# It Will Be Okay Again (Pandemic) Tour



## HitchBiker (Jun 19, 2020)

Hey y'all.

Time to start a new picture/ story thread for this one.






First road photo of the tour with the new smiley.



My panniers just gain more character.



Laying in the rain on the Natchez Trace on a hot day.



Amazing little view on the 50 miles of the Great Rivers South route I did.



Great lakefront camping I stayed in at Land Between Lakes on the Tennessee side.



Mandatory state line crossing photo.




Got to love a good bridge shot in the morning.



Old pirate murder cave at Cave In State Park.



A date with the Ohio River for lunch.



Third state of this trip so far.



This hill really sucked and I walked up half of it.



The TransAmerica Trail took me to the Tunnel Hill State Trail and I had to take a whole day to ride it.




Bridge crossing on the Tunnel Hill State Trail.



Crabtree Lake in the morning.





Pretty fun adventure so far!

I've done a few hundred miles again, but I'm going real slow. Staying in a lot of state parks and doing small mileage days. This ride might be life for a good while and it's a global pandemic, so taking time is the focus. I'm hoping to get to Missouri and do the Katy Trail as a second famous rail Trail of this trip and then I'll likely head north to get away from humidity.

If you're housed up for the pandemic and want to donate to my journey:

Paypal.me/bikepunky

I'll come back with more photos every couple weeks.


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## SammiePa (Jun 19, 2020)

Love this pics! Thanks for sharing


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## sheepflip (Jun 20, 2020)

Great photos! I gotta get pedaling west soon now that parks are opening back up.


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## HitchBiker (Jun 20, 2020)

sheepflip said:


> Great photos! I gotta get pedaling west soon now that parks are opening back up.



Yeah, a good half have been ghost towns in the midwest. Still loud and ridiculous on the weekends though. In some cases.


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## Deleted member 28930 (Jun 21, 2020)

wauw nice pictures hope to get going soon also. i wish you good luck


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## Crazy Hobo Johnny (Jun 21, 2020)

*Thank you for sharing! 

Awesome pics!

i started last month on a short road tour (pics posted in gallery). Planning another one soon!*


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## HitchBiker (Jun 23, 2020)

Made it to St. Louis last night and going to take a night or two off to plan out the Katy Trail. Here's a few great pictures from along the way:





Overlooking the Mississippi River at Fort Kaskaskia.




Same spot, better view.



Not necessarily a bike route, but it wasn't bad.



Murphysboro Lake State Park.



Finally got my first flat after 3600 miles!



St. Louis Arch Park




Cool cycling bar in downtown that was closed.
Can't wait to cycle for a week without traffic.


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## sheepflip (Jun 23, 2020)

Wow, 3600? A roofing nail got my rear tire last week after ~800 miles. If there are better socks than Darn Tough 1/4 cushion I haven't found them. Hope your week of no traffic goes great!


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## HitchBiker (Jun 23, 2020)

sheepflip said:


> Wow, 3600? A roofing nail got my rear tire last week after ~800 miles. If there are better socks than Darn Tough 1/4 cushion I haven't found them. Hope your week of no traffic goes great!



Haha. I love Darn Tough socks. Finally have a hole forming after two and a half years of hiking/biking. Technically I had a valve stem flat once, but it was at a host house and not on the road so it doesn't count. I've still never had a puncture flat. But I'm running Marathons with tire liners lol.


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## Deleted member 23824 (Jun 23, 2020)

I am enjoying your photos and narrative. But I just gotta ask - how are you continuing to post if you‘ve deleted yourself? That’s the first time I’ve seen that. I actually hope you haven’t done so, as I said, enjoying this thread.


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## HitchBiker (Jun 24, 2020)

Faceplant said:


> I am enjoying your photos and narrative. But I just gotta ask - how are you continuing to post if you‘ve deleted yourself? That’s the first time I’ve seen that. I actually hope you haven’t done so, as I said, enjoying this thread.



Haha. I think I might have deleted this account at some point, but when I signed back in it kept the I deleted myself tag. I kind of like it though. It's unique. Plus I delete myself in a lot of ways.


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## Crazy Hobo Johnny (Jun 24, 2020)

*Keep sending the nice pictures!*


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## HitchBiker (Jun 24, 2020)

_no longer accurate content edit_


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## HitchBiker (Jun 29, 2020)

Free to 5 dollar hostel empty on the Katy Trail.



