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Biking Across America
Travel Blog
Starting on June 1st 2024, I'm embarking on a bike trip from Boston to San Francisco. My plan is to ride roughly 40 miles per day, to cover around 4,000 miles and visit a bunch of friends and relatives along the way. Several people will ride portions of the route with me and in Albany I'll be joined by Mark Greenberg for the remainder of the trip. I've wanted to make this ride since I was 20 years old working in a bike shop in Cambridge and later working as a bike messenger in Boston. Now I'm 62 and I retired so that I could make this ride before my body gives out :-)
Day #71: Temporary break in the trip
I’m sorry for the lack of updates... once I got to Newcastle, WY, it turns out I had a third bout of bladder infection and the symptoms...
chrisbentley349
Aug 11, 20241 min read
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5 comments
Day #70: Custer, SD to Newcastle, WY (36 miles)
Google showed that I would climb 1,400 feet today, but descend 2,500 feet. I didn't fully grasp that all the climbing was in the first...
chrisbentley349
Aug 9, 20241 min read
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2 comments
Day #69: Keystone to Custer, South Dakota (28 miles)
It was a glorious day... a little cool, so I had my long pants, sweater and wind breaker on for parts of the ride, but the sun came out...
chrisbentley349
Aug 8, 20241 min read
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2 comments
Day #68: Rest Day in Keystone
Well, it was sort of a "rest" day... I left the saddle bags in the motel room and rode my pared-down bike the 850 feet up to Mount...
chrisbentley349
Aug 7, 20241 min read
55 views
2 comments
Day #67: Rapid City to Keystone, South Dakota (16 miles)
What a miracle a good night's sleep is! At the end yesterday's ride I felt broken, but after 8 hours of rest I felt ready to get on the...
chrisbentley349
Aug 6, 20241 min read
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2 comments
Day #66: Interior to Rapid City, South Dakota (73 miles)
If yesterday was magic, today was a trial by ordeal... I think it was the hardest ride of my trip, because it was so long and the...
chrisbentley349
Aug 5, 20242 min read
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2 comments
Day #65: Kadoka to Interior, South Dakota (34 miles)
Today was a magical day for several reasons... In the first place, the blast furnace heat from yesterday was gone at least at the start...
chrisbentley349
Aug 5, 20242 min read
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2 comments
Day #64: Murdo to Kadoka, South Dakota (43 miles)
Not too long a ride today... if the wind picks up it will be against me... but my big concern is the heat... it's supposed to hit 104...
chrisbentley349
Aug 3, 20241 min read
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2 comments
Day #63: Presho to Murdo, South Dakota (33 miles)
The temperature was forecast to hit 100 degrees, with a bit of a headwind as well, so I wanted to get out early to beat both the wind and...
chrisbentley349
Aug 2, 20241 min read
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2 comments
Day #62: Oacoma to Presho, South Dakota (40 miles)
Nice conversations all day... with a woman in her pickup truck, with a dad doing a road trip with his extended family, with a truck...
chrisbentley349
Aug 1, 20241 min read
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2 comments
Day #61: Kimball to Oacoma, South Dakota (26 miles)
Originally this was going to be another long day, but when I told Google that I was searching as a car, it found a much shorter route......
chrisbentley349
Jul 31, 20241 min read
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2 comments
Day #60: Mitchell to Kimball, South Dakota (49 miles)
No math today, but I should mention I loved Trev's comment on the shortest path. If the paths have width of course he's right, since...
chrisbentley349
Jul 30, 20241 min read
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3 comments
Day #59: Madison to Mitchell, South Dakota (70 miles)
So, Fengmei and Zoë were of course right about yesterday's math puzzle: path A and B are the same length. One way to see this is to...
chrisbentley349
Jul 29, 20241 min read
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3 comments
Day #58: Brookings to Madison, South Dakota (44 miles)
Small math question: which of the two paths from Start to End is shorter? (Hint: it's a trick question :-) If you peek down to the...
chrisbentley349
Jul 28, 20241 min read
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4 comments
Day #57: Marshall to Brookings, South Dakota (60 miles)
Today was long... according to the forecast, the wind was 10-18 mph gusting to 30, hot and humid. On the plus side I figured out...
chrisbentley349
Jul 27, 20241 min read
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2 comments
Day #56: Morton to Marshall (57 miles)
The day was supposed to be hotter than the previous few days ... hitting a high of 90 degrees, so I started around 6:15am. The sky was...
