Speed has never been my strength. Even in high school track, I tried desperately to be on the mile relay team, but I could never run a 440 fast enough. Instead, the mile was my specialty - which had some of its own perks as girls were just beginning to run that distance. So, as our school’s best miler, I was often breaking the school (my own) record. But maybe because of this, endurance things always appealed to me. So, it was that in 2006, when our 17-year-old son, Jesse, suggested riding our bikes to Grandma’s house, I was all in.

I guess we started bike touring before we even knew what bike touring was. We just planned to “ride to Grandma’s.” It would be a 6-day, 320-mile trip with two of my sons. Bill, my husband, couldn’t go along as we already had plans that would use up most of his vacation. We used the bikes we already had, which meant our 14-year-old, Peter, did his ride on a Walmart special. We planned to stay with people we knew and used backpacks, and some old, borrowed panniers. It went mostly well, but the April weather was brutal one day and we cut that day short. Also, I had planned the route using Gazetteers of Indiana and Michigan and learned that not all Indiana roads were paved, like they are here in Howard County. But good memories were made.

*Newspaper article from Cassie’s home town*

In 2010, Bill, Peter and I did the ride again, but this time our youngest son, Keith, drove a van for us. We carried very little and Keith would meet us for lunch and often find us campsites ahead of our arrival.

In 2016, Peter was ready for an epic adventure of his own. He and his college roommate, Lucas, decided to ride across the country. Peter now owned a bike from the 1970’s donated to him by Milt Brown, a fellow runner, after reading about Peter’s inadequate bike on our trip in 2006. We transported their bikes on our trip to Bill’s family in Seattle, Washington and they started from there. Lucas’ parents had been a little more proactive about this and had purchased Adventure Cycling maps for them. They followed the TransAm trail from Astoria, Oregon to Yorktown, Virginia. I had the privilege of riding with them for the last 350 miles of their trip for 5 days. I had a newer bike by then and I wasn’t carrying the 30-40 pounds they had on their bicycles. I thoroughly enjoyed experiencing this with them, learning how it worked and seeing the elation on their faces when they finished.

Because of Peter’s experience we learned a lot about the right tires, panniers, what to pack, available maps and even about a group called Warm Showers. Warm Showers is like couch surfing specifically for touring cyclists. We have since hosted people in our home as well.

*Cassie finishing the TransAm in Yorktown, VA. L-R: Lucas, Peter, Cassie*

In 2018, Bill and I (along with Peter and our daughter, Grace) did our first self-supported bike tour. We rode from Pittsburgh to Washington D.C. on the GAP and C & O trails. It rained on most days, but we finished the ride and took an Amtrak back to our waiting vehicles.

Finishing the GAP/C&O ride in Washington, DC. L-R: Peter, Cassie, Bill, Grace

In 2019, we did the Katy Trail in Missouri with our daughter Grace. The Missouri River had experienced lots of flooding that spring so sections of the trail were washed out. But we still had an enjoyable ride. (With the rain in 2018 and the flooding in 2019, Grace said we really knew how to pick them.)

In 2020, we decided we were ready for an epic trip of our own and started the TransAm trail. We chose to break it into sections. After 4 different segments we finished our own ride in Yorktown, Virginia in June of 2022.

Dipping our wheels in the Pacific Ocean at Seaside, Oregon

This year, we have a smaller tour planned from our home to Cincinnati, then riding the Ohio to Erie trail before riding back home. We are also interested in possibly doing some shorter tours in Indiana, or maybe even just an overnighter. If you are interested in joining us for one of these, please let us know. In future newsletters, we hope to share more: stories from our TransAm tour, touring tips and lessons learned on the road. We hope to do many more tours as long as we are able.

Bicycle Touring Anyone?