Planning Denver to Washington, D.C. 2026 - Update May 10, 2026

Drive from Carbondale to Waynesville?

The idea behind this trip is to ride the portions of Cross Country 2024 that I did not ride between Hoosier Pass and Carbondale, Illinois. The plan has also included riding from Carbondale to Waynesville, North Carolina, which I did ride in 2024, but I'm now considering instead renting a car and driving two days from Carbondale to Waynesville.

Denver to Washington, D.C. 2026

Here's the route I might drive from Carbondale to Waynesville:

After dropping the car in Waynesville I would follow the route below to the Best Western in order bike from where I caught a ride on the Blue Ridge Parkway to the Best Western:

If I make this change to my plans my biking would be reduced by about 600 miles and the trip shortened by about ten days. It would also reduce the total cost of the trip by about $1,000. I don't need to decide whether to drive from Carbondale to Waynesville until I get to Carbondale, but I am leaning in that direction. In Big Loop 2019 I rode about half of Carbondale to Waynesville (specifically between Carbondale and Chattanooga). 

Getting from New York to Denver to Frisco

Because I'll be traveling with my bike packed in a box, I will take a van ($164) to Laguardia Airport. After arriving at the Denver airport I will take a train ($2.70) to Union Station and then a van ($11.25) to the 11th Avenue Hostel ($60 per night) where I will stay a few days. At the hostel I'll be able to assemble my bike in the basement or on the patio, and store my bike in the basement. After spending a few days in Denver to acclimate to its elevation of 5,000 feet, I will take a two-hour bus ride to Frisco.

Elevation and climbing Hoosier Pass

On Cross Country 2024, by the time I rode into Frisco at 9,000 feet, I had been sleeping at 7,000 feet or more for two weeks. One of the challenges of the trip this summer is that I will arrive in Frisco after spending just a few days acclimating to Denver's elevation of 5,000 feet, and then after a few days acclimating to Frisco's elevation of 9,000 feet I will be at 11,500 feet after riding just 20 miles. I won't be below 3,000 feet until I arrive in Ness City, Kansas, at least eight days after leaving Frisco. The map below combines all my routes from Frisco to Ness City.

While the elevation at the beginning of the trip adds to the challenge, once I get to the top of Hoosier Pass at 11,500 feet I will be mostly descending all the way to Ness City. I won't be at significant elevation again until I get to the Blue Ridge Mountains, where the elevation will be no more than 5,700 feet.

As you can see in the map below, the Hoosier Pass climb is 9.9 miles long with 1,941 feet of climbing, for an average of 196 feet of climbing per mile.

As I was climbing up Bear Mountain on April 27th, I thought that it was good preparation for the Hoosier Pass climb. But note that the Bear Mountain climb is only 4.1 miles with 1,131 feet of climbing, for an average of 276 feet of climbing per mile.

As you can see below, the final 4.1 miles of the Hoosier Pass climb has 1,215 feet of climbing. So the Bear Mountain climb is similar to the final 4.1 miles of the Hoosier Pass climb, except that the former finishes at 1,285 feet while the latter finishes at 11,533 feet!

My climb up Bear Mountain on April 27th seemed easier than I remember it being previously, probably because my smallest chainring now has 30 teeth rather than 34 teeth (or more!) as on my previous climbs. I did not install the 30-tooth chainring until December of 2025 and for Cross Country 2024 my smallest chainring had 34 teeth. I don't know whether my climb up Hoosier Pass will be easier than it was in 2024, but it will certainly be easier than it would be with the 34-tooth chainring.

Shortening of long days

There are seven routes I've created for this trip with 75, 79, 80, 97, 86, 91, and 81 miles, respectively. I think I will not want to ride so many miles in a day, so I have found ways to split routes into two routes or to change two consecutive routes into three routes. You can find all my routes for this trip at Denver to Washington, D.C. 2026. You can find all my alternate routes for this trip at Denver to Washington, D.C. 2026 ALT.

Training

In order to be physically ready for this trip I've been riding more and will continue to do so. In April I rode 222 miles, while in the first seven days of May I had already ridden 125 miles.

Ambivalence

I suspect that from reading my posts about my upcoming trip you get a sense of my excitement about the adventure I'll experience. But at the same time I sometimes feel ambivalence about what I'm planning. I occasionally wake up in the middle of the night and wonder "What the hell am I doing? Am I crazy?". So things are not as simple as they might seem.

Gear

I've been working to get my gear ready for my trip this summer and have written about the latest changes in Gear Update - May 10, 2026.

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