The Transcontinental

Set out on my own for the next few days. Felt charged up and needed some miles to settle my legs. Today was a beautiful steady uphill all day. Highway 12 follows the Middle Fork River, a very popular white water rafting destination. The rapids were enchanting with the churning sage green colored water. I had to hold myself back from stopping at every single rapid to take pictures, I had ground to cover!

Today is my last full day in Idaho as tomorrow I will cross over into Montana. So far, it’s been about a week/state. My daily milage has been determined more so by the amount of elevation gain and less by the milage. Today’s 89 miles covered the same amount of elevation as yesterday’s 45 miles. I’m excited to see what I’m capable of once the terrain levels out east of the Rockies…

I’m not sure if this is common practice in Idaho, but my relaxing riverside dinner at the Lodge next to the campground was mildly disturbed by the table behind me testing out their new rifle scopes. After realizing that they had their guns held up right behind my head aimed out at the woods, my Salmon Caesar salad started to taste pretty bland. No one else seemed to care about the firepower on their table so I guess I’m just out of touch.

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Two freshly made donuts and a tri tip burrito was the fuel of choice for this morning’s ride. With the tank full, I absolutely smoked the climb today. I did it with the tarp off and felt the most alive I think I ever have. Massive downhill off White Bird summit into Grangeville for a super market lunch.

Rolling hills through mega farmland offered some cool views. Terrifying descent down Lamb Grade made me worried my brakes were going to give out. I stopped halfway to let them cool down, they singed my fingers when I felt them.

Made it to Kooskia and negotiated a free night of camping at the City Park. This trip is teaching me that it never hurts to ask. Took a river laundry-bath in the South Fork while watching a little league baseball game. Celebrated with a bacon cheeseburger, apple pie, and some beer from the local cafe.

Missoula on the mind.

Song of the day: Gelatin Mode - Post Animal (this song carried me up the steepest point of the climb)

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Started the day slow waking up in the cabin as we waited out some morning showers. We started biking at 10am and proceeded to get hit with sporadic rain storms every 30 mins for the rest of the day. It made for a challenging day to dress for; rain gear on when the storm rolled in, rain gear off as the sun came out and the temps rose (repeat 8x).

I enjoyed reading all of the road-side signage courtesy of the rural Idaho churches. The AI sign was the most intriguing, however, I passed it on a one lane down-hill with traffic behind me and was unable to snap a photo. So, I used AI to generate a pretty accurate replica of the sign I saw, please enjoy the metaphor.

Another highlight of the ride today was watching an Osprey return to her nest with food for her babies. If you haven’t seen the movie on YouTube called “Listers”, it’s a must see. It has turned me into somewhat of an amateur birder.

After chatting up the town hall contact for the park we were supposed to camp at in the town of White Bird, we were upgraded to full access to the elementary school for the night. The classroom had a TV and a couch so I had an amazing spot to watch game 4 of the NBA finals while enjoying my Huckleberry milkshake from down the road.

Big climb tomorrow. Dreaming of thunder thighs.

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Rough night of sleep. 30 mph winds and rain blew through our camp until around 11pm. Finally got some rest but was awaken an hour earlier than normal due to the time zone change.

The 2 landscape photos are taken at the same time of opposite sides of the road. Unfortunately, we were traveling towards the darker side. Got some miles under our belt and stopped for lunch just as a hail storm passed over head. Timing couldn’t have been better as shortly after eating, the skies cleared up and the sun came back out.

I did today’s ride in my Tevas and without padded shorts in an attempt to give my body some space to breathe. In theory, today’s terrain looked easy and I was thinking it would be somewhat of a rest day. However, soreness from the big climb yesterday, poor sleep, and crazy weather turned today into one of the most time consuming rides of the trip so far. Something about spending all day getting passed by semis, RVs, lifted trucks, and every other piece of cargo seemingly every Idahoan has strapped to their vehicles, is pretty exhausting.

It was worth it in the end. The last 10 miles followed the Little Salmon River down to our six person cabin in Pinehurst. Frozen Stouffers lasagna is on the menu with Oreos for dessert. I think sleep should come easier tonight

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We left our campsite at the RV park and got some breakfast burritos for the road. We arrived at the Snake River and followed the Oregon side for a few miles before crossing over into Idaho to begin some massive climbing.

The biggest climb of the day, a 7 mile stretch with over 2,000 feet of vert, was the focus for the day. The road along this climb was covered in thousands of Jurassic park sized grasshoppers. They were doing a combination of mating with each other and eating each other (unfortunately this seemed to apply to those who were alive and dead). I tried my best to avoid them but with so many on the road there were a few unlucky crunches.

