In the fall of 2023 I was training for something that would change my life forever, a bicycle ride…not just any bicycle, & not just any ride. This ride was special & was going to be on a not so normal (anymore) bicycle. Training weeks averaged around 100-150 miles until it was time to just go for it.

I was lucky enough to ride my Penny Farthing bicycle across the USA from Los Angeles California to Ocean City Maryland.

3254 miles

57 days of riding - 57 Miles Per Day average!

Over $7,000 was raised on this adventure for buying & distributing bicycles for kids. From excited 2 year olds with their first bicycle to teenage kids going to their first jobs, these bicycles have gone to some lucky kids, some kids in need & some who just outgrew their old bikes.

DOANTIONS FOR MORE BIKES ARE STILL ACCEPTED UNTIL MAY 1, 2025

PICTURES OF THE RIDE, PARADES, FESTIVALS & THE BICYCLE GIVEAWAY ARE ON INSTAGRAM, TIK TOK, YOUTUBE & FACEBOOK @LUCKYPENNYUSA

THANK YOU TO ALL WHO HAVE SUPPORTED THE RIDE SO FAR, PLEASE SUPPORT THE CAUSE, EVERY KID SHOULD HAVE A BIKE & THE GOAL IS 100 BICYCLES OR MORE TO BE GIVEN AWAY!

May 1 - June 3rd. 2024

I started this ride on May 1st from Santa Monica Pier & have ridden 1580 miles of the route so far.  I rode an average of 54.4 miles a day with an average speed of 8-9 MPH Daily.  I stopped in Glenwood Iowa, the start town of RAGBRAI 2024 which starts on July 21.  I will return to Glenwood for RAGBRAI & the second half of my crossing. The ride has been absolutely amazing so far & everyone has been very helpful with directions, camping spots, food suggestions & where to get the best ice cream in town! I have crossed California, Arizona & New Mexico. Denver Colorado through Nebraska & then to Glenwood Iowa, starting town for RAGBRAI 2024. I will be headed back to Glenwood on July 20 for the start of RAGBRAI & ride through Iowa with all the other 30000 crazy cyclists! Then its off to Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Washington DC & finally to Ocean City Maryland for the end point of the ride.

Route 66 is very interesting from California to about the middle of Arizona & then I had to ride on US highway 40 for way too many miles (about 300-400 highway miles).  Getting through the rest of New Mexico was almost all highway (not fun)  Beautiful mountains & scenery, lots of old cars & trucks sitting around, high (103) & low (35) temperatures are a big swing for 1 day!  Woke up cold & within a few hours was sweating in the desert! Had a few issues with the heat including the rear tire starting to melt apart in the heat because the shoulder of the road was so hot that the solid rubber rear 16” tire was falling apart at the seam where it snaps into the rim. This happened 2 times within a week & luckily I had a couple spares that @elliethewishfairy sent to me in Needles California. I also had to push the bike quite a bit over the big hills & up all the mountain passes. Again not too fun but I knew it was coming so its just part of it. From Needles California to Oatman Arizona I walked just over 30 miles with a 20 mph head wind & 35 mph gusts it was about impossible for me to ride so I walked & pushed a very long 16 hour day to cover only 42 miles over Sitgreaves pass & then finally coasted down the other side.  I Got to see the burros in Oatman which was a nice addition to the day & made me smile every time I seen one. I was lucky enough to find the (not so) secret Shaffers fish bowl built into the opposite side of the mountain with real gold fish in it that I even got to feed & it was a big highlight to my 12 plus hour day of walking the bike & coasting down the other side!

