As promised almost two weeks ago, here is a “scorecard” to show you when and how I recorded each of the 50 states (and the District of Columbia). Before I give you those details I want to let you know that the great logo commemorating my successful completion of riding in all 50 states (plus DC) was designed by my cousin Debby Bewley, of Bowling Green, Ohio. It was her late husband, Dave, who I rode with in September 2003 from Bowling Green to North Baltimore and back to add Ohio as my ninth state. Dave was a cyclist who loved organized bike tours and long distance cycling. He did double centuries (200 mile rides in 24 hours), rode RAGBRAI across Iowa nine times, owned a road bike for every occasion, and had bookshelves filled with bicycling books.
Debby worked for Bowling Green State University’s PBS Station for 30 years as a graphic designer. While her artistic endeavors have most recently involved the creation of fine art, she was more than willing to create the great logo design that you see above.
The impetus for completing the fifty state rides was born from my inability to complete a cross country bicycle tour in 2016 that I abandoned due to illness in Mankato, Minnesota after completing over 2,000 miles. At the time I had ridden in 23 states. My friends asked me if I was going to either complete the cross country ride the next year, or try again to ride all the way across the country. Not wanting to do either, but just short of half the states, the idea of riding in every state was born.
Later in 2016 I traveled to Georgia to ride the Chief Ladiga Trail (a rail trail on the route of the former Silver Comet streamliner) in both Georgia and Alabama. After that, a portion of a cross country tour in 2018, and a ride starting in Massachusetts up through Vermont and back down through New Hampshire with a friend from that aborted 2016 cross-country trip got me to 30 states. In 2019 I harvested a bumper crop of 13 new states with an Alaska bicycle tour and two driving trips in the East with my bike to complete all the states east of the Mississippi River.
With 43 states completed, I decided that a good goal was to complete my quest for 50 states by my 70th birthday in August 2020. But the Covid 19 pandemic had different ideas, and I had to cancel my planned trips to get the last seven states before completing my seventh decade. Not wanting to fall short of my goal, I decided that since I wasn’t willing to go out and travel during the darkest days of the pandemic, I would do the most logical thing I could to not miss my goal. I stopped the clock! My 70th birthday waited an extra 51 weeks until at 4:31 p.m. Mountain Time on Friday, August 20, 2021 when I completed my Utah ride at the Roy, Utah commuter rail station. I finally could celebrate my 70th birthday with all 50 states (plus the District of Columbia) completed. A week later I celebrated my 71st birthday!
By year, here is the path to riding in every state of our nation:
The Path to 50 States |
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Early to mid 1960's (1) |
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New Jersey |
First
10+ mile ride while delivering newspapers |
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1974 (2) |
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Maryland |
Moved there |
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Virginia |
Maryland-DC-Virginia rides |
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Washington DC |
" |
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1993 (2) |
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Wisconsin |
Two State Ride along Mississippi River starting in Hudson |
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Minnesota |
" |
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1996 (1) |
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Texas |
Moved there |
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1999 (1) |
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Hawaii |
Mt. Haleakala Downhill |
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2001 (1) |
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Delaware |
Maryland-New Jersey Ride |
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2003 (1) |
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Ohio |
Bowling Green-New Baltimore ride |
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2004 (1) |
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New York |
NYC Five Boro Bike Tour |
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2005 (3) |
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Florida |
Melbourne to Key West Solo Ride |
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West Virginia |
MD/WV ride on the Western Maryland Rail Trail |
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Pennsylvania |
North Central Rail Trail Suburban Baltimore to York |
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2007 (2) |
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Arizona |
Winter Vacation |
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Massachusetts |
Newton to Charles River Boat Races with my cousin |
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2010 (2) |
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California |
Oceanside-San Diego |
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Kentucky |
Riding in Lexington area while visiting my daughter |
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2014 (2) |
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North Carolina |
America By Bicycle Tour |
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South Carolina |
" |
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2016 (6) |
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Oregon |
America By Bicycle Across America North Tour |
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Idaho |
" |
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Wyoming |
" |
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South Dakota |
" |
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Georgia |
Chief Ladiga Trail Ride—Georgia and Alabama |
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Alabama |
" |
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2018 (5) |
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Vermont |
Massachusetts-Vermont-New Hampshire Ride |
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New Hampshire |
" |
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New Mexico |
Crossroads Cycling Tour |
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Oklahoma |
" |
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Kansas |
" |
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2019 (13) |
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Washington |
Around Bainbridge Island |
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Alaska |
Bicycle tour with Alaskabikes Tour company |
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Connecticut |
CT/RI lighthouse ride w/friend from Alaska ride |
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Rhode Island |
" |
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Maine |
Portland Area Ride |
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Tennessee |
Kingsport Bike Path ride |
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Mississippi |
Natchez Trace Parkway ride |
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Louisiana |
Shreveport local ride |
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Arkansas |
Little Rock area ride |
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Illinois |
Two state ride starting east end of former I-66 bridge |
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Missouri |
" |
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Indiana |
Two state ride starting in South Bend |
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Michigan |
" |
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2021 (7) |
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Iowa |
Two State ride starting in Council Bluffs |
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Nebraska |
" |
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North Dakota |
Fargo Ride |
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Montana |
Miles City Ride |
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Colorado |
Fort Collins Ride |
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Nevada |
West Wendover Ride |
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Utah |
D&RGW Rail Trail Ride in Salt Lake City/Ogden Area |
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Thanks for following my story. I hope you enjoyed reading about how I successfully accomplished my goal. And if it serves as inspiration for you to go out and achieve something that you have always wanted to do, I’ll consider that to be a worthy result of what I’ve done with my bicycle.
Bruce