Day 13: Mother's Day

It's 11:30 and I am already 2/3 my way to camp. I just stopped to get some food and was graced with WiFi as well, so I figured I'd drop a post on here to talk about my mom as it's Mother's Day.

It's been a few years since I've been able to see my mom for Mother's Day, so I obviously wish I could be there to spend the day with her. On the flip side, I did get to talk to her on the phone while I was panting up a few hills this morning. She's so supportive and kind that she was up early making cupcakes for kids at church to give to their mothers.

I love you, mom and I hope that you have an extra special day. I'm riding hard (and safe) just for you!

Day Something: Life is full of surprises (today was surprise mountains)

It's past my bedtime for a second night in a row, but I just wanted to quickly ask for y'all to send prayers, positive thoughts, or good juju to the team and myself. I don't even know what day today is, but today was an especially difficult day of riding for most, if not all, of us.

If any of y'all have driving through DC, you'll remember how hard it is to navigate. Today was the same, but by bicycle. I remember driving to NY from NC with my mom one year and we hit construction and got lost. After like 30 minutes of driving around, we finally just decided to get on a road heading north and keep driving until we could get back on the highway. That's almost exactly what happened today. There was construction blocking us from getting on a bike path and so a new segment cyclist (Chandler) and I just started circling around until finally plugging it in our phones and taking turn after turn to go north until we found our way back on the map. It took like 2 hours to go 12 miles which is mighty slow on a bike.

After finding a place for lunch when we were back on track, we headed out for the hills of Maryland (which I didn't know existed). Guys and gals, there are some pretty strong climbs up into Maryland. I think I was doing really well with them, though! I was doing well until one of my spokes snapped on my back wheel.. Thanks to my route leader Duncan, we spent like 90 minutes at the last rest stop tearing my wheel apart, putting in a new spoke, true-ing the wheel, and putting it back together. I went from 2nd to last group to very dead last, but I was grateful to be able to ride at all after that and another route leader named Bob bought the team slurpees which was a good pick-me-up.

The last leg was pretty... pretty intense. We had a lot of steep(ish) climbs that got the blood flowing in the quads. At that point in the day, it was like 5:30 and so I'd been in my padded shorts for about 5 hours longer than I'd like to have been. Chaffing is a problem at that point. I spent almost the entire 2 hour last leg (yes, I got into camp at 7:30) standing out of my saddle because I didn't want to rub my butt against anything.

All in all, I've got 3 more days of riding. I was tearing up thinking about this team and how much i wish to be able to stay on my bike. Today just goes to show how little I really should be worried about in life. Stress helps nobody but happiness can cure all. I had a great day where I spent every waking second surrounded by amazing people, 6 or more hours riding my bike, and have countless memories from DC to Glyndon, MD.

Peace and love to everyone out there. Hope you're smiling through whatever stresses you might have this next week.

Day 9: Sorry for not blogging, y'all!

It's been a whirlwind of a few days. From Nags Head NC to now being in Fredericksburg VA, we crossed a state line and had plenty of good ride days! We had a wonderful few days and met some amazing people along the way. I've got a lot of pictures coming your way because I've pretty much had a ride with everyone on our trip in these past few days.

By the time we got to Richmond, I was toasted though! We had to say goodbye to Amy in Richmond which was sad. Luckily, she's not going to be far away from me when I move back to NC in a week. Hopefully I'll be able to go visit her and or have her come to visit me!

I was getting a bit nastalgic today and a few days ago riding into and out of Richmond because of my detour in 2016 with Joe. Leaving Richmond, we criss-crossed with the TransAm and I remember some of the turns I missed in 2016. It was a pleasant few days and I loved seeing one of my best friends, Cory!

Here I am sitting in my hammock under a pavilion in an outdoor center in VA sipping an all day IPA. It's time for what feels like the history lap to Philly where we decided we're having bike prom! I'm stoked for the next few days. DC tomorrow and then rapid fire state lines. Maryland, PA, and NJ in the next week until I'm done!

Tomorrow is a bit of a surprise long day because of some poor math. Our back to back 65 mile days are actually back to back 85+ mile days! Yikes! I'm not sure I'm gonna post many more blogs until the end of the trip. It's so hard to write them because every hour/minute I spend on my phone is one less hour/minute where I could be out exploring with some smelly cyclists.

For example: Today, Jeff and I got to Fredericksburg and went a few miles downtown to check out some places he stayed at when he was in a bike/car accident a few years ago. After that, we went to a local coffee shop that two people on the street recommended. The shop has their own coffee farm they get their beans from in South America. It was very good and naturally sweet which was refreshing because it was hot outside. They even gave us half off because we talked about out trip and hung out with them for a while. Next we went to a brewery and talked to the bartenders for a while about fannie packs, our trip, and everything in between. I got a freshly canned beer for the road because I thought it was pretty unique. I had some pretty amazing beer at the bar, even though their most popular gose beer wasn't available.. The last thing we did tonight was visit a cafe (where we might go back for breakfast in the morning) and I opted to not try their food challenge. In my defense it was 6 pancakes, some bacon, and two eggs in 15 minutes. I think I could have demolished it, but I didn't want to eat the food that fast and not enjoy it.  The burger I ate was a good savorable food!

