Changing Gears: A Distant Teen, a Desperate Mother, and 4,329 Miles Across the Transamerica Bicycle Trail

by Leah Day

Overview

What happens when a mother and her 16-year-old son drop everything to bike across the country? On the TransAmerica Bicycle Trail, they struggle up hills in the pouring rain, they feel soreness in muscles they didn’t know they had, and they learn more about each other than they ever knew before. When licensed clinical therapist and self-proclaimed “reluctant adventurer” Leah Day felt herself drifting from her son, Oakley, she decided to make a drastic play to reconnect. In this memoir chronicling the journey of a lifetime, Leah and Oakley find that if they can push themselves to accomplish physically exhausting and emotionally taxing milestones on a bike, they are capable of anything!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781641706544
Publisher:	Familius
Publication date:	05/10/2022
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	8.90(w) x 5.60(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

Leah Day lives on Peaks Island in Maine with her husband, four children, and dog, Cricket. A licensed clinical therapist and former Outward Bound instructor, she now owns and operates Lighthouse Bikes in South Portland, Maine, and documents her outdoor adventures on her blog bikemum.com.

Read an Excerpt

Places of interest: 

Before we left, the bike shops that helped us get started: 
1. Brad’s Recycled Bikes, Peaks Island, Maine (advice, fixes, moral support, solid friendship, corny jokes)
2. Allspeed Bikes, Portland, Maine (bike boxes; good cheer)
3. Gear Hub, Portland, Maine (built our bikes despite our help)

Towns and places where we stayed overnight:

Start: Astoria, Ore. (Bike shop: Bikes & Beyond)
1. Fort Stevens State Park (coastal Oregon) 
2. Manzanita, Neakahnie, and Nehalem State Parks, Nehalem, Ore. (coastal Oregon) (Cannon Beach; Haystack Rock)
3. Cape Lookout State Park, Tillamook, Ore., with stops at Sand Lake Rec. Area and Sand Lake Dunes
4. Grande Ronde, Ore. 
5. Independence, Ore.
6. Armitage Park, Eugene, Ore. (Willamette Valley) (Bike shop: Peaks Sports Bike Shop)
7. Belknap Hot Springs, McKenzie, Ore. (McKenzie River Wild & Scenic River)
8. Sisters, Ore. (Over McKenzie Pass) (Mt. Washington Wilderness; Three Sisters; Belknap Lava Crater; Mt. Washington; Dr. Wright Observatory)
9. REST DAY Sisters, Ore. (Paulina Springs Book Store)
10. Ochoco Lake State Park, Ore.
11. Spok’n Hostel, Mitchell, Ore. (Painted Desert; Ochoco Pass)
12. Mt. Vernon, Ore. (John Day Valley; petroglyphs at Clyde Holliday State Rec. Site)
13. Prairie City, Ore. (Bates State Park) (Strawberry Mtn., Monument Rock)
14. Baker City, Ore. (Bike shop: The Trailhead; Betty’s Books) (National Historic Oregon Trail Interpretive Center)
15. Oxbow, Ore. (Oxbow Campground; Wallowa Mtns.; Snake River (Wild & Scenic); Hells Canyon)
16. Cambridge, Id. (Mundo Hot Springs)
17. New Meadows, Id. 
18. White Bird, Id. (Hoot Café) (Salmon River – Wild & Scenic River) (Frank Church River of No Return) 
19. Kooskia, Id. 
20. Wilderness Gateway, Id. (Clearwater River – Wild & Scenic River; Nez Perce Reservation; South Fork Campground) 
21. Locksa Lodge, Id. (Lolo Pass)
22. Missoula, Mt. (Adventure Cycling Headquarters – provided maps for our journey) (Shady Spruce Hostel)
23. REST DAY Missoula, Mt. 
24. Darby, Mt. (I cried a lot in Darby because I broke my bike) (Bike shop: Valley Bicycles) (Payette National Forest, over Lost Trail Pass and Bitterroot Mtns., crossing Continental Divide for first time)
25. Wisdom, Mt. (Beaver Head Historic Site; Deer Lodge National Forest; Big Hole National Battlefield)
26. Dillon, Mt. (Bike shop: professor of outdoor ed at Montana State University, had a bike shop in his garage, fixed our wobbly wheels)
27. Virginia City, Mt. (Old West Victorian town)
28. Earthquake Lake, Mt. 
29. Yellowstone, Wyo. (Bike shop: Yellowstone Bicycle, bought bear spray)
30. Grant Village, Wyo. (Yellowstone National Park)
31. Colter Bay, Wyo. (Grand Tetons) 
32. Hatchet Creek, Wyo. (Jackson Lake; Bridger / Teton National Forest; Togwotee Mountain Lodge) 
33. Dubois, Wyo.
34. Lander, Wyo. (Wind River Range; Bike Shop: Gannett Peak Sports)
35. Jeffrey City, Wyo. (Sweetwater Junction)
36. Saratoga, Wyo. (Bike shop: Rawlins Outdoor Shop; O’Reilly Auto Parts)
37. REST DAY Saratoga, Wyo. (Hobo Hot Springs; Saratoga Lake Campground)
38. Encampment, Wyo. (Six Mile Gap; Medicine Bow)
39. Walden, Colo. (Arapo and Roosevelt National Forests) 
40. Hot Sulphur Springs, Colo.
41. Breckenridge, Colo. (Bike shops: Pioneer Sports, Silver Thorne, Colo.; Elevation Bike & Ski, Breckenridge, Colo.; Bivvi Hostel in Breckenridge; Old Dillon Reservoir Trailhead; Cucumber Gulch Wildlife Preserve; Saphire Pt. Overlook)
42. Canyon City, Colo. (Hoosier Pass; Mosquito Range; Mt. Democrat; Hoosier Ridge; Royal Gorge)
43. Pueblo, Colo. (Lake Pueblo State Park)
44. Ordway, Colo.
45. Eads, Colo.
46. Tribune, Ks.
47. Scott City, Ks.
48. Alexander, Ks. (Bike shop: The Golden Belt Bicycle Co.; Grass Prairie Reservation; Quivira National Wildlife Refuge)
49. Nickerson, Ks. 
50. Newton, Ks. 
51. Cassaday, Ks. 
52. Toronto, Ks. (Fall River State Park)
53. Chanute, Ks. 
54. REST DAY Chanute, Ks. 
55. Gerard, Ks.
56. Golden City, Mo. (Cookie’s Café & Pie)
57. Fairgrove, Mo.
58. Hartsville, Mo. 
59. Summerville, Mo. 
60. Elliotsville, Mo. (Ozark Scenic Waterway)
61. Farmington, Mo. (Bike hostel: Al’s Place)
62. Chester, Ill. (crossed Mississippi River, near Popeye’s birthplace)
63. Grassy Lake State Park, Carbondale, Ill. (Crab Orchard Wildlife Refuge)
64. Rose Claire, Ky. (Cave-in Rock State Park, Ohio River; Fluorspar Festival) 
65. Sebree, Ky. (Amish country)
66. Fordsville, Ky. (Babtist Church – thank you!)
67. White Mill, Ky. (firehouse)
68. Springfield, Ky. (firehouse)
69. Berea, Ky. (Berea College)
70. REST DAY Berea, Ky.
71. Booneville, Ky. 
72. Hindville, Ky.  
73. Brakes Park, Va. 
74. Council, Va. (Council Park)
75. Damascus, Va. (Bike shop: Bicycle Junction, near Appalachian Trail; Virginia Creeper Trail – super awesome bike crossroads; hostel called The Place)
76. Wytheville, Va. 
77. Christiansburg, Va. (New River Gorge National Park and Preserve)
78. Troutsville, Va. 
79. Vesuvius, Va. (Mallard Duck Campground; Vesuvius Mtn., Blue Ridge Parkway)
80. Greenville, Va. (Bike shop: Blue Ridge Cyclery, in Charlottesville, Va.)
81. Mineral, Va. (Haysi Hardware Store)
82. Ashland, Va. 
83. Williamsburg, Va. (James River State Park)
84. Yorktown, Va. 

