When you ride across a continent, like I did with North America in 2001, you have a lot of time to think. A good part of your brainpower stays on the task at hand – road conditions, traffic, food and water supply, wind, hills, time, and distance to the next anything – in an unusual way. As Hemmings (see “Books” for references) says:

“Whether pottering along or riding at athletic pace, staying in top hotels or camping out, your perceptions of time and distance undergo a radical transformation.”

And it’s not just time and distance; it’s your perceptions of the world. The immediacy of everything at 15 miles per hour without barriers; the discussions every few hours with strangers; the air, animals and sounds - they become mystical. During the RAAM, with my remaining mental capacity, somewhere in rural Texas, I decided to try to ride all the continents.

Which one? Africa, Australia, Asia, Europe, South America… Australia, for a few reasons. They speak English, are reputedly friendly, and they have deserts – “the outback”. Charlie Walker told me prior to the RAAM (Ride Across AMerica) that I would prefer the western voids to the eastern small towns. Australia is the great U.S. plains on steroids. The zen-state of the endurance riding through the non-peopled emptiness must be experienced, better, more and again.

So I researched. Unlike the US of A, where hundreds of people ride across the country each year -where there are well defined routes and support - it’s hard to find that anyone has ever ridden a bike across Australia. If you read the Lonely Planet guide to cycling in Australia, the concept isn’t even considered.

Yet there is an incredible history of cycling in Australia, (bikes for a long time were the fastest most dependable way to get anywhere) and certainly some people have ridden across. Roff Smith rode around it, and I think someone else did a century (100 years, not the bike concept of ‘century’) before him. There is a record for cycling across Australia.

In any case, it was Australia. Friendly people, the right language, the zen opportunity and the freshness of a wholly new place. Like RAAM is Ride Across America (and hopefully RAASIA, RASAM, and RAEUR) there became RAAUST”.

Ride Across America
Oceanside, CA to Savannah, GA • 2,700 mi • 2001
A semi-southern route RAAM. See the web site www.perkowitz.com for details.

Blue Ridge Parkway
Cherokee, NC to Roanoke, VA • 260 mi • 2002
Weather disrupted this ride at the end of April with Lisa Renstrom, John Culbertson, Matt Hapgood and Bryan Lawson. Some really big hills, especially on the Cherokee to Asheville section.

For more photos, click here.

Charlotte, NC to Winston-Salem, NC • 90 mi • 2002
Charlotte, NC to Pawley’s Island, SC • 210 mi • 2000
Charlotte, NC to Atlanta, GA • 280 mi • 1995
These are Charlotte-based one and two day rides. The rolling hills of the south. Lots of rural roads, light traffic, except when you approach the coast or Atlanta.

Pacific Coast Bike Route
San Francisco to Santa Monica, CA • 500 mi • 1992, 1997 & 1999
The best bike touring ride in America. A four day ride with stops in Monterey, Morro Bay and Goleta (n of Santa Barbara). Big Sur is the biggest challenge. www.adventurecycling.org has maps.

Ontario to Palm Springs, CA • 120 mi • 1993
Rockingham to Myrtle Beach, NC • 150 mi • 1995–1998
These are the MS150 rides. You raise money for a good cause on farily easy rides with lots of people and support.

Santa Barbara to Santa Monica, CA • 120 mi • 1991, 1993 & 1997
Santa Monica to LaJolla, CA • 120 mi • 1996 & 1998
Santa Monica to Palm Springs, CA • 140 mi • 1997 & 1998
These are all one-day Los Angeles based rides where I used a rental car to get to the start point or return from the destination. A great way to see southern California.

Santa Monica, CA to Pheonix, AZ • 500 mi • 1996
This 4-day ride included a 40-mile hop on a freight train by Yuma and a 20-mile lift from a nice preacher in a Ryder rent-a-van. Rather than cut straight over, Bryan Lawson and I headed west to Palm Springs, south to Yuma, east to Gila Bend, then north and east again into Phoenix.

Wilmington, SC to Kitty Hawk, NC • 300 mi • 1995
With Lisa Renstrom, Charlie Walker and Kevin Armstrong. Into the headwinds. The Outer Banks and ferry rides alone are worth the trip.

Wisconsin Bikeway
LaCrosse to Racine, WI • 300 mi • 1970’s–1990’s
I’ve ridden this perhaps ten times from the early 1970's to the early 1990’s. Showing Wisconsin’s leadership, this was one of the first cross state routes and it links many beautiful rail-trails. This beautiful ride hooked me on bike touring.

Champaign, IL to Lexington, KY • 300 mi • 1976
Joined an attorney and a minister for part of their RAAM.

If you look at the books in the bibliography, you’ll find that the “How to” books on bike touring spend a bunch of words on training, but the books by the people who actually tour hardly mention it. Who has time? I just stay in generally good shape mostly by running and ride only very occasionally (maybe once a month) until I go touring. Mental training and multi-day pacing yourself are key.

A simple formula: An ounce or two of liquid per mile, 8,000 calories per day. A few vitamins and some powder endurance drink mix. Eat steadily. Be prepared in the event that the gas station or restaurant 140 miles down the road that you were hoping to refresh at is closed.