Route

This custom Google Map has all of the cities that I will be visiting on the course of my trip. We're Hitting up all the major cities from New York LA including Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Detroit, Chicago, St. Louis, Omaha, Denver, Salt Lake City, Reno, Sacramento, and last but not least San Francisco. There will be many little towns along the way where we will camp.

The longest planned day is 94.4 miles.

The shortest planned day is 43.5 miles.

The total estimated mileage for the northern route is 4210.09 miles.

Unfortunately I have no way of measuring total caloric intake, but i'm guessing I'll need upwards of 210,000 total calories.

Fortunes do come true

6 months ago I had dinner with my family and some friends at a Chinese restaurant near the University of Oregon. At the time I was wallowing from my return to the US after my time abroad. I was still adjusting from my time abroad and settling in. I had no intention of taking any adventures any time soon. All I wanted was to stay put, and to enjoy my surroundings.


I opened my fortune cookie at the end of dinner and this is what it said: "A bold and dashing adventure is in your future."

I laughed and shrugged but I kept it in my wallet as a reminder that even though settling in was all I wanted, adventure would never leave my life.

Today as I was going through my wallet, looking for all the important things I need for my trip, I found the fortune and it came true.

On June 23rd I will be embarking on a bold and dashing adventure that I'm sure will change my life.

It is not the first Adventure I will have and it surely will not be the last.

Northern Route

There will be two routes for the 42RIDE tour, northern and southern. The Northern route will average 78 miles per day while the southern route is slightly shorter at 70 miles per day. I may be doing the southern route at my leisure in the future so my first choice was to take the cooler, more mountianous, longer route through the north. I was told today that my preference has been granted.  I will be traveling through the following states:

NJ
PA
OH
MI
IN
IL
MO
NE
CO
UT
NV
CA

Some days will be short (50 miles) some days will be long (maybe 100 miles) no days will be "off." Some will be STEEP, and others flat. All will be hard and all will be easy.

Check it out

Bicycling across the country isnt for everyone. Sometimes I'm not quite sure it's even for me. But watching movies certainly is for everyone.

The Bicycle Film Festival (BFF) will be hosted in a variety of cities in the US during the time I will be participating in 42RIDE. We will ride from New York to Los Angeles, the two biggest cities hosting the festival. The festival will also be shown in Seattle and Portland, as well as numerous cities around the globe.

I encourage you to check it out. Bicycling touches all of our lives whether we are aware of it or not. I am delighted to see it being celebrated in this way. I hope that you will support the phenomonon even if it's only by watching the trailers.

Enjoy! http://bicyclefilmfestival.com/

53 became 42

I tried to forget that I had applied to this life changing event in order to protect my sanity. Thursday came and I was told I was in the top 53, something I had never thought I would be. That meant I had more than an 80% chance to be chosen. Pretty good odds. I tried not to get my hopes up. The weekend passed and the deadline they had set for picking the final 42 passed without a phone call or an e-mail. I hadn't given up hope, but I wasn't set on anything either.

Monday morning I received an e-mail around 10 in the morning informing my I hadn't made the cut.

"Thank you once more for your interest in 42RIDE. it is with no small amount of regret that we inform you that, unfortunately, we will not be able to have you join us on this Summer's ride."

My heart sank a little bit but I was ok. I still had plans for the summer. Two jobs lined up and the two university classes required to finish my degree were going to keep me busy during the hot summer months. I planned for an interview the following day and put the subject out of my mind.

Around 1:30pm I got a call from the 42RIDE people asking me if i had filled out the paperwork.. "What paperwork," I asked. "I was told I wasnt coming on the trip." "No! You're in!" He said. "I must have forgotten to take your name off the email list and add it to the finalists."

At this point I was hyperventilating and laughing so hard that he was having a hard time getting a word in. He sent me the paperwork and the process began.

I went to Revolution Cycles in Eugene, OR to inquire about purchasing a Surly Long Haul Trucker for the ride. "Truckaccino" is the only color, but I'm hoping it will grow on me.

I now have a long list of things I need in order to get my baby bicycle touring career in full swing. Gloves, clothes, shoes, saddle, waterbottles, the wishlist goes on and on.

The tour begins on June 25th from Central Park in New York. More details soon.

The Beginning

As a soon to be graduate of the University of Oregon I am faced with the daunting question: What next? For many this question is answered with a groan and an ambiguous answer. I am in the same boat. Who knows what I will do, but ever since I met a good friend of mine Scott (artoftouring.blogspot.com) I have had an idea bouncing around.

Scott and I went on a minor bike tour in June of 2008 and began scheming about bigger tours. I have never been one to tour, but the idea grew on me and pretty soon I was scheming full force. After college I do not know what will meet me, but I do know it will include a grandiose bike tour. How grandiose i will not disclose at this moment, but mind you, it will be grand.

Last week Scott informed me of an amazing opportunity which you can read about on this poster. I jumped at the opportunity to begin my touring career and applied. Following is my submission and the photograps that accompanied it.


Dear 42Ride,

My name is Callie Wheeler, I am soon to be a graduate of University of Oregon's Anthropology and German departments. During my time in University I had the opportunity to study in the great University town of Heidelberg Germany as well as on the Island of Kefalonia in the Ionian sea off the west coast of Greece. I never thought much about touring but I did use my bike to explore the areas I lived in (not being aware that bicycle touring was an option). In between my studies I took off on long probes into the countryside, interacting with the landscape on a level that I never had before. I was always constrained by class schedules though, and always had to return within the day or weekend. As a recent graduate I am excited for the freedom (however temporary) that life on the road will give me.

I recently participated in Bike Week at the University of Oregon and part of festival was a screening of the portland bike film "Veer." As a portland native I was touched to see the subcultures emerging in my beloved city and felt a deep connection with them, not only as fellow cyclists and activists but as Americans, something I've struggled with since my time abroad. As my appetite for travel is never quenched, this trip is the perfect opportunity to reconnect with my fellow countrymen and spread the good cheer of environmentalism and the cycling ethic.

Both of the photographs attached were taken during the first tour that I ever realized was a tour. A friend and I traveled for three days on terrible rental bikes the 220 km from Konstanz, Germany through nine border crossings and multiple mountain passes to the small mountain town of Füssen, Germany. Germany, Switzerland and Austria are very accommodating to bicycle tourists and I hope someday that priority can be a part of the way America treats cyclists.

Cycle touring will allow me to explore the world as I go, experiencing the things that are missed when a great distance is flown or driven. I want to sweat, I want to work, I want to laugh, I want to meet people, I want to explore, I want to learn, I want to ride, I want to fly, I want to climb, I want to show myself what I can do. I want to come on this Trans-american ride with 41 other awesome individuals and start the rest of my life with a celebration!