I was able to unlock the strength required to hold a steady pace up the whole climb with no stops. I think it also helped that I plugged in some headphones for the climb after 3 days of music-less riding. Conquering this climb made me feel pretty unstoppable.

We are now camped next to the water tower under a pavilion in a small down awaiting our first storm of the trip. Happy to have a sturdy roof over my tent tonight.

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Can’t believe I’ve been biking for 7 days. Tomorrow we are crossing over into Idaho, it’s been real Oregon!

Today was pretty chill on paper, but in reality, almost all of the climbing was in a single hill. On grades that steep, I am unable to find a pace that is sustainable. I end up having to stop every 1-2 miles to catch my breath or let my legs sit still.

We biked over the Oregon Trail today and got to see tracks from some of the original carriages people rode out west. All of the small towns we’ve biked through have been full of cool history.

Legs are feeling strong and my soul is feeling filled (or maybe that’s my belly after eating 5 meals today).

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Last big push for now. The next few days should be a lot lower milage and hopefully provide some rest for my aching body.

Thanks to the hot breakfast Jimi cooked up, I was able to tackle Dixie pass first thing in the morning. A second breakfast from Austin House fueled me up the second pass. A gel and a pop tart did a decent job getting me up the last pass.

I got a lot of bugs in my mouth today. The first 2 I immediately coughed up and spat out. When the third bug flew in my mouth, I decided to relax a bit and taste it. It reminded me of spinach with a very earthy flavor, quite nice actually.

Oh and did I mention, I FINALLY FOUND OTHER CYCLISTS DOING THE TRANS AMERICAN TRAIL!!! Our paths finally crossed and I think we will have a team of 6 of us mobbing through the Idaho hills for the next few days.

It was a good hard day.

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Big climb to start the day, followed by the best descent of the trip so far. The winding road snaked through a scraggly basalt canyon. The river bed was filled with fragrant blooming jasmine, with wild cattle carved terraced hills sloping up to jagged rocky peaks. I was able to capture some of the beauty in photos but most of it was just for my eyes as I bombed down the hill at 35 miles per hour.

Stopped for breakfast #2 in Dayville and got some homemade brioche French toast. I have been pleasantly surprised with how yummy the food is out in these small Oregon towns.

After breakfast I locked into a biking trance and hammered out 30 more miles to get to John Day.

I pushed on to Prairie City after dinner to round out another 80 mile day. I stayed with Jimmi after meeting him outside the hardware store. We watched the Knicks game and talked about the local geology. Nice to have another shower and bed to sleep on.

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Starting to feel the miles and the isolation. I’ve somehow managed to time this trip perfectly so as to not cross paths with any other riders. I hear stories of groups of people riding east passing through, “just a few days ago”. It’s wearing me down, I didn’t plan to be alone for this long. Trying to enjoy it and learn from it but feeling down.

My right knee has been aching for the past few days and was really talking to me today. Some adjustments to my cleats seemed to help but not consistently.

Today would have been a complete down day if it weren’t for my final destination. I’m staying at the Spoke’n Hostel tonight. A hostel designed for bikers in the small town of Mitchell, OR. This place ROCKS. They have every accommodation imaginable and it is so perfectly curated to be a comfortable landing place for weary travelers. I am the only one here tonight, and will be sleeping alone in the converted church with 11 empty beds around me🙏

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Oops, I biked 80 miles again. Today was only supposed to be 65 miles to get to Smith Rock, but a late road-closure-discovery on McKenzie Pass resulted in a U-turn after 4 miles and a much longer route for the day.

The morning was filled with ferns, Douglas firs, and water falls. At the summit of the cascade range, views of Mount Washington and the three sisters commanded my attention. Further along, the landscape shifted to high desert, reminiscent of Flagstaff AZ. Juniper, sage, and other crispy variety plants ruled the dry land.

While rounding a corner, I started to see some alpacas. Some alpacas quickly turned into over 1,000 alpacas. It was as if someone decided to play Minecraft in real life, I couldn’t believe it. It’s called Alpaca Country Estates, for anyone who would like to visit.

I made it to Smith Rock as the wind started picking up. Eager to avoid any additional miles on my bike, I asked around for a ride into town. I met Brandon, who was kind enough to offer a ride and we spent the rest of the evening together watching the Knicks and talking books and photography. Great hanging with you Brandon, good luck in Sacramento!

Bird of the day: Quail (CA state bird)

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Very happy with how I felt today. Followed the McKenzie up into Willamette National Forest. Today’s mission was to slow it down, and I think I was successful. I stopped and ate at every gas station I passed (sadly no roller dogs yet) and kept my pace slower than yesterday’s blitz.

