This US portion of my journey eventually became part of my 90,000-word memoir, From Scrubbing Toilets to Living in the Jungles of Belize, One Kilometre at a Time.
I spent almost eight months bike touring the United States from October 25, 2020, to June 9, 2021, from the temperate rainforests of Washington to the brutal heat of the Southwest desert.
The physical extremes were obvious, but the psychological and emotional extremes were just as significant. I thought the Canadian winter would be the toughest part of my bike tour. I was wrong. By the time I reached the Southwest in June, I was discovering that there are some things about desert heat that make a Canadian winter look pretty comfortable.
Because of Covid-19 border restrictions, I had to fly from Vancouver, British Columbia, to Seattle, Washington.
My way into the US during Covid-19
My original plan was to ride roughly 5,600 kilometres down the Pacific Coast, possibly head east to Moab, Utah, return to the coast, and eventually leave the United States through San Diego and into Mexico. As usual, my plans changed. Most of the original route happened, but there were plenty of detours, unexpected experiences, and new plans along the way.
And because I was a Canadian bike touring in the United States during a pandemic, this wasn’t exactly a normal bike tour. I was largely on my own regarding the risks of Covid-19.
I was surprised by how many Covid restrictions I initially encountered, particularly because the United States was such a hot spot for the virus at the time. I had assumed that the number of people getting sick I was seeing in the news meant there weren’t many restrictions at all. That turned out not to be the case.
Hello Washington
Washington
I rode 686 kilometres through Washington over 16 days, starting in Seattle and riding around the Olympic Peninsula before continuing south.
The scenery was spectacular. The temperate rainforests were unlike anything I had experienced on my bike tour so far, and the Hoh Rain Forest quickly became one of my favourite places.
Unfortunately, the beauty was accompanied by something that really bothered me: clear-cutting. I couldn’t understand how a state with such incredible forests could allow this kind of forest management. I feel like Washington is destroying its state.
Hoh Rain Forest
Oregon
I entered Oregon on November 10 and spent the next 21 days riding 963 kilometres down the Oregon Coast. Oregon has always been one of my favourite states to visit.
It was beautiful, but November made the riding challenging. I didn’t see a lot of sun because of the height of the trees and the position of the sun. At the same time, the rain increased, the temperatures dropped, and I seemed to be cold all the time. Still, there was something about riding the Oregon Coast that was amazing.
The Oregon Coast
California
I entered California on December 1, and the weather immediately started getting better.
I travelled from the northern California coast to Los Angeles, across the state to Death Valley National Park, riding 2,557 kilometres over 55 days before leaving California on January 26, 2021.
The Avenue of the Giants, crossing the Golden Gate Bridge into San Francisco, and Death Valley were by far my favourite places. Leaving the Avenue of the Giants, I was informed that California was virtually going into a Covid-19 lockdown. This had me really worried about entering San Francisco, but thanks to hosting, my San Francisco experience was awesome.
Avenue of the Giants
The Golden Gate Bridge
My first change of bike ride plans occurred in SF. Originally, the plan had been to ride through Yosemite and then continue toward Death Valley. Unfortunately, the route to take was closed for the season, so I changed plans. Instead, I continued down the coast toward Los Angeles, bypassed Yosemite, and eventually headed east from LA toward Death Valley.
Probably my worst weather in California was Christmas Day, when I biked back into SF from a host in Berkeley in the rain.
Death Valley National Park
Nevada
In total, I rode 612 kilometres in Nevada over 13 days, plus spending two months in Las Vegas.
Shortly after leaving Death Valley, I encountered my first snow in the United States. That made me reconsider my plans. I had originally intended to continue toward Utah, but I realized I would be arriving in the middle of winter.
The third wave of Covid-19 gave me another reason to stop. I ended up staying in Las Vegas for two months, renting an Airbnb from January 31 to April 1. At the time, it seemed like a good idea. Looking back, it was still a good idea. But I don’t think I’ll ever spend two months in Las Vegas again.
On April 1, I got back on my bike and headed toward Hoover Dam. Things didn’t go particularly well. I became sick and weak from the combination of sun and heat, and what followed became one of the most traumatic experiences of my life.
The Hoover Dam
On April 6, just inside Arizona, I accidentally started a grass fire and had to call 911. The fire department arrived, and while trying to fight and control the fire, I lost a considerable amount of my camping and touring equipment. My tent, sleeping bag, sleeping pad, front panniers, bike tools, and a bunch of other gear were gone.
Somewhere between five and ten acres of abandoned fields burned. To this day, I’m still not entirely sure how I managed to survive the experience without any legal consequences.
