The Route I’m Taking Around the United States

The Route I’m Taking Around the United States

[Music] [Music] This is the route I’m taking on my journey around the entire United States. And it all starts right here in the state of Ohio. All right, guys. So, this is my full route for my 2026 bike touring across America. This is the journey that’s going to take me across the Midwest, the East Coast, through the down to the Florida Keys, back to St. Augustine, taking the southern tier across America and then cycling up the entire West Coast to and then starting the Transame trail and then heading all the way back to Ohio afterwards. So, I will call the first part phase one essentially. And phase one is me starting in Cincinnati, Ohio and beginning the Ohio to Eerie Trail that goes from Cincinnati, Ohio to Cleveland, Ohio. The Ohio to Erie Trail is roughly 326 miles long. It was named the Ohio to Eerie Trail because of the end points of each part of the trail. Um Cincinnati, Ohio. It starts in the Ohio River and it goes all the way to Cleveland, Ohio, which is at the shores is Lake Erie. I’ve done pretty extensive segments of the Ohio to Erie last year. I never made it down to Cincinnati, but I did started in Zeni, Ohio. And I did it different kind of ways, but the most way I usually did it was Zenia to Columbus. And you know, some cool parts about it is Zenia, Ohio is a great little town. There’s some decent little restaurants. It’s nice little history there. And then uh you go through to Columbus, Ohio, which Columbus is a major city. It’s the capital of Ohio. And honestly, there’s plenty to do and there’s a lot of tall buildings and a lot of cool things to take pictures of and a lot of cool people to meet. Columbus is a great city. Afterwards, you go through a little town called Sunbury, where I camped in this baseball field last time I went through there. I went through there twice, actually. Sunbury is a nice little town. After that, you go through pretty much uh you still go on bike path for quite a while and then it starts to turn more rural and then it’s still bike path and then eventually there’s like a 17-mi stretch which is called they call it Amish country which is like I think it’s Menites because they do ride ebikes. It threw me off the first time I rode through that area cuz there is no bike path. It’s 17 mi of straight road, but it’s there’s no traffic because it’s mainly the Amenites. They don’t drive vehicles, but they do ride ebikes. So, the first time I rode through, I assumed they were just straight up Amish people. And I’m like, why are these people riding ebikes? This don’t even make no sense. And I found out the Menites have a little bit more relaxed standards when it comes to them using technology and stuff like that. some of my personal favorite parts uh of the Ohio to Erie Trail, specifically uh Mount Vernon, there’s this place called Aerial Foundation Park and they have this big tower. It’s called the Rasten Observation Tower. It’s a couple hundred feet up. You can climb up to the very top and just see for miles and see Mount Vernon. It’s pretty awesome. Honestly, I loved it when I first went there and I got to meet a guy there and we rode together through Mount Vernon. They were having some kind of festival as I was riding through. So Mount Vernon is pretty awesome and a lot of the route also if you start in Cincinnati like you’re supposed to, you will ride through Lovelin, Ohio, which that I’ve been there. I’ve been there one time when I was bike touring when I did the Ultimate Ohio tour last year and I went to the Lovelin Castle. It was a great time. The whole town is great. They have It’s kind of It kind of reminds me if you’ve ever been to Yellow Springs, it kind of reminds me of that, but on a different level. Yellow Springs is obviously like top tier. Probably the best small town I think I’ve ever personally been to. They always have something interesting going on there. But Lovelin is pretty much almost the same thing. It’s especially during the summertime. Eventually, once you do hit Cleveland, Ohio, you get to the Edgewater Park and they have uh the Cleveland sign there. It’s a big massive sign. A lot of people go there to take selfies and I personally did the same thing. It was my profile picture for many months of me standing in front of that Cleveland sign and Lake Eerie in the background with me just next to my bike uh and fully loaded. It was great. So, the second phase of my epic journey once I get to Cleveland, Ohio. From there, I will proceed to Port Hurin, Michigan to visit one of my buddies I deployed to Afghanistan with. Me and him went on a deployment in 2011 to Afghanistan. We were in the same platoon. We weren’t in the same squad or