WHAT TO EXPECT

First, let me say that the fantasy of crossing the country on a bicycle and the reality of doing it are two completely different things. But you can be sure of one thing; it will be something that you’ll remember for the rest of your life. Whether you remember it as a positive or a negative is entirely up to your attitude and preparation.

The attitude you bring to the ride will go a long way in helping you reach your goals and getting along with your fellow riders and staff. It's all about choice...if you choose to have a good time, then nothing can spoil your adventure. I sometimes use the example of: In the old days, when you missed a stage coach you waited patiently for a week until the next one came along. But now days, in our fast paced world, it seems that if someone misses 1 turn in the revolving door they get all bent out of shape. What you make of the trip is up to you and you alone. Remember why you came in the first place. Are you doing it for the challenge? Are you doing it to see the country? Are you doing it as a personal goal for some significant event like turning a certain age? Are you just trying to get away from the stress of everyday life? Or possibly, you’re just looking for something to do during the summer and this sounds like fun. Whatever the reason, you decided it was important enough to want to do this so don't let the little things get to you and spoil your experience. Put your type A personality on hold for a couple of months and you'll be surprised how much fun you can have. Relax, if you want to be uptight, go back to your job.

Realize there are things that are beyond your control and most of them don’t mean a hill of beans in the big picture. Cases in point, I’ve seen people who embraced my philosophy that “Your worst day on a bicycle is better than your best day at the office.” Whether it’s raining, sleeting, blowing, or whatever, nothing seemed to keep them from smiling and being pleasant around everyone. Their attitude was, "what a great day we have to live, I’m free to do what I want." While someone else will make everybody’s day miserable if their room was a little too hot, or their eggs were too dry, or the road today was a little busy, or the pavement wasn't silky smooth, or their meal wasn’t exactly on time, or they didn’t see the sag wagon at least 10 times during the day…well, you get the picture. These people seem to be unhappy with just about everything and want to make everyone else’s life as miserable as they feel their life is. If you are this type or one who has trouble getting along with others and tend to be upset at little things that come along, then you probably would be better off staying home and watching TV. At least make someone happy (the other riders) by staying home. But if you like adventure, a challenge, meeting great people, making great friends, can roll with the punches, and can be flexible when things get a little wacky, then you’re the kind of person that will cherish an adventure like this. Everyone else on the ride will be glad you are there too. The group will feed off of a good attitude. I always try to remind people on the trip, and myself included, that there will be days when the whole group will be really tired and with this in mind, we should try to temper our actions and strive to pick each other up. I like to refer to tough headwind days, rainy days, and hilly days as “character building” days. Hey, it's called a cross country "challenge" not cross country "easy." But generally, the group will motivate you to go well beyond your usual comfort zone when you are tired and irritable. That’s the nice thing about riding with a group and being part of the “family.”

Well, I've beaten attitude to a pulp you say. I guess I have, but you'll see that it will be the most important issue as you take on this challenge. Beyond that, there are some physical things about a ride like this that you ought to be aware of...all of which will test your attitude. You should expect and be prepared to ride in all weather extremes, open highways, hills, and traffic. The best crowd pleaser is a 5 "H" ride...hills, humidity, heat, headwinds, and a hundred miles. Gotta love it! Of course you won't ride in these extremes all the time, but you should be prepared to meet those challenges. Being prepared, both mentally and physically, allows you to run into these extremes and make it part of the accomplishment rather than ruination of your experience. Almost everyone has a little apprehension or self doubt when they show up on the first day, but rest assured you're not the only one. Few that show up have ever ridden the mileages everyday that you will be riding. Few ride regularly on the types of roads you will ride. Few ride in the extreme climates you may encounter along the way. Few know what to expect at all but they all have expectations of what they think it will be like. Have I bored you yet? Let me expand on this a little more.

It’s not all fun and games and some days can be work. Don’t think the whole ride will be in sunshine on tree lined rural roads with no traffic and birds singing as you pedal along letting your mind wander. Weather is an unknown variable that can have a profound effect on any day despite the terrain. Depending on the time of year, I’ve crossed the entire country and only been rained on once or not at all, while another trip would seem to be in a wet pattern for a week at a time. You should expect to ride in all kinds of adverse weather conditions most of which, if you were home, you wouldn’t even think about riding your bike. Some days will be hotter than you like. Other days will be cooler than you like...you may even get snow. Whatever you encounter, you can rest assured that you aren't the only one to experience these conditions. Plus, it will make the accomplishment even sweeter as you overcome everything that's thrown your way. I often kid with the group that "anyone can ride a bike across the country when it's 78 degrees, sunny, and with tailwinds all day." What's the challenge in that?

You should also expect to ride in places you wouldn’t normally ride on a regular basis like busy highways and busy city streets. You'll have your fair share of nice roads with great scenery but sometimes you’ll be mixing it up with semis on state roads (even interstates out west) and heavy urban traffic during rush hour especially as you near your motel destination. These situations will expand your comfort zone, make you a better rider, and are all part of the total package of riding cross country no matter if you ride alone or with any company. I’m not telling you this to discourage you from taking this challenge, but you should be prepared by knowing what to expect. Thousands of riders of almost all ability levels have crossed the country in these conditions every year without a problem. So there’s no reason that if you’re reasonably fit and have the right attitude you can’t enjoy the experience of a lifetime. If you practice LAB's effective cycling techniques and ride your bike as a vehicle like you should, you’ll do fine. I’d suggest getting out and practicing in traffic before you leave if you are not used to it. I guarantee you will be used to it by the time you get back. I recommend reading Street Smarts, Bicycling's Traffic Survival Guide by John S. Allen before you tackle a cross country ride. You can get it through Rodale Press or go to the link I've provided to his web site.

Now that I've almost talked you out of this once-in-a-lifetime adventure, here's some of the great stuff. You’ll have days like you’ve never imagined. You’ll have days when you get to the destination and you feel like you need to go back and do it all again just because you are elated from the day. The victory of climbing an 11,000 foot pass and the screaming descent down the other side, the thrill of riding all day in a 20 MPH tailwind, a personal best on a century day, the feeling you get when all your senses are overloaded with the beauty of the day and scenery, the awe you experience when you imagine your forefathers doing this in a covered wagon just a short century ago are all wonderful experiences you’ll take from a ride like this. If nothing else, the friendships you develop on a trip like this make it worthwhile. Even the tough days of riding into a headwind or dodging thunderstorms all day will make the group come together as the stories start to fly about everyone’s superhuman accomplishments. That's the benefit of riding with a group. You will get energy, inspiration, and motivation from the group on days when you feel you are just too tired to go on. I’ve experienced so many great days while riding on cross country rides that no matter what adverse conditions seem to come along, I feel it was well worth the effort to be there. That should be obvious since I do it over and over again. You will see that it's not the final destination that makes the adventure, but the journey along the way that you'll remember most...the people, the challenges, the sights, the smells, the experiences, the tired muscles, the camaraderie, the friendships, etc. You can stay home and watch Oprah if you want, but for me, put me on my bike in the countryside!