Prologue

Welcome to Herm's Coast-to-Coast Bike Ride 2014.   I know it's cliche, but riding a bicycle from the US West Coast to East Coast has been an off-and-on dream of mine since I was 17.  In its original version, the dream had me riding a yellow Schwinn Continental -- 30 lbs of steel, dual brake levers, toe clips, and reflectors. It also featured camping every night in woods, farm fields and cemeteries. So I'm really glad life intervened for the next 41 years allowing all that youthful stupidity to pass.  This trip will be a fully supported ride produced by CrossRoads Cycling Adventures (Littleton, CO) that I will do with approximately 14 other cyclists from the US, UK, and Australia.  As I know most of you who were interested enough to find your way to this blogsite are friends of mine and/or cyclists, I hope this blog makes it fun and interesting for you to ride along vicariously.

Since I'm not leaving for LA until tomorrow, I guess I'll finish this post by answering the most common questions I've been asked so far:

How many days/miles will it take to ride across the US?

We will start from LA on May 11 and finish in Boston on Jun 27.  We will have 5 rest days (i.e. no riding) along the way.  Total distance is approximately 3400 miles and we'll average approximately 80 miles/day. With the exception of a final 17 mile ride in Boston to Revere Beach where we will dip our wheels in the Atlantic Ocean, the range of daily riding will be 39 to 116 miles.  

Here is the route map furnished by CrossRoads:

You can visit their website at http://www.crossroadscycling.com/ to get an overall sense of the company, route, itinerary, etc.  I researched these cross country bike companies fairly extensively and this one seemed to be a good match for me in terms of experience, philosophy, and time of year.

How did you prepare?

Not very well, I'm afraid.  I rode a snow bike approximately 44 miles total through Feb and Mar.  Those were tough, righteous miles!  

In April, I rode 542 miles on the road, a personal high for that month. One saying that always rings true for me is "You get what you train for."  So, what I'm ready for are road rides up to 88 miles with temperature in the 40Fs and windchills in the 30Fs, and short 5 mile rides around a golf course covered with 2 feet of snow.   Because temperatures in southern California next week are predicted to be in the low 90Fs and it was still in the 50Fs here much of the past 10 days, my mantra for the first week or two will be "Slow and steady, scenic cruise". 

What bike are you riding?

A Litespeed Arenberg.  There is no sweeter riding road bike than a titanium one made in the US and this particular frame has relaxed geometry for comfort and a bright brushed finish (i.e. not painted) for ease of cleaning.  Any scuffs can be rubbed away with a Scotch-brite pad.  I  stripped this 2001 Litespeed Arenberg frame of all of its parts, and replaced them with a Chris King headset, a new Ultegra group, and new Mavic Open Pro wheels.   It is a very durable ride that will handle any condition man or nature can throw my way.  For those benefits, I incurred a weight penalty that I'm more than willing to pay.  In addition, it has triple chainrings for a wide gear range, aerobars for more efficient riding on the flats and rollers, rear blinking light (required by CrossRoads) for added visibility and safety, and Conti Gatorskin Hardshell tires and Mr. Tuffy tire liners for those nasty thorns in the southwest and metal shards from truck tires I've been warned about by previous CrossRoads riders. Total weight without saddle bag is 22.1 lbs.  Normally, this bike will weigh in around 18 lbs.  I'll publish photos after I assemble the bike in LA this weekend.  I had to ship it out on May 1 to ensure it arrived ahead of me.

I guess that's it for now.  Hope you can drop by for a few minutes each day.  I'll try to make it worth your time.