Courtesy of Brittney Jade Betzer

13 states; 2,078 miles

18-year-old cycles coast-to-coast

Brittney Jade Betzer BET05002@BYUI.EDU Scroll Staff

I started out the summer knowing about the peloton and Lance Armstrong doing the seventh, (Tour de France), not about riding 104 miles a day in 98-degree weather through Thermopolis, Wyo. I have a thing for traveling, challenging myself, and meeting new people so I secretly applied for a staff position with a  prominent cycle touring company, CA, for the 2005 Coast-to-Coast, three-month tour.

Starting in Everett, Wash., we commenced the tour with the traditional dipping of the back tire in the Pacific Ocean. We gathered at the coast, our bikes, bodies and minds each accepting the challenge: 4,200 miles. The first spin of your wheel on a coast-to-coast tour is probably the second best.

As a staff member you work one day, and cycle the next, it is a way to participate in the tour for free.

I, in accordance with Team Wonderful (myself and two other staff members), was responsible for preparing lunch every other day for 80-100 ravenous cyclists. I joined the tour pretty domestically challenged and the extent of my skills ended with gorp (good old raisins and peanuts). I now inadvertently gag at industrial size cans of Gatorade or animal crackers.

The 2005 tour had 25 “coasties” (riders doing the full tour), and 70-80 “FNG’s” (cyclists riding only a segment of the tour). The tour is separated into nine cross-state segments, so that cyclists who can’t afford to take off three months can complete it. One man had been riding one week a year for nine years.

The tour averaged 85 miles each day, riding six days out of the week. We either rented a campground or an entire school nightly. The sleeping arrangements created some interesting situations. Once, during a huge rainstorm people were dragging their soaking tents and duffel bags into an already crowded gym at 2 in the morning.

After over three months together in such a unique situation we were a sort of family—a very strong, intimate and diverse family.

Many who saw us in our Lycra shorts and sponsor-laden jerseys asked why, or as one waitress in Wisconsin asked, “Eww, why?”

It is about being selfish for a while, and waking up in the morning knowing that all you have to do is ride your bike. It is hard to explain or justify this; riding 80 miles a day through challenging landscapes, a Thermarest, and community showers don’t generally constitute a vacation.

As we approached Glouster, Mass. the anticipation grew, and our front tires were thirsty for the Atlantic.

Ending the tour as a true coastie was hard, but knowing that I had cycled nearly half of the overall 4,200 miles, and that I was part of a great community that shared so much adventure and love is something that I can never replace.

After pedaling our way through the crowded streets of Glouster, we dipped our tires. This hardly gave closure to the 13-state tour, filled with so much, that even the millions of words I journaled, are lacking.