Newspaper Article

My good friend Nate Eagle just wrote an article about the trip for the Greenville Advocate.
It sums the trip up better than I could of
Thanks Nate

By Nathan Eagle

TROY — Dawn. Bald eagles soar. Mist rolls through mountain forests. A steady rain beats down and glistens Washington State Highway 20.
Troy native Nathan Hadlock fastens his helmet strap under his chin. He saddles his road bike and is “encompassed by the beauty.” Attached to his bike behind him is a small trailer with a tent, stove, one change of clothes, spare tires, bike tools and a cell phone.
This was day one of a 4,142-mile cycling trip across the northern United States.
There was no prior training. No months of thoughtful planning. Just a spontaneous late night Internet purchase of a one-way ticket to Seattle July 4... and the desire to “go have a big adventure.”
Sixty sweaty days later the 23-year-old graduate student completed the trek from Anacortes, Wash., to Bar Harbor, Maine. The trip sparked a newfound patriotism, prompted him to give away his car and, more than anything, slowed down his life.
“Yes, you’re able to see and hear and smell things better on a bike than in a car or motorcycle... but cycling slows down your life,” Hadlock said. “You don’t feel the pressure of time. When you get into cities and see people in a rush it almost seems funny to you. It’s like, ‘What are you running around for? Slow down.’”
This summer, he said, provided the first opportunity in his life where he had “the resources to be able to go and do what I wanted, when I wanted.”
“It turned into a discovery of America’s different cultures,” Hadlock said. “While riding along, I realized how much I didn’t know about Americans — how diverse they are.”
Hadlock met dozens of people across 14 states.
There were chats with old men drinking coffee at gas stations and talks with folks at small town diners. But some of the best conversations, he said, came when families welcomed him into their homes.
Hadlock had the process of finding a place to camp each night down to a science by the end of the trip.
“It would typically start at a public pool in a town with a population between 1,000 and 2,000. I’d hit the pool up to be clean before I’d go talking to people,” he said. “Then I’d eye the parks. I’d get it approved by the police so I had a backup plan.
“Then I’d go to the grocery store or diner for dinner. I’d ask as many people as I could if they knew of a place to stay to throw up a tent. Depending on the town, I’d have pretty good luck,” he added.
Many families along the way let Hadlock camp in their front yard, and sometimes he said he would even luck out with a free dinner. Inside their homes, he said it was always interesting to see what an individual would want to share.
“When I was staying at an organic fruit farm in Kettle Falls, Wash., it was organic coffee. In Minnesota, a guy proudly showed me an ice slide he built,” he said.
“I never stayed with a family that had ever put a biker up... so it was as new to me as them,” he added. “There’s no way I could have gotten the response I got if I were traveling in a car or on a motorcycle. There’s something about traveling on a bike that makes people want to come up and talk to you and see what you’re about.”
Along the road, Hadlock said he met a variety of people doing similar cross country trips.
“There was a 60-year-old woman carrying her own stuff biking around the perimeter of the U.S.; another man I met was biking carrying his 70 pound lab and his equipment.; another man, around 70, was just walking the country with a backpack... 20 miles a day,” he said.
All the people Hadlock met created a new appreciation for his native country.
“Before this trip, I wasn’t what you would call a ‘wear it on your shoulders’ patriotic person. I’ve gained a new sense of patriotism by learning about the different people and seeing how many incredibly nice, giving people are out there,” he said. “I do feel very proud to be a part of this country.”
As the trip progressed, and in light of soaring gas costs, Hadlock said it became a mission to learn more about alternative fuels.
“I had a lot of discussions with farmers on how E85 or ethanol in the fuel affects them and the community. A lot of people are very buy American and make sure to buy American shoes and cars but when it comes to one of the United States’ largest imports, it’s not really a big push to buy American... or in other words, buy alternative fuel like ethanol or diesel,” he said.
“Most lawmakers are dragging their feet. However, I learned that in Iowa 10 percent of all unleaded fuel there is ethanol and they just passed a law saying 20 percent has to be... which is really supporting their state and their people,” he added.
Hadlock said he plans on giving his car to his parents because their van and truck do not get good gas mileage.
“I just got an apartment. I looked for one close to school, the supermarket... everything I need so I wouldn’t have to be dependent on a car,” he said. “If you’re going to complain about oil and fuel prices... I’m going to take the inconvenience and do my part.”
Hadlock estimated that if he was driving a car that got 20 miles per gallon, he would have saved $531 in fuel on the trip.
“Now if cars could be powered on donuts... then I don’t know,” he said, laughing.
Hadlock practically lived off donuts, tuna and noodles for two months, so sugary pastries were evidently still on his mind. Despite the diet, he finished the trip nine pounds lighter and dropped his resting heart rate from 68 to 59 beats per minute.
“I’d eat five or six donuts in the morning and maybe some milk. Lunch was predominantly tuna fish sandwiches and fruit. Dinners were burgers or tuna and noodles,” he said. “It wasn’t a very healthy diet, but it worked. It gave us the calories we needed. One of the main goals going into a grocery store was seeing who could get the most calories per dollar.”
The “we” Hadlock refers to are two cycling buddies — Luke, 20, and Olaf, 13, Ydstie — he met in Williston, N.D. The three rode together to Wisconsin, where they split to take different routes. They reunited in Buffalo, N.Y., for the final stretch.
Hadlock said their $5 per day budget crushed his $20 per day allowance.
He kept in touch with family and friends during the trip through an interactive Web site he set up at crosscountrycycle.blogspot.com. More stories and photos are still available there online.
Hadlock is currently getting set to start graduate school at the University of Cincinnati in electrical engineering.
Nathan Eagle is a staff writer and news editor for the Daily Advocate. He can be reached at neagle@dailyadvocate.com. Thermostat