“You reach the top of a mountain pass … it’s real … it does something to you. Humping up a steep 1,000-foot elevation with 40 pounds of gear, it’s hard. You’ve accomplished something. And there’s still all this country there before you.”
Bill Bundschu, a 75-year-old cyclist from Independence, Missouri, tries to explain his love of bicycle touring. Bundschu has biked many of the historic bike routes, such as the Oregon Trail, the Santa Fe Trail, the Natchez Trace, parts of Route 66 and the Lewis and Clark Trail (the 2,800 miles from St. Charles to Astoria). He's preparing for a bike tour to his law school reunion in Durham, North Carolina, in April.
Bundschu says he likes to average about 65 miles a day, knocking off by 5 so he can relax and watch the sun set from his camp. Sometimes he just stays there, other times he'll explain a town and have a couple of beers.
Here's a good tip from this experienced cyclist: when planning a bike route, try to follow the railroad tracks as they never climb at more than a 2% grade.
“Two-wheeled traveler pedals through history”, Kansas City Star, March 15, 2006
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