4,535 Miles. Washington to Key West. 81 Days.
In 2021, four years after hiking the Appalachian Trail and two years after walking the Camino de Santiago, I decided it was time for another adventure. This time, I was going to ride a bicycle across America.
There was just one problem. I hadn’t ridden a bicycle in years.
That seemed like a minor detail, so I mapped out a route from Anacortes, Washington, to Key West, Florida, bought a bike, and started pedaling.
It’s Just Riding: Just Pete from Sea to Key is the story of what happened over the next eighty-one days and 4,535 miles—the mountains, brutal heat, relentless headwinds, flat tires, unexpected kindness, questionable decisions, and plenty of lessons learned the hard way.
Like the adventures that came before it, the ride became about much more than reaching a destination. It was about discovering how far an ordinary person can go by simply refusing to quit.
After all, It’s just Riding.
The Ride
Chapter 1 — Sea2Key.
Before the ride
Chapter 2 — Earning My Bike Legs
Anacortes, WA to Sandpoint, ID
Chapter 3 — The Tour de Suffer
Sandpoint, ID to Mosby, MT
Chapter 4 — The Long Road Home
Mosby, MT to Bristol, SD
Chapter 5 — From Pirates to River Rats
Bristol, SD to Onalaska, WI
Chapter 6 — The Grind
Onalaska, WI to Washington, MO
Chapter 7 — Heroic Effort, Modest Results
Washington, MO to Parsons, TN
Chapter 8 — Just a Pause
Parsons, TN to Pensacola, FL
Chapter 9 — Back in the Saddle
Pensacola to Ormond-by-the-Sea, FL
Chapter 10 — The Long Way to Zero
Ormond-by-tke-Sea to Key West, FL
Chapter 11 — The End?
After 4,535 miles of wondering whether I could ride a bicycle across America, I had my answer. It was just riding.