Young men who went west

From sea to shining sea and many miles of amber waving grain in between, that's how two Pittsburgh men saw the United States last summer.

Readers may recall my July 20 column about Bill McNelis, 35, and Matt Stroud, 26, two adventure-seekers who decided to cross the country on two wheels, couch-surfing along the way.

Starting near Boston on June 24, the pair set out to pedal to the Pacific near Portland, Ore., counting on the kindness of strangers they met through a social networking Web site, www.couchsurfing.com. They took along a BlackBerry and a laptop computer to communicate with potential hosts, family and friends, as well as keep a running blog of the journey on their Web site (www.stateofman.org).

I'm happy to report their mission was a success, although it didn't always go as planned.

Biking west on lesser traveled roads through New York and Philadelphia to Pittsburgh, they continued to Cleveland; Toledo, Ohio; Chicago; Milwaukee; Madison, Wis.; Minneapolis; then into South Dakota and Wyoming to Yellowstone Park, where they arrived in mid-August.

At that point they split up, an amicable decision.

Mr. Stroud, running out of cash and ready to return to Pittsburgh, made a beeline to San Francisco, biking three marathon days to Elko, Nev., where he rented a car and drove across the summer-hot desert and Sierra Nevadas to Sacramento, Calif. From there, he pedaled to San Francisco, arriving on Aug. 19. After selling his bike, he flew back to Pittsburgh.

Mr. McNelis chose to savor the journey and kept to the original itinerary, biking westward from Yellowstone, taking his time to reach the Pacific at Canon Beach, Ore., where he dipped his tires on Sept 6. Then he rented a car and drove to San Francisco and spent time with friends before flying back to Pittsburgh. He shipped his bike back to Pittsburgh via UPS for $85.

I recently met with the pair in a Bloomfield coffee shop to discuss their experiences.

Both men were lean, fit and thoughtful after spending so many weeks on bicycle seats. Despite enduring several flat tires, Matt covered more than 3,500 miles and Bill broke the 4000 mile mark, both without experiencing any major mishaps or injuries. In fact, they seemed well for the wear through which they'd put themselves.

"It would have been a completely different trip without the couch-surfing site," Mr. Stroud said, estimating they had spent three-quarters of their nights at the homes of people who responded to the queries they posted on the Web site. "Not only did they give us comfortable places to sleep, they offered advice that helped us pick the best roads to ride."

"We didn't come across an unfriendly person, and almost everyone we met that way was also a traveler, which made for lots of good stories to share," Mr. McNelis noted. "Anyone who thinks the middle of America is nothing but gun-toting hicks should couch-surf across the country."

On other nights, the pair camped out or, as a last resort, checked into what Mr. McNelis called "dirt cheap" motels.

"We were both into the trip, and there was no day we didn't want to get on our bikes and ride. It just felt good to be doing it," Mr. Stroud said.

They may have been biking and couch-surfing, but the trip was not without its costs. "We may have saved money on accommodations, but we spent it all on food," Mr. Stroud said. They both figure the trip cost them about $5,000 each, all expenses considered.

And despite having known each other for years, the two discovered they had as many differences as similarities. For example, Mr. Stroud tended to be maniacal about getting up and on the road as early as possible each day, while Mr. McNelis preferred to take mornings at a more leisurely pace. It was one of the factors that led to their amicable parting of the ways.

"I was glad to have the chance to ride both together and alone," Mr. McNelis observed. "Matt was doing most of the logistical legwork in the first part of the trip, and it was good for me to find out I could do things on my own. Yellowstone to Portland is a long way.

Another goal of the trip was to collect opinions on the topic of living as an adult while keeping your childlike wonder, curiosity and sense of adventure. Their blog included their State of Man survey (13 Pressing Questions About Adulthood), which they also distributed to their couch-surfing hosts.

"We got about 40 to 50 people who responded to the survey, and I plan to do some writing using that information over the coming months," Mr. Stroud said.

Neither is planning another marathon any time soon, but both are still biking and looking for ways to improve local pedaling possibilities.

As for what the trip meant to them, perhaps it's best explained in the observation Mr. McNelis wrote on their blog the day he reached the Pacific. "I probably won't fully realize the impact this trip will have on my life until months, or possibly even years from now, but I know I'm already unequivocally glad I went for it, and I know that someday, when I am suddenly looking at "the 80-year-old man" in the mirror instead of talking about him hypothetically, he and I will both be happy we did the bike trip across America."

Read the complete log of their journey at www.stateofman.org.