Derek Johanson – entrepreneur and owner/writer of popular blog Live Uncomfortably – has recently completed his first bike tour, and has kindly agreed to do an interview about his experiences whilst cycling.
Firstly, tell us a little about yourself and your trip.
My name is Derek Johanson. Over a year ago, I quit my job because I wanted to live a more interesting lifestyle and accomplish some goals I’d set for myself. A lot of times my life isn’t exactly ideal, but other times – like this trip – I couldn’t be happier.
My friend Clay and I completed a 3 and half week tour down the Pacific Coast Route, starting in Vancouver, BC and ending on the border in San Diego, California. About 2,000 miles in total.
I’d never been a biker and didn’t own a bike until two months before I left on this trip. I did it strictly because it sounded like an awesome story I could tell to chicks in bars.
Why did you decide to do a bicycle tour? And why did you decide to go where you did?
I first considered doing a tour while I was traveling in Colombia. I met a German guy who had bought a cheap mountain bike and set out across Colombia going from town to town. He wasn’t touring in the traditional sense, but I was inspired. He would say, “Why not use your legs when you’re young.”
I enjoy physical activity so I decided touring would be a fun adventure to embark on once back in the states.
Originally, we intended to start in San Diego, CA and go across ending in Georgia. But because of the timing, summer in the US south, I decided against bearing the humidity, and instead favored the coastal route.
What type of bike and gear (pannier, trailer, or backpack) did you use and why did you select those particular items?
I got a used Jamis steel frame roadbike that I found used on Craigslist.org for $350 US. It wasn’t a traditional touring bike but it did the trick for this shorter trip.
For storage, I used a rear rack and 2 panniers made by Transit. I was trying to go as light weight as possible so I used smaller front panniers attached to the rear rack. The main reason I went with Transit panniers instead of a nicer brand like Ortlieb was that they were on sale at the discount bike shop Performance, in my area.
One guy told us about how crappy our panniers were and how they completely broke on him one time. If I were biking for a year or something crazy like that, I’d probably go with a more high end pannier.
Here’s a picture of my bike fully loaded.
Talk about the first couple days of your tour and your state of mind during that time. Was it hard to settle into a routine, and what happened in the first couple days of your tour?
The first couple of days were some of the hardest. We weren’t actually sure how much mileage our bodies could take and what kind of food intake would be necessary. I think the first day we pushed a little bit harder than we should of, and Clay ended up pretty sick (I’m sure most bikers know the feeling – unnecessary coughing and dizziness).
We also tried to eat fairly healthy – fruits and nuts along the way – and that was a huge mistake. We were burning an incredible amount of calories and the body needs fuel. Whole, healthy foods unfortunately couldn’t really cut it.
We settled down into a routine pretty quickly. Up around 6 or 7, biking by 8 or 9. After 40-50 miles we’d break for lunch. Then we’d finish off the day 20-50 miles and eat dinner. Then we’d lounge around camp until 9 or so when the sun went down and fall asleep.
For the trip we averaged about 80 miles a day with our biggest day being 120 miles.
What was the best experience of the trip?
There were certain moments that can’t wholly be defined but I’ll try my best. This might be overly poetic, but I’d be riding along the cliffs of California’s rolling golden coast and the rhythm of my body working with the bike would lure me into an almost trance like state of happiness. I’d be pedaling along not thinking about anything besides how free and happy I felt to just be alive in that moment.
Beyond those man and nature type of moments, the best experiences came after the riding was done and meeting new people who were touring as well.
Were there any elements of travelling by bike that turned out to be different from your pre-trip expectations?
This is a tough one to answer because my trip was almost spur of the moment. I wasn’t really expecting a lot. I will say this, the California coast is a lot hillier than I imagined and Washington has a lot more rednecks than Clay expected .
Anything funny or crazy happen?
You meet a lot of funny and crazy people on adventures like these and that’s where most of the entertainment comes from. But here are few quick stories.
On our first day a Canadian guy came up to me and asked me whether or not I was gay because of the biker uniform I was wearing.
There was one night when we rolled into a town in Washington at sunset with no campsites. We ended up asking a mom and her 2 daughters if they knew a good place we could ‘stealth camp’. They debated for 5 minutes before telling us to just sleep in their backyard. They ended up being bikers themselves who’d done some tours. They also had a keg that the dad let us drink out of.
I got stung by a bee and my lip swelled up leaving me looking like the elephant man.
Clay and I had our one and only crash about 10 minutes from his house in San Francisco. We were riding about 7 miles an hour down a street and a Prius came up behind us and wouldn’t pass although there was tons of room. I decided to try to get further away on the shoulder to let her by. As the Prius passed, I started to return to the road without realizing that the shoulder had lowered and my tire caught a lip.
It must have looked hilarious from the back because I literally just tipped over into the street, frantically trying to get my shoes out of the clips. Clay, who was behind me, didn’t have hands near the brakes so he had to swerve, narrowly hit my head, and then he lost control and went head over heels over the front of his bike.
We both stood up and checked ourselves for injuries. The woman in the Prius, stopped, screamed ‘Are you o.k.?’ We said yeah, and she immediately got in her car and drove off without any further discussion.
Some people may be put off bicycle touring by the idea that you need to be ultra fit to do it. How much of a physical challenge was the trip?
Let me preface this by saying I exercise regularly and would say I’m normally in pretty good shape.
But, I had zero experience riding a roadbike up until I bought my bike about 2 months before hand. I road 3-5 times a week before I left, going about 20 miles per ride. The longest ride I did was 60 miles and it killed me.
Overall, I’d say the trip wasn’t that physically demanding. If you keep mileage under 50 a day, there’s no reason that anyone can’t do it. We felt pretty good even at 80 miles a day. I’d say the key is to just start eating and never stop.
We joked that if you want to lose fat quickly, it’s easy: just bike for 6-8 hours a day.
Did you have a daily budget before setting out and did you manage to stick to it?
I did have a daily budget that I was able to stick fairly close to. I set a budget of $20 a day in food, and anywhere from $5-10 for hiker/biker campsites at night.
Of course, there were events along the way, flat tires, repairs, etc. that upped the cost.
Overall, I’d say $30-$40 per day would be more than enough for a trip like this.
Finally, do you have any further travel plans, either by bicycle or other form?
I would love to do another bike tour in the future through another country outside of the states. Once my business pursuits are a bit more locked in, I’ll be taking off and I’m definitely considering doing another tour.
Biking The Pacific Coast Route from Derek Johanson on Vimeo.
Derek has been described by Jet Set Life TV as the ‘real deal’. His blog is an experiment in micro testing his philosophy (Live Uncomfortably) and creating his personal lifestyle design.
In his own words, Living Uncomfortably is doing the unaccustomed everyday to break the cycle of routine and boredom. We must push ourselves each day to do things that aren’t necessarily within our comfort zones.
