<p>Has anyone done this as a solo endeavor? My son is contemplating doing this, and is training, figuring out logistics etc., but I would love to hear stories, particularly success stories (not necessarily making it all the way, but remaining safe).
Thank you.</p>
<p>He should have a shadow vehicle, at the very least.</p>
<p>I want to do a long xc bike trip, In Oregon we a huge variety of climes and terrains. I got the bike, racks, and bags. Need partner. Can’t do it until my duties as a son is over. </p>
<p>Trouble with a single biker is that there is no one to watch your back or to push you to the next stop. Logistics also demands at least 2 trekkers to carry the loads, unless one plans on staying at motels/hostels.</p>
<p>He should NOT have a shadow vehicle. That’s ridiculous, a leash around his neck preventing him from having just the kind of serendipitous adventures that make bike touring fun.</p>
<p>OP, your son will have a fantastic time. I have ridden many solo bike tours, perfectly safely (and I’m female; it’s much safer for solo males). I’ve ridden across country in a small group with no follow vehicle, again perfectly safely. If he wants to do a solo cross-country trip, he should go for it! </p>
<p>Check Crazyguyonabike.com for many journals of other cycletourists.</p>
<p>Adventurecycling.com sells fantastic bike maps. They have three different cross country routes: the Northern Tier, just below the Canadian border; the Southern Tier, going through the southernmost states; and the classic Transam, from Oregon to Virginia. If he is planning a summer trip, the Southern Tier is out, as it would be too hot. I love the Northern Tier, but the Transam is also wonderful. If he wants to pick his own route, he should check Crazyguy and ask experienced bike tourists, rather than using a road atlas. He wants to find the fun, less-traveled routes, rather than busy cross-state routes.</p>
<p>He will soon learn the sad (but funny) fact that drivers never, ever can describe the route he is about to ride. He shouldn’t even bother asking. Locals are rarely accurate about distance, and almost never accurate about topography. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard that something is “flat” or “all downhill from here,” only to encounter hill after hill. On the other hand, locals are a precious resource when he’s looking for recommendations about hole-in-the-wall cafes.</p>
<p>One thing I like about doing established touring routes is the other cyclists I meet along the way. Camping places are uncommon enough that on a touring route, the solo cyclist will meet other cyclists almost every night. The Pacific Coast Route is the best for meeting other cyclists; it’s a cycling party every night.</p>
<p>LongPrime, even though you can’t now schedule a long bike trip, you can start with overnight trips. An overnighter is not the same as a long trip, but it’s another kind of fun, and since you live in Oregon you must have fantastic overnight spots a day’s ride away. Many, many solo bike tourists would dispute your assertion that logistics demand two riders. Try a solo overnight! You’ll like it!</p>
<p>Can’t do overnighters-no one to watch mom.</p>
<p>Plan to do camp trek.</p>
<p>i second crazyguyonabike and adventurecycling. . .great resources. also, i just met a middle aged woman who solo cycled around the world–europe, the middle east, southeast asia, then the usa. it changed her life. she did it w/o cell phones and said the strangest people she met were in the states. . .go figure;-)</p>
<p>S wants to cross New York State (west to east). I’ll just bite my nails the whole time :)</p>
<p>Thanks all for your suggestions, and enthusiasm. Cardinal Fang yours in particular was very reassuring. He is utilizing AdventureCycling, and has the Transam planned at this point (though he is going from VA to Oregon). I will let him know about the crazyguy site. How often did you keep in touch with family, to assure them you were okay? What is reasonable of me to request of him, in terms of keeping in touch. I want him to enjoy the freedom of it all, but want to know if he is okay as well.</p>
<p>1+ Cardinal Fang</p>
<p>French Revolutions by Tim Moore is highly recommended as comic relief while preparing…</p>
<p>I’d say, ask him to phone or text at least every three days. In the west, I have sometimes gone days without a phone signal, so don’t panic if he is out of touch for a few days. </p>
<p>My favorite book for bike touring is The Lord of the Rings. The road goes ever on, and I find myself empathizing with Frodo and Sam doing all that walking.</p>
<p>I just put Moore’s book on hold at my library, and we have Tolkein’s books, so thanks for those suggestions as well.<br>
The time frame between calls sounds reasonable, though part of me wants to hear from him nightly:-).</p>
<p>Sooo, Cardinal, where is Mordor in your trek across the states? The Rockies?..</p>
<p>OP, you should send a PM to a poster named dmd77. Her daughter bicycled across the country recently. She’d be a great resource to answer your questions and concerns.</p>
<p>You may want to check out Bike & Build: [Bike</a> & Build - About Us](<a href=“http://www.bikeandbuild.org/cms/content/view/32/49/]Bike”>http://www.bikeandbuild.org/cms/content/view/32/49/)</p>
<p>My D’s best friend is going cross-country with them this summer.</p>
<p>I was going to post about the Bike & Build program mentioned by gadad. I know three kids (friends of my youngest D) who have done this and absolutely loved it. As you bike across country you stop every few days and work on an ongoing affordable housing project. There’s a fundraising component to it, but it’s not huge. You also have to train before the trip and do some volunteer hours helping to build affordable homes. One of D’s friends is returning for a second year as a group leader.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>A guy I know roughly in my generation rode across the country and back in the 18 months after he graduated from college. It changed his life. It also made him something of a bore, since he never stopped talking about it, well into his 40s. I don’t think I ever heard him talk about something important without bringing it up. Anyway, no physical harm came to him, and he had lots of the serendipitous experiences of the sort one hopes for.</p></li>
<li><p>Not long ago, a young relative and three friends, all of whom had just graduated from college, set off from Virginia Beach and rode into the middle of the Rockies, where three of them settled (at least so far). The fourth rode on alone to Seattle. Everyone was fine. The Ozarks were a b****, apparently. They had a great blog with photos that all of their relatives and friends followed – I would link to it if the TOS didn’t forbid that and if it wouldn’t breach my privacy and theirs too much. The kid’s grandfather who was sick and immobilized was checking the blog every day, and loving it.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>A friend of mine’s daughter did Bike & Build. She LOVED it. My friend, afterwards, discovered that (at least at the time) whoever was doing routing for Bike & Build-- apparently they left it to young, unexperienced students using atlases-- picked very dangerous, bad routes, with the result that there has been at least one death and several disabling injuries.</p>
<p>My friend said that if he had known beforehand, he never would have allowed his daughter in such a dangerous program.</p>
<p>I like the idea of going with a buddy. </p>
<p>This book looks interesting - “Across America by Bicycle”, two retired teachers. One of them is an inlaw of an inlaw of ours - nice lady!
[ACROSS</a> AMERICA BY BICYCLE by Alice Honeywell | Kirkus Book Reviews](<a href=“Book Reviews & Recommendations | Kirkus Reviews”>Book Reviews & Recommendations | Kirkus Reviews)</p>
<p>dmd77, where are you?</p>