New Mexico would be a nice place to drive across but honestly riding a bicycle on the Route 66 bicycle route was a lot of highway riding for so long it just made me not enjoy the place as much as I wanted too. I had a few difficult times with my mind telling me not to keep pedaling on the highway, but I totally did anyways & finally made it through.  I met some really nice people along the way, stopped for a couple hour break at the local gas station, fed a stray dog some food I bought for him & after he ate everything he wanted, he walked about 1/4 mile away & under the fence to the local farm where he lived!  This was probably his daily routine to walk over to the station & get people to feed him & give him cold water, but it worked on me & I am sure countless others as well.  After sitting there, feeding the dog, talking to locals & getting ready, I debated going back out there for more highway time in the saddle & after one of my longest lunch breaks, I was finally getting going again. After several long miles I came to a quiet, peaceful (not for long) bike path & got off the busy roadway.  As I was truly enjoying the ride along the brand new, concrete sidewalk,  I was shocked, surprised & scared all at once when suddenly it happened!  I met a couple not so friendly dogs that chased me for quite a ways barking & trying to get to my feet for a friendly nibble & possibly more! It seemed they wanted to have me for dinner, & not as a guest! I wasn’t about to let them get to my feet or into my wheels & make me crash so I pedaled as fast as I could yelling at them to get away & go back home under the fence where you came from!  Yikes, what a few scary seconds that was!  This great bike path had just made my heartbeat & my adrenaline skyrocket. It was so quiet & peaceful until these guys crawled under the fence & started after me barking & running & trying their best to get me! After they finally backed off & returned home to surprise the next calm, happy relaxed person just trying to enjoy their bike ride, it was a nice ride again on the newly built bike path for quite a few more miles until heading back to the busy roads off & on until I finally made it to Las Vegas New Mexico & my resting point along this section of the trip.  My first 1000 miles was completed in just 19 days. New Mexico - A very nice place to visit with lots of hills/mountains & lots of scenery, nice people & a few crazy dogs along the way! along the but the long days on Interstate 40 were just a little overwhelming for me at times.

After getting to Colorado (Thanks Michael) & renting a U-Haul van / new home for 4 days, I was finally getting the chance to ride with Dan ( RIDEWITHDANUSA ) & Ryan (Ryan Van Duzer) in Denver for Wheelie Wednesday with Dan, & Boulder the next day for Boulder Cruiser Night ( Happy Thursday ) with both Dan & Ryan. They sure do it different out here in Colorado at these rides than what i am used to from Florida & Indiana group rides. I am talking party time, literally. In Denver we rode all over the place while Dan stands up on his bike with one foot on the handlebars & the other on the top tube, hands & arms out to the side while filming with his go pro & pointing which direction to go all while SURFING his bike down hills, through the other riders & even over speed bumps!  He has it in control for sure, but its still scary to watch him when he is right beside you doing this & I am already up really high on my bike & he is now higher than me while surfing.  A lot of guys ( including Dan of course ) were also doing wheelies throughout the whole ride everywhere & anywhere there was a flat section of road or sidewalk someone had their front wheel up for incredibly long amounts of time, swerving through the pack like they were on rails with pretty fast speeds too. Incredible bike control for sure, these guys were all fun to watch their varying skill levels & all the craziness continued throughout the night & the whole ride. Denver was wild & crazy, exciting, fast paced & fun…..but Boulder was a whole different vibe.!  As I drove my new home towards Boulder the skies were gray with rain & very high winds in the forecast & the wind did not go away but luckily the rain never happened. As I changed my rear tire on my Penny again in Boulders Home Depot Parking Lot, I started to wonder if people would even show up for the ride I had been waiting to join for such a long time… After an hour long wait & small adventure changing the tire, it was time to head to the meet up place, a small fairly quiet park along the roads of Boulder. I was about the 4th person to arrive with only a little while until meet up time.  Then Dan finally gets there from Denver & that made the next 15 minutes go by really fast. When I looked back at the park it was like a gate had opened & riders were everywhere, still coming in to the park from all directions, the flow never stopped until we were finally heading out on one of my dream rides along with everyone else who said I am going anyways! It was cold, gloomy & windy but that didn’t stop around 200 people from joining the ride. This ride will be on my bucket list to come back & do again for sure. With so many amazing people that dress up weekly for whatever theme ride it is, to all the cool bikes that I got to see including a surfboard bike, a full on DJ bike & several other custom built bicycles, this ride is a must for anyone who loves cruising around & having disco parties in parking garages with 200 people who are all just out having fun on their bicycles on a cold, wet, windy Thursday in Boulder Colorado! Thank you Dan & Ryan for an amazing time, great riding, new friends & memories I will never forget. Definitely another highlight of my trip!   Heading east once again after the 4 day break from long distance riding everyday my body was refreshed & ready to go!  After dropping off the van back in Aurora Colorado I continued my journey along the route of side roads, side walks & even a few gravel & dirt roads along the way. It was a much nicer ride & much safer than New Mexico was. I was heading to Nebraska for the first time ever & within 2 days of leaving Aurora Colorado I made it.

