The Ride
In the summer of 2017 I rode a bicycle across the United States — Seattle to Washington, D.C. — to raise money and awareness for people with disabilities. Nine months earlier, the longest ride I'd ever done was 26 miles.
- Distance3,333 miles
- DatesJune 6 – August 12, 2017
- RouteTransAmerica, Journey of Hope
- Average dayAbout 75 miles
- CauseThe Ability Experience, via Pi Kappa Phi
Why
The Journey of Hope is a philanthropy ride my fraternity, Pi Kappa Phi, has run since 1988. Three routes, roughly a hundred cyclists, more than 12,000 combined miles every summer, and over $500,000 raised annually for people with disabilities. My father stayed involved with the fraternity long after college. He's the reason I knew the ride existed, and the reason I thought it was something a person could actually do.
Getting ready
I started at 266 pounds and finished the training at 198. That took nine months of spin classes at Victory Bicycle Studio, group rides with the Memphis Hightailers, and a lot of miles on the Greenline. The weight came off, but the more useful change was learning to treat the bike as a tool rather than transportation.
Scott joined our spin class with a very basic knowledge of bicycling. He's gone from one-hour classes with just fifteen minutes spent in aerobic zones north of 70% of his max, to recently completing a class that doubled that. Sure that's resulted in weight loss, but it's also taught Scott how to properly use his bike as a tool, an efficiency skill-set that will make this epic cross-country trip far more pleasurable and attainable.
Clark Butcher, owner, Victory Bicycle Studio, Memphis
The route
Sixty-eight days, Seattle to Washington, D.C., with a rest day here and there. In most cities along the way, people came out to meet the team — that turned out to be the actual point of the whole thing.
Seattle · Enumclaw · Yakima · Richland · Walla Walla · Pullman · Spokane · Rathdrum · Sandpoint · Thompson Falls · Missoula · Philipsburg · Butte · Bozeman · West Yellowstone · Jackson · Dubois · Shoshoni · Casper · Wheatland · Cheyenne · Fort Collins · Boulder · Denver · Colorado Springs · Pueblo · Lamar · Garden City · Dodge City · Pratt · Wichita · Emporia · Topeka · Olathe · Sedalia · Columbia · Union · St. Louis · Vandalia · Terre Haute · Bloomington · Indianapolis · Cincinnati · Lexington · Morehead · Huntington · Charleston · Beckley · Blacksburg · Roanoke · Lynchburg · Charlottesville · Front Royal · Falls Church · Washington, D.C.
Photos
Photos from the ride are being dug out of the archive.
Thanks
The ride was supported by Stay Roasted, Victory Bicycle Studio, Donna Scott Productions, Mod Bettie, and Zeekee Interactive — plus everyone who chipped in, put the team up, or turned out to say hello in a parking lot somewhere in Kansas.
In 2019 I was seriously hurt in a training crash, and I'm still working my way back from it. The plan is to ride again in 2027.
