A Typical Day On The Road

We booked our cross country bike trip with America By Bicycle, so all the logistics were handled by the company.  We just had to show up with our bicycles, a willingness to ride many miles, and a positive attitude.  Our group has over 45 riders, with many of us signed on to complete the entire coast to coast route.  We are supported by six very hard working ABB staff members, all of whom are passionate about cycling and providing us with an awesome experience.

Our day begins with breakfast and the time varies with the distance of that day’s ride.  For example, tomorrow’s 115 mile ride means breakfast will be at 5:30am.  Breakfast is usually at the hotel, but sometimes at a nearby restaurant.  (The cost of breakfast, as well as dinner and all food at the rest stops, is included in the cost of the trip.)   Breakfast is followed by “loading”,  a time period during which we are required to hand our luggage to a staff member to put in the trailer for transport to the next hotel.  We are each allowed two pieces of luggage, with a total weight of no more than 50 pounds.  Considering we have to lug it to/from our rooms every day, often while wearing bike shoes, Greg and I are happy we are far under the weight limit.

Once we watch our luggage go in the trailer and sign off on the rider sheet, we leave on our ride.  ABB staff will eventually head out on to the course, three on bicycles and one of the remaining three in each of the vehicles (two vans with trailers and one mechanics van).  Depending on the length of the ride, ABB staff will set up one or more rest stops to provide us with food, water, sunscreen, and extra clothing drop-off or pickup.  The mechanics van will sometimes be at the rest stop, but generally remains mobile to help anyone in need.  Every rider has to sign in at each rest stop.

Following the provided route sheet (old school paper or a digital file for GPS devices, such as Garmin or I-Phones), we ride and ride and ride until we reach the next hotel.  (Ride distance varies by the day but on average, we will ride just over 80 miles a day.  We ride for 9 days in a row and then have one rest day.)  The trick is to not arrive at the hotel too early because the ABB trailer with the luggage generally does not arrive until around 2 to 3 pm.  Also, most hotels don’t have our rooms available until that time.  It makes no sense to zoom through the ride, only to sit and wait at the hotel in sweaty bike clothes.  Each rider must sign in at the hotel and every rider must be done riding before dark.

Late afternoon and evening are busy.  We attend “Rap” so staff members can talk about that day’s ride, provide us with the route sheet and any information  about the following day’s ride, and address any other business.  We also have “Mechanics Hour”, during which we can have the mechanics assist us with any bike issues.  We are also expected to clean and inspect our bikes.  Dinner, which is either catered by the hotel or provided at a local restaurant, is a must, as we are usually all starving by 6pm.  We also have to fit in laundry, errands, contacting family or friends, updating social media, writing blog posts, and so on before we climb into bed, thoroughly exhausted, only to get up early and do it all over again.

We are having the time of our lives!