I love y'all for all the support and for following along. Thanks for the prayers and encouragement!

Day 4: Sunny with a chance of tailwinds

Just a review of all the things happening on my trip because I finally got to a coffee shop to snag some WiFi with my laptop... I will also add all of my photos to my biking facebook page


Yesterday on Okracoke was wonderful. With it only being a 21 mile day, it felt like a rest day for us. We ventured around and got some delicious food. I started with a fried mahi mahi taco with some homemade veggie slaw and tortilla among other ingredients like avocados. It was delicious and i devoured it too fast, but I couldn't help myself. After that, we walked around the town and it was such a quaint little beach town. A local guy suggested the coffee drink I should get (he dubbed it a "cocoa-mocha-nut" because it was a chocolate and coconut mocha).


Later on, we went to dinner because it was a cyclist named Rob's birthday! We were treated to free dinner at the best restaurant on the island where I stuck to the fish theme. Funny enough, our waiter was the guy who suggested the cocoa-mocha-nut to me earlier in the day, so I trusted his dinner choice. It ended up being a fresh mackerel (i think) with jasmine rice and a side of vegetables. Most people got the shrimp, so I was the only one who actually got fish and they gave me SO MUCH! I got three pieces of the fresh fish piled up high on my plate.


After dinner was a good time for setting up our tents and making our way down to watch the sunset OVER THE OCEAN on the EAST COAST! It was a pretty cool experience and nice to just sit around with some awesome people to watch the sunset. We got to bed pretty early, but boy was it humid and dew-y the next morning. Our tents got pretty wet overnight.


This morning we woke up early to the sound of a few roosters at 4:30am, so everyone seemed to toss and turn a bit until like 5-5:30. I got myself ready pretty early with my fellow caboose crew members, so we left around 7ish to head to a coffee shop where we met an adorable begging dog named Lincoln (but we called him Carlos). After a quick pep in our step, we pedaled across the island to the ferry towards Hatteras. It was like 14 miles with a tailwind on a very straight and non-busy road, so we even had time to stop and see the "wild" ponies. I quote wild because they have corralled them into a cage due to the danger having them wild with automobiles. Not very wild if you ask me to see ponies in a fenced in area. I see that when I'm at my parents house! But we had the time and were MOVING FAST towards the ferry. So fast that we actually were speeding (28 in a 25mph zone)!


The ferry ride was like a rest stop because we were off bikes for about an hour. One docked on the other side, we took off towards Hatteras Lighthouse. It was very cool, though I'm not a history buff. They moved the lighthouse a while back because the island isn't very permanent in one location and the ocean was eroding away at the sand around the lighthouse. If I'm correct, it's one of the tallest/oldest lighthouses in the US. Unfortunately for y'all, I couldn't take a photo from the top because we weren't allowed up in our bike shoes that had cleats on the bottom. I was thankful because it was way too high up for my liking.


After the lighthouse, we tried going to apparently the most popular bakery in the outer banks or at least in the area. Little did we know they closed at 11 and we rolled exactly at that time. By the time we locked our bikes and walked up the stairs it was 11:02 and they closed and locked the doors on us. It was such a shame, but we didn't argue and just turned around to keep riding. A few miles down the road was our first official rest stop where I picked up some dinner supplies as well as fruit and coconut water for lunch. Leaving the rest stop, we were a (wo-)man down because Amy rode with another cyclist. Jeff and I didn't skip a beat though. We crushed the next 33 miles or so in an hour and a half even through cars kicking sand into our faces/mouths, trucks passing recklessly (enough to get pulled over by the cops), and people honking at us while making obscene gestures. It wouldn't be a bike trip if I didn't say this: Give cyclists 3 feet on the road. If you can't give three feet, slow down and wait until you can. If they notice you are stuck behind them, they try their best to get somewhere where you can pass. Be patient because it's not worth running a cyclist off the road or worse, hitting them.

Last leg of the day was only 14 miles and roads weren't bad at all. Took us no time to get to the YMCA where we are camping out back. I cleaned some sand off my bike and got a shower. Now I sit at this coffee shop where the caboose crew will be meeting me soon enough for dinner because Amy is vegan and they have vegan burgers here. I'm sure it will be good, but this strawberry, mango, and banana smoothie with almond milk was exactly what I needed after a hot day.

Time to post these pictures, but tomorrow we are back in a church (I think). If weather and wind is as favorable as it has been these past few days, I'll get to camp fairly early and get a nap in my hammock. I've been itching to lay in it but haven't had a place to set it up.