anything, but we were in the same platoon and we deployed to Afghanistan together. And I used to be married to this woman when I was in. We got, you know, we split up, whatever. and she, you know, you know how the military wife thing usually goes for most military men. I’m sure you guys can imagine what happened. I ended up getting kicked out of the barracks when I lived in the when I was in the Marine Corps. So, I had no choice but to live out in town because I was still collecting money from being married in the military. You get extra money if you’re in the military for being married. So, you can live out in town, raise your family, and you don’t have to live in the barracks. I was still making that money. However, I was paying my ex-wife money, so they didn’t really care that I was doing that. So, they still wanted me to live out in town. So, it was very tough times when I was in because I wasn’t cuz most of my money was going towards rent to another person, but I was also paying my ex-wife money. So, basically, I was broke all the time. Anyway, long story short, my buddy who I was in uh in the Marine Corps with, his name’s Adrian, he’s like, “Hey, man, you can live with me and my wife and we can help you out while you get your together.” And that’s pretty much how we became really close. You know what I mean? We always hung out and stuff. But yeah, I’m going to Michigan to go hang out with him for a couple days after after the few days that I do spend time with my buddy that I went to Afghanistan with. I have another person who does follow my Facebook page. His name is Joel and he’s like, “Hey man, if you ever, you know, find your way into Michigan, we should ride together.” So definitely going to try to figure that out and coordinate that while I’m still in Michigan as well. Ride with him. maybe he can show me all the cool spots to ride in cuz I’ve never been to Michigan my entire life. This will be the first time I’ve ever stepped foot in the state of Michigan and I’ve heard nothing but great things about Michigan. It’s just one of those like hidden gyms where people don’t really talk about but it’s like low-key beautiful and the people are great. So, I can’t wait after I get done riding with my buddy that follows my account, whatever, I will proceed back to Cleveland, Ohio. You see, last year when I took off, I went from Ohio through West Virginia, and then I went straight to the Gap Trail in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and did it that entire trail all the way to DC. However, this time, what I’m going to do is from Cleveland, this is phase three, by the way, of the entire journey. Phase three is from getting to Cleveland, Ohio to Buffalo, New York. Now, in Buffalo, New York, that is where the Empire State Trail starts. So, the Empire State Trail was proposed in 2017 and completed in 2020. It begins in Buffalo, New York, and extends all the way across the entire uh state of New York to Albany, New York. And from Albany, New York, it can go north to south. And it goes all the way north to Rousus Point, which is the northmost point of New York, which touches the Canadian border. and it goes all the way south to the very bottom of Manhattan Island, which is like the Battery Park area is where it stops at. The entire trail is 750 mi long. It is technically the longest multi-use trail in the United States, so I’m really excited. Plus, I’ve never been to New York. The most exciting part for me, obviously, is getting to Manhattan and just seeing just looking up the entire time to all the skyscrapers. And obviously, I want to see the World Trade Center and the 9/11 memorial. I want to see it all. I just can’t wait to even get the Manhattan vibes. Just eating the food, dealing with the unruly residents, cuz I already know how that is, too. And yeah, mainly just the whole like just experience of just saying, “Hey, I’ve been to New York and I’ve got to experience it cuz I think everybody should have that experience in their lives.” So, once I get to Manhattan, phase 4 begins. And phase four is me taking a ferry over to New Jersey and then cycling all the way to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. As I’m traveling to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, there is a few places I do plan on stopping just for the experience and you know literally just for the experience. The first stop on my journey to Pittsburgh will be Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. And the only reason why I want to go to Philly is because I want to try an authentic Philly cheese steak sandwich. That is it. Apparently, there’s like the steps uh the Rocky Steps are there, too. So, I might go check that out. But the main thing for me is