Trans American Electric Bike Tour Experiences
[Road Brief] – Wamsutter, WY
posted by BorisA quick update. We’re in Wamsutter, Wyoming. Progress is slower than usual because of very strong headwinds (quite a change from the last post). We’ll post an update as soon as we have a chance – likely tomorrow or the day after. Tonight, we are spending the night in a truck belonging to a Russian truck driver turned friend we met at a truck stop … our planned motel in Wamsutter is sold out!
[Road Brief] Day 50 — Medicine Bow, WY
posted by Boris
Day #50
Miles Covered Today: 61
Hours on The Road: 4.50 (plus time spent on a breakdown)
Miles Traveled Since Beginning: 2,496
Where We Are: Medicine Bow, WY
Day Overview: Hearing loud popping sounds when you’re riding a bike rarely means something good. When the pop came from Anna’s bike about 40 minutes into our ride, we quickly came to a halt and got off the bikes to find the problem.
It turned out to be the tire on her trailer. We’ve been lucky so far with flats – we’ve had none on the bikes in the last 2,500 miles, but this was the third one on the trailers. Continue reading
[Road Brief] Day 49 – Laramie, WY
posted by Boris
Day #49
Miles Covered Today: 68
Hours on The Road: 7.00 (including breaks)
Miles Traveled Since Beginning: 2,435
Where We Are: Laramie, WY
Day Overview: If we were to simply say that Wyoming is windy, that would be quite an understatement. We’ve been hearing stories from Coloradoans about just how strong the winds are in this state, but you really don’t know until you experience it first hand – especially when you’re on a bike. We entered Wyoming by mid-afternoon.
About two hours before Laramie, WY – our destination for the night – the wind started to pick up. At its highest, it reached speeds of about 40+ miles per hour. Although, by sheer luck, we didn’t feel most of it as it was all tailwind, which actually enabled us to coast at up 25-30 mph per hour. While moving, the environment around us was almost silent. Continue reading
The Daily Grind
posted by Anna
Before we departed on the tour, we put together an Excel spreadsheet of daily activities and allocated a timeframe for each one. This is thanks to our spreadsheet guru, Boris, who even had the foresight to allocate several hours for “mingling with our hosts,” which falls into the “evening routine” category below.
In the first couple of weeks, almost everything about the timetable was skewed. We were riding for 10 hours instead of 7 and sleeping 5 hours instead of 7.5. Let me tell you, when you ride for more than 80 miles per day, those 3 hours of “Boris/Anna Work” don’t look as enticing as they do on an Excel sheet. But, once we figured out how to fit in more sleep and less cycling, with just the right amount of brain power left for work into our schedule, the daily numbers began to resemble our initial projected figures (to our great surprise). Continue reading
[Road Brief] Day 46 – Boulder
posted by Boris
Day #46
Miles Covered Today: 34
Hours on The Road: 3.50 (including breaks)
Miles Traveled Since Beginning: 2,367
Where We Are: Boulder, Colorado
Day Overview: After a very restful break in Denver, CO, we got back on the road to make our way through Colorado and eventually towards Salt Lake City.
During yesterday’s ride, we were accompanied by Steve Bouey from The World By Road Collective. Continue reading
