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My Thoughts About Why I Rode Alone Across America
"Why did you go alone?"
I have been frequently asked this question and
it has always had an element of absurdity to me.
My best response has been:
"Wow! I did not know you wanted to come along with me.
I'll bike across America with you. Just let me know when!"
Seriously, who would actually go with me? Some friend?
In my entire lifetime, I know just one person who has talked
about bicycling across America with earnestness, and this man is in
his upper 40's with a wife, three kids and a demanding job that will keep him years away
from attempting to achieve his dream. I have interacted with a few others - just a small handful really -
who have given casual lip service about desiring to ride across the country. That's it.
Planning for and actually bicycling across America was hard enough itself.
Would it be wise to risk not going at all by waiting around until someone else was equally ready?
I do not want to sound too harsh or judgmental,
but let me be clear about my observation: I have not met many with the same amount of commitment and
passion in their souls to do something like this. One needs to be determined
to solve the many obstacles that their heads while bicycling and planning to ride across America.
I am well aware many people who have done this same journey. If you need proof, do
a web search for bike across America trip reports to see many like mine. However, with rare exceptions,
I have not met many of these people in the real world just yet.
I realized some asked this question of aloneness out of concern for my own safety. Fair enough.
Yet I already did extensive solitary riding over the years, and considered my trip a compilation 45 riding days
to create one grand journey.
As a single man in my 30's, I am long past the strategy
of waiting for someone to accompany me on an adventure.
Just a few things I have done alone:
Drove across the country at age 23 after graduating college,
completed countless rewarding hikes
and bicycle rides in the mountains,
enjoyed great vacations, succeeded in a three-day kayak trip in New Jersey,
bought and maintained a classic car, erected and owned a
tipi and started my own businesses.
Come to think of it, I would hardly have accomplished anything in my life if
I waited around for the illusion of the "perfect condition" of someone to partner with me.
Sitting around and twiddling my thumbs as
I wait for someone else to muster the courage to make things happen is rarely my style.
I usually declare to the world I am doing something, encourage others to come along, but in the end, I go.
I do not wait around.
Thoughts On Riding Partners
Yes, the benefits of having a riding partner are clear. One has added safety with
someone looking out for you. Companionship can go a long way toward improving morale on the harder days.
When I cycle with others, I tend to ride harder and dismiss my aches and pains
to keep up with everyone else. There is laughter too. And memories.
Someone to celebrate with at the end.
Cycling tours were too expensive for me and have various advantages and disadvantages*.
I also suppose I could have researched and located a charity that was sponsoring a bike across
America ride with a large group, if I was lucky to find one that existed and agreed with my riding style.
Personally, I knew I needed to ride at my own pace and on my own terms.
With a large group of riders with planned stages each night, that was out of the question.
I have become quite used to being my own boss for the past three years, and
I needed to think for myself as I decided my route and included factors such as seeing a friend or
visiting a particular town.
The fact that I was intent on riding in February and March across the southern tier
of America was enough to cancel out most rides, as most trek across the nation in the summer.
I wanted my experiences to be more natural, based on how I felt physically
each riding day. Showing up in towns
by myself and seeing the people and places I
encountered each day felt more authentic. I did not want to be secluded
with a group of riders who stuck together each day with a touring company or sponsored charity ride.
And not to be too negative here, but I must ask the question: What if some of your fellow
riders are hard to like or undeniable assholes? Cycling across America could become more challenging than it needs to be.
*- At some point,
I might write more about bicycling touring companies after I have done more research
and spoken extensively with people who have paid for their services. For now,
I will merely state that contracting a bicycling touring company is not my particular riding style.
Chemistry With Others
As I said, this matter was hypothetical for me, because I had no one to go with,
but I nonetheless thought a lot about riding with others on the trip.
If I went with someone, would we have enough personal chemistry to make it?
Would we able to get along day in and day out, as we interacted and rode with
each other? Would we get along at night whether via camping or lodging?
Would either of us have any
annoying habits
that would drive the other nuts? Would we both like to watch TV?
Would either of us snore? Would we have any inadvertent or misunderstood selfish habits?
I am convinced meltdowns inevitably happen for anyone who bicycles across America.
Add two or more people to the mix and it is a sure recipe for someone going nuts and people at each others' throats!
Yes, there is a risk and reward to everything including interpersonal relationships,
but this is something to think soberly and clearly about when cycling across America.
Does the person(s) you are riding with have the same general routine as you? Are your cycling
regimens similar? (Will one of you want to ride 80 miles per day and the other just 30?)
Personally, I like riding first thing in the morning when the sun initially comes up.
Wasting time for hours
sipping on coffee and watching TV seems patently lazy and slothful to me.
Get your ass out of bed and ride! Ride with some intensity in the morning
and then reward yourself with some rest and relaxation in the latter part of the day.
In the evening, I am already preparing for the next day's ride and going to sleep.
I would not tolerate drinking, immature "partying" or any
late night stupidity in a partner(s). I already endured many nightmarish
years of self-centered roommates to know that
some people might not be a good fit as cross-county partners.
Photo Above: The wide open road (Highway 78)
east of Julian, CA
in the Vallecito Mountain range.
-Steve
(Written July 3, 2008)
-This article was written by Steve Garufi who bicycled
across the southern tier of America in February-March 2008.
You can read his trip reports of all 45 days of his
journey here: 2008 Bike Across America.
His personal web site is www.ColoradoGuy.com
and his myspace page is www.myspace.com/stevelonghair.
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