Figured I would add a space on my blog to add some general info. I’ve done it in a FAQ format based off questions people have asked me on the way.

Why are you doing this?
Because it seemed like a good idea! No reason really other than the fact I had a bunch of vacation hours to burn through and that I really enjoy riding a bicycle. I also am not the kind of person with a dream destination in mind or anything like that so cruising through a bunch of places is ideal for me.

How are you getting back?
I am flying and my bike is being packaged up and shipped.

Where do you stay?
Generally shitty hotels and sometimes AirBNB when it is available. I highly recommend AirBNB whenever you travel but especially by yourself. I would have camped out if I was with a group of people but it just seemed to risky to do on a solo bike tour.

What route did you take? Did you just take US1 the whole way?
I followed the East Coast Greenway loosely. It sometimes does irrational (or even illegal) things so sometimes I stuck to their cue sheets and maps and other times I rolled my own using Google Maps and Google Earth. The route follows US17 more than US1 but I’ve been on pretty much every road in the area (including I95!).

Who are you going with?
Just me.

What kind of bike do you have?
A 2009 (I think?) Surly Cross-Check that I added a granny gear up front to. The 3rd gear up front has saved me a number of times so I’m glad I had it put on. Most of the accessories were collected over the years from the shop or hand me downs. I had to buy a front rack (I went with a Tubus Tara rack) and some Goretex winter gloves for the trip. My buddy Donald lent me his set of Ortlieb panniers which have worked great.

How many miles a day?
Typically 70-80 but I went as far as 96. I seem to average around 11.5-12mph with no wind so I was typically riding for 6-7 hours a day. My longest day riding was to Jacksonville which took me nearly 9 hours into a headwind.

How far will you go? / How long will it take you?
It ended up being 1,332 miles and it took me 22 days including 4 rest days (18 rides).