Rob Lea

Ultimate World Triathlon

 

Ride Across America

Follow Rob's progress as he rides over 3,500 miles across America from Anacortes, WA to Nantucket, MA.

Last Update: Tue, Oct 8 at 8:15pm MT ... RIDE FINISHED!!!

The Journey

Distance3608.47 mi
Time225h 42m 27s
Elevation Gain118,853 ft

Daily Recap + Photos

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Day 39: Newport, RI to Nantucket, MA!!!

86.13 mi | 2,871 ft elev | 4h 51m 53s

I woke up an hour before sunrise so I could get on the road as early as possible. It has been really hard to get up in the mornings but… [Read More]

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Day 38: Branford, CT to Newport, RI

100.05 mi | 3,825 ft elev | 5h 56m 6s

We had a good night sleep last night in Branford. That being said, I did wake up a couple of times and heard the wind. When we woke this… [Read More]

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Day 37: New York City, NY to Branford, CT

92.27 mi | 3,461 ft elev | 6h 4m 37s

It was another super hard morning to wake up and get motivated to get on the road, particularly because it was one of the chilliest days I… [Read More]

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Day 36: South Orange, NJ to New York City, NY

30.31 mi | 928 ft elev | 2h 38m 36s

I woke up to blue skies this morning! It was definitely on the chillier side and at times it was quite windy, but blue skies! After a nice… [Read More]

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Day 35: Stroudsburg, PA to South Orange, NJ

64.91 mi | 1,506 ft elev | 4h 25m 31s

As expected, we woke up to a very wet a soggy day. I started a little later since the ride wasn’t as long today and it wasn’t hot. In fact… [Read More]

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Day 34: Lewisburg, PA to Stroudsburg, PA

118.16 mi | 6,788 ft elev | 7h 23m 20s

It was a soggy start to the morning, but it made for a really pretty… And slightly cooler start as well. About 7 miles in, we ran into our… [Read More]

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Day 33: Clearfield, PA to Lewisburg, PA

106.50 mi | 5,945 ft elev | 6h 32m 52s

We woke up this morning to a delightful breakfast Peggy made us at the B&B we were staying at in Clearfield. It’s always good to start the… [Read More]

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Day 32: Greenville, PA to to Clearfield, PA

118.68 mi | 8,583 ft elev | 7h 40m 46s

I woke up to an overcast and drizzling day. I got on the road just after “sunrise”... which I never saw. It was overcast almost the entire… [Read More]

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Day 31: Bay Hill (Cleveland), OH to Greenville, PA

88.64 mi | 3,704 ft elev | 5h 49m 58s

Last night, we had a great time staying with our friend and climbing partner from Everest, Kara Stinson. We woke up on the shore of Lake… [Read More]

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Day 30: Napoleon, OH to Bay Hill, OH (Greater Cleveland area)

131.53 mi | 1,453 ft elev | 7h 14m 48s

Day 30 - Napoleon, OH to Bay Hill, OH (Greater Cleveland area) 131 miles. We woke up to some wet and soggy roads after quite a bit of rain… [Read More]

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Day 29: South Bend, IN to Napoleon, OH

130.13 mi | 2,096 ft elev | 7h 27m 24s

We woke up in a new time zone, so although I was still looking at a sunrise start, start time was closer to 7:30 AM today. But first, a very… [Read More]

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Day 28: Chicago, IL to South Bend, IN

93.53 mi | 1,555 ft elev | 5h 15m 45s

It was great to have company; Caroline and Mike Tobin joined me this morning for sunrise through the Chicago streets. We made our way… [Read More]

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Day 27: Milwaukee, WI to Chicago, IL

98.91 mi | 1,745 ft elev | 6h 25m 32s

I started the day by riding the busy streets of Milwaukee, but did my best to make my way to the waters edge as soon as possible. I was able… [Read More]

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Day 26: Madison, WI to Milwaukee, WI

84.08 mi | 1,572 ft elev | 5h 14m 45s

As with a number of other stops on the way, I was sad to spend such a short time in Madison and leave this morning. But, back on the road… [Read More]

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Day 25: Sparta, WI to Madison, WI

116.13 mi | 4,452 ft elev | 6h 52m 20s

Another 6 AM wake up call today. But when I realized it was still in the 40s, I convinced myself that I could sleep for another 30 minutes… [Read More]

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Day 24: Rochester, MN to Sparta, WI

104.18 mi | 2,877 ft elev | 5h 57m 40s

I started the day in Rochester, Minnesota… The birthplace of the one and only Caroline Gleich! Caroline joined me again yesterday and we… [Read More]

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Day 23: Minneapolis, MN to Rochester, MN

99.54 mi | 3,123 ft elev | 6h 42m 25s

I started my day in Minneapolis at Marta Simpson‘s house, Caroline’s cousin. It was nice to have a place to stay rather than another run-of… [Read More]

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Day 22: St. Cloud, MN to Minneapolis, MN

91.79 mi | 1,939 ft elev | 5h 59m 19s

It was another early wake up at 6 a.m. to get on the bike around sunrise. I left just after 7 a.m. and road through St. Cloud University on… [Read More]

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Day 21: Alexandria, MN to St. Cloud, MN

72.05 mi | 689 ft elev | 4h 22m 52s

We woke up at the Arrowhead Resort outside of Alexandria, Minnesota. I slept in today until about 8:30 AM, as opposed to my normal 6 AM wake… [Read More]

