Here’s a little video from the festivities in Washington DC at National Geographic. Video produced by Bryan Simpson from New Belgium.

Travel across America with me in four short minutes…I promise your behind won’t get as sore as mine did

After some late night heroics performed by my new friend Nick in Shepardstown WV, I had a new crank..kind of, and a ‘new’ chain. He looted a chain from an old 1958 Schwinn Racer to complete the job.

My first few pedal strokes were done gingerly, I didn’t want to stress out the 50 year old chain, didn’t know if it would hold up. But after a few miles it felt strong, and I was on my way to Washington DC!

It felt so good to be pedaling with two legs again, what a difference it makes. As the miles ticked down on the C&O trail I got more and more excited. I couldn’t believe my journey was coming to an end.

I’ve seen and experienced so much, the initial rush of taking off in Oceanside, struggling over the first set of mountains, suffering through the 110 degree heat of Arizona, meeting TONS of amazing people, eating countless cans of beans, sleeping on picnic tables, enjoying every bit of nature along the way and slowly pedaling….all the way across the USA. Wow!

I’m inspired by those I met along the way and so lucky to have found them all, Americans are pretty darn cool!

Riding into DC was a dream, pedaling past the Lincoln Memorial down to the Washington Monument. When I got there I stopped for a moment to savor the moment, and then I called mom to let her know that I had gotten there safely…as I did every night of this adventure.

My buddy Jaime then came cruising by on his spiffy folding bike and we shared a bottle of champagne on the lawn. It felt so good to relax.

For dinner by good friend Doug took me out to an Ethiopian feast, Wow, my taste buds weren’t ready for those exotic flavors, I’m too used to peanut butter and beans.

Thanks to all of you who supported me along the way, I never felt alone on this journey, big hugs to all you!. And a huge thanks to those who donated to Community Cycles, if you’ve been waiting until the end to donate, you can still do it, it’s easy, fast and will make your heart grow two sizes!

I’d also like to thank New Belgium Brewery for helping to make this dream come true. Bike more, Drive less!!

and here’s all the fun from my final push into DC. Cheers!

The C&O trail has been pretty, scenic and very….problematic!!
It’s rough, full of muddy holes, branches, rocks and is bumpy as hell, it’s no trail for a cruiser. I miss you KATY! Where are you my love!

I got my first flat tire of the trip on this trail, my left trailer wheel kept loosening and wanted to fall off, I broke off my chain guard and….wait for it!!! This is the biggie….my right crank arm broke off!!! DAMNIT! I can fix most problems but I can’t magically weld metal together.

After this catastrophe, I clumsily pedaled one legged for 7 miles to the nearest town, Shepardstown WV. I had been told that there is a bike shop here…well there is in fact a bike shop, but it’s closed on Tuesdays!! What?? Not open on Tuesdays? This is America, stores are supposed to be open all the time!

Now I’m at a cafe drinking a beer, maybe I should have 10 and forget this nightmare happened. NO! I have faith, something will work out! I will pedal triumphantly into DC tomorrow!!

Here’s the video of the past two days, the second half is where you’ll find the bike drama…

Danny made me some super duper pancakes this morning, and instead of syrup, I put peanut butter on em. I knew I had big big hills in front of me so I got all the calories I could. It was sad to say goodbye to my new friend, what a great guy he is…I think he’s a saint, sent to rescue me from the road.

So, the hills were damn tough today. I had nightmares about them, everyone I met said the same thing, “Oh, you ain’t seen nothing yet, the hills get bigger and bigger.”

And they were right, these suckers were huge Colorado style mountains! This was definitely the hardest mountain day, not because they were so long, but because they were steep. My bike doesn’t like steep.

I made it up down, up down up down and then up and down again. I’m feelin great now, even tough my quads are shot. I have DC in my sights, only 200 miles to go, yeehaa!

Watch all the action here!

…WEST VIRGINIA rocks! I’m loving it here even though the terrain is tough. I hit the road today just as the morning mist was burning off the tops of the hills, spectacular! Highway 50 is a dream, huge shoulder, smooth pavement and so far the grades haven’t been too steep, (although tomorrow will be a different story).

Everyone I’ve met is friendly, curious and down right awesome! I’ve been honked and waved at more times today than another other day on the trip.

Here’s a great story. I was chugging slowly up a hill outside of Bridgeport when a red pickup pulled up beside me. “Hey man, where you goin?” I wasn’t much for conversation as I was hyperventilating but I mustered out a “DC, coming from California.” “No Shit, where you staying tonight?” Within the 20 seconds of knowing Danny, I was invited to his home about 5 miles down the road.

