In 2010 we rode our bicycles from LA to NYC. In 2011 we went up the largest granite wall in the world with Timmy Oneill and felt real real small and a little bit stupid. In February 2013 we will rent a raft, get dropped off at the start of the Grand Canyon, and will attempt to row 225 miles of the Colorado River for 18-21 days with no prior experience and no guide. Wish us luck…
WE'RE REALLY DOING IT 
man, I’ve been bumming out on a broken ankle for the whole time I have been following you guys… It is really inspiring, what you are doing… and fuck the naysayers who say you can’t do it. I can’t wait until I can ride my bike again, much less walk. I feel like skateboarding really prepares you for challenges like this… I know that people will say that you are not experienced or trained or whatnot, but they don’t know the life of someone who throws themselves down stairs everyday. I know you guys can do it, and I know that there is no way you could stop now, you are probably 3/4 of the way done! You’re really fucking doing it! I really want to do the same as you guys have, to ride across the country. I think it would be an amazing experience that makes for great stories. Keep pedaling!
For months i have looked online in search of a great cross country bike ride, not finding much help, i want to thank you guys for giving us these stories and photographs..a few months ago i did my first cross country road trip (car) from LA to SF and across the midwest until we reach kansas where we finished our trip to miami florida. I had one of the best times in my life. I feel like anything that is possible is hard work and anything thats ‘impossible’ takes alot of fuck it and just go for it. thank you Jeff and Heath for the inspiration… I hope one day i can do a bike ride across our country, and i want to be the same ‘idiot’ with no brains to say fuck it grab a bike and ride into the country where there is no turning back. ride on and stay gold!
Man, I just ran a marathon and that really changed it up for me from skating. Really nice to mix it up and try something else.
Hell yes! Congrats guys… you really did it!
In about three weeks, me and one other friend will be traveling by greyhound bus from LA to New Orleans. We will be stopping in mostly cities (some small towns) and going to skate parks. We are going to skate from the bus stations to the skate parks and we will be camping every night. We’ve been told about how much the greyhound busses suck and how sketchy they are, but we want to see if we can do it. If you think this is sounds like enough of a struggle, then please contact me about giving us this website.
If you promise to do the blog proud and tell us all the details, good and bad, we’d love to follow along. Let me know.
Jeff
Well did you have a laptop to update it? I have an iphone.. which I think would work fine for doing updates. I think that my friend Tyler and I would do a good job with it. Just email me.. harrymoritz@hotmail.com
Ya, we did everything with a laptop, but it’s not necessary if you aren’t bringing a camera. When do you guys set off?
I did the crosscountry trek in 1990 and it sucked so bad. Looking back it brings a smile to my face. We did meet some great people that fed us and let us sleep and bathe in their house. To this day I try to be nice to people becuase of all the nice people I met. Congrats on your accomplishment.
We both laughed out loud at the “it sucked so bad” part.
If you guys find the time, I would love to see exactly what you carried on your bikes for the trip. I gotta start taking some notes.
What exactly do you wan to know?
Like… how much photo gear did you bring? How much did the bikes weigh? How many changes of clothes did you bring? Is there something you brought that you wish you didn’t, or something that you wish you had brought?
I brought 1 canon body and two lenses. A 50 and a 24-70 (sent back the 24-70). I brought a super 8 camera and film. I brought a very small tripod and a thing called a magic arm with a super clamp so i could fasten the camera to the bike ( didn’t work, too shaky). Heath carried a mac book pro, I carried hard drives and other misc camera shit..
I’m not sure how much the bikes weighed because the scale we tried to weigh them on was all over the place, but our best guess was somewhere between 55-70 lbs. That’s with no water.
Changes of clothes? I only brought changes of t-shirts and socks, everything else i had just had one of. (shorts, pants, non cycling shoes, flannel, long underwear, jacket.)
I would have packed pretty much the same, but ditch the food, heavy camera stuff, and a few little things. I might have gone without the cooking gear as well. We didn’t use it that much, and fuel is heavy. I wish I had a better pump, thorn resistant tubes, better tires. I would just fork out for the best tires available. Also, if you’re going to ride in the cold, get good gloves and shoe covers.
Biggest advice? If you’re going to ride through areas with little water, then chew gum. It keeps your mouth from drying out so you don’t have to constantly drink water. I would say that our issue with so many flats might be due to the fact that we packed all of our weight on the back rack. I would get the best tires you can get and thorn resistant tubes, they’re heavier, but totally worth it. If you have presta valves on your tubes, get an adapter so you can fill your tires at gas stations, the hand pumps put a lot of pressure on the tube stems and rip them.
I’m curious, did this trip have much an effect on how you view cycling in general? I know you weren’t avid cyclists going in, and thats what I think is so awesome, but what are your attitudes towards it now? Could you see yourself doing another long trek or is it a sort of, one time thing?
PS I still come back to this site often for inspiration, just about my life in general, so know that what you guys did definitely had an effect on someone.
I usually don’t post in Blogs but your blog forced me to, amazing work.. beautiful …
Tedd, agree………..the trip and updates had inspiring effect on me too. Hope the newbies do it justice with the same candor.
hey harry and keith.
rad… this is rad.
harry put evvvvverything you write and wrote in yer lil notebook on here.
keith that ride sounds like quite the adventure. i was excited to finally read about it. was biking from amsterdam to france awaiting this and yer emerica part. hyped on both.
Lads! Just came across your epic adventure this avo, on Day 353 of a little tour of my own (also rolling with a mate). We’ve played golf every day this year since 1 Jan around the world, through 13 countries (including the US) and finish up on 31 Dec. (Not pro’s or aspiring pro’s – just enjoy fresh air and good company. And a challenge). Have met a bunch of interesting people and had amazing experiences. Not to mention a few fucking challenging days. As it seems you have.
