How Can I Be Riding 5,700 Miles?

I have had some people ask questions about how I get 5,700 miles out of what appears to be a 3,500-mile trip. Good Question! My family would say it is because I am too curious about exploring communities that are new to me. Just yesterday I found myself a little turned around, near the Canadian Border, watching kids play, avoiding dogs, and taking in the differences from my own hometown. Note the breadcrumbs clustered together in the upper left corner of the map. So the first answer may seem obvious: I am not flying in an airplane. My route is anything but straight. The purpose of this trip is not to get from point A to point B as fast as possible. The second answer is similar; I am not in a car driving on major highways. This is not a trip planned for efficiency, but for discovery. My route is a meandering zig-zag on country roads.  Also note the center breadcrumbs of the map where I rode into the mountainside to explore for the night and then doubled back the next day before heading south.  This type of riding puts on extra miles.  It is all part of the journey.

A lot of people have asked me to post my exact route on the blog, but I tell you that would be difficult. I tried highlighting my route on a road atlas for family members to follow. Some of the roads aren’t even on the map! So sorry, my posted route looks vague.

What I will share is that I am using some awesome maps from Adventure Cycling. If you are planning a trip like this I highly recommend them. They have a network of maps that cover our nation. I had to buy 17 different maps to do what I wanted to do, but it allowed me to customize my trip. When it came to budgeting my time and money I had to tally up the miles. These maps have the mileage covered listed right on the front. All I had to do was total them all up, make adjustments for side trips and miles covered in Alaska, and that is how I got my total. The Alaska Marine Highway miles were never a part of the calculation.  I also subtracted the miles I did not ride after my flat outside of Soldotna, the lift I had through the Whittier tunnel, and the missed miles riding in Juneau and Ketchikan.  I guess the short answer to the question of how I figured my miles would be a calculator!

Thank you to all the people that are interested in this, and I hope my experience is helping you plan your own trip. Don’t be afraid of a long distance trek on curvy back roads that takes twice as long as you imagined. I have said before that I am not just riding a bike across America.  That has been done before.  I am making a documentary.  I am filming.  It is going to be more like the path of a butterfly than a bullet. Enjoy the process!