Spent whole days along the Missouri River.



Best part if the Trail, but if you stop too long the mosquitos get you.



Guy I rode with for a couple days riding into a tunnel. Traded him much smiley face dry bag for a nice bluetooth speaker.



Àpparently the biggest Katy detour is to avoid walking over 2 inches of water...let's just say I did not detour.



Know you guys love trains.



Bridge view.



Old railway light on the Katy.

Tomorrow I finish the Trail and start on a new one. So far all the city parks have had free legal camping. Though the locals can be backwards and annoying.


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## HitchBiker (Jun 29, 2020)

Double post


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## Crazy Hobo Johnny (Jun 30, 2020)

BikePunky said:


> View attachment 56796
> 
> Free to 5 dollar hostel empty on the Katy Trail.
> View attachment 56797
> ...


*Awesome pictures and stories! Wish I was traveling with you! Keep posting! Looks like a nice trail to bike on! CHJ*


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## HitchBiker (Jun 30, 2020)

Yeah, I got my first two flats on it. Mostly flat and easy pedaling though. But overall the whole trail only cost me 5 bucks. Cruising the Highway to do the Frisco Trail as an encore and then taking a few days off to plan my way across the country.


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## HitchBiker (Jul 4, 2020)

Finished the Frisco Trail today. It was a little rougher than the Katy, but still doable on a loaded bike with decent tires.



The first few and last few miles, both in Bolivar and Springfield is paved.




Pretty thick gravel in a lot of it.



Prairie conservation area near Bolivar.




Bridge 13 miles in.









Took a nap at this old hobo jungle.



End of the Trail in Springfield.

Taking a train up to Chicago Monday night to escape this humidity and the red state hotspots.


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## HitchBiker (Jul 8, 2020)

_edited due to bad links_


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## HitchBiker (Jul 8, 2020)

Also, anyone thinking of touring: Be sure your tires are good or bring extras. It took contacting over 20 bike stores in separate weeks and finding each in two different states to have a set of Marathons. One touring tire per state isn't good odds with Schwalbe online being backed up a month. People have recommended the Bontrager H2s, but I haven't tried them. I'm sure you could make stuff work with tire liners, etc. But I've had great luck with kevlar lined tires.


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## HitchBiker (Jul 9, 2020)

Using my time at a Chicago Hostel to upload more stuff, to live extra vicariously I uploaded my Relive videos to YouTube and put them in a playlist: 

It's missing a few short mileage days or ones with GPS errors, but I'd say I rode 21/30 days this last month.


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## HitchBiker (Jul 15, 2020)

Hello, taking some time off after a few big mile days in Wisconsin.




Cool sticker a bike friend gave me in Chicago.



Most of the way from Chicago to Milwaukee is on bike paths.



Sometimes the paved bits were real nice.



One of the first and best views of Lake Michigan.



Forget the name of this place, but a very futuristic spot in Milwaukee.



Lake Michigan from a pier.



Pier view #2



Roadside morning Lake Michigan.



RANDOM TARDIS IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE



Last couple trailheads on the InterUrban Trail reminded me a lot of the Katy.



Getting on the Devil River State Trail.



Trailside view.



Choo choo banner flag.



Trailhead in Denmark, Wisconsin. Remember thinking the no loitering sign was silly, because that is literally all there is to do at a Trailhead.



WarmShowers host yard campground covid19 spectacular.



The bike surfing cat.



Fox River Trail into Green Bay.




Lunch view in Green Bay, Wisconsin.



The hole in the tire finally came and I was glad to be in a hotel to change them out. First time riding "skinny" road tires on my 26 inch steel mountain bike. Curious to see how it rolls as I head into the Wisconsin national forest of the north.


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## Dmac (Jul 15, 2020)

Cool! Thanks for posting, I watched your videos on YouTube also. Good stuff.


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## HitchBiker (Jul 15, 2020)

Thank ya. One of these days I'll get around to making real videos on there or something. But at least there is some content.



Dmac said:


> Cool! Thanks for posting, I watched your videos on YouTube also. Good stuff.


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## Crazy Hobo Johnny (Jul 15, 2020)

BikePunky said:


> Hello, taking some time off after a few big mile days in Wisconsin.
> View attachment 56898
> Cool sticker a bike friend gave me in Chicago.
> View attachment 56899
> ...


