Favorable Conditions For Riding

As I was preparing for this summer endeavor with Bike & Build, many people joked with me that I was going the wrong way across the country because our route travels east to west rather than the traditional west to east.  Certainly, while there are factors that make riding from California to Florida an easier undertaking, there are several other factors that influence bikers on a daily basis.  

First, let's talk about wind, the main motivation for traveling choosing to start on the west coast.  Traditionally, wind blows across the United States from west to east meaning that if you travel towards the Atlantic Ocean you will have a tail wind for the majority of your trip but if you travel away from the Atlantic, you will likely have considerably more headwinds.  Additionally, you can have strong crosswinds off the Gulf of Mexico. Crosswinds necessitate extra care on the part of the rider and much more confidence in your riding line.  

In addition to winds, riders can encounter many different types of terrain.  In the Tour d'France, there is both an overall dinner and also a King of the Mountains award.  This is because riding on flatter terrain is a completely different ball game from riding in hills and mountains and the Tour likes to recognize that although a rider might not be leading in overall points, their mountain climbing abilities are deserving of acclamation.  Following this pattern, biking on the flat terrain that followed the Gulf and the Mississippi was a totally different environment from the mountains we are about to traverse in New Mexico.  

Road quality is an extremely important factor.  Louisiana was a difficult state to ride through because, as riders, we had to be much more vigilant of disappearing shoulders, pot holes and debris decorating the roadways.  Alternatively, Oklahoma was a great state for bike riding because the roads were really well paved and the shoulders were very consistent.  

Bike & Build maintains that one central reason for routing riders from east to west is lighting.  Our team gets on the road very early in the morning and if we had started on the west coast, drivers might have a harder time seeing riders because the sun would be rising in their eyes.  Instead, because we start in the east, the sun is at our backs and drivers can more easily spot us.  

Finally, distance between cities is an important factor in deciding to travel from east to west.  Because we began in Florida, the cities were a lot closer together than they would have been had we started in California.  Our first two ride days, we were afforded the luxury of breaking in our cycling bodies with short 40 mile days as opposed to the 80 and 90 mile days we will have to ride to get from one city to the next on the west coast.  Starting in the east meant that people could work their way up to higher milages rather than jumping into the deep end right off the bat.  

As always, because we all like photos...