When Anthony and Aileen Bui and Hannah Pham arrived in Yorktown on their bikes Wednesday afternoon, their more than 4,000-mile trip came to an end.
The California-based trio left Astoria, Ore., on May 3 to cycle across the country with the goal of raising awareness and money for the Kevin Armstrong MD Memorial Sports Foundation. That group helps low-income students in the Santa Ana Unified School District, located to the southeast of Los Angeles near Huntington Beach and Anaheim.
During the 81-day trip, the three riders — who call themselves Healthnuts & Handlebars — experienced a range of weather, from pleasant conditions to heavy rains, snow, powerful headwinds and both high and low temperatures as they rode on public roads, sharing the asphalt with small cars to large trucks.
Anthony Bui, 25, said he felt bittersweet now that the ride is over.
“Our bodies are telling us it’s time to go home,” he said. “Two-and-a-half months on the road, and I’m not sure I’m ready to be done.”
Before embarking on their trip, none of them had ridden more than 50 consecutive miles. That changed quickly, with 60- to 80-mile daily rides in the western states and about 50-mile daily rides starting in Missouri. They also had not seen much of the U.S., with domestic trips outside of California typically for quick, in-and-out reasons like interviewing for medical school.
Anthony Bui said success on a trip like the one they just finished is more about mental strength than physical.
“There are going to be days where you just don’t want to do it,” he said.
The trip started out with a week of pounding rain and heavy winds. Before they had clocked even 100 miles, Anthony Bui crashed his bike during slick, wet conditions. The weather cleared up as his bike was being repaired, but as soon as they were back on the road, the deluge resumed.
When they crossed the border into Idaho, they encountered wintry conditions on White Bird Pass, a 4,300 foot summit where U.S. Highway 95 snakes through narrow valleys of blasted rock with frequent turns and limited visibility.
“We seriously thought we’d die that day,” Anthony Bui said.
As they progressed further into the trip, passing through Montana and Wyoming, conditions became more tolerable as they crossed the Rocky Mountains and entered the long, flat plains of Eastern Colorado and Kansas.
Then came Missouri, where Anthony Bui said they encountered a little trouble with aggressive drivers.
“I had a guy in a huge pickup pull up telling me I didn’t belong on the road,” he said. “And as he was telling me that, we passed a sign [for U.S. Bicycle Route 76, which runs from the Kansas Border to Yorktown].”
After Missouri was Kentucky, where the riders had their favorite burger — at Laha’s Red Castle Hamburgers in a town south of Louisville called Hodgenville — and met lots of people who were supportive and friendly.
The trip ended with a ride through Virginia, where they passed through Wytheville, Christiansburg, Lexington, Charlottesville, Ashland, Jamestown and Williamsburg before arriving in Yorktown.
They spent Tuesday night in Williamsburg, where they ate at Food for Thought and took the Extreme Ghost Tour of Williamsburg. Now that the ride is over, they are going to drive back to California for the summer.
Anthony and Aileen Bui, brother and sister, are going to attend medical school: Anthony at University of Wisconsin and Aileen at Brown University. Pham, 25, is in a relationship with Anthony Bui and just graduated from California State University, Long Beach. She is planning on enrolling in pharmacy school.
The end of the trip marks the end of the routine demanded by the ride, including the diet and the time on the road. Aileen Bui, 23, said she is already trying to plan her next ride.
“We ate everything,” she said, noting their days, which typically started around 11 a.m., consisted of large breakfasts, snacks throughout the afternoon and a dinner wherever they were stopping for the night. They stayed in hotels and campgrounds, fire stations and churches, meeting lots of people on the way.
Anthony Bui said they did not miss their regular lives on the trip. Now that their ride is over, he said, it will seem strange to wake up and not start riding.
Other than a few detours, they followed the TransAmerica Trail, a route plotted by the Adventure Cycling Association. It passes through national landmarks, including Yellowstone National Park, Grand Teton National Park and the Blue Ridge Parkway. Find out more about the route here.
The trio raised almost $13,000 for the Kevin Armstrong MD Memorial Sports Foundation, according to a news release from the Santa Ana Unified School District.
The foundation has helped about 3,000 children in Santa Ana receive health screenings since it was created. It also hosts a program called RunStrong, where students participate in 5K and 10K races, helping the students with running shoes, transportation and entrance fees.
