bikegoobers

(Connor) I'm really sorry to hear about that. We try our best to be safe, but sometimes accidents happen. Fortunately our group did not suffer too many injuries. As for dogs...they could be a bit of a handful. Our rule was, if you see a dog, PEDAL! If they can't get you, you are safe. If they are close, we would usually use our water bottles to shoo them away, which usually worked. Worst case scenario (which I never had to resort to fortunately) would be to kick them away. One of my best memories of the trip was when two big dogs got on the road in front of us. It was the middle of farm country. We all stopped about 100 yards away. We formed ranks, unholstered our water bottles, and charged, yelling and screaming. The dogs scattered and we achieved victory. huzzah.

(Athena) If? Sounds like you totally want to do it! Preparation: I was surprised by how little preparation it took to actually be ready for this sort of a trip. It’s not usually a situation of “can or can’t” but “will or won’t.” We had to ride 500 miles beforehand as training to get accustomed to the bicycle/riding. What to bring: lots o’ stuff! If you plan on camping I would suggest ultralight equipment esp if you plan on using panniers. Bring clif bars! You can never have enough clif bars in your jersey. Otherwise, I’ve heard success stories of people staying with random strangers. 1/5 will let you camp on the lawn or even let you in their home if you tell them what you’re doing. Get a camelback or other hydration system. 100oz should do the trick! Where?: The route we took was awesome! I would recommend going West to East if you are looking for an easier time since we had to endure headwinds pretty much the whole way. When you are in the west however, be mindful of the heat and lack of water sources. Include (which should be easy) Appalachia, the plains, and the rockies whatever you do! For someone who isn’t quite confident to do it themselves or as a self-supported cyclist I would suggest Bike & Build to you. I would do it again s-s but it was nice to have a van + 32 friends the first time

(Athena) For me one of the best places we went was simply Colorado. Every day in CO was unique and awesome from the high plains to the Rocky Mtns to the start of the American West. Our first camping day was also in Maybell, CO - a town with a population of 72 on the Western side. This was also our last night in Colorado so we had to consider how the laws change going into Utah ;)

(Connor) So many great ones, but personally I loved Flaming Gorge, Utah the most. Here is a Panorama from my upcoming album of it at sunset

http://i.imgur.com/w0sONwg.jpg

(Connor) Agreed. Riding 100 miles to Pinedale Wyoming. Heavy headwinds, a giant desert with nothing to see. Wind makes everything worse. We could not even talk to each other. Just hours and hours of hell, looking out into nothingness. When I got there I had a shower and burger, and was happy.