Thanks for all the continued prayer and support. If you haven't donated and would like to, I would prefer you donate to my friend Jeff's ride. He is going from Florida to Maine, Maine to Seattle, Seattle to San Diego, and San Diego back to Florida. It's a 6 month effort on his end and he has been biking with his gear all on his bike. This kid is busting his tail to keep up with me and deserves every bit of donations possible.
Here are his cyclist pages if you don't believe me or want to donate:

Atlantic Coast (100% fundraising already complete!)
Northern Tier (donate here to get him to 100%)

Pacific Coast (donate here to get him to 100%)

Southern Tier (donate here to get him to 100%)

For those who want to see all my pictures from the trip, I'm loading them here:
Zach's Biking Facebook Page

Day 3: Easy ride to the ferry

Today was a light day. Only 21 miles, so I wore my least favorite pair of bike shorts. Come to find out they have a hole on my left butt cheek. Glad my behind found a way to get a little sunlight.. We rolled out at 8 and got to the ferry with about an hour to spare. After riding, we spent 23 miles going out to okracoke on a ferry.

We changed into real people clothes at camp and then took off (by foot) to walk around the island. I got some fresh mahi mahi fish tacos and Old Bay seasoned fries. Now we're just walking around and enjoying life.

Tomorrow is an 81 miles day with lots of options for side adventures. I think caboose crew is going to go up Hatteras lighthouse which is tallest in the US (I think). Pictures to come, hopefully.

Day 2: The ride to the outer banks

I typed out a long post, but I don't really have service so somehow I lost it before saving it. Here goes nothing for a second time typing this out. Today was a good day of riding. It was a long day of 81 miles, too. That's way more than I've spent on my bike in the last 2 years! It hurt a bit on the tushy, but I made it through the day with a smile.

The day started with me feeling a bit rushed because I'm not used to being up that early and I'm certainly not accustomed to trips getting up this early. I got breakfast with the "oatmeal club" and had oatmeal with some raisins, walnuts, and honey. I forgot to take a picture of it to post here, but it was delicious and gave me the energy to go the first leg of today.

When I finally got on the road at 8am with the newly founded Atlantic Coast "Caboose Crew", we actually didn't head towards the first rest stop 26 miles away. We went to a friend's house of a cyclist named Amy that was roughly 20 miles away and just barely off route with an extra two miles of riding to get there. We sat on her back patio, pet her affectionate dog, and ate some oranges to get the energy to get back and crush out the last part of the first leg. I pulled (meaning I rode in the front and set the pace) the past 7-8 miles of the first leg. Maybe it was the oranges, but I'd give credit to the dog for how fast I rode. Jeff and Amy (other members of the Caboose Crew) told me that I definitely upped their pace from earlier in the day, but they're strong riders so they were able to keep up!

The first rest stop was right next to a miniature golf course so some cyclists could settle a competition from yesterday where the route leader beat a cyclist in a game. This time the cyclist won! The caboose crew didn't really have enough time to play a game because we were easily the last to get to the first stop because of our detour. We got some snacks in us and got back out on the road. Another rough start to a leg because our body was still in rest stop mode, but we quickly shook it off to catch up to the true captain of the Caboose Crew, Dave. He's the rider I was when I did these tours last. Blasts music and likes to go just a slow pace to enjoy all of the journey. It is a bike tour right? We road with him for 20 of the 31 miles on the second leg until the last mile or two where I kicked it up a notch to power up a truly massive bridge and then make it to the gas station for the last rest stop of the day.

We ate a few snacks there and hung out for a while before heading back to our last 17 miles of coastal riding. It was nice outside but the wind had gotten pretty aggressive. With the turns, we had some as a slight tailwind and some as a slight headwind, but mostly it was a crosswind. It was a gnarly last 17, but we got to camp by 4.

The church was providing a good ole southern dinner at 6:30, so that gave us enough time to have a big $2 cup of ice cream for a snack. We we're in a place that calls itself "Down South" so we got a full on fried chicken dinner. Both the ice cream and dinner were incredible. The team got to bond a little and I even got to pet a neighbors dog as I was getting ready to brush my teeth for the night.

Tomorrow is a 21 mile ride and a 2 hour and 15 minute ferry to okracoke. At the pace I've been going, I might be on a bike half as long as I'm on a boat tomorrow.

Sorry for not posting pictures but I don't have wifi to add them using my laptop. I'll hopefully have time and wifi tomorrow when we get to okracoke.

Ride Day #1

Going from what I call my hometown in Wilmington, NC to Jacksonville, NC was such a weirdly pleasant ride. I made it 64 miles in just under 4 hours. That's because we were on some major and busy roads where cars were flying past me. So far, I was the third person to camp because I was one of the only people who didn't get lost :)

I took a lot of photos today because we had a beautiful scenic route through north topsail. It was an awesome ride with a little tailwind as well. The only thing I had an issue with (and it's a lesson I will never learn) is to not sing and bike at the same time. At like 20mph I had a beetle or some sort of massive bug flight straight into my mouth while I was smiling and singing with my guy Charlie Puth. It was so big I think it survived inside my mouth and I had to spit it back out. I spit it back out into the road, so thank goodness I didn't have anyone following behind me. Still it couldn't complain about today, so enjoy all the pictures I took!