Coast to coast: traveling solo across America by bicycle

Written by Kari Sundberg, Eagle Editor

Note: Zach Olson is a cousin of mine on my mom’s side. I thought you could all use a little break from the COVID news and hear about Zach’s amazing adventure he’s currently on. With an end goal of September 11th, a follow-up story will happen later, updating you on the last half of the great journey.

“You just get yourself into the routine and you zone out,” said Zach, when describing what it’s like to bike 80-90-100 miles a day…

My cousin Zach started his coast to coast journey across America on July 11th. One might assume he had months and months of planning & preparations in place for such a trek, but, nope; he went on a Facebook ad and bought a $400 bike from some guy. There was no advanced training, no endless hours of pedaling and no major packing. Just a trip to Astoria, Oregon, where his 3 month journey would begin.

Let’s back up a minute, though. With Zach being a very active, healthy 26 year old, he does have a bit of experience and adventure under his belt, so an undertaking like this isn’t something too out of the ordinary for him. 

His past adventures include a lot of hiking and backpacking through other countries, including Canada, New Zealand and Peru, where he made the 7-day hike up to Machu Picchu and also climbed Mount Artesonraju in the Peruvian Andes. Though he says those trips were more about having fun and hanging out while this venture is the first one where he’s really pushing himself and making it all about that.

Zach works for a company called Madi Corp, based out of Boston. It’s basically a temp work service where they do contracts to help other companies, whether it’s union strikes or labor shortages. One contract might have him building lawn mowers for John Deere on an assembly line, the next might take him states away working in a sand mine. “I enjoy my job because I can be doing anything, traveling all over the US. They just need bodies in that spot,” he explains. Once a contract is finished, Zach can head home and take as much time as he wants before jumping back into job in another city. The time off allows him to chase adventures such as the one he’s currently one.

Originally, setting out on the TransAmerica Trail wasn’t his plan. It was going to be another backpacking trip through Southeast Asia and Japan, but then COVID hit. “I had to find something to do in the USA,” he casually threw out. “That’s when I found the TransAmerican Trail.”

Some guy was selling a Fuji 2.0 touring bike on a Facebook ad and Zach was locked in. He hit up YouTube videos to see what he’d need for gear and that was basically all there was to it! He laughed and said his training began on day 1 of the trail.

As mentioned, he set out on July 11th from Astoria, Oregon, about half-hour drive from Portland. With no friends along with him and minimal gear in tow, Zach’s end-goal of around September 11th seems achievable.

As far as his gear, some cyclists have made the comment that he’s packed pretty light compared to everyone else, but he feels it’s enough. There’s a pair of saddle bags on the back. One holds his clothing, which only consists of an extra set of biking clothes and one set of sleeping clothes, along with personal hygiene items. The other bag holds his tools in case something goes wrong. In addition to his tent, sleeping bag and sleeping mat, he’s got a gallon jug of water sitting on top, with everything held down by bungee cords. (He also has a sweatshirt that he uses for a pillow and a pair of socks to keep the sun blisters off his feet.) “The blisters are real,” he explained. “I found that out while going through Hells Canyon in Oregon, where it was about 105 degrees and pure torture.”

The TransAmerica Trail goes through 10 states; Zach has went through 8 so far: Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri and Illinois. He just has Kentucky, and Virginia left, where he’ll end the journey in Yorktown, VA, hopefully making his goal of exactly 60 days of cycling across America. He said he’ll kick himself if it takes even 61 days. (The world record is an unbelievable 16 days where one guy did the trail unsupported, by himself, sleeping only 2-3 hours a day. There’s an online blog about it, too.)

As far as mileage for Zach, well, when he first started, it was an impressive 40-50 miles of biking a day, which he considers his initial training. Now, it’s a minimum of 70 miles, with some days even logging in at over 100 miles. 

It’s hard to even fathom, isn’t it? But Zach says he feels great and could honestly keep going; you just get in tremendous shape from it all.

A typical day on the trail starts early. The only food he carries with him are Cliff Bars and Trail Mix – sometimes the occasional fruit or snack. But he only eats two meals a day. Breakfast before he starts and supper wherever he finishes; lunches are just snacks as he goes. The trail keeps cyclists away from big cities, going through a lot of smaller towns. Zach hits up the restaurants and cafes for his two meals, with his experiences in them being all friendly. He said it happens a lot where his meals and/or a cold beer has been paid for, as folks are used to seeing a lot of cyclists come through. Those kind gestures mean a lot; especially when you’re essentially alone. 

It’s unbelievable, but so far on the trail, Zach hasn’t ran into any bad weather or big wildlife, either. Not even through Yellowstone! The only real hiccup along the way was on day 1 when he got a flat tire 50 miles in.

He says the first month was full of amazing scenery, the Rockies and Grand Teton National Park being the most beautiful. 

Majority of the trail is paved, about 90% of it. And it typically follows the side of older two-lane highways, but some spots have had very high elevation, which is to be expected, especially in Oregon and Wyoming. On his 30th day, he was in Colorado at 10,000 feet. He described what it was like. “It’s so steep for so long. You just have to walk your bike up. But one of the best feelings in the world is when you climb up that mountain and you see the sign that shows a descent for the next four miles. You know you’re flying when you don’t even have to pedal.” (Sidenote: Now seems like a good time to mention that Zach hasn’t sustained any falls from his bike!) 

Kansas was a nice, flat break in the trip, but Missouri had him climbing again as he made his way into the Appalachians. 

In all of his days out there, so far there’s only been 1 day off and that was about 10 days into the trip. Zach was just leaving Hells Canyon, Oregon. It was hot and he was hurtin’. There was a hostel that had a mattress, showers, laundry and AC; it was the perfect place to rest and relax, so he took it. 

Most nights are spent in his tent, but the trip does allow for an occasional stay at a hotel or a hostel. Zach uses an app that helps cyclists find free or discounted spots to camp or stay. Some of the places have included old churches that have been turned into hostels for cyclists along the trail. There’s also an app he uses where cyclists host other cyclists, opening their home up for a night’s stay. So far, he’s taken advantage of that twice, enjoying one night of music and visiting with a family who lives pretty simple and old-school.

A memorable night of camping happened back in Colorado. Zach met a couple cycling from South America to Washington, D.C. The group camped near some hot springs in an old hut that used to be a bath house in the 1850’s. “It was quiet and dark; we just chilled in the hot springs and snuck over to this hut and threw our sleeping bags in. We got up at 5am and got out of there before anyone even noticed,” he shared.

These memories made along the trail are what Zach lives for. Actually when this is over, he said he’ll probably never touch another bike and be on to the next adventure, which he hopes is a sail/row boat adventure along the coast from Seattle to Anchorage or kayaking the Colorado River. 

For now, though, he needs to focus on the last leg of THIS trip, which we’ll be sharing more of in mid-September. Stay tuned and we wish Zach all the best as his journey nears the end!