*Looks like you came through my home town Milwaukee! That white building is the Art Center!*


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## HitchBiker (Jul 15, 2020)

Crazy Hobo Johnny said:


> *Looks like you came through my home town Milwaukee! That white building is the Art Center!*



Yeah, spent the night there. That coastal Oak leaf Trail reminded me of the west coast a lot.


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## Crazy Hobo Johnny (Jul 16, 2020)

BikePunky said:


> Yeah, spent the night there. That coastal Oak leaf Trail reminded me of the west coast a lot.


I live near the Oak Leaf Trail! I wished I knew ahead of time you were coming this way, we could of met! Maybe next time! You're probably way up north by now! I'll be in La Crosse, Wisconsin next week.


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## HitchBiker (Jul 20, 2020)

Crazy Hobo Johnny said:


> I live near the Oak Leaf Trail! I wished I knew ahead of time you were coming this way, we could of met! Maybe next time! You're probably way up north by now! I'll be in La Crosse, Wisconsin next week.


Dang, yeah. I rode that whole trail. Just got into Clam Lake tonight.


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## HitchBiker (Jul 20, 2020)

Northern Wisconsin has been both beautiful with flickers of ruggedness to keep me on my toes.



New open carry look for predator country.



One of the first and only bears so far.



Overcast and 70 degrees most days.



With so many lakes, even little breaks get great views.



Another bear sighting.



Turtle crossing.



Near the end of one of the best forest rides I've ever done.



Star Lake Campground



All the roads are pretty in Wisconsin.



When the Google shortcut becomes dragging your bike through three feet of mud and miles of puddles.



Only 140 miles remain on this ACA route.


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## HitchBiker (Jul 27, 2020)

Finished up the North Lakes Route out of upper Wisconsin. Now in Minneapolis, trying to figure stuff out for bike repairs.



Spent three nights in an above garage apartment on Clam Lake recently.



I noticed a strange clanking out of my bike wheel while touching it up in my host's garage. They encouraged me to take it to their mechanic, who discovered I had cracked my freehub. Which he described as a hand grenade waiting to happen. I was kind of devastated by the price tag of all the things I needed replaced, but to my surprise my WarmShowers host covered the $250 bill including extras like fenders, bar tape, and new pedals.



Host had a paddle boat I played around on for a few hours my last evening.



Another view of Clam Lake.



Snacking is serious business.



Screw Machine.




Another day, another road.



Turns out it is the week of breakages for me, nailed my front rack on a curb and snapped both sides. Going to be tough to find another one, but 6500 miles on a $10 aluminum rack I found at a co-op ain't bad. Had it duct taped and zip-tied to get down the road another 70 miles to Minneapolis.



Random road art.



"The birds work for the bourgeoisie"



The search for a new front rack in Minneapolis begins before the Northern Tier.


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## Gypsybones (Jul 31, 2020)

shit dude, I think you got more rolling miles than me now. I really need to get back to it


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## HitchBiker (Aug 1, 2020)

Gypsybones said:


> shit dude, I think you got more rolling miles than me now. I really need to get back to it



I'm somewhere between 6.5-7k now. =]

Planning to cross most of the northern tier and do more of the west coast now.


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## HitchBiker (Aug 3, 2020)

Happy to announce the Minneapolis search worked out, finding a rack and getting my basket rigged to work. Lodging was free through WarmShowers and a host gave me $150, so I broke even on the week and repairs.



New rack system survived the grocery overload.



After six days of oogling it up at WarmShowers spots and fixing my bike, I finally left Minneapolis for the Northern Tier.



The Mississippi.



Interesting roadside humor in Minnesota.



Made it to the legendary Adventure Bicyclist Bunkhouse on my first night.



Spot was like a mirage at the end of a long day.



The backstory.



Most unique picture of a visitor on the wall. If you go through next year, I'll be on the wall.



Ran into a 77 year old cyclist going the other way, still pedaling covid and all.



One mile into my next rail Trail, I got an okay deal on a private community center campsite with power/ a bathroom.



*Same place, first trail head shot.



Best part about this rail Trail is it is PAVED. Who would have thought? 160 miles of bicycle traffic across Minnesota.



Holdingford was the next stop. 



Caught a freight train to nowhere.



The famous sheltered bridge.



