My name is Danny Davis & I am riding my Penny Farthing bicycle across the USA from Los Angeles California to Ocean City Maryland.
2350 miles done so far! Santa Monica to Indianapolis!
41 days of riding - 56 Miles Per Day average!
I AM RAISING MONEY FOR THE PURCHASE & DELIVERY OF BALANCE BICYCLES & SPECIALTY BICYCLES, HELMETS & SAFETY PADS TO CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS & FOR KIDS WHO DO NOT HAVE A BICYCLE! ALSO FOR SCHOOLS WHO DO NOT HAVE BICYCLES OR TRICYCLES ON THEIR PLAYGROUNDS.
THE FIRST BICYCLE GIVEAWAY WAS A SUCCESS! WE GAVE AWAY OVER 20 BICYCLES AT THE FRANKLIN FIRECRACKER FESTIVAL
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!
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. And the (not so) secret Shaffers fish bowl built into the mountain with real gold fish that I even got to feed & its incredible!
New Mexico would be a nice place to drive across but honestly riding a bicycle on the Route 66 bicycle route was alot of highway for so long it just made me not enjoy the place as much as I wanted too. I met some really nice people along the way & also a couple not so friendly dogs that chased me for quite a ways down a great bike path that was quiet & peaceful until these guys crawled under the fence & started after me barking & running & trying their best to get me! After they finally returned home to surprise the next person, it was a nice ride again on a newly built bike path. A very nice place to visit with lots of hills/mountains & lots of scenery, but the long days on Interstate 40 were just a little overwhelming.
After getting to Colorado (Thanks Michael) & finally getting to ride on bicycle routes, side roads, side walks & even a few gravel roads along the way it was a much nicer ride the rest of the way to Iowa. Nebraska was a very long hilly state to cross with lots of wind & small rain showers (got lucky to miss the storms) but I met some of the nicest people & started to slow my ride down a bit to talk & visit with locals more too. 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, by a swampy mosquito infested lake, hotels, 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!
Thanks TJ for taking me to my rental car place in Bellevue from Glenwood!
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! I then rode the rest of Iowa, Illinois & halfway through Indiana to my original hometown of Indianapolis cutting through all the small towns & enjoying the scenery along the way.
I will leave Indy in a few weeks & head out to Ocean City for the final stretch hoping to catch the fall turning of the leaves colors along the way!
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.
I am sure looking forward to the last section of the journey from Indy to Ocean City & will be surely be taking a little more time on the road every day to enjoy the scenery, people, food & attractions of the towns I pass through big or small. Life is not a race… take time to enjoy the journey.
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 about the ride & the reasons I am riding. After almost a year of planning this ride it is more than half way over with less than 1000 miles left to go!
But while I am riding across America I am 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!
THE GOAL IS TO RAISE ENOUGH MONEY TO GIVE OUT 100 BIKES OR MORE ACROSS AMERICA BY THE END OF 2024
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 & 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!
I AM PEDALING FOR A PURPOSE THIS YEAR!
Did you know that Autism affects 1 in 36 children born in the USA each year?
Signs of Autism usually appear between ages 2 & 3, but can be diagnosed as early as 18 months. Early intervention can improve learning, communication & social skills, as well as underlying brain development.
This leads to more positive outcomes later in life for people with autism.
Special Olympics is the world's largest sports organization for children and adults with intellectual disabilities.
You can become a volunteer, a coach, or just a spectator to some of the most heartfelt games in history!
TOGETHER WE CAN CHANGE THE STIGMA
ONE PEDAL AT A TIME
JOIN THE MOVEMENT
“One Pedal At A Time is about more than simply riding bikes. It’s about discovering a whole new way of seeing the world!”
ADOPT DON’T SHOP!!!
There are loving dogs & cats & all kinds of pets at your local animal shelter that need a new forever home.
Please visit your local animal shelter or SPCA to learn more about how you can adopt a pet that is sure to make a difference in his or her life & yours.
Have a heart & give these animals the second chance at the life they deserve.
If you decide to bring a pet into your life, please care for it responsibly & give them the love & attention they need.
PLEASE REPORT ANIMAL ABUSE / CRUELTY TO ANIMALS TO YOUR LOCAL TOWN AUTHORITIES.
Here are some pictures of different ways I have had my bike set up & decorated for events, parades, group rides, festivals, shows fundraisers & just having fun on it. Also there are lots of pictures on Instagram, Tik Tok & Facebook to see the ride photos taken so far on the journey. @LUCKYPENNYUSA
Lucky Penny is my modern day version of the original 1880’s Penny Farthing / High Wheel / Ordinary bicycle
The front 50” wheel & the rear 16” wheel both have solid rubber tires with no inner tubes, which means no flat tires & no need to carry a spare but it does make it ride a little rough compared to a regular bicycle with inflated tires.
It also has a real vintage leather seat, rear handbrake & 3 different pedal settings for speed & climbing hills. It is a direct drive, fixed gear front wheel which means I can’t stop pedaling to coast & there is no free wheel so it is constant pedaling.
Covering over 12 feet of ground with every revolution means I can cover a lot of ground with only a few turns of the pedals in a short time. My top speed on flat ground with the pedals set in “SPORT MODE” is about 20 MPH for a short time until I run out of steam & have to take a break.
