Bike Across America: Day Zero

Sunday, June 18, 2017

Start: Astoria, Oregon
End: Astoria, Oregon
Mileage: 26.5
Elevation Ascended: 617′
Weather: Light rain to start; mid-50s
3D Video (click for a brief flyover view of today’s ride)

After years of dreaming and months of planning, we have finally begun this adventure. When we woke up yesterday, after spending two days exploring Portland, Oregon, I rolled over, tapped Bev on the shoulder, and said “hey, I hear there’s a small organized bike ride over on the coast and we can register for it today – wanna go?” We had a good laugh and headed to Astoria, where we would be reunited with our bikes and receive our official Across America North ride registration packets.

There are 39 of us riding all of the way to Portsmouth NH and a handful of other riders going as far as Boise or Casper. One of the things we love about group tours is meeting people of like interests from all over the world. One of our riders is from Bath, England. His name is Chris and he is blind. Chris will pedal across America on a tandem bike, behind his guide, who will navigate, steer, and shift gears while describing the scenery for Chris. His guide, who is also British, is masterful at describing anything, including today’s breakfast items at our Holiday Inn. After listing, in a matter of fact manner, nearly everything available, he said “there are biscuits and there’s something really thick with chunks of something in it that you pour over the biscuits.” The description was spot on and the delivery was perfect. It’s going to be a fun 50 days!

Today we rode very casually from our hotel on the Columbia River, to the Pacific Ocean, where we ceremoniously dipped our wheels. This marked the unofficial start of our trek and gave us a chance to slowly stretch out our legs and check our bikes before we head eastward tomorrow!