2,000+ Miles & Now We’re Having Fun!

5/27/2022

The days really do blend together. I keep telling myself when we get to camp at night, I am going to spend some time writing. But then we get to camp, log all our details for the record, set up camp, shower, make dinner, relax and enjoy our surroundings, and before I know it, it’s time to get ready for bed! So I thought I’d just do a quick update, with some information about our journey thus far:

-As I write this, we have traveled 2,184 miles. We are in Craryville, New York, and will be in Massachusetts tomorrow morning.

-We have taken 4 zero days since we left on May 1st. Two of which were in Wilmington, Delaware. We spent 3 nights with my grandmother and spent time with my aunt, uncle, cousin, and friends. It was absolutely wonderful.

-We are averaging a little less than 100 miles per day because of the elevation. And also, more importantly, we have found that when we do 100 or less, we have really fun days. And when we do more than that, it isn’t very fun anymore.

-I am getting much more confident on my bike. I am a more aggressive rider on the road, making it safer for me, and as we get stronger, we travel much faster.

-We spend 80-90% of our time on rural and isolated roads. We absolutely love this. Not only is it beautiful, but it’s quiet, peaceful, and we get to see parts of the US we would not normally ever see.

-Now that we are past the 3 week mark, we are adjusting quite well. While our legs are still sore, we aren’t nearly as exhausted, nothing hurts like it used to, and we are able to laugh and have fun while riding. We are also much faster now, which means we can stop and enjoy cool spots we find along the way and enjoy the scenery more.

-South Carolina was the worst state we have been through. We have been through 10 states, and in terms of biking, everything about that state was awful. Maryland and Florida have been the most bike friendly.

-We each need to eat about 5,000 calories per day in order to sustain the number of calories we are burning. I feel like we are always eating, thinking about eating, or talking about what we are eating next.

-People are good. Everyone we meet, everywhere we go, people are friendly, kind, and caring. I know there is a lot of things happening in the world right now that makes it seem like people aren’t good, and many aren’t- but if this trip is teaching us anything, it’s that *most* people are good people. And for that, i’m thankful.

-Hills are hard. But hilltops are beautiful and the ride down is so much fun.

-Hotels are convenient, but we both really prefer our tent and campgrounds. However, not having to set up or break down camp makes hotels a special treat because we get to sleep in.

-Neither of us had ever been to New York, other than New York City. We both had this view that New York was New York City. This is not the case AT ALL (I’m sure most of you know this). We have been so pleasantly surprised with New York. The rural roads are so beautiful and today we rode over the Hudson river and it was magnificent. We weren’t allowed to stop on the bridge, so we couldn’t get a picture, but it was incredible.

-It is estimated that 83% of Americans live in urban areas. This is great for us, because we avoid those areas, and thus avoid ~83% of the population.

-As I mentioned above, the days really blend together. It is crazy to me that we just keep pedaling every day, and have found ourselves all the way up in New York- we’ll be in Maine next week! I often say to myself “just keep pedaling, just keep pedaling” and I guess it’s working 🙂

-This adventure has been challenging in every way, but it has been absolutely beautiful and is starting to become really enjoyable. As each day passes, I find myself wanting to keep going even more. And even on the hard days, I no longer ever think about quitting. We are fully committed and are excited for the next parts of the journey.

-DŌST bikes made a little video about us, which I’ll share below the photos.

Thanks for following and all the support along the way! You guys are the best. -Flipper

P.S. I would like to give a huge shout-out to our families. To my grandmother for having us for 3 days, feeding us so much good food and ice cream with chocolate cookies at night, all the good conversations and quality time. To my aunt and uncle for a lovely dinner of our favorite foods, driving us all around to buy random things, and all the support. To Lindsay and Jerry for the yummy snacks, the good food, the photos, and support. To Kyle’s aunt Martha and Jim for making the drive to come see us, the dinner, and treats. To our immediate family for the absolute endless support and help. And so many more. We are incredibly grateful and feel lucky everyday.