Anyway boys, just thought I’d congratulate you – always love hearing about interesting shit other nutters are up to. Look forward to reading about the next project you fullas put together. And there’s an open invitation to party down in Wellington, New Zealand if you ever make it down here.
peace, JP
Jeff, Hello I just found your blog last night. I am riding from SD to Daytona with my best friend on 2.20.11. We are riding the Southern Route bc Jimmy has had a spinal cord injury, and he doesn’t climb too well. If there was one thing you could tell me about your ride what would it be? We are also doing it with support, and we are trying to raise money for Spinal Cord Research. Thanks for posting the blog. Cory
Rad. Planning my oceanside to miami trip. Going solo and looking into all the other idiots who have done this kind of trip. Hoping to leave Apr. 1. I grew old(still haven’t grown up)with you guys in a way, not as good but tried just as hard and hurt just as much. Heath: thx for Barbarians at the Gate. Shane
Not that anyone asked…BUT for years I have longed for an adventure…something bigger than myself. I am finally reaching the age that I can do it. I also finally found a bro who shares the same sense of adventure. My buddy is in Americorps right now, but in 11 months we will depart. I am training for the Boston marathon, now…then I begin bike training. Our trip will take us from Boston to florida to California. I am taking a semester off. This is less of a bike trip and more of an adventure with bikes being our transportation. I posted “We should bike to california this summer.” on his wall… he replied “Want to come slackline and discuss?” Then, I decided to search for some biking blogs and came across this one…I fell in love with it. From the Smiths t-shirt…to the similar experience with deciding to bike…the absolute bro-hood…This has been a wonderful blog…It gets me pumped for our trip! Thanks!
Taylor Thibodeau
After a knee injury back in 05 i gave up skateboarding and started pursuing new hobbies…
Now here i am more than a decade later searching random biking trips minding my own business…
And just like back in the 90s i ran into the same conclusion with most of my ambitions in skating
KIRCHART ALREADY DID IT
If i tried to bike across america it would just look sloppy and i would bail halfway through…
WELL, I was checking this site out. I’m a huge fan of both of you guys. I live in pennsylvania and was laughing the whole time you were talking about it being so hilly.
Where exactly were you in those photos of the pipelines? Was it anywhere near a place called Brookville, Punxsutawney or the Clarion area?
I skate about every other day, but I commute to college and work on my fixed gear bike… put about 30 miles in each week. I just went on a little 20 mile bike ride yesterday after i went skating as a matter of fact!
thanks for puttin down, guys.
p.s.-nice to see you’re running a brooks saddle. You’ll never buy another seat again. I’ve only got about 80 miles on mine. so comfy
Wow!
This is exactly what I was looking for. I’m looking to chart my own experience for my solo ride this summer, and drawing on your experience will be fantastic!
Check me out at http://www.interpopulus.com, and let me know what you think!
Why are all the posts gone? Did you really quit it?
all fixed
THANK YOU!
I quit my office job of 6+ years 2 months ago to follow the adventurous itch. My job happen to be pretty awesome, but I needed to go and do something, anything. On a whim, I moved from Brooklyn to SW Oregon to work on an isolated mountain in a dense forest with NPS for a month.
I’m now crashing on my friend’s couch in the SF wondering what’s next. I had a small doubt creeping, whispering that I’m living like a fool and I should just go back to NYC and work again. After stumbling on your blog, I’m re-inspired to keep following the foolishness in me. You rock.
Fuck yes. Thanks for commenting. Rad story.
guys i can’t imagine riding across the country on those saddles you guys have. i have the same sort of saddle on an old raleigh three speed that i ride in and out of town 1 or 2 times a week and it takes a considerable amount of time to break that thing in to where it it’s uncomfortable. hell i’m still breaking it in and i welcome the rain to soften up the leather so it molds to my ass quicker. you guys must’ve had a real rough go at it with those things
Just a random question, why is heath’s tooth gold?
Hey Jeff. I hate being another dude that just posts a link, but I saw this the other day and thought of you. Mostly the lava you were talking about. http://vimeo.com/35396305 So how you guys doing? Any new plans brewing?
So did you like it? I’m sure you’ve probably already seen it..
Wow Heath you are my skateboarding legend and hero and now this climbing adventure…wow! You are truly an extremist, what’s next for you MR Man?
Read a bunch of your posts. My brother a huge skate boarding fan and also a photographer and recommended me to check out your site for inspiration. I am starting a blog (Ive been traveling for over 2 and a half years now) to show some of my stories of living in Costa Rica as well as recounting some of the cool stuff I have been able to do like snorkeling, surfing, atv riding, paddle boarding, and soon (next month) working at a sloth sanctuary. I love the idea of never saying no to a cool adventure and I think your site is the epitome of just doing it. Just pick up your shit and go…Its really not that complicated. I hate when people say “your so lucky you can do this.” Its like “why are you banned from airlines? Gluten intolerant and alergic to anything and everything, do your drinking habits drain your bank account? You own a car and you haven’t left the town you were born in your entire life, I think you would start to seizure if you ever left the county none the less the state!” Thanks for telling a story, unfiltered, and ridiculously funny! If you get a a chance follow my blog at http://www.thewondersofwandering.com Thanks for the stories and the laughs! -Daniella
Thanks a lot Daniella. You obviously get it.
hey guys a buddy of mine and i took a trip this april/may from upstate nt to morgantown, wv. and it was amazin. pretty shitty weather and winds at some points but worth it. wo covered about 650 miles in 13 days. it took longer cuz of the gnarly mountain and rain but we prevailed and we are doing it again next summer but probably heading towards ohio where its flatter. just wanted to say you guys know where its at!!!! keep on truckin!!