Questionnaire: Mike Di Blasi '80...

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Questionnaire: Mike Di Blasi '80 | Notre Dame Magazine | University ... magazine.nd.edu

In the spring of 2022, Mike Di Blasi began biking the TransAmerica Trail with little to no previous training. Despite strenuous hills, flat tires and a penchant for conjuring rainstorms, Di Blasi learned not to panic about a problem — and not to turn away from help when he needed it. In his book, Mike on a Bike: Across the U.S. in 83 Days, he writes about sticking to the 4,200-mile Challenge from Astoria, Oregon, to Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, and of the people who encouraged him along the way. When he’s not on the bike, he splits his time between Portland, Oregon, and Palm Springs, California.

What inspired this journey and how did you train for it?
Somebody that did it said, “I learned more about this country in 90 days than you would learn in a lifetime.” I think that was something I kind of got in my head, that this would be a great thing to do. I didn’t really train for it. My bike was a recumbent bike. I got it a couple of weeks before the trip and rode it as much as I could. I didn’t ride more than about four miles a day, something like that. I met someone at a bike hostel who said that if you can make it through 15 days of this ride, your body adjusts to get strong enough to make it the whole way. At Day 9 I was just so tired and exhausted and sore. But it was almost to the day, at about 15 days, yeah, I got much more in a routine and I was not ending the day completely exhausted.

How did you use the advice others gave you?
People say that everyone’s ride is unique. I got a lot of inaccurate advice from people that were not cyclists. I’ve heard people say watch out for these big tractor trailer trucks, they don’t care about bikes, this and that. And I would say that was almost always incorrect. They would really make an effort to give you plenty of space. Usually the motorists that I would have trouble with ...

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