Nebraska was a very long hilly state to cross with lots of wind & small rain showers (got lucky to miss the storms) I met some of the nicest people who fed me at the local diners, interviewed me for the newspaper, & even had a hotel room paid for by Joe Amus Construction Company who was up there from Kansas doing some work close by. What a great group of guys they were after hanging out on the side of the hotel parking lot along with their grill, chairs, coolers & all the guys, they slowly started to go back to their rooms to get ready for another work day. I was about to fall asleep while standing up leaning on my bike & it was after midnight when I finally headed to my room, room 106… the only room in the hotel with a HOT TUB!!!! Yes, a hot tub, whirlpool whatever.. this thing was great & after 4 days in a van & 2 days on the road, I needed this! What a treat it was to relax in a hot tub long enough for the water to get cold & to wash out all my riding clothes in the shower & having a fresh start again. It also had been awhile for this too..  I must have been a bit stinky again but they truly made my night by getting this room for me!  Thank you guys!

After that it was another break between shower days but the rain found a way to keep me wet & just clean enough to feel ok with using diaper wipes to clean myself up with & that was enough for me.  As I headed through Nebraska which by the way is not a flat state, I knew I only had to get to the other side of this state & barely into the next before my first big break of the trip would be here. I was headed to Glenwood Iowa which is where RAGBRAI would start in 2024. I had a ways to go still but started really getting excited to see my family & friends back in Indiana & knew I had a long ways to go still. After several more days of pedaling extra long, up to 80 mile days along the roads of Nebraska, I could finally see the destination…I stopped about 1 mile before I crossed into Iowa across the Missouri River at a truck stop around 7-8 PM just before dark. As I sat on the ground outside by the door I talked to several people about my journey & answered lots of questions, let kids sit on the bike for pictures & even some adults too. After eating, quenching my thirst, cleaning up the best I could in the truck stop bathroom, it was time… After 5 weeks of being on the road & all the adventures, mishaps, weather, animals, crazy stealth camping spots & numerous other things, I was less than 5 miles from completing the first leg of this trip.

On June 2, 2024 As I crossed into Iowa with my last route punched into my phone to get me there, it happened, a bit of a mental & emotional breakdown on my part not being able to contain the excitement, laughter & tears of joy that followed, I was across the long uphill bridge & into Iowa.. As I slowed down & stopped above the Missouri river I had a flood of thoughts hit me at all at one time.. this was to be expected though & after a brief pause & a couple pictures I continued on, after dark, alone with only a couple more miles to go when I finally turned off the main road & down & then back up a couple hills to finally make it into Glenwood Iowa!!! I did it, I reached my first big goal of the trip. Welcome to Glenwood, Iowa… I rode though downtown & around the town square after midnight, I took some pictures sat on the steps & ate my leftovers from the truck stop earlier. I headed to the town baseball diamonds about a mile away for a little rest in the dugout before my 9 hour drive in a rental car the next day back to Indy. Now let me tell you this, dugouts are a great place in small towns to take a break, hide from bad weather & even sleep for the night. They usually have water fountains around them & sometimes even shower houses that may or may not be locked at night time with full showers, bathrooms & outlets to recharge everything… but they do come with some risks also if they are bright with lights…for the third time now at a baseball diamond I have gotten woken up or approached by the police… tonight would be the same thing. Although friendly every time, never in trouble & always interested in my story, its pretty dang scary to have someone ( anyone ) walk up on your camp in the middle of the night even when I was not sleeping yet, another run in with law enforcement for any reason is usually enough to get me all wired up again & not be able to go back to sleep for a awhile. He was super cool, we talked for a while & sometimes they would even take pictures of the bike to show their fellow officers. I guess its not everyday they run into guys riding across America on a Penny Farthing in these small towns… I rode around Glenwood the next day & went to Casey’s again for breakfast/lunch. I asked a few people for a ride to the rental car place & that’s when TJ, a local guy who heard my story offered me the chance for a ride & in just a few hours after work. And he had a pickup truck so I wouldn’t have to take my bike apart (yet) to get it to the rental car place in Bellevue 15 miles away. Glad I did not have to ride this…it was back the opposite way I had just cam the night before… It worked out perfectly because at 11 am I had an interview with the local Newspaper to tell them all about my ride. They took lots of pictures & we talked about several things about the ride & myself & family. This town was great.  After the interview I was ready for some Ice Cream & better grab some snacks for my long drive so off I went to chase my cravings. TJ showed up right on time & off we went.  He is a great guy for doing this & would not accept any gas money or anything & told me to put it towards my cause. Thank you TJ.  

