To Cross America on a Wing and a Prayer…or a Bike.

Many people have been asking me lately, “Where are you going exactly?” or “When do you leave?” This makes me feel two things. Either, A) They are ready for me to stop wagging my tongue about this so-called adventure and actually leave already, or, B) they are actually interested, so I shrug and give what I hope is a satisfactory answer:

“Across America, from Oregon to Virginia. We will follow the Trans-American Trail. We will leave this August.” As the trip draws closer this response has seemed increasingly vague, and I feel the need to delve into our route a little more, so bear with me.

Oakley and I will fly from Boston to Portland, Oregon, around August 1st. We will then take a bus to Astoria, where our lovely little bikes will be waiting for us at a local bike shop, having been shipped ahead of us. From there, we will hit the road, post-haste, our homing beacons all a dither.

Over the first several days we will follow the West Coast, giving us a chance to take in the vastness of the Pacific and the humongous spruce and redwood trees that cover the hills. I hear that there are a lot of them. Both hills and trees…

We will then turn east near Eugene, and head up into the Cascades. We will ascend through lush forests, cross under snow-capped peaks and travel on to the high desert of Oregon. This section of the route follows a portion of the original Oregon Trail. (Be sure to read Ghosts of the Pioneers by Twain Braden!) We will lug our gear and foodstuffs in our panniers rather than in a covered wagon, but I hope we will feel connected and inspired by the adventurers who have come before us.

Next, we will enter Idaho and cycle along the Salmon River, which is rich in Native American history, and begin a 75-mile ascent to Missoula, Montana. The headquarters of the Association for Cyclists is located here, and they promised us free ice cream. I think we will need it. I hope they aren’t kiddie size. After a brief stop-over with a friend in Bozeman, we will head into the Rocky Mountains and make our way to Wyoming. We might hike for a bit in Yellowstone or play with some Grizzlies or Bison or perhaps some Elk.

At that point, with our legs of newly-brandished steel, we will head south again, through the Tetons and along the Wind River Range into Colorado. It is here that we will cross Hoosier Pass with an elevation of 11,152 feet. The summer snow that high smells like watermelons. No problem.

Oakley is then planning to practice backflips and various other parkour moves at the Great Sand Dune National Monument and then hopefully, somewhere near Colorada Springs, we will meet up with Twain. He is planning on renting a bike in Denver and cycling with us for a week across the high desert of Colorado into Kansas. He is excited to experience the tall grassy plains in late September.

After we kiss him goodbye, and I cry a little, we will head into Missouri and into the Ozark Mountains. From there we will take a ferry across the Ohio River and into Kentucky. We are hoping to stop and explore the Mammoth Caves. They were made from rivers of lava flowing and cooling underground and remind me of subway tunnels to the underworld.

Next, we will give Tennessee a gentle nudge and then climb up into Virginia and on to the Appalachian Mountains. We will follow the Blue Ridge Parkway for a bit, and then descend down through the farmlands of Virginia to the Atlantic Coast where Twain will be waiting in Yorktown.

The total trip will be 4,300 miles. We are aiming to get home soon after Daylight Savings Time in early November. After all of this extreme togetherness, the thought of Oakley and I stuck in our tent in the dark from sunset at 4:30 in the afternoon, for 14 hours until sunrise, makes me rather jittery.

We will camp the whole way except for the rare hotel stay, once or twice a month. Perhaps we will partake of the kindness of the folks at “Warm Showers,” a group of people who offer hospitality to cyclists who are on long expeditions. They are active across the country. Sometimes they offer a shower, sometimes a garage floor to sleep on, and sometimes a dryer for a swamped sleeping bag.

We will cook on a wood-fired stove to avoid having to find and carry gas. We will carry our water and belongings on our bikes. We will homeschool along the way. Might be the best education for both of us ever.

I am sure our itinerary will change and change again, but that’s the plan. Sounds fun right?