way of telling me "Dude.  Enough.  Take a break."  Once I felt better, I ate the sandwich and went to bed, thinking I'd feel better this morning.  But when I got up this morning, I still felt bad.  Queasy stomach.  When I couldn't force down any breakfast, I decided I had no business riding a bike today.  Something weird is going on, I'm starting to think I may be fighting a bit of a stomach bug, too.  I'm feeling better now, so I'm optimistic I'll be good to go again tomorrow.  It's a shame my unscheduled rest day didn't land at the beach. 

enterprise, al

Made it to enterprise. Gorgeous day for riding today, but I'm thoroughly exhausted. First time to feel bad at the end of a stage, actually. Either i bonked, or all these miles are starting to catch up to me. I'm going to get lots of sleep and eat more tomorrow.

I got a late start out of ft walton. I didn't want to leave. As i rode over the destin bridge, it was so beautiful i just pulled over on the side of the bridge and spent half an hour watching the water and the boats cruising through destin pass, in and out of destin harbor. Then 4 F-16s took off from eglin afb. So cool. Looking back on it, man, that was one cool job. Everyday is an airshow at eglin.

As i got close to enterprise, i had another typical conversation with a lady in a convenience store. I pulled in to ask whether there are any hotels in enterprise. She said yes and asked, "are you going to ride there on that bike?" "yeah." she freaked out because enterprise is 22 miles up the road. I didn't have the heart to tell her i'd already done 91. When you go on a trip like this, you get conversations like that all the time. Pretty cool.

Ft. Walton Beach, FL

Tuesday, April 4th.

 

Made it to Ft. Walton Beach, FL.  Bringing back lots of memories from when I lived here, first job out of school.  Good times.  Ate a Fud Spud at Fudpucker's for dinner.  Then I hung out on the pier and watched the surf and the stars. 

 

Today was perhaps the most beautiful of the tour.  I rode along the coast all the way from Gulf Shores to Ft. Walton Beach.  Blue water, white sand, sunny clear blue skies.  This area is beautiful.  Passed lots of old familiar stomping grounds along the way.  The Florabama bar, Seville Quarter in Pensacola, the El Matador and Somerset apt complexes on the island in Ft Walton, the spot where MJ took a nap in the grass on the side of the bridge...  Somerset is now painted a horrible sea-foam green (what were they thinking?).  There's no more toll booth on the bridge to Navarre Beach.  I tried to ride the road along the beach from Pensacola Beach to Navarre, but mid-way it's washed out from the hurricanes.  The asphalt crumbles and eventually gives way to nothing but sand.  There's still a lot of damage from the Ivan and Denis hurricanes, especially in Gulf Shores and Pensacola.  Lots of construction going on, both repairs and new structures.  Don't they know more hurricanes are coming?

 

 

gulf shores, al

Now i'm in gulf shores, reliving some 20-year old memories. I'm walking on the beach. The beach is always cool. It's good to see the beach. The air is warm, but the water is cold. It will be another month before the gulf of mexico is warm.

Mt. Vernon, AL

I made it to Steve Worth's place in Mt. Vernon, just north of Mobile.  Steve says hi! 

 

A sort of homecoming.  My homestate, Sweet Home Alabama.  Well turn it up!  After spending so much time in the deserts of Arizona and Texas, which felt like a million miles away, it's hard to believe now I'm in Alabama, which feels like home. 

 

I had a pleasant cruise across Mississippi today.  Rural Mississippi looks a lot like rural Georgia.  When I first crossed into Mississippi, I immediately saw a confererate flag, and got worried.  I thought, "Uh oh, here we go.  welcome back to the South..."  But fortunately, it turned out to be the only one I saw.  I will probably see more in Alabama and Georgia.

 

 

bogalusa, la

Saturday, april 1st.
Hot one today. I made it to bogalusa, right on the state line with mississippi. I actually went into mississippi to take a picture of the sign, but came back to bogalusa to find a hotel room, since i didn't have enough daylight left to make it to the next town, poplarville, ms. No cell service here, either, so you'll read this tomorrow, too. This is hurricane katrina country. As i got close to bogalusa, i saw entire forrests shredded, pine trees snapped like toothpicks. In town, there are still tons of downed trees in yards and blue tarps on roofs. Hasn't it been 7 months since katrina? I feel for these people. But something tells me this town was a dump even before katrina. Did i mention there's a stench in the air that smells like sewer? And this hotel is a dump, too. I can't wait to move on.

jackson, la

Friday, march 31st.
Made it to jackson. No cell service here, so you'll read this tomorrow. I actually made it further than jackson, but today's the day i arrived at my target destination (clinton) with perfect timing, only to discover that town has no hotel. So i had to backtrack 13 miles to jackson to find a hotel. That sucked. But the good news is that this hotel (the only one in jackson) is really nice. Turns out it's actually a b&b, and right now i'm chilling out on the balcony with a 6-pack, listening to the blues on my ipod with portable speakers. Life is good. Aside from the mystery of where i would sleep tonight, today was a good day. I saw lots of antebellum homes and plantations. They looked nice. Also, today was the day i crossed the mississippi river. On the st. Francisville ferry. Now that was cool. If you cross the river from east to west, it costs a dollar. But if you cross from west to east, then it's free. Sweet. I'm going the right direction.