After getting to the rental car place & going round & round about them not having a car for me today, even though it was already booked in advance, she finally got it figured out but it was way too small to fit my bike in.. at least in one piece…. I did all the paperwork & got the keys before they even knew I had a bicycle with me & especially this big bike that hasn’t really been cleaned much in the past 5 weeks was about to go into this brand new jeep SUV if the 50” front wheel fits inside…because if not, it was going on top of the roof with my tarp under it… As I stand in the front parking lot of Enterprise Rental Cars & slowly start taking my bike apart for the long ride home, I am ready to get on the road & force the 50” front wheel into the 48” wide opening sideways & it barely goes in but I am ready to go! On the road within an hour of getting there, I am driving again after 5 weeks & it feels like I am going 200 MPH!!! I have to stop to sleep for a few hours on my trip because now I have been relaxed for a while & with all the emotions running wild also. I pull over & its lights out! Within a few hours I am back on the road & headed across Illinois & into Indiana… When I finally get to the city limits, yep you guessed it, emotional rollercoaster again… I have never done anything like this before & at 54 years old, this is not an easy thing to do physically or emotionally.

I was almost home & after that many days being gone, my bike & gear & all my belongings for the past 45 days in pieces & behind me, I slowly pull down my driveway & am welcomed home by my just as crazy wife, Ellie who has been around for everything thick & thin. Thank you to her for all the support before, during & after the ride. family.  

If I was to go back & do this leg of the trip again I would definitely slow my ride down a bit more to talk & visit with more people for longer times, experience some of the towns offerings & check out some local bike shops & experience more adventures besides just the riding part. I mostly felt like it was a race, trying to see how many miles & how fast I could go each day with very few days planned I could just ride until I didn’t or couldn’t anymore. I slept in various places along the way including, parks, baseball diamonds, in the woods, along the highway, at the base of the mountains, abandoned buildings, a U-haul trailer, a U-haul van, someone’s front yard that didn’t even know I was there, by a swampy mosquito infested lake, hotels, free campgrounds & even in my hammock a few times when the weather was nice enough or just for a nap in the middle of a windy day for a break but I usually set up my small 1 person tent to escape the weather just in case it rained & to keep the small critters like scorpions, snakes, crickets, mice, & everything else that walks, crawls, slithers & flies away from me while I get my much needed sleep each day or night.  

Went back to Glenwood Iowa for RAGBRAI from July 21 - July 27, rode & pushed the 430 mile route & also pushed my bike up Snake Alley but I did ride it completely back down (twice)

Ragbrai was incredible this year with so many people to ride with & great weather everyday. Lots of hills with over 18000 feet of climbing in just 7 days & it kicked my butt for sure! My average day from camp to camp was over 14 hours again this year.  As chatty as I am, I am surprised I ever got out of any of the small towns along the route of RAGBRAI this year. Everyone is so friendly it is hard to leave even though I only slept about 4 hours per night for the 7 days of 430 miles.  What a workout this was after being off the bike for so long.

I could write a whole book about RAGBRAI but I will spare you all the details & just say this, if you like bicycles, parties, waterslides, pools, pie, home cooked food, people, small towns, camping, traveling, exploring, farms, tractors, animals, laughter, or anything & everything in between, then you should check out RAGBRAI. It writes the story each year & this was my second one, I wish I would have known about this ride/party earlier in my life… I will not miss another one as long as I can ride… look it up on youtube.

