Leaving Williamsburg, VA: Thursday May 14

I’ll be riding approximately 65 miles a day. With rest days, I estimate it to be around 4500 miles and close to 80 days.

The Route: 

The route partially follows the same historic route used to settle the transcontinental frontier.

My route keeps me out of large traffic cities and on the lowest density roads available. The four largest cities I’ll pass through have populations of 20,000 to 40,000 people. The larger cities from east west include: Williamsburg, VA, Christianburg, VA, Berea, KY, Murphysboro, KY, Carbondale IL, Girard, KS, Alexander, KS, Pueblo, CO, Rawlins, WY, Jackson, WY, West Yellowstone, MT, Missoula, MT, Moses Lake, WA, Leavenworth, WA, Seattle, WA

My Bicycle: 

With the help of Gabriel at BI Cycles on Bainbridge Island, we put together a fine touring machine. We started with a Specialized AWOL Comp steel frame. The heart of the bike is an internal hub derailleur, Roloff Speedhub 14, running with a Gates Carbon Belt instead of a chain. The front SON power hub will run both my lights and power my iPhone (the rear solar panel on my rear rack trunk bag will charge a Mophie Battery Pack for my iPad). I'm running extremely dependable and as flat free as you can get, Schwalbe Marathon Plus tires. The set-up weighs about 36 pounds, not counting the four Ortlieb Panniers, the handlebar bag and Osprey hydration pack - I'm estimating 65-70 lbs of gear (tent, kitchen, clothes, tools, tech etc). 

Why am I doing this? 

• To stretch myself 

• To earn money for World Bicycle Relief at http://fundraise.worldbicyclerelief.org/joel-kampf

• To emphasize the advantages and ease of tele-commuting

• To see what’s around the next corner

• Every time my butt hits the saddle I feel ten years old.