Pretty hot out there today. I swam in the McKenzie at 2 different points, including my river side campsite complete with the loudest white noise ever (class II white water rapid).

I met my first bikers today! It was short lived as I somehow lost them immediately, but they were a cute old couple riding a tandem bike with a trailer. I don’t think our paths will cross again as they are taking a much more relaxed approach to the cross country trip and a different route over tomorrow’s mountain.

Town of the day: Nimrod, OR

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This is more than I initially planned for. Despite all the advice I received to start off easy, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to sleep in a bed and see friends. Knocked this ride out quite a bit faster than I should have. A lack of electrolytes and an excess of sun has resulted in some very yellow pee.

My route followed the Lake Creek River Valley. The grade was gentle, the fields were lush, and the river provided some tranquil rest stops.

I struck out on food options between miles 30-70. Devoured a cheeseburger at mile 75 so fast that my heart rate jumped into zone 3.

I have a feeling most rides will go like this: I have a lot of energy and stoke in the morning and pull over at every photo op. Then as the day wears on and the temps rise, my photographic inspiration dwindles to an occasional iPhone shot.

Planning for an easy day tomorrow to give these legs some time to get used to this.

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Arrived in Eugene rocking 4 hours of zombie train sleep. Refueled by the stoke from my friends Abby and Luke. Together we drove to the coast and enjoyed a seafood dinner. Dipped the ole tire in the pacific to be official, said goodbye for a bit to the homies, then made my merry way to Honeyman State Park.

I planned to hike out to the sand dunes further, but I’ve become overwhelmed with nervousness for tomorrow. The weight of it all has finally arrived.

I shared a campsite with the only other biker in the park, a 60 year old Aussie man. He assured me that with time, my world will shrink to a couple days ahead of me and become more manageable; “I reckon if you weren’t a bit nervous, that would be concerning”.

Call this day zero part 2, because tomorrow it truly begins.

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Started the day with a trip to Ocean Beach to watch Rachel, Hannah, and Miles play in a volleyball tournament. Said my final goodbyes and had a tearful send off full of NYC well wishes.

Ran some final errands around town, got rid of my final non-bike-essential items, fully packed the bike, and received an escort to the ferry building from Connor. Ferried across the bay, got sketched out in Oakland, then boarded my train to Oregon.

The weight of this trip has been building for the past couple months to a point of discomfort. With so many variables to prepare for, and setbacks to work through, I’ve adopted a fairly pessimistic outlook on things. I’ve started to assume the worst and overcorrect in an attempt to protect myself and preserve the possibility of this trip. However, as I sit on this train, I finally feel capable of relaxing and trusting that I am on my way to the starting line.

Here’s to hoping that I didn’t just jinx myself and that I can get some sleep on this 15 hour ride.

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Preparing to leave California has not been a smooth process. The endless list of tasks required to move cross country while simultaneously planning a bike trip has been exhausting. Outside of all that can be planned for, life decided to throw a few extra challenges my way, most recently, rebuilding my bicycle.

I’ve been pampering and refining my bike for the past three months. Cleaning every surface, greasing every bearing, and testing every component. She was perfect, ready to hit the road, just not literally. While driving to San Francisco with my bike on the roof, the high winds of highway 1 ripped her from the rack and sent her tumbling (front wheel-less) traveling 60 mph along the unforgiving pavement. The tumble left my fork fucked, derailleur deranged, pedals perished, and chain rings ring less. Bike shops gave me estimates ranging from 2 weeks - 6 months for the necessary repairs. The largest factor being the sourcing of a new Marin Fork. Unwilling to take no for an answer, I drove to the Marin Bicycles headquarters in Petaluma, CA where Eric was able to find a replacement in the warehouse inventory. With all the parts in hand, and the amazing support from Max at the Bike Kitchen, I was able to repair my bike in under 48 hours.

Besides the traumatic bike incident, my last week has been amazing. I got to say goodbye to Santa Cruz and San Francisco with my whole family, enjoy delicious food, and sleep in every morning.

For my last night in California, I was stoked to have my friends of Wormsalt and Queen Tide perform during my going away party.

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First official training ride in preparation for my even bigger ride… For those who don’t know, I’ll be biking across the country from the pacific coast in Oregon, to the Atlantic coast in NYC (my new home!).

I’ll be posting daily updates throughout the journey on Strava and my website (mattbikes2nyc.com). Follow along as I continue to prepare before starting the journey on June 1st!

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