Here are the most frequent questions people ask me about my bicycle journey.
Question: Where are you headed?
Answer: I’m from Austin, Texas and I will eventually return there. Right now I’m headed towards Montana and Glacier National Park (or wherever my next amazing destination is).
Question: How far do you go each day?
Answer: An average of 60-70 miles. A day on a bicycle covers about the same distance as one hour by car. A week on a bicycle covers about the same distance as a full day of driving, about 400-500 miles. The bicycle route I follow around the United States each year totals about 10,000 miles. It takes six months pedaling time to cover that distance. If you drove my route in a car, it would take about one month (with a few stops along the way). The ratio is approximately 1:6. I am going 12 mph and the car is going about six times as fast, 70 mph.
Question: How about the rest of the year? The other six months? What do you do then?
Answer: I like to stop for a week in each of my eight favorite cities. That uses up two months. The four remaining winter months (December through March) I spend on the Texas gulf coast. I spend those months swimming and walking on the beach. I am a “snow bird” on a bicycle. When spring returns, I start another trip, usually departing around April 1st. Texas wildflowers are at their best in early April and signal that it’s time to begin another trip.
Question: What are your favorite eight cities?
Answer: I don’t want to hurt the other cities’ feelings, but my favorite cities, not including my home town of Austin, Texas, of course, are:
- Asheville, North Carolina
- Waynesboro, Virginia
- Spearfish, South Dakota
- Sandpoint, Idaho
- Wickenburg, Arizona
- Taos, New Mexico
- Marfa, Texas
- Port Aransas, Texas
If you visit Port Aransas, Texas in the winter, be sure to visit Coffee Waves, a wonderful local coffee shop. I’m that tall dude in bicycling attire reading a Kindle Paperwhite with a big smile on his face. Walk over and say “Hi!” If you ask nicely, I’ll show you my bicycle and trailer!
Question: How many tires do you use each year?
Answer: I use six bicycle tires each year. I also use six trailer tires, four bicycle chains, and two toothbrushes each year. (Mentioning the toothbrushes always seems to produce a smile.)
Question: How often do you get flat tires?
Answer: About once a month. The most common cause are small wires that come from pieces of tires along highway shoulders.
Question: Do you carry a weapon?
Answer: No. I’ve always disliked guns. (This question is asked surprisingly often.)
Question: Did you use to race? (Usually asked by a ten year old boy. Unfortunately, never asked by an attractive woman.)
Answer: What a great question! Yes, I used to race! I’ll never forget those great competitors, Jimmy Schmidt, Roy Dittler, Kent Rockwell, and Tom Crawford. All of us were ten years old and we raced around the block. We called it Le Tour of Harmony Hills, which was the name of our neighborhood. Le Tour for short. This was in Wheaton, Maryland.
There was one very tough hill on our block. During the winter we raced our sleds down the hill. During the summer we raced our bicycles up the hill. It was blood, sweat, and gears the whole way! That’s how I learned about the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat!