This is an experiment for me. I’m not really sure I want to blog this trip, but here I am. And there you are reading it. On one of my training rides, I thought about the reasons to do it and the reasons not to do it. Here’s what I came up with:

Reasons NOT to blog:

1.  Although biking across the country SOUNDS exciting, in reality it isn’t. Riding across the country isn’t much different from riding around the block. Not much happens. Frequently, my journals read like this: “I woke up at 7:00. I rode to Anytown and had lunch at the Main Street Cafe. I had a cheeseburger and a Coke. It was good. I left at 2:00 and took Highway 123 out of town. I rode to Nexttown where I stopped to get something to drink. It was good.” Weirdly, I always seem to include what time I woke up. You know, because everyone wants to know that.

2.  Who REALLY wants to read about my life? Just the other day, some friends and I were laughing at how many people blog. Jen has a friend who wrote about her daily life. The high point was the batch of cookies she made (recipe included).     I’m not even baking cookies.

3.  So you say, “Yeah, but you’re on a BIKE riding across the country!” (see #1 above). Sure, but there are HUNDREDS of blogs about people on bike trips even as you read this, and many of them are riding in more exotic places. Check out CycleBlaze.

4.  It takes a LOT of time simply writing in a journal. It’s really surprising how much time. Blogging takes even more. This is somewhat selfish on my part, but, hey, it IS my vacation after all.

And yet, as I said, here I am, and there you are. So I guess the reasons to do it are stronger than the reasons not to:

1.  My friends asked me to. This is the point where I hear my mom's voice: ''If your friends jump off a cliff, does that mean YOU'RE going to jump?" Of course, my smug response is: "They DIDN'T jump off a cliff. They just asked me to."  It makes perfect sense. I know that sounds kind of simple, but they asked…. and they’re my friends.

2. I want people to know that biking across the country really is something that anyone can do. The only thing you need is the desire to do it.  Pick a date and start planning. On my 2008 trip from San Diego to Jacksonville I met a couple on a tandem bicycle, both of whom were 82 years old. They were traveling the same route as me, about 3000 miles (except, of course, faster). I'm not a super athlete, or even an athlete, and if I can do it, so can you.