I kept on going after RAGBRAI was over… The next day, I headed towards Indianapolis & still had over 300 miles to go. I crossed the Mighty Mississippi river & into Illinois for the solo ride home, much different than the last week of riding with 18,000 people at RAGBRAI for sure.  Riding through the countryside of Illinois, sleeping on the side of the road again & headed into the rain… then the rear tire problem came again just as I crossed into Indiana. I rode on the bad rear tire for quite some time & into Attica, Indiana. I found a dry place to work on the bike under a carwash bay. As I started taking the bike apart I was very thankful I had the extra rear tire with me throughout this second stage of my ride. It took me about 45 minutes to get the tire changed out & the bike all back together, including the bike falling over & quite a few things falling out of all my unzipped storage bags (oops) glad nothing broke but it sure sounds like it every time it has fallen over. Especially when I am on it, or trying to get going & not quite make it & fall over (somewhere in Illinois this happened) After leaving the car wash bay I walked my bike across the street to McDonalds & had a very nice warm Big Breakfast Platter. About 10 miles after breakfast, I realized I left my Lucky Penny USA hat on the trash can outside that I had my bike leaned on… (oops again) Throughout the rest of the ride was pretty smooth sailing despite the rain & strong winds I was blessed with.  Upon riding into the town of Clermont, then Speedway I knew I was close since I grew up in Indianapolis. I was within an hour of riding down my own driveway again after leaving just a couple weeks ago for RAGBRAI. What a feeling it was to finally see the hill that is on the main road to the driveway. I pulled in & was pretty dang happy to get into a warm shower & out of my riding clothes that were probably better off going into the trash instead of the wash! I hosed everything off, including the pretty stinky wet shoes I had to wear for a couple days & it was now time for another break before heading to Ocean City….

October 1, 2024

As I headed out of the driveway in Indianapolis all I could think about was getting to Ocean City in the fastest, safest & most efficient way on my Lucky Penny. I had a long journey in front of me still & again after not being on the bike for several weeks, I knew I was gonna feel it!  As I headed 5 miles towards downtown Indy on a short bike route only 1/2 mile from my house, I realized this was it, the final leg of the trip was finally happening & after this part it was going to be complete, or over, depending on how I looked at it throughout the next couple weeks, I would have mixed feelings on how fast & how far I wanted to ride each day. Some days I couldn’t wait to get off the bike & others I didn’t want to stop pedaling even though it was way past dark. But as I rode around the town circle as we did as kids, teenagers & adults & my mind was bursting with memories from all ages. As I headed onto East US40 I hear someone in a van yelling at me & I look over & my son in law waves & smiles at me & says hi. This made my day for sure as I knew it was pure luck for me to see someone I knew & to start my day off with a smile & a friendly yell!  Not all of the loud voices I heard on this trip were friendly! Some people just don’t understand I cannot ride this bike in the tall grass on the side of the road when there is no shoulder to ride on… you know who you are & I hope you read this & understand now how much you scared the @#$% out of me by honking & yelling!

After getting through the fairly rough east side of Indy, US40 opened up to some very nice scenery through some small towns, rough roads, limited services & easy to find stealthy areas great for camping. I headed through Ohio on US40 until reaching State Road 22, heading north towards Pittsburgh.  I rode a very short way through West Virginia & finally crossed into PA & was looking forward to the Great Allegheny Passage trail.  A day or so later, a huge storm was headed my way so I pedaled pretty fast for several miles & after getting to the bridge I thought I was going to stay under, I learned real quick that I wasn’t able to get under it far enough to stay dry so I went through the grass & up the exit ramp into the town & ended up staying at the old fire station that seemed to be not in use anymore. The cutout on the building had 3 shielded sides & a nice roof over the top so I stayed dry after hanging my tarp to make a 4th side. Dry in the morning I headed out before sunrise ( just in case ) & back onto now Highway 22, not a state road anymore??? After having a fairly nasty crash on the highway thanks to me trying to dodge the rumble strips & bumping into the guardrail & down I went, right next to the highway speeds of traffic. It took me a few miles to get over the shakiness of almost becoming a pancake before I was off to Pittsburgh!!! So I thought… I seen the flashing red & blue lights reflecting in the sign in front of me & yep, upon checking my mirror I see a Pennsylvania state trooper behind me.  As I pulled over to the very edge of the shoulder I was imagining what was going through his mind. He gets out & smiles, & tells me that the call came in to him as “A clown on a bicycle riding down the highway”. As he laughed a bit & said, “ & here you are” he kindly told me I was not allowed to ride on the highway here & he followed me to the next exit rerouting me to a nice trail that only put me a few miles off track but had more hills too. It was a nice trail that took me into neighborhoods, side roads & even a few places I would not have gotten to see & the nice people I met along the way.