definitely a Philly cheese steak, but I know there’s like a lot of historical things there as well as far as like, you know, the American Revolution and our independence. So, yeah, definitely will check out Philadelphia, but mainly for the Philly cheese sandwiches. I did some research on Google and they said that Sunny’s apparently was founded back in the 1930s is apparently and a lot of people cons you know or consensus with this is that it is roughly around one of the top three best Philly cheese stakes in Philly. After I depart Philly on my way to Pittsburgh, I will proceed to Gettysburg and I do want to see the battle site there. I think everybody should also check out Gettysburg. It’s a very historic and very solemn place, but it’s also a very unique and interesting place. So, I definitely want to check out Gettysburg. Plus, I’m into the supernatural, and I heard a lot of things about how Gettysburg Battlefield is a little haunted, so I’m still trying to, you know, experience that more. So, I will be stopping at Gettysburg as well. The last stop I will make before I hit Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, will be the Flight 93 Memorial. Um, I’ve done a lot of research about 911 and I can sit here and talk about 911 for hours upon hours. It’s a it’s one of those topics I’m deeply passionate about and it’s also a morbid curiosity. As much as it was a very painful day, I was 11 years old when 9/11 happened. I was in math class and I remember everything that happened to the te like every the teacher turned on the TV and let us watch everything that happened. I was old enough at that time to understand exactly what was happening and how tragic it was and I feel like I need to pay my respects as well. So the Flight 93 memorial, I will go there cuz I’m also going to go to the 9/11 memorial in New York City as well as probably go to the Pentagon one in DC as well. So that’s my plan. But after I go to the Flight 93 memorial, we will proceed to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. I have only been to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania one time to start the Gap Trail in 2024. And I have to say that is by far one of my most favorite cities I’ve ever visited in my entire life. On my way to Pittsburgh my first time through West Virginia, I met this guy named Greg. He’s an older gentleman. I was on the bike path that leads towards Pittsburgh from the east. And Greg was great. He was a great guy. and he took me to Pittsburgh and we went out to eat at this restaurant slashbar that he recommended. Great place. We sat and chatted for like at least an hour or two. He was a good guy. Like he’s actually on the different spectrum of political stance than me cuz I’m more conservative. he was actually more Democrat and we still got along great and he I still try to talk to him every now and again to this day and hopefully when I get to Pittsburgh I can actually potentially ride with him and maybe even spend more time with him despite the fact that we had different political beliefs. I thought he and I still think that Greg is a freaking amazing human being, man. That guy is great. I love him to death, man. He’s a good guy. But Pit, he showed me around some cool spots in Pittsburgh like the overlook that overlooks all the three rivers and Point State Park. And it it was just a great time. I loved it so much and I cannot wait to go to Pittsburgh again. Once I do reach Pittsburgh, obviously I will begin the Great Alageney Passage and proceed all the way to Cumberland, Maryland, where I will do the CNO to path. So altogether, it’s about 300 and I forgot how many miles it’s 300 and something miles. It’s like 350 370 something along those lines. But to me, it’s like the second best like bike, you know, area around the United States. I’ve never done the Katy Trail in Missouri. A lot of people say that’s a great trail. I’ve done the Ohio to Erie. I deeply love that trail. But, you know, the gap in a CNO to me personally is just like top tier. But that’s the most like the longest bike path I’ve ever rode and probably the best I’ve rode personally that goes for over 100 miles. I think the Gap in CO is absolutely phenomenal. The Gap personally is better in my opinion than the CNO. When I was on the CNO, it just rained for 9 days straight. Plus, I broke a wheel. So, it was a hot mess, but overall the experience was great. Once we get to Washington DC, we will explore Washington DC for maybe a couple days. And I love Arlington, Virginia as well. And Arlington is just right next to uh DC. So, after we leave DC, that’s when phase five be phase five begins. And phase five is me going from Washington DC all the way to the bottom of the Florida Keys. In 2024, I did