Grass fire and burned gear
Utah
Utah was amazing. After losing much of my camping equipment in the grass fire, I made my way toward St. George, where some generous hosts helped me get back on my feet.
I then spent 38 days riding and hiking 1,534 kilometres through Utah. That’s a lot of kilometres to ride for a state that almost wasn’t part of my original route.
I biked and hiked through an incredible collection of national and state parks, including:
- Zion National Park
- Bryce Canyon National Park
- Capitol Reef National Park
- Goblin Valley State Park
- Canyonlands National Park
- Dead Horse Point State Park
- Arches National Park
- Monument Valley
- Toadstool Trail
- Buckskin Canyon
Utah was easily one of the best decisions I made during my US bike tour. Without the third Covid wave, I probably would have continued south to make up for the 60 days I had lost during the first wave in Canada. In hindsight, I’m grateful I didn’t. Utah is, in my opinion, the most beautiful state I visited in the United States.
April was a great time to be there; the daytime temperatures were great, although the nights could still get cold. I experienced temperatures as low as -6°C. Cold, yes. But I’ll take -6°C over what came later.
Utah
Arizona
Arizona was a mixed bag. I biked and hiked 1,271 kilometres over 23 days, with the Grand Canyon being the main destination.
I visited both the rarely visited North Rim and the more popular South Rim, although I had to get a ride for roughly three-quarters of the way to the South Rim as a result of a sandstorm.
The Grand Canyon was one of the major highlights of my entire US bike tour, particularly the North Rim.
Then I headed south. And the weather changed dramatically. At the Grand Canyon, temperatures around 30°C or lower were manageable. Further south, I was dealing with temperatures above 40°C.
I must be getting old because I discovered that I can’t handle biking in 40°C+ heat very well. I had originally planned to visit Joshua Tree National Park and then continue toward San Diego. The heat changed those plans. Instead, I headed south as quickly as I could because I simply wanted to get out of the Southwest desert.
The North Rim Grand Canyon
The South Rim Grand Canyon
Back in California
Eventually, I crossed back into California and made my way toward Mexicali. Those final 182 kilometres took me two days. At that point, I wasn’t interested in sightseeing. I wasn’t interested in taking my time. I wanted out of the heat and out of the United States.
Then I crossed the border into Mexico. You can read about my Mexican experience: My Mexican Bike Touring Experience: 6,020 Kilometers Through Mexico
Too exhausted and too hot to even bother setting up a tent (the one night I couldn’t even blow up my sleeping pad, as seen on the right)
Some Other Memorable Observations and Experiences
Was I the only Canadian bike touring in the United States during Covid-19?
I have no idea. I assume there must have been at least one other Canadian doing it, but despite asking around on social media and looking through bike-touring groups, I never met or heard about another Canadian on tour in the US.
As far as I know, I was the only one. Until somebody tells me otherwise.
Showers
Showers became an interesting statistic. Because of Covid-19, many facilities were closed, and finding hosts was more difficult than usual.
During my entire US bike tour, I had approximately:
- 2 showers in Washington
- 2 in Oregon
- 3 in California
- 1 in Nevada
- 3 in Utah
- 3 in Arizona
That doesn’t include extra showers when I was staying with hosts. That’s roughly 15 showers over 169 days and 7,857 kilometres of cycling. For comparison, the average North American probably takes close to 150 showers in that amount of time.
Before and after 16 days without a shower
Stealth Camping
Stealth camping was difficult along much of the Washington, Oregon, and California coasts. I still managed to find somewhere to sleep every night, but the police visited me three times. They even visited me a fourth time on my final night in the United States.
Some state parks allowed cyclists to use inexpensive hiker-biker sites, which helped early in the trip. After Los Angeles, stealth camping in the desert became easier, although there were still occasional challenges.
America seems to love its No Camping and No Trespassing signs, usually accompanied by a fence. The last actual campground I used on this bike ride was north of San Francisco.
Early in the trip, I had occasionally used campgrounds because they gave me a combination of Wi-Fi, laundry, and a shower. After San Francisco, tent camping was closed at virtually every campground I encountered.
Eventually, I stopped bothering. Truck stops were often cheaper and provided some of the things I needed. My longest stretch without a shower was 16 days, between Moab, Utah, and Williams, Arizona, south of the Grand Canyon.
I wrote a dedicated blog post about stealth camping called: Stealth Camping on Bike Tour
My favorite stealth camping spot & easy camping in the desert
Meeting Americans
One of the most consistently positive parts of bike touring through the United States was meeting Americans. Everyone I met was friendly.
