My name is Danny Davis & I am rode 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. 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 (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.

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 all I could think about was getting to Ocean City in the fastest, safest & most efficient way on my Lucky Penny. I headed through downtown Indianapolis & rode around the town circle as we did as kids, teenagers & adults & my mind was bursting with memories from all ages. 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.

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 didnt have the red & blue lights on them too)

Started the GAP trail & 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 hoped for & more. I slept on the ground, on a picnic table & in an actual cave! 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.  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.

As I headed out of DC & towards Ocean City, I knew I only had a few 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 the way I just came to finally find a ride across.  Liam is a crab fisherman headed home from a rough day of work & told me a lot about his job on the way across & also he listened to my story about my ride & I was very thankful he had came along & was nice enough to stop & give me a ride across.

Thank you Liam!

After 1 more 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…

(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 didnt 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!

THE GOAL IS TO RAISE ENOUGH MONEY TO GIVE OUT 100 BIKES OR MORE ACROSS AMERICA BY MAY 1, 2025

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 OR ON ANY JOURNEY I MAY BE ON. WALKING OR RIDING.

I AM PEDALING FOR A PURPOSE