Elgin man halfway through 48-state bicycle trip
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Jose Merlos is about halfway done with an epic bike trip that started in Seattle and will crisscross the nation by the time it is finished, touching 48 states and spanning up to 17,000 miles.
Merlos, 28, is raising money along the way to dig a well in a town called Nguinda in the African country of Cameroon. The well costs $15,000 and Merlos has raised less than $2,000 of that going through his first 31 states. But even if the fundraising side is going slower than he hoped, Merlos is taking the trip of a lifetime.
The Elgin man relishes the history locked into the communities he passes through. Merlos started in Seattle in June, seeing relatively new cities followed by older and older ones as he moved east, eventually passing through Jamestown, founded in 1607.
“I’ve seen the birth of a nation,” Merlos said. “Though a little bit backward.”
He traveled part of the route Lewis and Clark took when they were exploring the continent, saw where Tom Hanks waited for a bus as Forrest Gump during filming of the movie and ran the same steps as Rocky at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Merlos said he doesn’t care so much about the battlefields but enjoys the cultural history and explorer landmarks.
He first started biking in 2009 when his car broke down and he needed a way to get to work. Then he discovered the potential of long-distance cycling trips and started with a route from Algonquin to the Mississippi River. His next trip was around Lake Michigan and he soon looked for the next adventure.
“Before I wasn’t really an outdoor guy,” Merlos said. “This opportunity took me to a different place.”
The plan for the cross-country trip he is in the middle of was originally designed to be from Seattle to Boston, but Merlos decided if he was going to quit his job and sell most of his belongings, he wanted to take longer than three months traveling. In the end he settled on touching 48 states, excluding Alaska and Hawaii, and added the fundraising component to get money for the well in Nguinda through the Adventist Development and Relief Agency.
Merlos wakes up at about 7:30 a.m. each day, makes oatmeal and coffee on a portable stove and hits the road. He listens to music through his mp3 player or smartphone, which he can charge with generator power from pedalling his bike, then stops to eat every three or four hours. Merlos said he is burning so many calories, he can eat whatever he wants without being concerned about gaining weight.
At night, Merlos either sets up the tent he pulls along with personal possessions on a small bike trailer or takes advantage of the generosity of others.
Merlos has learned during his trip that the reputation for southern hospitality has been rightfully earned by those in the south. And it is more clear to him than ever that crossing state lines puts a person in a completely different place — with different accents, clothing styles and all.
“The country is so diverse,” Merlos said. “You find all sorts of people.”
He has met strangers who have opened their homes or churches to him and his bike — a $2,000 Surly Long Haul Trucker — but also those who have said he can’t camp on their property or refill his water bottle at their sink.
One thing is for sure — he has seen a lot, and will see a lot more. Keep up with his trip and donate to the fundraising effort at josemerlos.wordpress.com.
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