Seems kind of funny they built a train route over the rail trail.*

Only got like 140 miles left of Minnesota, with 100 of that being this paved trail.


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## HitchBiker (Aug 7, 2020)

Finished Minnesota and pulled into a WarmShowers spot in Fargo, North Dakota tonight.



Osakis snack area with a view.



Under bridge graffiti



There were at least 3-4 railway bridges overhead.



Freshly paved.



Something about these old buildings feels like riding through a dead America.



There was a cicada in my boot.



Choo choo on the way from Fergus Falls to Fargo.



One side is Moorhead, Minnesota and the other is Fargo, North Dakota.

Good to be sleeping in a bed and getting my stuff cleaned up. Decided on a major route change this week. Rumor has it Glacier Park/ Yellowstone aren't fun places to bike right now because there are more RVs than usual with so many closures. And well, North Dakota isn't considered a jewel or anything. I'll be arriving in SEATTLE Sunday morning. Hoping to do some coastal touring, possibly the Olympic Peninsula and San Juan Islands. I hear I might run into problems with hiker/biker campsites, but my experience last year was stealth camping was quite easy and safer on the coast than many routes I've taken.


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## Crazy Hobo Johnny (Aug 7, 2020)

*Nice pics!
Those old buildings look like something out of the TV show, The Walking Dead!
Thank you for sharing and updating the bike trip!*


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## HitchBiker (Aug 10, 2020)

Survived the 33 hour Amtrak ride to Seattle. Even still got some train sights:


















1500+ train miles later: I'm in Seattle.



First night in I decided to stay at a hostel, because no hosts got hold of me.



Splurged on private room at the Green Totoise Hostel, because people were coughing and sneezing up in there and I wasn't about to pay to get the Rona.





Odd time to meet a city for the first time, but I'm glad to head south in the morning and not look back.



The next day I ride a Google route from Seattle to Tacoma, which kind of sucks for the first 20 miles or so because it has me on bike paths in a very industrial area. This was one of my first respites in a greener area.



Getting some serious side eye from Rocky.



Sweet Bowser graffiti along an InterUrban Trail.



My free AirBNB in Tacoma through WarmShowers. Tomorrow I plan to visit the bike co-op that helped me build my bike, maybe get a tune-up. Waiting to hear from another bike traveler who might ride the San Juan Islands and Olympic Peninsula with me.


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## Gypsybones (Aug 11, 2020)

BikePunky said:


> I'm somewhere between 6.5-7k now. =]
> 
> Planning to cross most of the northern tier and do more of the west coast now.



almost, I’ve done 8,800k so far. That’s in rolling miles, I don’t count in town.
but looks like you’ll be passing me soon


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## HitchBiker (Aug 20, 2020)

Got lucky in Olympia when a host turned out to be a custom bike builder that happened to have the smallest chain ring I finally needed replaced. Stuck around the city for a few nights getting stuff at the expense of gracious WarmShowers hosts.



The 101 makes up the majority of the Peninsula loop.




Hiker/ biker campsites are open at Washington State Parks.



Beautiful coastal trail into Port Townsend.



Camped with a ship in a backyard.



Pretty path on tribal land going through Sequim.



Bike bridge on the Olympic Discovery Trail to Port Angeles.



Cool CouchSurfing host just gave me a Brooks C17 saddle for free, which is worth more than I paid for my bike.



Sleeping on a stage at this little hippie bike Trail host spot in East Port Angeles. Kinda weird story: a person doing a WorkAway stay died here two nights ago. Found dead in the bathroom.

Not even halfway through and the sights/ amenities of the Peninsula yet.


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## Deleted member 28930 (Aug 21, 2020)

looks like a amazing trip so far! best of luck


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## Crazy Hobo Johnny (Aug 21, 2020)

*Awesome Pics! Keep them coming! Damn I wish I was traveling with you!!! Maybe next time!!! That's nice about the saddle, can't beat that at all!!! Thank you for sharing as always!!!*


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## HitchBiker (Aug 23, 2020)

Crazy Hobo Johnny said:


> *Awesome Pics! Keep them coming! Damn I wish I was traveling with you!!! Maybe next time!!! That's nice about the saddle, can't beat that at all!!! Thank you for sharing as always!!!*


No problem, just glad to share them somewhere. Figure also is the first thread of its kind and gives people more of an idea of what touring is like as it is happening. Yesterday was tough. Had to do 80 miles on a freshly loaded bike, because all the campgrounds without bike space were filled up.