chrisbentley349
Jul 26, 20241 min read
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2 comments
Day #55: Hutchinson to Morton (57 miles)
Today was a beautiful day for biking: cool with hazy blue skies, but by the end it was tough, fighting a northerly wind whenever the path...
chrisbentley349
Jul 25, 20241 min read
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3 comments
Day #54: Waconia to Hutchinson (32 miles)
Another short ride and shorter blog update... I had breakfast at McDonalds and met another cyclist who had ridden across the US several...
chrisbentley349
Jul 24, 20241 min read
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2 comments
Day #53: Minneapolis to Waconia (36 miles)
The day started overcast and cool with a few drops of rain. It was a good day to get back in the saddle. A short ride and a short blog...
chrisbentley349
Jul 23, 20241 min read
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2 comments
Day #52: Third Rest Day in Minneapolis
The W hotel in Minneapolis is in the Foshay building, which is a classic 30 storey skyscraper build in 1928. It has an open air viewing...
chrisbentley349
Jul 22, 20242 min read
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2 comments
Day #51: Second Rest Day in Minneapolis
I intended to head West from Minneapolis today, but I had a hard night, so I changed my plans and decided to stay in downtown Minneapolis...
chrisbentley349
Jul 21, 20241 min read
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2 comments
Day #50: Rest Day in Minneapolis
Oh my goodness, seeing family is wonderful! Last night we had a lovely dinner with Joe's parents and lots of the kids' friends and...
chrisbentley349
Jul 20, 20241 min read
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2 comments
Day #49: Hastings to Minneapolis (51 miles)
Today's ride followed a bunch of beautiful bike paths along the Mississippi and then through Saint Paul and Minneapolis, but it was also...
chrisbentley349
Jul 20, 20241 min read
37 views
1 comment
Day #48: Wabasha to Hastings (56 miles)
Today was gorgeous from start to finish: on the cool side all day and hardly any headwind, whew! Google wanted me to climb two steep...
chrisbentley349
Jul 18, 20241 min read
66 views
3 comments
Day #47: Winona to Wabasha (45 miles)
The Google elevation diagram warned me that there was going to be a steep climb mid- way through today's ride: What Google could not...
chrisbentley349
Jul 17, 20241 min read
58 views
3 comments
Day #46: La Crosse to Winona, Minnesota (36 miles)
La Crosse started as a trading post located on flat land in between the many cliffs, known as bluffs, that line the Mississippi on both...
chrisbentley349
Jul 16, 20242 min read
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4 comments
Day #45: Tomah to La Crosse/Onalaska (46 miles)
The day started off in a dense fog... But it soon burned off and gave way to a lovely morning... I went grocery shopping last night, so I...
chrisbentley349
Jul 15, 20241 min read
56 views
3 comments
Day #44: Wisconsin Dells to Tomah (61 miles)
I was planning to start at 5am, but this is what was happening at that time: So, I watched a YouTube video about the making of Monty...
chrisbentley349
Jul 14, 20241 min read
65 views
2 comments
Day #43: Beaver Dam to Wisconsin Dells (60 miles)
Today's ride was longer than I've done for a while and the forecast said it would get hot, so I started at 6am, a little after sunrise:...
chrisbentley349
Jul 13, 20241 min read
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1 comment
Day #42: Fond du Lac to Beaver Dam (33 miles)
Back in the saddle and heading to Minneapolis, Minnesota, where my cousin Katie and her family live, and also where Oliver and Claire...
chrisbentley349
Jul 12, 20241 min read
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3 comments
Day #41: Second Rest Day in Fond du Lac
We had another restful day in Fond du Lac, hanging out with Jim and Diane and their daughter Kim's family, and getting ready for the next...
chrisbentley349
Jul 11, 20241 min read
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3 comments
Day #40: Rest Day in Fond du Lac
Today I got to visit with my cousin Kim and her husband Adam and their three kids: Lukas, Macie and Levi. What great kids! After lunch,...
chrisbentley349
Jul 10, 20241 min read
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3 comments
Day #39: West Bend to Fond du Lac (30 miles)
My destination today is Fond du Lac, which is where my father was born and grew up and where my aunt and uncle, Jim and Dianne, live...
