He did it! HRBike member, Jim Herron, completed the 4,567 mi. trans-American bike trek on Fri., Aug. 12, 2016! What emotion he must have felt as his feet hit the Pacific Ocean! Many of us have followed Jim’s travels in his blog, and we are thrilled that he will speak about the trip at the Fall HRBike meeting on Oct. 24. We asked Jim a few questions about the tour. Now, here’s Jim:

What inspired you to do this journey? I’ve wanted to do this ride since I did a week – long tour in college, but I was beginning to believe it would never happen. I quit riding 15 years ago to raise children & be with them by coaching their soccer teams. My physical health was deteriorating slowly & I had gained quite a bit of weight. Thanks to work changes for my wife (Christa) and me, the timing worked out perfectly. Something seemed to be screaming at me to do it now, or I might not ever be able to go.

How did you train for it? How long did you train? I did not do a lot of training miles. Most of my training rides were to shake down equipment. I only seriously trained for a couple months before my April 1 start. In reality, everybody rides themselves into shape on the trip. I rode within my limits all but a handful of days.

What is the best time you had?  The best ride was probably from Sisters, OR to Coburg, OR. First, we climbed McKenzie Pass through a lava field, and then glided down a long downhill through an incredible forest. My best experiences were visiting with warmshowers.org hosts; they were incredible. These nights always ended up being amazing sessions over a beer & good food with a very generous host that was a big cheerleader for his town.

To Be Continued…Stay tuned for more from Jim in Oct.