the same similar route. Um, and I actually might have some tips on this as well. So, once I started the route, everything was great. Uh, riding on the road was not it’s it’s technically the East Coast Greenway, and it starts technically in Maine, but I never actually went to Maine to start the East Coast Greenway. The last time I did start it, which was in 2024, I didn’t start it until I hit DC. That’s when I officially started the East Coast Greenway. But going through Virginia and going through uh North Carolina was okay. It wasn’t that hateful. But once I hit South Carolina, that’s when it got very interesting. And when I say interesting, the roads out there are two-lane country roads. You would think they’re country road. If you’re from Ohio, you know what I’m talking about. There’s little back roads that have just the double yellow lines and there’s no shoulder. But on these roads in South Carolina, there’s like dump trucks, semi-truckss, logging trucks, and they go like 60 m an hour. So me traversing the entire state of South Carolina was probably the lowest point of my entire journey last year. And not to mention, when I was leaving North Carolina to get to South Carolina, the first place I was going to hit up was Myrtle Beach. And just Highway 17. If you guys are like avid cyclists and you guys cycle around the United States, Highway 17 is insanely dangerous and a lot of it has no shoulders and a lot of it is just high-speed highways where people are just not caring. So, you got to be very careful when you go through South Carolina if you do this route. Despite the fact that South Carolina is relatively dangerous as far as cycling, it’s still a beautiful state. It’s still great to technically ride in if you get, you know, some safe routing. And after we uh get all the way to the bottom of the Florida Keys, the furthest south I’ve ever made it to Florida was St. Augustine. But this time when I got there last year, I wanted to keep going. I was like, “Man, Florida is great. It’s warm.” I got there in December of last year in 2024. So, it was like not crazy cold, but it was like cold in Georgia right before I got to Florida. But I felt like once I got to Florida, everything was great. And obviously, I was going to do the southern tier across America. I had no intentions of going further south, but now that I thought about it often, I was like, “Okay, I want to push all the way down to the bottom of the Florida Keys. Gives me more time to be in Florida during the winter cuz I’m trying to plan it out where I hit Florida during the winter time. I can stay down there for about a month or two, push back up to St. Augustine cuz that is my phase 5 plan.” Well, that will technically be phase six. Phase six of this epic journey is from the Florida Keys, proceeding up north again to the beginning of the Florida Keys and then hanging west or yes, hanging west to the west side of Florida. So, we’re going to proceed up north through the west coast of Florida until we get pretty close to Gainesville, Florida. Then, we’ll hang east again back to St. Augustine again. And like I said before, from St. Augustine, we will do the entire southern tier across America. Now, I’ll tell you guys the exact reason why I didn’t finish it last year. I got to New Orleans, Louisiana last year. Well, actually, it was this year. It was February when I did reach New Orleans. I had I have an ex-girlfriend and she was living with another guy. I’m just going to give you the short story of it. She was living with another guy and the guy dumped her basically. And me and her have a daughter together and she’s 11 years old. So, I love my kid to death and I pretty much would do anything for her and she was desperately needing my help financially. So, I had to quit traveling in February to go back to West Virginia to help her out. And long story short, like I said, it was a very toxic situation and that’s why I’m here where I’m at now. I ended up leaving West Virginia to yeah, just to pursue my goals basically. And I know it it might sound bad to a lot of people, but either way, the reason why my trip stopped early and I didn’t finish the Southern Tier Across America was because of that situation. And so we got to we’re going to redeem that whole thing again. Once I complete the southern tier across America, it goes from St. Augustine, Florida, all the way east or west, I’m sorry, to San Diego, California. And it’s the shortest tier across America. I think the longest one is the middle one, which is the Transame. The northern tier across America is the least trafficked because you have to get it before winter begins or you’re just going to freeze your ass off. So you only have a short window to do the northern