April 5
Last tour, while riding one of the most beautiful paths, bathed in the beauty of the snow-capped Tetons, we came to a parking lot where a van, equipped with a bike rack and touring information on the side, was parked. We suspected Drew’s rear tire may be a little low on pressure so decided to stop and ask if we could borrow a floor pump to top off. Drew and the tour coordinator got immersed in conversation and I saw beautiful flowers nearby. Like a moth drawn to a light, I left the two to their business and headed to take photos.
Later, Drew, heartily laughing shared part of the conversation:
“Where did you come from?”
“Where are you going?”
And,
“Do you still like each other?”
As we traversed the country in 2023, we were consistently asked these three questions so let’s get to it.
The Roadrunner Tour 2025 begins on June 1 at Rialto Beach, WA. In cycling, it is traditional to dip your rear tire in the body of water you’re leaving, in our case the Pacific Ocean.
Over the next 3 months, we head east towards Bar Harbor, ME.
Many cyclists choose to travel west to east because of prevailing winds. While not guaranteed, it is generally accepted to be true. Those who have ridden into the wind know how challenging it can be.
During our eastward travels, we will start at the Olympic Discovery Trail then the Pacific Coast Trail to Anacortes, WA which is the beginning of Adventure Cycling Associations (ACA) Northern Tier route. Once we get to Sand Point, ID we’ll ride along the Flathead river to Missoula, MT. The Lewis & Clark Trail will take to us to West Yellowstone. From there, on the Parks, Peaks and Prairies route, we travel to Deadwood, South Dakota (resting place of Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane). This begins the George S. Mikelsen Trail- a 109-mile rail trail completed in 1998. This is a MUST for any cyclist to ride!
Pringle (super cool bike sculpture), Hot Springs (World’s largest Mammoth site, discovered in1974), Wind Cave National Park (World’s longest and most complex caves known) are sites along our way to Orange City, IA where the 52nd RAGBRAI event begins. Imagine riding with 20,000 of your new best friends over 7 days across the state of Iowa!
Now at the Mississippi river and eastern edge of Iowa, we pick up the Hennepin Canal Parkway Trail until we intersect the Grand Illinois Trail which leads us to Chicago to New York City route eventually taking us to Indianapolis where we enjoy a few days with family.
We continue east to the Cardinal Greenway Trail, then the Underground Railroad Trail/Ohio to Erie Trail until we get to beautiful Lake Erie. This returns us to the ACA North Tier route, ultimately leading us to Bar Harbor, ME. Once there, we’ll dip our front tires in the Atlantic Ocean!
The route is roughly 4,800 miles, climbing about 150,000 feet over roughly 85 days. The plan is flexible as weather, road construction/detours and other variables must be considered.
In our 2023 tour, our shortest day was 37 miles while our longest was 95 miles. Our start and stop were often dictated by services, especially water.
At the end of the 2023 tour, we averaged 50 miles per day which included rest days (usually 1 day each week).
And the final question:
Do you still like each other?
Yes. But more on that later. 
