Trans America Twice
I set off from New York on 28th June 2023 and cycled 5,500 km across the US to Los Angeles. The day after arriving, I ran back, covering one ultra marathon a day to arrive back in New York on 4th November 2023. Of course I took the chance and participated in the New York Marathon on the 5th as a cool down ;)
With my challenge, I supported World Bicycle Relief in collecting donations to give children in Africa a perspective with bicycles.
Big Arrival in New York
Trans America Twice diary
October 2023
WEEK 13
It gets really nice in the Appalachian Mountains. Partly I run on bike paths that run on old railroad tracks. It’s always up and down and the autumn is now really colorful. I come to Pennsilvania, the last big state and through Pittsburgh, the last big city before New York. Still 800 kilometers to run.
WEEK 12
In eastern Indiana, things get interesting. Many German immigrants live here. I pass through German Town and the small town of Oldenburg. The street signs are German and English and even in the supermarket the shelves are labeled in German. When I change to Ohio I can stay one night in a barn, which is also a garage and museum. Directly after the big city of Columbus, the Appalachian Mountains begin.
WEEK 11
I take the Katy Trail along the Missouri River on which many cyclists are on the way, all the way into St. Louis. I am a little shocked how neglected some parts of the city are. In a park someone waits for me, which I already knew and invites me to his home and the next day a piece mitläuft. It goes over the Mississippi to Illinoise. I am with 50-60 kilometers per day further well in the plan.
September 2023
WEEK 10
The monotony of the endless cornfields wera on my nerves. The landscape doesn’t change until I reached central Kansas. It becomes hillier and there are trees now. I make long distances. On some days more than 60 kilometers and the people are incredible friendly. Almost every day I am ivited somewhere. The farms are smaller and erverything seems to be more colourful. Markus Weinberg is back and I made the 3000 kilometer mark.
WEEK 9
Hayden Pass is the last of the Rocky Mountains at 3000m. Then I walk along the Kansas River to Pueblo, where a new trailer is waiting for me. This time it is the somewhat older model that had proven itself in Mexico. Eastern Colorado is dried out. Many villages are already abandoned and I slowly get used to the endless monotony of the prairie.
In Scott City I am warmly welcomed and invited to an airshow. A runner accompanies me over 40 kilometers. One night I camp next to a cornfield, when a violent thunderstorm almost destroys my tent.
WEEK 8
The condition of my trailer is getting worse and worse. After Dolores I ordered a set of new wheels, but the material is not really suitable for my needs. Over Lizard Head Pass there is still a paved road, but the 3500m high Ophir Pass is completely gravel with 20-25% steep ramps. At the top of the pass we get caught in a freezing rain and hurry to the western town of Silverton. The next day comes with the 3800m high Cinnemon Pass the king stage. My trailer falls apart and has to be left behind. Until Pueblo I have to carry my luggage in my backpack. To the next town we are 5 days in the wilderness with further 30000m passes until we reach a plateau in Saguache. At the Mineral Hot Springs near Villa Grove we spend one night in a tipi before my father and Martin leave me again.
WEEK 7
In Monument Valley Markus comes again to film my run through the breathtaking landscape. We meet tourists who want to have selfies with me and of course we film the world famous scene from Forrest Gump.
At the end of Monument Valley, my father and Martin Waller arrive to accompany me on the bike through the Rocky Mountains.
August 2023
WEEK 6
On the Las Vegas Strip I walk through the middle of this crazy city, past the casinos and theme parks. My companions turn around after 30 kilometers and I’m alone again in the incredibly hot desert. A wheel bearing of my trailer is broken. I have to push the trailer and can no longer run offroad.
I cross the Colorado River and reach Page, where the trailer can be repaired. The first 1000 kilometers are done.
It is slowly getting a bit cooler and I am looking forward to Monument Valley ahead.
WEEK 4+5
To the start on the running track a group of runners accompanies me, which gradually becomes smaller. The thermometer rises to 34°C – still pleasant for me. I need 3 days to run out of the greater los Angeles area. When I get up after a break, every single muscle hurts, but after 5 days the muscles have gotten used to my daily routine and I run 50 kilometers per day without pain.
Along the planned route several huge forest fires rage. I change the route to avoid the fires and escape in the Mojave Desert along the Interstate in case of emergency. The thermometer rises to 46° C during the day.
July 2023
ARRIVAL IN LA
After Las Vegas I have to adjust the route again. Death Valley is too dangerous at 56°C at the moment. I choose instead a route through the Mojave Desert and even there I reach my limits. The thermometer rises to 46°C during the day and there is no shade anywhere. I have no choice but to start at 3 in the morning and wait for the midday heat at one of the few gas stations. On July 24, Markus Weinberg meets me with his daughter Freya. Markus will accompany me in the next days for filming. On July 25 I reach Santa Monica Pier in Los Angeles and let myself fall into the Pacific for the time being. Some cyclists accompany me to the Fairmont Plaza Hotel in Berverly Hills, where there is an enthusiastic reception for me.
WEEK 3
I’m glad to finally get out of the prairie after the endless cornfields of Nebraska. I change my route to avoid the fierce headwind and promptly make more than 300 km to Fort Collins at the foot of the Rocky Mountains.
The Cameron Pass goes almost 100km up to an altitude of 3000m. Then comes Walton, a Wild West town as one imagines it. After Buffalo Pass I follow a piece of the Tour Devide over Lynx Pass and then down to the spectacular Colorado River. The big challenge from here on is dealing with the heat. During the day the thermometer rises above 40°, and the tendency is rising.
Now just no mistakes! I calculate when I am where and how much water I need. In Utah it gets a bit harder. Through the San Rafael Desert I drive into the canyons of Capitol Reef National Park. Merciless heat alternates with violent storms. Now I am in Cedar City, a stone’s throw from Las Vegas, where it is currently 45° hot.
WEEK 1+2
Through rural areas of Pennsylvania, Ohio and Indiana, I drive south past the Chicago metropolitan area. People are always waiting on the side of the road to offer me cookies and drinks. In Moline, I stop at the home of my friend Chris and his family. There is barbeque and I can wash my clothes. The huge corn and soy fields in Iowa and Nebraska are incredibly monotonous. Dead straight roads and corn as far as the eye can see. Finding vitamin-rich food is not easy. In the restaurants you eat almost exclusively fast food and even some supermarkets do not offer fresh fruits and vegetables. I will probably adjust the route a bit to avoid the permanent headwind. A little further south through Colorado and then directly into the Rocky Mountains.
START
I imagined the start differently: When I get off the plane in NY with a 3 hour delay, my bike is not there. I have no choice but to wait in NY, but I get 2 days no information where my bike could be. Later it turns out that it was forgotten when unloading on a baggage cart. I find it again only after I go to the airport myself on the 3rd day and search with the help of the airline.
Then a short photo shoot at Brooklynbridge and I drive up 5th Avenue, right through Manhattan and nothing like out of the city, over to New Jersey and on to Pensylvania. Here it becomes rural and the hills of the Appalachians provide 3000 meters of altitude per day. The smoke from the forest fires in the north is washed away by heavy thunderstorms and I roll into Ohio, where it slowly becomes flatter.
