Frequently Asked Questions

Who are the riders?

The riders are John Bartlett, Eric Bartlett, Ann Bartlett and Nicholas Bartlett. John, Eric and Ann are three middle-aged siblings (three of five) originally from Marlboro, Vermont. Nicholas is John’s 20 year-old son, a senior in college in Maine. John lives in Massachusetts, Eric in New Jersey and Ann in Vermont.

What is your route?

We opted to begin our ride at the Point Reyes National Seashore. From there we will ride over to St. Helena and then on to Davis. Our route follows Adventure Cycling’s Western Express from Davis, CA to Pueblo, CO, and then follows their original TransAmerica route from Pueblo to southern Illinois. From Southern Illinois to Cincinnati we are going to ride just north of the Ohio River, and from Cincinnati to Cleveland we will ride diagonally across Ohio, some of the time on bike paths. In Cleveland we will pick up Adventure Cycling’s Northern Tier route and follow that into Maine. We will finish at Two Lights State Park just south of Portland, ME.

When is this ride starting? When is it finishing?

We begin riding on April 25, and plan to finish on July 15. Since none of us have ever done a ride of this length it is hard to know whether the planned schedule is too aggressive or too conservative, or perhaps some of both.

What kind of bikes are you riding?

John’s bike is a bona fide touring bike. The other three are all creations of Ann’s. All three begin with a mountain bike frame of some sort, but end up looking more like road bikes. More details later.

Are you going to camp out along the way?

No, we plan to stay in motels, and we will stay with friends whenever possible. Since we expect to be pretty slow, we thought that traveling light might make us just a tiny bit faster.

How far are you going to ride each day?

We plan to average about 60 miles/day, and take one day off per week. Having said that, there are some days when will have to ride as much as 85 or 90 miles because there is no place to stay in between.

Do you have SAG support?

Yes. John has arranged for SAG support for almost the entire trip. Eric’s wife and son, Sally and Cory, are coming out twice, as is our mother, Augusta Bartlett. John’s wife, Jennifer, his daughter Mackenzie and his friends, Doris and Karl, are each planning to do a piece of the route.

What does SAG stand for?

SAG means Support And Gear. Our SAG support is our friends and family driving Annie’s car. In the car we have our suitcases, sleeping bags and blow-up mattresses, tools and parts for the bikes, food for breakfast and lunch, and various other items we might need along the way. The car is very full!

Why are you riding from West to East?

We wanted to get across the desert (Nevada) before it gets too warm. And we have heard that the prevailing winds are West to East, so that will put the winds at our backs.

How will you get your bicycles to California?

Ann and her friend David Buckley are driving her car to California with all the bicycles. Ann’s car will then become the SAG car which will follow the bikers back east. The SAG car will not follow along behind the bikes all day, but will instead just meet us in the evening each night so we don’t have to carry all our extra clothes on the bicycles.

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