Swapping Wings for Wheels: 4,500 Miles on a Bicycle

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What drives someone to trade the comfort of flight for 81 days and 4,500 miles on a bicycle? Flight attendant Rich takes us through his remarkable cross-country cycling adventure from Virginia to Oregon, revealing the physical and mental challenges that pushed him to his limits.

The journey began with a simple tradition—dipping his rear wheel in the Atlantic Ocean. What followed was an odyssey of lung-busting climbs through Kentucky's unforgiving hills, lightning storms above the treeline, and nights spent in the most unexpected places. With only a small one-wheeled trailer carrying his belongings, Rich simplified his existence to three daily goals: finding places to eat, sleep, and use the bathroom.

Beyond the physical feat of climbing 100,000 feet in elevation (equivalent to scaling Mount Everest multiple times), Rich's story illuminates something profound about human connection. Despite arriving in small towns with a mohawk, long beard, and what he describes as a powerful stench after days without showering, strangers welcomed him with extraordinary kindness—offering meals, laundry services, and safe havens.

From the mayor who opened city hall during a rainstorm to random bar patrons who paid for his lunch, these encounters restored Rich's faith in humanity. "People in general don't suck," he discovered, perhaps the most valuable lesson from his journey.

Now planning adventures through New Zealand, Iceland, and the Great Divide, Rich embodies the spirit of challenge and discovery that keeps life vibrant at any age. His story reminds us that sometimes the greatest rewards come when we get ourselves "in over our head and see if we can get out."

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