After reaching Pittsburgh & waking up early, I headed to the GAP trail in downtown Pittsburgh. I cut through a mountain pass meant for cars only but it saved me a few miles & was completely flat so I went for it after rush hour & only a few cars passed. (I was glad they didn’t have the red & blue lights on them too)

I started the GAP trail on October 8 & headed through a few slum areas of town & into the unknown world of Penny Farthing Trail Riding. This was a different experience for sure & I knew the C&O trail was next after Cumberland Maryland & had heard it is much more extreme than the GAP trail. After 3 days of trail riding on the GAP & sleeping in some questionable areas, I made it to Cumberland. over 150 miles in 3 days mostly off road. I got a hotel this night knowing that I needed a shower, & so did my riding clothes. I got up early & started the 185 mile 3 day adventure on the Chesapeake & Ohio trail.  Both amazing trails to ride on, I would say that the C&O is much more technical & extreme than the GAP. Lots of rocks, mud, & some singletrack. The leaves were falling as hoped for & it was everything I wanted to see & more. After bouncing around on the skinny tires with no suspension & hardly a break in this 6 day race I just put myself through for some strange reason it really felt like I had a time goal… I had slept on the ground, on a picnic table & in an actual cave which was the highlight camping spot of my whole trip that was questionable about the location & possibly the legal part but I had already done it when I found this out the next day… my childhood friends & most adults would be jealous to know I had the whole entire cave, river & surrounding woods all to myself! I am glad there was not a bear in the cave or any other creatures of the night besides these crazy looking cricket type of critter that hung to the walls all along the inside of the cave, creepy yes, but we had a cave all to ourselves! I had a small fire & warmed up my leftovers on a stick & enjoyed sort of warm, burnt crispy edges on about half of it before it became too much & I fed it to whatever was going to walk through the woods that night & get it. I should have waited until morning to do this…

I also crossed the Mason Dixon line, rode through several tunnels including the PawPaw tunnel, & also crossed the Eastern Continental divide which was super cool after crossing the Western Divide many months earlier on the ride in New Mexico.  I completed the trail in 3 days & headed into Washington DC around 11 pm.

DC was still crowded as I made my way to the Lincoln Memorial & pushed my bike up all the ramps to get a picture of the way larger than I expected Lincoln. I then rode to the Washington Monument, past the White House ( which was blocked & couldn’t even see it) & off to Lincoln Park to camp under a big tree in the park. This place is busy! At way past midnight, people were still everywhere & traffic was moving through town. I would like to go back with a couple days to explore the nations capitol & check out more of the buildings & the scenery that it has to offer.

As I headed out of DC & towards Ocean City on October 14, I knew I only had a couple days left of riding & my ride across America would be complete. As I crossed back into Maryland for the last time I had one more obstacle in my way & that was the Bay Bridge! I tried the closest exit to the bridge hoping to find a ride & ended up riding a few miles back into the strong headwind the way I just came to finally find a ride across. I had asked several people & they just either flat out said no or wasn’t going that way.  Until.. finally I flag a truck down on the small side road & meet Liam.  He is a crab fisherman headed home from a long, tough day of real hard work & told me a lot about his job on the way across & also he listened to my story about my ride & told me a few about his life too. We both like dirt bikes & motocross racing & could have probably talked for hours. But he was ready to get home, I needed to get some miles in & so we parted ways at the drop off point & off I went.  I was very thankful he had came along & was nice enough to stop & give me a ride across & just like TJ back in Iowa, would not accept anything for his kindness. Thank you Liam!