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Day 20: Fargo, ND to Alexandria, MN

105.27 mi | 1,585 ft elev | 6h 26m 13s

I woke up to another sunrise in Fargo to try to beat the heat and the wind. After riding through Fargo for about 5 miles, I crossed the Red… [Read More]

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Day 19: Jamestown, ND to Fargo, ND

100.07 mi | 1,726 ft elev | 6h 18m 56s

Wind Wind Wind. I got up and got rolling right at sunrise this morning, about 7:15 AM. I was doing my best to beat some of the wind and also… [Read More]

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Day 18: Bismarck, ND to to Jamestown, ND

105.07 mi | 1,929 ft elev | 6h 7m 33s

The goal from the getgo today – after yesterday’s really tough day – was to try to beat the heat and the wind. Watching the news, they were… [Read More]

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Day 17: Dickinson, ND to Bismarck, ND

115.16 mi | 3,091 ft elev | 7h 30m 47s

I am pretty wrecked tonight. Expectations will always kill you and I expected today to be similar to yesterday. I can’t make this stuff up… [Read More]

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Day 16: Glendive, MT to Dickinson, ND

100.20 mi | 3,540 ft elev | 5h 18m 49s

I’d like to cut right to the chase… I made it to North Dakota! It felt really good to cross into another state. Montana is massive and I’m… [Read More]

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Day 15: Wolf Point, MT to Glendive, MT

103.74 mi | 3,320 ft elev | 6h 25m 24s

After waking up to fog in Wolf Point, Montana, I had to resort to two breakfast hot pockets to get the day going 😬. not a whole lot to eat… [Read More]

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Day 14: Sleeping Buffalo, MT to Wolf Point, MT

102.92 mi | 1,526 ft elev | 5h 18m 20s

Today was fairly uneventful. It rained most of last night. It was damp but not raining when we awoke. My idea was to get an earlier start… [Read More]

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Day 13: Havre, MT to Sleeping Buffalo, MT

109.13 mi | 1,273 ft elev | 6h 5m 4s

We woke up in Havre, MT. This morning was one of the better “continental breakfasts” that I’ve had on this trip. If you travel, you know… [Read More]

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Day 12: Cut Bank, MT to Havre, MT

126.05 mi | 2,159 ft elev | 6h 40m 21s

I woke up in the plains today. I was excited to talk to another cross country rider going the opposite direction at breakfast this morning… [Read More]

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Day 11: Logan Pass (Glacier N.P.), MT to Cut Bank, MT

83.44 mi | 1,371 ft elev | 5h 6m 36s

Today I woke up to a very rainy and cold day in Glacier National Park. We started with breakfast at Lake McDonald Lodge. A shuttle back up… [Read More]

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Day 10: Whitefish, MT to Logan Pass (Glacier N.P.), MT

67.82 mi | 5,207 ft elev | 5h 9m 55s

Today was like a metaphor for this whole bike ride… it was a roller coaster. I started the day by dropping Caroline off at the airport. I… [Read More]

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Day 9: Marion, MT to Whitefish, MT

42.02 mi | 1,178 ft elev | 2h 34m 32s

We woke up this morning in a nice bed-and-breakfast in Marion, MT. I had a shorter ride today so there was no hurry to get out the door… [Read More]

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Day 8: Libby, MT to Marion, MT

66.09 mi | 4,100 ft elev | 4h 28m 9s

I woke up to rain and had rain for most of the day today. Today was the first bad weather day of the trip. I started in Libby with a motel… [Read More]

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Day 7: Clark Fork, ID to Libby, MT

71.08 mi | 2,634 ft elev | 4h 56m 45s

Today the riding started in Clark Fork, Idaho. I was pretty psyched to be in a new state and actually quite close to my third state. Instead… [Read More]

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Day 6: Blueslide, WA to Clark Fork, ID

100.13 mi | 2,241 ft elev | 6h 25m 10s

This morning we woke up in the Ruby Creek Lodge. This was my favorite stop that we’ve had this for. A beautiful area and lodge run by two… [Read More]

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Day 5: Colville, WA to Blueslide, WA

48.46 mi | 2,769 ft elev | 3h 33m 35s

Day 5 – I started the day in Colville, WA. I slept in a little later because it was a shorter day and I wanted to get some extra rest. The… [Read More]

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Day 4: Republic, WA to Colville, WA

54.05 mi | 3,812 ft elev | 3h 58m 11s

I woke up to a brisk morning in the Teepee in Republic, WA. After some coffee and breakfast I got on the road and immediately had to climb… [Read More]

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Day 3: Twisp, WA to Republic, WA

109.76 mi | 7,388 ft elev | 8h 6m 20s

Day 3 ✅. 109.76 miles, 7388 elevation gain. I tried to beat the heat today and we started at 6:30am. Caroline joined me again for the first… [Read More]

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Day 2: Marblemount, WA to Twisp, WA

96.26 mi | 6,982 ft elev | 7h 9m 3s

Day two was a doozy. Even though I knew it was going to be a tough day, I am now in Twisp, Washington and I am wrecked. I rode 96 miles and… [Read More]

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Day 1: Anacortes, WA to Marblemount, WA

74.24 mi | 1,909 ft elev | 5h 6m 15s

Today started off a little shaky after not sleeping much last night and waking up to an overcast and drizzly day. Things continued to not go… [Read More]