All the bits of the Olympic Discovery Trail I've done have been nice and paved.



Port Angeles was pretty blown up, so I just pedaled right through it without stopping.



Small portion of the Olympic Adventure Trail.



The Adventure Trail is definitely more for Mountain bikes, so I bailed onto a road that turned out to be closed to all traffic (even had a sign telling bikes not to pass...but no other way around it).



Usually there is a paved rail Trail across the other side of crescent lake but it is closed due to a tunnel construction and a fire in the area, so cyclists are stuck riding this fairly sketchy part of 101.



The lake sure is pretty though.



Some old history about Crescent Lake.


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## Pixelhopper (Aug 24, 2020)

Great photos, and good advice on the extra tires.. I am sure it's been more difficult lately as supply of everything seems to be difficult.


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## HitchBiker (Aug 28, 2020)

About to cross the state line into Oregon today after an evening in Naselle, hoping to take a few days off and switch out gear.



First real glimpse of the ocean.



Spent the whole evening on the beach at Klahowya.



Last day of riding around the Peninsula.



Stayed at a pretty cool spot on Lake Quinault.



Accidentally stayed with the 12 Tribes cult in Raymond, WA.



Host in Naselle had great taste in dog toys.



View from the mountains over Naselle.

Looking forward to a couple days of rest in Astoria and changing out gear.


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## HitchBiker (Sep 7, 2020)

Dang, I haven't posted in like a couple weeks. Mostly I've been luxury surfing WarmShowers spots in upper Oregon. Feel sandwiched between the heatwaves of the south and the coming rain of the pacific northwest.



I ended up deciding to tour inland of Oregon instead of taking the coast.



Rode the Vernonia-Banks Trail.



Roadside Triceratops.



Stayed in a cool tiny house.



Corvallis today, Eugene tomorrow.


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## HitchBiker (Sep 9, 2020)

Seems I've rolled right into the middle of Oregon's biggest natural disaster.





















Nearest evacuation order is 10 miles away. Wish me luck!


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## Crazy Hobo Johnny (Sep 10, 2020)

*Thanks @BikePunky for sharing your photos!!! Wow! Be careful and safe!!!!*


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## superphoenix (Sep 20, 2020)

Can't believe I've missed this for so long! Looks like a crazy and cool trip, dude! Gonna have to follow your IG and see what's up!


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## HitchBiker (Sep 20, 2020)

superphoenix said:


> Can't believe I've missed this for so long! Looks like a crazy and cool trip, dude! Gonna have to follow your IG and see what's up!



Thanks. This Wednesday after a two week fire hiatus, I'm catching a train to Sacramento to ride the Western Express and then the Grand Canyon south to my favorite city (Tucson). Hoping for some winter touring or some time off to plan another grand adventure. 

Someone bought me a 32000mah battery pack, so I'm going to be able to start filming more.


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## Comedy (Sep 20, 2020)

Good luck with future cycling adventures, love the pictures!


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## HitchBiker (Sep 24, 2020)

Back at it again. Sacramento to Folsom today. Hopeful of a big push tomorrow.



Had breakfast at the rail museum.












The 32 mile American River Trail to Folsom.

There is a path called the Johnny Cash Trail looping around the actual Folsom prison. Do you think this is the work of city planners making a jab at the prison, or the prison making a tax write off in the name of a celebrity that disliked them most?


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## HitchBiker (Sep 27, 2020)

Next couple of days over the Sierras were really tough. I did something like 42 miles that were all uphill. It wrecked me. Didn't help highway 50 was closed, so what should have been empty backroads was filled with cars. Almost got hit a few times. One road was so bad I had to hike my bike for three miles. I was fortunate I had a WarmShowers host willing to pick me up when it got too bad. Between all that and the ban on forest camping in California right now, it was not a super hospitable route.





The first few miles were the last of the serious uphill to get to the other side of the Sierras.



Ran into the Pacific Crest Trail again right here.






*







Staying in a little downtown cottage in Carson City. Hoping to prepare my legs for the loneliest road in Amerika across Nevada.*


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## HitchBiker (Sep 27, 2020)




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## Crazy Hobo Johnny (Sep 28, 2020)

BikePunky said:


>



@BikePunky Thanks for the updates and awesome pictures! I look forward for them.