Utah was particularly memorable. Back in Nova Scotia, I had become known as that guy who was biking across Canada in winter. In Utah, I became the guy with the pool noodle.
I had a pool noodle attached to my bike that stuck out far enough to encourage passing vehicles to give me a little more space. At the national parks, the conversations became a daily occurrence. People would see my bike at a trailhead after spotting me on the road and recognize me. I probably averaged three or four extended conversations with strangers every day. And every couple of days, someone would give me around $20. I wasn’t asking for money. People simply wanted to help.
Those interactions became some of my favourite memories of bike touring in the United States.
People liked taking my photo
Hosting
Covid-19 made hosting much more difficult, but I was still fortunate enough to stay with ten different awesome hosts: 12 Tribes, Jake Volz, Jake’s aunt, the Rigbys, Jim Sweet, the Skilbecks, the McClures, the Hoags, the Leenens, and the Knowleses.
Every one of them played an important part in my journey. I am still grateful to all of them.
Turning 48 at the Grand Canyon
I arrived at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon on May 18. It was also my 48th birthday. Within minutes of seeing the Grand Canyon for the first time, my parents called. They sang Happy Birthday to me over the phone while I stood, getting some of my first views of one of the most incredible landscapes I had ever seen.
The next day became another one of my favourite experiences of the US portion of my ride. I hiked down into the Grand Canyon. Along the way, I found and caught a bull snake. I had wanted to see one ever since I had been biking through Alberta.
Catching a bull snake in the Grand Canyon
The Southwest
The Southwest was beautiful. It was also somewhere I discovered I am simply not wired to bike tour in June. I eventually experienced temperatures approaching 46°C (115°F). That’s not just hot. That’s I want the hell out of here hot.
I’ve ridden through Canadian winter storms, snow, and temperatures that most people would consider ridiculous. But 46°C desert heat was harder. Much harder. In fact, I don’t like the cold, but on a bike I’d take a Canadian winter storm over 46°C desert heat on any day.
By the Numbers – My US Bike Tour
By the time I crossed into Mexico, I had ridden 7,857 kilometres over 169 days in the United States, not including the two months I spent in Las Vegas. My original plan had been approximately 5,600 kilometres. So I rode considerably farther than I had expected.
For some perspective:
- Vancouver to San Diego by car is roughly 2,250 kilometres.
- Portland to New York City is roughly 4,700 kilometres.
- The United States is roughly 4,500 kilometres wide.
I had ridden 3,351 kilometres farther than the width of the United States.
I also took and posted 13,911 photographs from my US bike tour on Flickr. And I wrote 66 blog posts, averaging approximately 1,000 words each. That’s a lot of riding. And apparently, a lot of photography and writing.
Thanks to my Oregon host, Jake Volz, for taking the time to take some photos of me
By the Numbers – Expenses
The United States is not a particularly cheap country for bike touring. I did everything I could to be cheap. I averaged approximately $17 a day on food. Over 169 days, that adds up.
My other expenses were heavily influenced by the way I travel. I barely used campgrounds compared with what I imagine would be typical for many bike tourists. I didn’t go to fancy restaurants to celebrate special days, and other than my Las Vegas Airbnb, I never stayed in a hotel.
I also had to replace a considerable amount of gear after the grass fire.
In total, I spent:
- $2,938 on food
- $5,224 on everything else
- $8,162 altogether
That second number included camping, replacement gear, my Las Vegas Airbnb, bike repairs, phone, insurance, and various other expenses. And because I am Canadian, I also had to deal with the roughly 30% currency exchange.
So yes, bike touring in the United States can be done relatively cheaply. But it isn’t necessarily cheap.
Hoh Rain Forest – amazing!
My Final Thoughts on Bike Touring in the United States
The United States could do a lot more to make highway shoulders safer for cyclists. I rode through some of the most spectacular landscapes I’ve ever seen. I met incredible people. I experienced kindness from complete strangers.
I survived a grass fire, extreme heat, cold nights, Covid-19 restrictions, mechanical problems, and more than a few situations where I wondered what the hell I was doing.
I rode 7,857 kilometres over 169 days through the United States. I had planned roughly 5,600. I ended up riding more than 2,200 kilometres farther than I had expected. It was a pretty unique US bike-touring experience. I came away with enough memories to last a lifetime.
Those experiences eventually became part of something much bigger: my 90,000-word memoir, From Scrubbing Toilets to Living in the Jungles of Belize, One Kilometre at a Time.
The US portion of the journey is only one part of that story. And there were plenty more kilometres to come.