Table of Contents

Introduction xi

Devil or Angel 1

Following His Lead 4

He Zips It Up. He Zips It Down 8

Should We Do This Crazy Thing? 12

Where's Oakley? 14

The Whole Dang Country 17

Bear! 21

Bike Therapy 25

Freedom Is a Need 32

Biker Advice 35

It Takes a Community 39

Forty-Nine and Eleven-Twelfths 41

So Much to Learn 45

The Spark 47

Bubble Wrap and More Bubble Wrap 50

Making a List and Checking It Twice 54

Every Journey Starts with a Goodbye 57

Tears of Bravery 59

On Our Way-Ready or Not 65

First Friends 69

Cold Coke and Meat Lover's Pizza 102

Those Who Come Before 115

Can You Breathe Silence? 131

Come On, Mom 148

I Fall Apart 158

A Tent Kitten 166

The Great Mississippi 174

Killers and Kittens and Dogs, Oh My! 178

The Quests That Never End 191

Afterword 209

Appendix 211

Acknowledgments 218

Author Bio 219

Editorial Reviews

"Riding across America is about so much more than covering a few thousand miles by bike. Leah Day writes about her adventures, both internal and on the road, with insight and empathy, bringing readers along for a view of magic moments, big and small."
—Alex Strickland, editor of Adventure Cycling Magazine

"As an educator and bike tour guide, I've found the bicycle to be an ideal way for young people to learn to interact with the world around them. The bike facilitates adventure, encourages exploration, and provides limitless opportunities for the curious mind. Experiencing the open road and the people, places, and communities along the way empowers young people to make connections and opens worlds of possibilities. More than a form of exercise or mode of transportation, a bike is the perfect tool for discovery for young and old alike!"
— Jesse McDonough, director of the Breakwater Bike Program

From the Publisher