The Gear We Brought

Determining which gear to bring is always a balancing act. You don't want to bring too much stuff because that will increase the weight you are carrying, but if you don't bring enough equipment you can run into issues. In situations like this, I always tend to err a little more on the side of bringing more than what's probably necessary.

Here's the full list of gear:

4 tech wick yellow shirts

4 padded biking underwear used as shorts

3 cotton shirts

3 sports shirts

Towel

Helmet

Toothbrush 

Toothpaste

Razor 

Shaving cream

Deodorant

Contact stuff/glasses

Gold bond powder

Masks (for coronavirus rules)

Sunscreen

Soap

Shampoo

Scrub brush

Flip Flops

Sleeping mask/ear plugs

Extension cord - very important

Usb hub plug

Proper Cables

2 Butt pillows

Phone mount holder for bike

Phone

Watch

Speaker

Wallet

Jack Knife

Duct tape

Headlamp

Lantern

Bike Light - 2

Sunglasses

Spare tube

Tube patch repair kit

Bike tire boot

Waterpack

Food bag with snacks

Pepper Spray

First aid kit

Tent

Inflatable mattress

Inflatable pillow

Sleeping bag

Quarters for showers

I should also note that my dad carried the camp stove equipment with him - which we used for breakfast and dinner. Also, I would like to highlight a few items. 

First is the "butt pillow." I got two of these on Amazon because saddle soreness was a big problem for me on the last trip. On that trip, I brought an actual pillow that I used over the bike seat. It probably wasn't the best idea. This time around I got two cushions that were designed for bikes. I have read that narrow seats are best for long bike trips because it reduces friction. So far, this has been a life-saver and I would highly recommend it. My dad is very conditioned to this, so saddle soreness is not an issue for him.

Next is the extension cord. This might seem like an excessive item to bring on a trip like this, but most of the camps we will be staying at have electricity. This combined with a usb hub plug makes it much easier to recharge our electronics while keeping them securely in the tent. 

Third, is the repair kits and spare tubes. Obviously, this is critical. Flat tubes on a trip like this is inevitable. I have gatorskin on my back tire, but even still there's still a high chance one of us will end up with a flat tube. And as we later discovered, it is important to be prepared for a tire issue. This is why we now have boots. 

Finally, I should note the apps used for this trip. 

We are using maps from the Adventure Cycling Association. They have an app called Bicycle Route Navigator. It is not the greatest app, but their maps are impressive and they are designed specifically for bikers. So they minimize hills and highlight important stops on the way such as stores and campgrounds. Having used both their maps and Google Maps for biking, I can tell you there's was much better. It will take you on longer routes and the app itself lacks turn by turn navigation (which really, really sucks), but the roads they take you on are generally much more manageable. Again, it is designed for bikers. It is also worth noting that you can opt for the gpx files and then use the Ride with GPS app to get voice guidance for the maps. We did not use the trans-America map for this and instead pieced together various maps for this trip.

In order to measure what we've traveled, I use Cyclemeter. This is a great app that lets you see what ground you've covered and give all sorts of cool stats about your speed and elevation gain. I would highly recommend it.

How This Trip Got Started

About 30 years ago, my dad rode his bike across the country. He was able to secure seven weeks off of work, fly out to Seattle, and bike back home to Rhode Island. It was quite a journey and I grew up hearing all sorts of stories from it.

6 years ago, when I was a senior in high school, a family friend suggested he do it again. Suspecting that they weren't seriously committed to it, my dad suggested a bike trip to Maine. That person ended up backing out, so he made me and my brother tag along with him. The trip lasted six weeks and was an absolute blast.

Apparently, the desire to do this again was lingering. Because when I got furloughed a few weeks ago from a communications firm I was working at due to the pandemic, my dad told me he wanted to do the cross country bike trip again. At 58, he would only do it if someone went with him. I could tell he really wanted this and it was very appealing to me. He is a school teacher and has the summer off, so I had to wait a little bit for him to be on vacation. I had reservations about taking all this time off from working but ultimately concluded that I probably wouldn't have an opportunity like this again until my hair turned grey. So I figured I would take the leap and just do it.

I'm 23 and a year out of college. My career is not where I wanted it to be, but what the heck, this was a cool opportunity.

I was a cross country and track runner back in my high school days. When we did the last trip, I was in my physical prime and the trip was not very physically challenging for me. This time around, however, I was certainly not in that kind of shape.

Prior to this trip, the last time I had seriously ridden a bicycle was that trip to Maine. There had been a few quick mountain bike rides and short road rides, but nothing over 7 miles.

Contrast that with my dad, who prior to the pandemic, had been commuting over 40 miles a day round trip to and from work. He was using a Copenhagen electronic assist wheel, but still. He is also a serious mountain biker and had been training for this trip in the weeks leading up to it by biking 40 miles a session.

I knew I should've been training for this, but I figured the first week of the trip would be my training. I spent the time building up to the trip, preparing job applications, hanging out with friends (social distancing), doing a few upper body workout sessions, and going on a few runs. I did very little training for this.