chrisbentley349
Jul 9, 20241 min read
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2 comments
Day #38: Milwaukee to West Bend (33 miles)
Breakfast of champions :-) Started out a little earlier today, around 7:45am. The first few miles of each ride is a like an overture of...
chrisbentley349
Jul 8, 20241 min read
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2 comments
Day #37: Racine to Milwaukee (34 miles)
In paragraph 18 of The Philosophical Investigations, Wittgenstein says: "Our language can be seen as an ancient city: a maze of little...
chrisbentley349
Jul 7, 20241 min read
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4 comments
Day #36: Lake Bluff, Illinois to Racine, Wisconsin (39 miles)
Another day riding along the Lake Michigan shore. Beautiful, not too hot, with cool breezes coming off the lake. A bonus was that I...
chrisbentley349
Jul 6, 20241 min read
56 views
2 comments
Day #35: Chicago to Lake Bluff (38 miles)
Back in the saddle after two days of emergency rooms and art galleries. The sunrise looked dramatic from John and Ben's apartment:...
chrisbentley349
Jul 5, 20241 min read
86 views
3 comments
Day #34: Second Rest Day in Chicago
On Thursday I was back on my bike finding a bike shop and having lunch with Mark and his wife Ditte. Mark and I have decided to complete...
chrisbentley349
Jul 5, 20241 min read
95 views
2 comments
Day #33: Rest day in Chicago
Ok, I'm a few days behind in blogging, and I'll explain why... it turns out my first rest day in Chicago was a little more exciting than...
chrisbentley349
Jul 5, 20241 min read
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3 comments
Day #32: Porter, Indiana to Chicago, Illinois (53 miles)
Today was a big day because we were going to end in Chicago... I was going to see my cousin, John Millock, and Mark was going to see his...
chrisbentley349
Jul 2, 20241 min read
111 views
5 comments
Day #31: Stevensville to Porter, Indiana (48 miles)
Today was a tale of two halves: the first half of the ride was cool and breezy, blue skies, riding through exclusive neighborhoods close...
chrisbentley349
Jul 1, 20241 min read
65 views
2 comments
Day #30: South Haven to Stevensville (34 miles)
After yesterday's relatively long day, today felt like a walk in the park. We slept in late and had breakfast in the hotel's dining area....
chrisbentley349
Jun 30, 20241 min read
52 views
3 comments
Day #29: Battle Creek to South Haven (62 miles)
Today was a slightly longer day, but the conditions were perfect: a little rainy and overcast, put not drenching. We rode a long time...
chrisbentley349
Jun 30, 20241 min read
54 views
2 comments
Day #28: Jackson to Battle Creek (52 miles)
Another perfect riding day: cool all day with one or two drops of rain, but not more than that. A beautiful sunrise from our hotel room...
chrisbentley349
Jun 28, 20241 min read
69 views
2 comments
Day #27: Whitmore Lake to Jackson (42 miles)
Today was perhaps the most beautiful riding weather of the whole trip! Blue skies, puffy clouds, gentle breezes, not too humid, not too...
chrisbentley349
Jun 27, 20241 min read
62 views
1 comment
Day #26: Rochester Hills to Whitmore Lake (42 miles)
Today was a sweet ride: a little humid, but not too hot, not too cold, not too windy, lots of beautiful bike paths and no chunky gravel...
chrisbentley349
Jun 26, 20241 min read
71 views
2 comments
Day #25: Wallaceburg to Rochester Hills, Michigan (48 miles)
Today we took a ferry from Canada back to the US. The day had multiple phases, and we contended with a little bit of everything: rain...
chrisbentley349
Jun 25, 20242 min read
68 views
2 comments
Day #24: Sarnia to Wallaceburg (38 miles)
Today was the perfect antidote to yesterday's battle with the wind... we had a short ride along the Saint Claire river and a cool day...
chrisbentley349
Jun 24, 20241 min read
78 views
2 comments
Day #23: London, Ontario to Sarnia (58 miles)
Ok, whose idea was it to ride East to West? Everyone knows the prevailing wind in the US and Canada blows from the West towards the...
chrisbentley349
Jun 23, 20242 min read
65 views
2 comments
Day #22: Brantford to London, Ontario (67 miles)
Today was a long ride and the heat dome still hung over the province of Ontario, so we started as early as we could... It felt like we...
chrisbentley349
Jun 22, 20241 min read
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2 comments
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