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## HitchBiker (Oct 8, 2020)

Heading to Cedar City, Utah today as the last leg of the Western Express route I'm doing. Got loads of content to make videos, so haven't been uploading them. Nevada was a pretty hard state to cycle across and it felt like forever to do.


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## ali (Oct 8, 2020)

I'd really love to hear more stories from Nevada! I've always wanted to spend more time traveling there but with Greyhound gradually removing stops on 80 (forget about 50) I wasn't sure there'd be any way to do it without a car.


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## HitchBiker (Oct 9, 2020)

It was a beautiful and brutal route. If I hadn't done all this touring months before, I don't think I could have done it. First of all, the Sierras are the worst climb through California. There's rolling foothills going up and down 1500 feet until you reach the mountain, where you go up 8000ft to Kirkwood. Now Nevada itself is mostly 1500ft UPS and downs, but big mileage days with huge water carries. 60-85 miles a day. 

Carson City I stayed with Warmshowers hosts.

Fallon stopped allowing tents in their fairground due to homeless people and covid.

MiddleGate station let's cyclists camp for free, but good luck saying no to a paid shower and burger.

Austin has a weird church run RV park with tent sites, which was cool to have something. But the guy really pushed for a donation...while treating me like a homeless person so I gave nothing.

In Eureka everything was full or closed, so I camped at a rest area that says you can only be there 18 hours. Highway patrol came by, but never bother me.

The 80 mile slog into Ely exhausted me, so I snuck into a KOA and was out by morning. Checked into Hotel Nevada and enjoyed a cheap room for a day off.

Baker has a little Whisper Elms RV Park that offers bicycle camping and showers for ten bucks.

The 84 mile ride to Milford was the hardest. There's a secret abandoned house halfway between it with a spring feeding the only two trees in that desert. I got hit by headwinds and camped at the top of a climb. Once in Milford, I got a TravelLodge for 50 bucks by getting them to undercut the Priceline deal.

In Cedar City, I got a WarmShowers host.


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## HitchBiker (Oct 9, 2020)




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## HitchBiker (Oct 13, 2020)

Western Express #2 (YouTube):


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## Matt Derrick (Oct 29, 2020)

Love the photos and all the updates, I've added this thread to our best of section!


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## HitchBiker (Nov 1, 2020)

Matt Derrick said:


> Love the photos and all the updates, I've added this thread to our best of section!



Thanks!

Forgot to update for a while, I'm actually in Tucson and hopefully heading to the Slabs for some time off.

I'll try to get some more photos up soon.


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## HitchBiker (Nov 1, 2020)

Another part of the Western Express route on YouTube!


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## Eng JR Lupo RV323 (Nov 2, 2020)

This is one of my very favorite threads to follow on STP. The amount of inspiration it's given me to bike tour is through the roof. I have a dog that weighs about a hundred pounds and an ill mother I'm caring for right now. Once these factors change in my life, I'm hitting the road on a bike. I might even consider it with the dog, though that'll be a real difficult task. 100+ pound dog bike trailer or.. side car? I love the imagery that conjures but it doesn't seem feasible. It would be really cool to have her on the road with me. She's great company and protection but I just don't think any dog would want to be in a trailer for 60-80 miles a day.

Anyway, just wanted to say thank you for this thread, the pictures, videos and updates. I feel a part of me is on tour with you vicariously. If you find yourself heading up through central California, Kaya and I are here in Fresno with your drinks of choice and meals of choice on my dime. Stay safe BikePunky.


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## HitchBiker (Nov 2, 2020)

Eng JR Lupo RV323 said:


> This is one of my very favorite threads to follow on STP. The amount of inspiration it's given me to bike tour is through the roof. I have a dog that weighs about a hundred pounds and an ill mother I'm caring for right now. Once these factors change in my life, I'm hitting the road on a bike. I might even consider it with the dog, though that'll be a real difficult task. 100+ pound dog bike trailer or.. side car? I love the imagery that conjures but it doesn't seem feasible. It would be really cool to have her on the road with me. She's great company and protection but I just don't think any dog would want to be in a trailer for 60-80 miles a day.
> 
> Anyway, just wanted to say thank you for this thread, the pictures, videos and updates. I feel a part of me is on tour with you vicariously. If you find yourself heading up through central California, Kaya and I are here in Fresno with your drinks of choice and meals of choice on my dime. Stay safe BikePunky.



