So here’s the longer version of what we’re getting ourselves into. On June 13th our crew of 10 high school students and 2 leaders will set out from Aberdeen Maryland with the goal of riding their bikes 3700 miles across the US to Anacortes, Washington.

This is no small task, as I’m sure you’ve surmised by this point. While we are seeing the heart of America at 70 miles a day and 12 miles an hour we will encounter pretty much everything you can imagine, both good and bad.

On some mornings we’ll get up at 5am to beat the heat and wind, ride west through an early morning haze passing endless cornfields, and enjoy great tunes on the ipod. In the afternoon we’ll relax in the shade of ancient oak trees, swim in the city pool, and we’ll then be invited into a strangers house to cook burgers on their back porch before retiring to our campsite in the town park and drifting off to sleep under a full moon.

On other days we’ll battle a terrible head wind in the open plains and get stuck mid day between towns when the sun beats down relentlessly from overhead and cooks us on the dark asphalt. When we get to camp the diner will be closed and a scourge of mosquitoes will confine us to our tents for the remainder of the day. The next day as we hustle to get out of town we’ll get drenched by a Midwestern storm and battle rains all day long. We’re out for so long that we’ll endure pretty much anything and everything that the country can throw our way. Some days will seem straight out of an Indian Summer, where the next seems that it was crafted simply to torment bikers. But whatever comes our way our crew will take it in stride and press on to the Pacific.

As the leader this will be my 4th time across the US on a bike. There is a reason that I keep coming back to this addiction that is cross-country cycling. It is perfection in so many ways. The simplicity of having everything you need right there on your bike. No distractions of places to be or things to do….. other than head west. We spend everyday with great friends, laughing, telling stories and experiencing all the nooks and crannies of this vast and great country. Food tastes great. Drinks are always refreshing. And when you collapse after 70 miles into your tent in the park of a small town in South Dakota the wheat fields and starry skies smother you with silence and sleep comes swiftly and hard. There is a feeling of accomplishment each day and the thrill of rolling into the Pacific after ten weeks of biking puts you in a euphoria that lasts for months and can be summoned for motivation for years to come.

Many of the guys on this ride will be leaving home for the first time and not just heading to a dorm or a camp, but pushing themselves to their physical and emotional limit on a daily basis. Whether you are 15 or 55, biking across the country changes you….for the better. It brings new perspectives on life, makes you really appreciate what you value in life, and teaches you to really enjoy the simple pleasures of biking and being with friends.