Once upon a time, Zack Goodman was in Europe working on an internship for Volvo when he thought about just how little he’d seen of this vast nation of ours. It was then that he decided to bike from one side of the United States to the other during the summer between undergrad and graduate school. He was determined to challenge himself both mentally and physically during his bicycle trek from Ocean City, WA to Ocean City, MD. Zack’s college roommate was heading out West so he hitched a ride and rode his bike back home to right here on the East Coast.
Zack started by planning out his route on Google Maps (his route map can be seen below). The Adventure Cycling Association has mapped out over 40,000 miles of cycling routes throughout North America and they have created three major cross-country routes. For the first two thirds of his trip, Zack primarily followed their Northern route. Then, for the remaining third of the trip, Zack used several state bike routes to create his own itinerary. The most difficult part of this was that Zack wanted to ensure that he was following a bike legal course and he preferred to bike on actual bike routes, as opposed to public roads, when he could. He also added in a stop at Cedar Point Amusement Park in Sandusky, OH for a fun break from his bicycle.
Zack decided to bike alone so he could travel at his own pace and stop and see the sights at his leisure. Zack started at the Pacific Ocean (sea level) in Ocean City, Washington so for the first five days, he was primarily biking uphill (and in the rain). When he was biking in the mountains, he was averaging 70 miles per day. Then, as the terrain started to level out, he was able to average around 100 miles per day. As we spoke, Zack reminisced that the most incredible part of his journey was approaching a large city. He said that there was nothing as majestic as riding towards the city of Chicago and seeing his destination on the horizon.
The trip, which took a total of 41 days, was not all rainbows and butterflies with several misadventures occurring along the way. The first of which occurred after only a few days, when Zack learned the definition of “bonking” the hard way. Bonking is a term used in cycling to describe what happens when a person has completely depleted themselves of energy due to their level of caloric intake being too low. Seeing as Zack started out eating 4,000 calories per day, he had to up his intake to over 6,000 calories per day to maintain the appropriate level of energy. His friends joked that he was actually doing a “McTour” of America since Zack stopped at a lot of McDonald’s along the way. McDonald’s, he reasoned, have electricity for charging his cell phone, free wifi, bathrooms, and all of the calories his heart desired (or that his body would need). Zack also laughed as he told us about the incredible amounts of Nutella and Oreos he consumed on his journey.
Throughout his journey, Zack broke ten wheel spokes and went through eight bike tubes. The worst part of having to make these repairs on the trail was not having the proper tools. To remove the rear sproket of his bike, Zack technically needed a tool called a chain whip. Not having one of these available, due to size/weight limitations in what he carried along, forced Zack to have to get creative. Zack ended up using paracord to immobilize the sproket in order to make the necessary repairs. After growing tired of using the paracord, Zack found the first bike shop he could that would sell him a chain whip (which actually took him a few days to find).
Also along the way, Zack developed carpal tunnel syndrome from the way he was holding his handlebars. Since carpal tunnel syndrome causes tingling and numbness, Zack just thought it was a circulation issue from having his hands in the same position on his handlebars all day. After adjusting his hands on his handlebars many times with no relief, he decided to use WebMD to do a little research. When he discovered it was carpal tunnel syndrome, he resituated his hands on his handlebars and he was back in the game.
Zack was very lucky in that he did not encounter any bears on his journey – something that could have been very likely given his remote location in the mountains for a stretch. In fact, a cyclist was actually killed by a bear in Glacier National Park just three days after Zack had ridden through. He did, however, encounter many cows. Which, when you are alone on a bicycle are still quite scary, he told us. In Montana, Zack learned that there is no law requiring cattle owners to keep their cows confined to their property; it’s called the “open-range law.” After learning that more people are killed by cows each year, than by sharks, Zack engaged in quite a few cattle standoffs.
“Somewhere in Montana,” Zack explained that he saw a huge storm brewing on the horizon; lightning and all. After checking the radar on his phone, he realized he wasn’t going to just ride on through. He biked to the first house he came across (which he didn’t discover for another 20 terrifying miles) and had to ask the owners if they minded if he took shelter on their front porch. The people were extremely nice and accommodating while he weathered the storm.
This story brought Zack to his next point. For the majority of his trip, Zack camped somewhere along the trail. However, a handful of times he utilized an online source called Warm Showers. Warm Showers is a website dedicated to providing (you guessed it) warm showers and a place to sleep for cyclists around the world. Zack couldn’t speak highly enough of the service and he was floored at the hospitality offered to him by his hosts. Some hosts even prepared feasts for Zack when he arrived at their home. He was just so surprised at how out of their way people went to make him feel welcome.
During those 41 days, Zack passed the time with a lot of audiobooks and podcasts. In fact, he listened to 300 podcasts during the trip (the fact that they’re free is a great bonus!). The most enlightening part of the trip was as Zack biked past the “Welcome to [insert name of small town here]” signs. He saw that where many of the signs announced the population of the town, they had less than 100 citizens and some of the small towns had nothing more than a small general store that acted as the grocery store, hardware store, and everything else all wrapped up. This made Zack appreciate the booming metropolis of Salisbury, MD from whence he came.
Zack was fortunate enough to bike the very last 25 miles with his brother Justin. The trip came to an end on 62nd Street in good, old Ocean City, MD. Zack wanted to end the trip by dipping his tire in the Atlantic Ocean and the 62nd Street beach holds a special place in his heart. Zack guarded the beach at 62nd Street the two summers he was a part of the Ocean City Beach Patrol. His first meal request upon his return home? A soft shell crab sandwich accompanied by something leafy and green. Eating Oreos and McDonald’s every day does get tiring after a while; and who doesn’t love Maryland’s famous soft shells?
So, what’s next for our adventurous friend? He’s off to grad school in San Diego where we are certain that many more adventures will be had.