tier. Technically, you can do the southern tier during the summer, but yeah, you know, it’s hot, so that’s your call. But either way, from San Diego, I hopefully it’s springtime by then. I’m hoping by then I get there. By spring, I’m going to try to plan it out accordingly. And if I have to like dial down the miles, you know, like 20 mile days, I will do that. But from San Diego, we will push north all the way to Oregon. And it’s roughly 1,200 miles. And then from Oregon, that’s when we do the next phase, which is the Transame Trail. See, so this is bas basically going to end up to be a big giant loop around the United States. So we’ll do the Transame trail. Once I hit Missouri, that’s when I have a couple of people that follow me. They’ve been wanting me to do this for a long time, and I am going to do it with them. But I will do the entire KD trail in Missouri. So I do have to kind of deviate off the initial Transame trail to get to the KD trail. and I will complete the KD trail and proceed through the rest of the Transame trail. I have a buddy who lives in Tennessee. He’s been a huge supporter of my pages and my channels and stuff like that for the entire time. His name’s Steve, former Air Force guy. amazing human being. So, I’m definitely going to try to make plans to ride with him for a little bit and hang out with him as well. And then once we get that completed, we will proceed all the way to Virginia to the Virginia Beach. That’s where I’m going to end the entire route. And then from Virginia Beach, I will proceed back to the great old state of Ohio. And that’s that’s pretty much the entire route for the United States tour, guys. Once I return back to Ohio, my plans are as follows. I will make an entire documentary, a featurelength documentary professionally, as professional as I can make it about this entire journey. And then I’m also writing a book about my whole life. I know it’s probably narcissistic, but I was in the Marine Corps for 4 years and I did some crazy in the Marines. It’s not really too crazy, but it’s enough to for me to write about. And my childhood wasn’t the greatest. So, it’s it’s going to be an interesting book. And so, I’ve been kind of working on that low-key as well. And so, I want to work on those two things. And then by 2028, I will be my next journey will be Europe. And I don’t know exactly how that’s going to work out yet. that’s too far ahead from now. Right now, I’m just solely focused on the US tour. But that is my next journey after I complete the US journey and complete the entire tour. My plan, like I said, doing the documentary, starting on the book a little bit, kind of just recovering a little bit and then immediately planning the European tour. Like I said, that’s I don’t even know what’s going to entail. I’m I’m going to try to do the entire continent and visit all the countries. That is what I want to do. Will it happen that way? We don’t know yet. Either way, that’s going to be a future plan. So, anyway guys, that’s pretty much the route for the US tour. Thank you so much for watching, guys. I appreciate you all. Much love and hope you do. If you guys are interested in my journey and in biking touring in general, there’s going to be more better content coming. So, I highly recommend you guys subscribe to the channel. Much love, guys. And I’ll see you on the road. Also, side mention, and if anybody, you know, watching this video has any advice on the general route, once you see the general route I’m taking, if you guys have ever been on that route or any of the routes I’m taking and have any advice to throw at me or any cool places to check out, please throw it in the comments so I can get some recommendations. I love recommendations, guys.

Today I’m breaking down my full route for my 1-year bike tour across America. I’m starting in Dayton, Ohio, riding to Cincinnati, and taking the entire Ohio to Erie Trail to Cleveland. From there I’ll head to Michigan for a few weeks, return to Cleveland, and then ride to Buffalo to start the full Empire State Trail all the way to Manhattan.
From NYC, I’ll ride to Pittsburgh and take the GAP and C&O Towpath all the way to Washington, D.C.
After that, I’ll drop down the entire East Coast to the bottom of the Florida Keys, loop back up through Florida to St. Augustine, and ride the entire Southern Tier across the United States to San Diego.
From San Diego, I’m riding the West Coast up to Oregon, then heading to Astoria to start the TransAmerica Trail all the way to Virginia. Then I’ll ride back home to Ohio before beginning my Europe trip in 2028.
This is the exact route I’m taking to bike across America.
Follow the journey – this is just the beginning.

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