To go down big hills, I just take my feet off the pedals & coast & sometimes even stand on the rear step & stick my other leg out to give a little stunt show to anyone around & show off a little.
My top speed going downhill is 34 MPH & that was during RAGBRAI in 2023 where I rode 533 miles in 7 days across Iowa through lots of towns, hills, over 100 degree heat, raced a tornado into town & slept outside every night! I ate gas station pizza, homemade pie, lots of popsicles & drank a record amount of water & gatorade. I even got to go swimming & down a couple waterslides too. I also ended up with Poison Ivy, a broken finger from falling in camp, a nice rash in undisclosed areas & very sore legs after that many miles, but I can’t wait to do it all again this year in July so bring it on RAGBRAI.
My average cruising speed is around 8-12 MPH sometimes faster, sometimes a little slower depending on the terrain & how far I have to still go. In the beginning I will try to average 40 miles per day on my crossing of America & I hope to be able to get that to 50-60 on the flatter parts of the ride.
As for the big uphills, sometimes I just have to get off my bike & push it if the hill is just too much for me to ride. At 54, I am in no hurry anymore & no need to waste energy for 1 hill or mountain pass. I had to walk about 10 times at RAGBRAI in 2023
I live in Florida so it is pretty flat here, IOWA IS NOT FLAT!
I have ridden this bike on gravel roads, dirt roads, in the rain, wind & even in some sand which is the worst because if its too soft, the front wheel just sinks & then I fall over, which is never fun. Funny sometimes, but usually not fun, it’s a long way down & seems to happen in slow motion every time I crash…
To learn more about Penny Farthings & the history of the bicycle, check out this Wikipedia link & then go ride your bike. Riding is good for you & will surely make you smile knowing how much different a bicycle ride was 140 years ago!
CLICK THE BOX
ROUTE 66
This is the famous “Mother Road” of the USA & where I will start my pedaling on the Santa Monica Pier after dipping the rear wheel of the Lucky Penny into the Pacific Ocean. From there I will follow Route 66 & the bike paths along the way for about 1000 miles & then I will be riding north to head towards Glenwood Iowa & the start town of RAGBRAI to challenge the hills & the heat of Iowa again! From there I will go back to Indianapolis & then to Ohio, Pennsylvania, Washington DC & then off to Ocean City Maryland to dip the big front wheel in the Atlantic Ocean to finish the ride!
Here we go again!
If you are unaware of what RAGBRAI is, or you are trying to decide if you want to attempt it or not, just go for it! It is an amazing week of riding your bicycle with 30,000 of your new best friends all cycling across the state of Iowa trying to conquer all the hills & the heat!
SIGNS, BANNERS, CARDS, SHIRTS, HATS, STICKERS & MORE
TAKE A PICTURE - WIN $50
If you happen to see me on the road & get a picture, please share it here or tag me on any of our social media! @LUCKYPENNYUSA
My favorite picture of the bike at the end of the trip will receive a $50 gift card to Lucky Penny USA store for T-shirts, hats, sticker packs, hoodies & more, or to Lucky Dog Graphics for Signs - Banners - Stickers or Business Cards
OR IF YOU JUST HAVE QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS,PLEASE SEND THEM HERE TOO!
SPECIAL THANKS TO
Ellie the Wish Fairy for always standing behind me in all of my rides, runs, trips, dreams & goals! And for always being there for me & for being the glue in our family. Thanks for taking care of all the social media pages & keeping everyone updated on the adventures of LUCKY PENNY
THANK YOU TO MY FAMILY, FRIENDS & SPONSORS WHO ARE MAKING THIS RIDE POSSIBLE:
BOMBAS SOCKS
PLANETBIKE - COMPUTER, BAR TAPE, BELL & BIKE LIGHTS
RACEFACE PEDALS
CAMELBAK HYDRATION PACKS
KOOL-STOP BRAKE PADS & REFILLS
PIT VIPER SUNGLASSES
PEARL IZUMI PRO SHORTS
SHOWERS PASS RAINGEAR & GLOVES
SUNJACK SOLAR PANEL & MINI CAMPLIGHT
CHROME INDUSTRIES BAGS
SOLE INSOLES
@elliethewishfairy @ridewithdanusa @adventurethismitter Patti & Lowell, Valerie LaKemper, Shantel Sims, Meagan Chalmers, Missy Hammons Gonzalez, Teresa Miller, Dale Gabbard, Tommy Malley, Laura Bates, Randy Lebedz, Jinsuk Tedesco, Chris Lee, Amus Construction, Paul & Misty Bartlett, Susan Lamparter, Mary Beth Trautwein, Barry Miller, Lisa Heathcoat, Brandon Diekmann, Genave Sanchez, Jeff Carey, Matthew Marquez, Carol Guy, Iseley Marshall, Karen Smoczynski, Gail Trotter, Wolfgang The Shepherd, Stephen Hansen, Thomas Jackson, Jodie Legere, Amanda Dolan, Cameron Spears, Taylor McIntosh, David Landsman, Doctor Radical, Ronald Pinkerton, Monte Boevers, Diana Russell, Kimberly Philo, Whitney Hauser, Justin Longest, Michael Demoss
THIS IS WHERE YOUR NAME GOES AFTER MAKING A DONATION & SUPPORTING THE RIDE!
THIS RIDE’S FOR YOU BELLA
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