After 1 more long ride & a full day & night of riding into Denton, MD I knew it was again time for a hotel & a good freshening up since I would be getting to Ocean City the next day, renting a vehicle & driving back to Indianapolis once again for my final part of the trip……

(So I Thought)

After cleaning up, getting my bike ready for the big finish tomorrow I got on my phone & setup the rental vehicle, a nice full size truck so I didn’t even have to take my bike apart to get it home. Upon getting to the payment part, my card was rejected & after trying again, I realized it expired in September of 2024.. 14 days ago!  (1 more oops)  So I wasnt sure the whole next day how I would get back yet…this made the day even longer, but after 74 long miles, I was there.. Ocean City, Maryland after 57 days of riding, I had made it from coast to coast on my Penny Farthing & the Atlantic Ocean was just as amazing to see as the Pacific. I mixed the water, sand & shells that I had carried the whole time with the same from this coast! What an amazing feeling to know that after 3254 miles, my ride was complete. I rode in 13 states & spent most nights outside in temperatures ranging from 37 degrees at night to 103 in the heat of the day. Rain, wind, dust, mud , gravel, sand & everything in between has been crossed, rode upon & walked on on this journey. I met amazing people in just about every town big or small along the way.   As I rode down the boardwalk in Ocean City I realized I still had no way home…. after meeting some super nice people that got me a room for the night, I knew I had to book a flight, & take my bike apart, luckily the bike shop in Ocean City had given me the boxes to ship them in the day before since they are closed on Wednesdays. I stored them at the Deli next door & I had about 2 hours to get my bike apart, box up everything including everything & get to the airport 30 miles away!  Cutting it about as close as possible, the Uber driver pulls back up in his van & we struggle to get the big wheel box in. We head out with minutes to spare & he helps me get my bike out & into the tiny airport i go for my $700 plane ride home. (this oops cost me quite a bit more than the rest). I made it home on the 16th of October & after all the months of training, planning & more training, I landed in Indy around 10 pm. As I was on the plane, it kind of hit me that this was it… I didnt have any other segments left & the ride was complete now. I had done it. Happiness, sadness & every emotion in between flooded my brain & heart.  Not sure what I will do or ride next, but more adventures are coming this way.

If you do see me out there, please say hi, honk, smile, or just wave. Take a picture or video & share it with your friends & family & help spread the word of the ride & what its purpose was. I dont want to stop giving bikes away or stop helping others, so if you have an idea for a great fundraiser & I can help out with riding my big bike for your cause, let me know. I will be happy to share videos, pictures or even school speeches.

But while I was riding across America I was already planning other trips & trying to inspire more people to get out there & do something amazing for themselves, someone they love, or even do a charity ride, walk, run, hop, skip, jump, ski, paddle, hike, crawl or whatever it takes! Just do something good for yourself or others every day & make a difference in your life & or someone else’s along the way on this crazy ride called life.

We are only here one time in life & it goes by fast. Do it while you can…

FOLLOW YOUR DREAMS - YOU ONLY LIVE ONCE

SPECIAL BIKES FOR SPECIAL KIDS

EVERY KID SHOULD HAVE A BIKE!

MY GOAL IS TO RAISE MONEY TO GIVE OUT BICYCLES & SAFETY GEAR TO ANY CHILD WHO WANTS OR NEEDS ONE.

DID YOU HAVE A BIKE AS A KID?

DO YOU HAVE ANY GOOD MEMORIES FROM HAVING A BIKE?

EVERY KID DESERVES A BIKE & THE OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE THOSE SAME MEMORIES AS A CHILD.

JOIN THE TEAM & HELP BUY A KID A BIKE!

IF YOU OR SOMEONE YOU KNOW HAS A CHILD IN NEED OF A BICYCLE DROP ME A LINE AT LUCKYPENNYUSA@YAHOO.COM

IF YOU HAVE A BICYCLE OF ANY SIZE, CHILDS OR ADULTS & WOULD LIKE TO DONATE IT PLEASE CONTACT YOUR LOCAL BIKE SHOP & THEY SHOULD BE ABLE TO HELP YOU GET YOUR BIKE BACK ONTO THE TRAILS OR STREETS FOR SOMEONE IN NEED.

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO SUPPORT THIS JOURNEY / ADVENTURE / MISSION OR JUST THE PURPOSE OF IT ALL, YOU CAN DONATE HERE OR IN PERSON, AT ANY EVENT OR EVEN ON THE ROAD IF YOU SEE ME PEDALING (OR PUSHING) THE BIKE ACROSS AMERICA OR ON ANY JOURNEY I MAY BE ON. WALKING OR RIDING.

I AM PEDALING FOR A PURPOSE