In Austin!

I'm in Austin, TX, taking a rest day. This is a cool city, and it has a strong cycling culture. I made stops at Chipotle and REI already today, so I'm a pretty happy camper right now. One quick link--some other cyclists shared WarmShowers.org with me, so I've signed up and created a profile. Looks like a very useful site.

Half way!?!

I am (probably about) halfway through my bike tour! I've ridden over 2,000 miles, and I'm having an incredible time. Of course, I'm posting almost nothing here--there's no time, and there's usually no computer either, for that matter. I'm going to type up my journal at the end of the ride, and get it uploaded.

There's too much to try to write here. Suffice it to say, people are incredibly friendly and generous, and they are very excited to hear about my trip, and especially how incredibly friendly and generous other people have been to me along the way. So hello to everyone I've met along the way. A big thank-you for all the support, food, stories, loads of laundry, places to sleep and hot showers! You make my trip possible! And fun!

Leaving Columbus

I'm back on the road again after a very lazy week at home. Actually, it wasn't all that lazy, I just didn't bike anywhere. I got to go to the ND vs. Purdue game with my dad and brother, see my sister play two tennis matches with her middle school team, see the Blue Jackets get clobbered by the Buffalo Sabres in a preseason NHL game, visit my grandmother, and run various errands.

From here I'm picking up the Underground Rail Road route from Adventure Cycling. Saturday I'm staying with a cousin in Cincinnati, and then continuing south from there. I'll keep texting updates to Twitter.

In Ohio!

I've made it to Ohio! A bit faster than expected, too. The ride has been great, and I've met some really awesome people along the way. I've had perfect weather so far, but I know that can't last. I'm going to take a few days' rest, and enjoy being home with my family before I start out again.

I've got almost 600 miles behind me, and 3,500 to go. I'm probably going to change the gearing on my bike so I can tackle hills a little more easily, and I've got to make some equipment changes (mainly eliminating stuff). I plan to be back on the road around the middle of next week.

Finally, I want to say hi to Dave, Carl, Jim, and Jack, Marilyn and David, Dave, Patrick, and Zach. Keep the rubber side down!

Baltimore, MD - Anticipation

It's hard to believe, but the day is finally here. Tomorrow I begin my cross country bike tour! Because I've been delayed, I've altered my planned route in order to avoid the winter cold. The new route is shown on the map above. If you want to follow along, I'll be posting updates here, when I can get to a computer. I'll update twitter more frequently via text message: www.twitter.com/john_stech.

Also, if you or a friend lives along the route, and are willing to let me set up my tent in your yard, or crash on your couch, please go here, and let me know! I greatly appreciate it!

RoadID

I just got a RoadID to wear on my tour. It's a little ID band that straps to your ankle. You can customize it with your name and phone numbers to call in case of trouble (I put my parents on it), and it's pretty cheap: $20. My uncle Tom, who is also planning a solo tour, recommended it to me. Anyway, they sent me a promotion code to get my friends $1 off, so I figured it'd just be easiest to post it here. It's ThanksJohn405095, or you can just use this link: http://www.roadid.com/?CID=ThanksJohn405095. (The code is only good 20 times for the next 30 days.) Also, if you're a member of the Adventure Cycling Association you can get a 10% discount too.

US Tour Route

This is the route I'm planning to ride across the country. At least, those are the maps I've bought--I'm not riding up into Pennsylvania, it's just that that's where the map starts that connects Baltimore to the Transamerica route (which runs from Virginia to Oregon).

I also might switch things up as I get out west. There's an alternate route, called the Western Express, that goes straight west through Colorado, Utah, Nevada, and California to end at San Francisco (but it's more difficult because sections of Utah and Nevada have no services, so you have to be more careful about carrying enough water, etc.). There's also a Grand Canyon route that connects to the Western Express in Utah, and the Southern Tier (another cross-country route) in southern Arizona, which ends in San Diego.

It's easier to understand by seeing it. The various routes can be found at Adventure Cycling's website. Basically, wherever I go, I'll stay on one of those little blue lines.