Danny is a saint, he’s fed me, let me shower, do my laundry (stinky!) and has treated me like a son. He’s a hard working coal miner, lives in a simple little house and has a smile as warm as Santa Claus.

And now I’m in his backyard watching the sunset and admiring six beautiful deers eat the corn he laid out for them. Life is beautiful!

I woke up to rain this morning, grey poopy skies were the last thing I wanted to see Luckily though, that was the end of it, and it got prettier and prettier as the day went on.

I stopped in Athens for lunch and destroyed a Pizza buffet! I don’t think they anticipate cross country bikers taking advantage of their ‘All you can eat’ offer. I had pizza, breadsticks, Cinnamon breadsticks, Salad, more pizza, two large Sprites, lasagna and some sweet pie like things for desert. yum!

From there the riding really got enjoyable, the sun came out and I had a nice big shoulder to ride on. For the past week, the shoulders have been very small or non existent but today I was king of the highways once again!

I crossed the Ohio River for the third time, and this time, I landed in West Virginia! The scenery completely changed, the forests are no longer just plain green, they have some color in the hills around here, stunning!

The first person I met in WV was James, a bartender at the Sundance Cafe off highway 50. I was out of water and he filled me up and gave me a Red Bull…and a $20 dollar bill. He is the sweetest Redneck I’ve ever met. I hope everyone is as kind as he is

Now I’m camped out next to a little lake enjoying a pretty sunset. Tomorrow I start the mountain stages, time to harness my inner Lance!

You know what I did today? I rode my bike!! And for the 5th week of constant pedaling, I’m still loving it!

It rained like crazy again, but luckily I had a place to hide out. I squeezed under a little piece of roof in a beat up old strip mall in a lovely little town called Minford. I was very happy to be a spectator for this round, it’s always cozy to be near a storm to hear, see and smell it. Rain is cleansing, makes you relax and induces you to relax…but usually only when you’re safe from getting soaked, and today I was.

The riding after the storm was great, the birds were out once again chirping, the fields were covered in fog and the temperature was a very cool 70.

I ate ice cream and beans for dinner…I might have to start mass producing my tasty concoctions. They would be a best seller…but maybe only to starving athletes

Wanna get wet without getting wet?  Here you go!

Last night turned out to be pretty interesting. In return for camping in Justin’s backyard, I promised to buy some beer for a little party they were having. Georgetown is actually a dry country so we have to drive out to the county line to get hold of some beer. It was my first ‘drive thru’ beer buying experience as well, interesting.

Anyway, it started raining while we were out…and my tent and all my stuff was setup outside. When I got home it was a full on downpour, I raced out back and all my stuff had blown all over the yard. I scrambled around in the dark, picking up the pieces. Now I didn’t have anything dry, and my tent was worthless against this downpour. I decided to crash in the 3×4 mud room off the back of the house. I curled up on my wet sleeping pad and tried to ignore the discomfort.

This worked out out great until the party got going at midnight. Why did I buy all that cheap beer? it was fueling the madness, ahh! I was kept up most of the night with the sounds pf partying…but at least I was dry.

Today was equally as wet on the bike. I enjoyed it though, the green hills around me were shrouded in dark clouds and fog.

By afternoon it cleared up, just in time for me to cross the Ohio river once again, and this time…into Ohio!

I’m all dried off and my tummy is full of grilled cheese and ice cream.

Here’s a video, be happy that you didn’t get as wet as me.

There are a lot of horses in these here parts, this is the home of the Derby after all. After a hectic ride out of Louisville on some busy streets I finally made it into the country, and endless horse farms. Beautiful rolling green hills with horses on all sides. I’m used to seeing cows, but today it was mostly colts.

It was hard to leave Louisville, I really love that city! It has a cool vibe, it’s right on the water and the women have sweet southern accents. Speaking of sweet southern women, I owe my hosts a huge thanks, Aunt Bo and Tabb. I felt like family after minutes of being with them and they treated me like a son. This is what I love about this experience, I’m gaining ‘family’ members all over the country.

Tonight I’m camped in the backyard of Justin and ‘Asian.’ I met Justin at a great local restaurant called Favas in Georgetown. He made me a mean dinner of pancakes and a huge omelet, so yummy. He offered up his backyard and here I am, life is good.