D
Dave Riggleman
Guest
I've been contemplating a solitary cross-country trip in April or May, heading south from around Del
Rio TX and aiming in the general direction of Montana or Minnesota. This trip has been in my head
for years after reading several exhaustingly detailed bike logs... and I'm having to deal with the
fact that I HAVE to do this and that I'm going to regret it if I don't try it. The original bike log
that inspired me was Fred McClellands CA -> MD run in 1997:
<http://members.cts.com/crash/m/mfm/transam.html>
Part of the drive to do this is that my weight has crept up from 160 (when I was somewhat athletic)
up to 205 on a 5'9" frame. My appearance is fairly heavy but not yet fat. My age is 34 and my
endurance is extremely good. However I'm feeling that it won't be much further until health problems
start emerging, which will almost certainly be weight-related. I sense a window of opportunity.
The other reason is that I enjoy the wide open Great Plains... I have a close kinship to it... and
if I can enjoy its subtleties so much from a -car-, it's gotta be awesome on a bike.
My main question at this point is what would be a low-cost bike to start out with. I simply cannot
invest in high-dollar, brand name equipment, as of course the big mistake is jumping in too deep too
quickly. Is it ok to go to a pawn shop, pick something comfortable, and have a bike shop check it
out? Get a used one on eBay? Check the classified ads? In any case I'm hoping not to have to spend
more than $500-800 on bike equipment (at least for now). I can't see having to spend a lot of money
here as even my generic childhood bikes served me faithfully.
Second, is it realistic to expect to lose a lot of weight from a trip like this? I'm not entirely
sure what most people's results are when they jump into something like this. It would be interesting
to read some trip logs from people who were a bit out of shape when they started.
Third, how are these trips for one's mental state? It is uplifting, or do some solitary riders tend
to get depressed? There was one travelogue <www.cyclingtrip.com> from FL to AK where it ended
ambiguously... it looked like the guy got bored or just gave up on his trip about 90% of the way
through, and the reason wasn't very clear to me in the writings. I was kind of dumbstruck.
Fourth, I'd appreciate any URLs or FAQs that give great advice or strategy for cross-country trips
for beginners... if such a resource exists. Stuff like traffic basics, dealing with motels (who are
of course in the mindset of dealing with car customers), etc.
Thanks!
Dave
Rio TX and aiming in the general direction of Montana or Minnesota. This trip has been in my head
for years after reading several exhaustingly detailed bike logs... and I'm having to deal with the
fact that I HAVE to do this and that I'm going to regret it if I don't try it. The original bike log
that inspired me was Fred McClellands CA -> MD run in 1997:
<http://members.cts.com/crash/m/mfm/transam.html>
Part of the drive to do this is that my weight has crept up from 160 (when I was somewhat athletic)
up to 205 on a 5'9" frame. My appearance is fairly heavy but not yet fat. My age is 34 and my
endurance is extremely good. However I'm feeling that it won't be much further until health problems
start emerging, which will almost certainly be weight-related. I sense a window of opportunity.
The other reason is that I enjoy the wide open Great Plains... I have a close kinship to it... and
if I can enjoy its subtleties so much from a -car-, it's gotta be awesome on a bike.
My main question at this point is what would be a low-cost bike to start out with. I simply cannot
invest in high-dollar, brand name equipment, as of course the big mistake is jumping in too deep too
quickly. Is it ok to go to a pawn shop, pick something comfortable, and have a bike shop check it
out? Get a used one on eBay? Check the classified ads? In any case I'm hoping not to have to spend
more than $500-800 on bike equipment (at least for now). I can't see having to spend a lot of money
here as even my generic childhood bikes served me faithfully.
Second, is it realistic to expect to lose a lot of weight from a trip like this? I'm not entirely
sure what most people's results are when they jump into something like this. It would be interesting
to read some trip logs from people who were a bit out of shape when they started.
Third, how are these trips for one's mental state? It is uplifting, or do some solitary riders tend
to get depressed? There was one travelogue <www.cyclingtrip.com> from FL to AK where it ended
ambiguously... it looked like the guy got bored or just gave up on his trip about 90% of the way
through, and the reason wasn't very clear to me in the writings. I was kind of dumbstruck.
Fourth, I'd appreciate any URLs or FAQs that give great advice or strategy for cross-country trips
for beginners... if such a resource exists. Stuff like traffic basics, dealing with motels (who are
of course in the mindset of dealing with car customers), etc.
Thanks!
Dave