Appreciate the post and offer. I'll be in SoCal for a few months hopefully. I've known people who travel with big dogs. Seems to be a matter of getting them to walk up on climbs. It does seem like a sacrifice of amenities is required to take a dog though. Seems so many Warmshowers hosts and motels would be off the table as a option. I'm hoping to start a video based q&a series about bike touring over the fall/winter. Probably start a different thread for it and make it the basis of a later more refined zine and/or self-published book.


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## HitchBiker (Nov 2, 2020)

Edited for no longer accurate information.


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## Eng JR Lupo RV323 (Nov 2, 2020)

Oh, might possibly catch up with you in Slabs then. I'll be popping in there at some point over the next couple months. I got clean off that Facebook stuff last year. I should probably make an account just for useful shit like the group you mentioned and then just avoid adding friends and such. I'm not interested in the politics that tends to bring. If I do join again I'll be sure to request to join that group.


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## HitchBiker (Nov 2, 2020)

Eng JR Lupo RV323 said:


> Oh, might possibly catch up with you in Slabs then. I'll be popping in there at some point over the next couple months. I got clean off that Facebook stuff last year. I should probably make an account just for useful shit like the group you mentioned and then just avoid adding friends and such. I'm not interested in the politics that tends to bring. If I do join again I'll be sure to request to join that group.



Nice. I'm honestly probably going to the library, because it has been the only Slab place I've been a crew member of. But I'm interested in other camps possibly, if other folks know of good ones. It's going to be interesting being 1.5 years sober from booze and cigs there. That's basically how I use Facebook. The marketplace is also super handy and people use it more than Craigslist these days. Without it I would have never found my four Ortlieb panniers for $100. But yeah Facebook sucks and it's crappy they are now also Instagram. There's some good groups and I've gotten more kickdowns sharing stories on Insta than spanging though.


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## G0PN1KB0T (Nov 3, 2020)

Great adventure indeed! You've got some drive to keep pushing up those California mountains! This one got me thinking!


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## HitchBiker (Nov 5, 2020)

G0PN1KB0T said:


> Great adventure indeed! You've got some drive to keep pushing up those California mountains! This one got me thinking!


Yeah, definitely the sierras aren't a joke. Even the foothills before the actual mountain are up and down. Exhausting you before you even reach the real climb. Especially on a 100+ pound bike. Way easier to be going west on the Western Express route than east.


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## HitchBiker (Nov 7, 2020)

" 

Got all 5 of the videos for the Western Express/ Grand Canyon Connector route up on YouTube.


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## souslespaves (Nov 9, 2020)

BikePunky said:


>



this trail looks amazing. thanks for sharing!


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## SilverBird (Nov 10, 2020)

BikePunky said:


> Hey y'all.
> 
> A couple weeks ago, I hit the road again after being evicted from my spot for quarantine. Figured I'd start a new picture/ story thread for this one.
> 
> ...



This is so cool! Does this cost anything past the dues for the survival materials? Also how did you get food?


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## HitchBiker (Nov 12, 2020)

SilverBird said:


> This is so cool! Does this cost anything past the dues for the survival materials? Also how did you get food?


Definitely was a lot cheaper before covid. As you could find parts and do repairs at bike co-ops. More WarmShowers hosts were available for free. I spent a lot more on new parts and the occasional motel this trip.


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## HitchBiker (Apr 4, 2021)

Thread for the 2021 touring season.


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## ali (Jul 16, 2021)

BikePunky said:


> Seems I've rolled right into the middle of Oregon's biggest natural disaster.
> View attachment 57472
> 
> Nearest evacuation order is 10 miles away. Wish me luck!


Hey, i was wondering if you had any tips for cycling through these conditions? I am planning to get started in a few weeks and right now there is pretty heavy smoke covering my area of interior BC and pretty much everywhere within reasonable cycling distance. I have a couple of bandanas and plenty of those disposable surgical masks, but i'm guessing an N95 would be better for this. Can you cycle with one, though? Or did you just tough it out and go shorter distances each day?


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## HitchBiker (Jul 26, 2021)

Probably n95 or a pollution mask are your only good bets. If it’s as toxic as it was last year, maybe not riding in it at all.


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