[leadin]A ‘free’ bike tour across the United States? This is your chance. Pedal America’s great, long open roads this summer with the Search Brigade group.[/leadin]
Bike-apparel brand Search And State this summer is organizing a cross-country bike tour. It departs from New York City on June 1st, and riders will pedal 60 – 100 miles each day, camping every night for weeks on end.
“All you have to do is show up,” Search And State notes on its event page. “Join us for a day when we pass through your city, or join us for the entire summer.”
We talked to Devin O’Brien, one of Search And State‘s founders, for a bit more detail on the event.
Trans-USA Bike Tour (Summer 2016)
Called the Search Brigade 001 Out & Back, the company has mapped a massive, 7,500-mile route (see map above). It starts and ends at the company’s HQ in New York City, then arcing west, south, then way back east in a scouted route built by experienced bike-tourers who will lead portions of the ride.
Search And State is providing this route along with basic logistical support and a group to ride with, but you must “plan your own food, water, camping equipment, and a way to get home.”
In short, this is a massive group ride where you need to be self-sufficient. The event gives the framework and route planning, including a place to camp each night. But the group “will not wait, change course, or change your flats.”
A ride leader will head out each morning and provide the location of the next evening’s camp. “You can leave when you want, arrive when you want, and travel how you want.”
It sounds like a heck of an adventure and a great opportunity for anyone looking to flee life for a few weeks this summer.
We’re planning to have the Search Brigade stop at GearJunkie headquarters in Minneapolis when the group passes through, possibly joining for a section of the ride ourselves.
Notes the event page, “There are many challenges when assembling a tour of this magnitude and it’s not all going to go perfectly. There will be some untraditional camp sites. There will be busy roads. There will be rough roads. There will be frightening storms, oppressive heat, and freezing cold. And a whole lot of other surprises we can’t begin to imagine but, after all, that’s the whole point.”
–See the event’s page, and sign up for the Search Brigade email list for more info or to join the ride.
