The ride begins April 1, 2025…
Miles: 0
Elevation: 0
flat Tires: 0
On April 1, 2025, Pat embarks on a two-month solo bike journey across the United States from San Francisco, CA, to Lacona, NY. His trip begins on the Pony Express National Historic Trail.
Documenting Pat's ride wasn't his idea—he hates this kind of thing.
If Pat’s adventure is shared online, he wants it to support something meaningful.
For decades, he’s biked, run, snowshoed, and skied through Winona Forest in NY’s Tug Hill Region. The volunteer-run Winona Forest Recreation Association maintains 70 miles of trails and hosts 10,000 visitors annually. They need a new portable generator ($6,000 expense) to power lights, equipment, and heaters during community events.
You can support the Winona Forest Recreation Association by making a pledge-per-mile during Pat’s ride. All donations are 100% tax-deductible.
The Route
Pat's ride begins in San Francisco, California. He travels to Sacramento, where he joins the Pony Express National Historic Trail, following it to St. Joseph, Missouri. Next, he takes the Katy Trail east, then continues northeast through Ohio to Erie, Pennsylvania. From Erie, he travels to Buffalo, New York, via the Empire Trail, concluding at Winona State Forest in Lacona, New York. The current route is 3,909 miles long with 168,180 feet of elevation change.
the Pony Express National Historic TraiL
“The Pony Express National Historic Trail was a cross-country route used by young men on horses or mules to carry the nation's priority mail from Missouri to California from 1860 to 1861. The horse-and-rider mail system was the United States' most direct and practical means of east-west communication for a short period before completion of the transcontinental telegraph, delivering letters in the unprecedented time of only ten days.
In many ways, the Pony Express was the overnight priority mail of its day; however, it never made a profit and went bankrupt by the end.”
- U.S. Bureau of Land Management
Recruitment poster from 1860 for Pony Express riders:
“Wanted: Young, Skinny, Wiry Fellows not over eighteen. Must be expert riders, willing to risk death daily. Orphans preferred. Wages $25 per week.”
Updates from the trail
Miles: 0
Elevation: 0
flat Tires: 0
Check back here for photos and text updates from Pat during the ride.
For added shock value, we’ll also share everything he eats.