Sharing Tales from the Road

The fact that Tracy and Peter Flucke bicycled across the country on a tandem 4,362 miles is amazing.  What enhances their recounting of the adventure is their willingness to share all the details,  from why they decided to do it, how they trained, the bicycle equipment, a day by day log of the cycling conditions and destinations, people they met along the way including some heartwarming acts of kindness towards them, and personal challenges and triumphs.  All of these are documented in their book, Coast to Coast on a Tandem.  They provided highlights as guest speakers at the Evanston Bicycle Club meeting on Tues. Aug. 18, 2020. 

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Condensing a 72 day trip, not counting 6 months of preparation, into a 30 minute presentation has got to be hard, but Tracy and Peter were successful in providing a flavor of their 2014 self-supported adventure.  What is unique about their recounting is that they tell their story using two voices – Peter, the “captain”, from his perspective at the front of the bike and Tracy, the “stoker”, from the back.  Areas they covered included:

• Start and end – Bellingham, WA to Bar Harbor, MA and they have the pictures of dipping their rear and then front bike wheels in the ocean to prove it!
• Cycling rig - a 2000 Santana Arriva tandem nicknamed “Violet” fitted with S&S couplers and loaded with front and rear racks, panniers, and 6 water bottles—55 pounds of gear
• Places they stayed overnight  - camping, cabins, community centers, B&Bs, hotels, motels, private homes, a yurt, and a tree house
• Mechanical problems  -five flat tires, the first sounding like a flash bang, and a frayed derailleur cable
• Route planning – utilized Northern Tier maps from Adventure Cycling Association and although planning a week in advance, they made adjustments daily based on weather, fatigue, and their interest in local sights
• Weather – out of 72 days on the road 15 of them included them being completely soaked biking in the rain
• Elevation – West coast mountains are typically longer but shallower than those on the East coast; when they encountered a very steep hill, like the 18% grade in Sillwater, MN, they had to employ incredible effort to push the bike uphill
• Milestones – Time and distance is measured not only by days and miles, but by the number of states crossed and great lakes encountered
• Supporters – had 6,000 people following their daily blog on Facebook
• Sponsors – in addition to the many acts of kindness from strangers and friends that included on the road support, free dinners, beers at local microbreweries, overnight stays in private homes, passage on a ferry, they are sponsored by Road and others (Note: use the code WEBIKE25 for a 25% discount on RoadID products)

 Since returning to their home in Green Bay, WI Aug. 16 in 2014 they have completed 4 additional unsupported cross-country bicycle trips together on their tandem.  Although this is not the first book to document a cross country biking trip, Peter says in the book preface that their purpose in documenting their journey was primarily to entertain.  Add to that education and inspiration.  Mission accomplished.