When I'm hitchhiking to support packrafting trips or get back to where I launched my paraglider, I have no say in who I'm going to be chatting with and feeling gratitude towards. Initially that feeling of being reliant on whoever comes my way was difficult to adjust to after the false sense of individualism that a high paying job in a bubble of similar people brings.

The benefit though is enormous. Now I stop to help anyone who's broken down on the side of the road despite the flash judgements their car or bumper stickers might bring. I'm much more aware of the value and interconnectedness of our society, and feel inspired to actively seek to contribute instead of remaining aloof. Most importantly, I realize that there's a whole lot of people out there looking to help people out at any turn, and that gives me a lot of faith.

And some advice for anyone doing this for the first time and feels compelled to pay to camp - never stay at a KOA, consider them an absolute last resort. There is no bigger waste of money and RV culture is extremely cursed.

I love the energy of Supertramps, but there is a reason they are controversial. It would be very easy to make a mistake and be in big trouble - underestimating water needs in a barren stretch, a hole in your tire (not tube) and not knowing how to fix it, etc. it’s pure luck you didn’t not over exert a small muscle or ligament locking you out of cycling during recovery.

The Iron Springs climb tops out at 6000' or so, the weather is awesome in summer. However that is the end of weather happiness for 300 miles or so, because it's a steady drop from there into the desert, all the way down to the Colorado River. Temps in the 100-115F range are normal. Water is scarcer there than on just about any roads in the country. I was pretty alarmed so I got it across that they needed to show me their route. As best I could I showed them the best way on maps to not die. I tried my damnedest to get across they should not bike in the afternoons. "extra chaud!" etc.

And off they went. Never found out if they made it or not, but... you just can't keep humans down. They will always find a way to do the craziest things.

Did you look into different tires? 8 flats seems like a lot. I got exactly one running schwalbe marathon plus tires.

Overall what was your favorite part of the trip?

My Trip: https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/?o=1&doc_id=10372&v=2E

Do not leave them out in the open if possible. Unless the shoes are wet, pack them in a plastic bag and then put in the sleeping bag. I will sacrifice some comfort for not being afraid to put them on or spend the time cleaning them up from i.e. spiders or snails.

I have used it few times while sleeping in the wild in Australia between Sydney and Brisbane without the tent or hammock.

I hated it every day — right up until we finished it. The boredom, the drudgery of every day. Now I can't wait to go again.

There was a weird thing that crept into my brain by about day 4 or so — I kind of didn't want to linger off the saddle for long. Strangely, I was starting to kind of prefer being on the saddle than to being off.

Also, having done a minimal of research, there were often unexpected happy surprises that would pop up from time to time — for example a sudden bar along the banks of the Missouri River (Cooper's Landing — not, you know, a sand bar).

I credit my friend being there for keeping me determined not to "puss out" and bail early. And he told me after he was waiting for me to bail so he could have an excuse to quit as well.

We met all manner of other riders: many, like us, on their first bike tour.

The six or so days on the saddle can be done, physically, by about anyone. I am almost 61 and over weight. I trained on the trail. I think if I had prepared before hand my ass might have been less sore — more "broken in". (It also would have been boring though.)

-- Note about "prepadness". No need for that. I started at 70km per day, but eventually made 500 km in 24h. Because good back wind and too hot for camping by the road.

It takes about two weeks to totally numbify youres backside. Thereafter rockhard professional saddle is the best.

https://youtu.be/8D-S8nYCwjA?si=TZfnb2qrkiZdiYU6

Note that we largely cycled through the French and German countryside on dedicated bike routes on which we were the only cyclists most of the time, so this was relatively uncritical.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_Across_America

But 51 days is also fantastic!

I can not recommend it highly enough. It took us 2 weeks which is a much more reasonable amount of time to take off. I wasn't really prepped and not in great physical shape, which made it more difficult, but it was so rewarding. That route is very popular and there are hiker / biker camp sites every 30 miles or so. About half the people you see each night are going the same direction as you, so you probably saw them last night.

I would strongly recommend the paper maps from ACA. They are fantastic, and you can get a holder that goes between your handlebars. It's really hard to use your phone as a GPS when you're out of power.

I also broke a spoke on my wheel and it wasn't a very common wheel type. The person I went with had to go 20 miles back to a bike shop and ended up buying me a whole new wheel. So getting bog-standard equipment is very helpful.

He seems to have made some really savvy decisions though, like getting a proper bike fit, and knew enough about camping and meal prep etc to make it work.

Kudos to him.

BeWelcome.org is free accommodation, like Airbnb or CouchSurfing but without money! And open-source, in many countries, and very hospitable to refugees.