3,000 miles in 3 months: Columbus cyclist biked from Portland to Georgia during pandemic
Charlotte Gallagher’s bucket list includes includes a trip to Antarctica, a visit to every continent and a cycling trip across the United States.
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Gallagher decided to knock one of those tasks off her list.
Gallagher, who teaches yoga at River Flow and owns SUP Y’all Yoga, biked cross-country from Portland, Oregon, to Columbus, over a three-month period, beginning in June 2020. The trip spanned over 3,000 miles in 82 days and included bear sightings, intense winds and torrential downpours. But it also included moments of self-reflection and peace.
“I was totally just in the zone when this happened,” Gallagher told the Ledger-Enquirer. “... Every day was a new adventure, and I saw different things, met new people every day.”
‘What a way to feel freedom’
Prior to the pandemic, Gallagher biked from her house out to Oxbow Meadows and noted the freedom she felt during that ride.
“What if I did this every single day?” she thought to herself.
“I thought, ‘I want to do that,’” Gallagher said. “What a way to feel freedom every single day, just being able to get up, go wherever you want, do whatever you want and just see the country that way.”
Then COVID-19 happened. And while her initial thoughts were that the pandemic would not last for a long time, it quickly became clear that was not the case.
Gallagher lost one of her jobs, and the yoga studio where she’s an instructor, River Flow, temporarily closed. She saw the fear that gripped the world but said, defiantly, that she was going to flip the script.
“So, I made the decision,” she said.
Gallagher saw a window of opportunity. She began “seriously thinking” about a cross-country bike ride in May 2020 and wanted to raise money for nonprofits along the way.
Gallagher chose three different nonprofits for which to raise $1,000 (one for each of the three months she’d be on the road): the Boys and Girls Club, Micah’s Promise and Stop Soldier Suicide.
She announced her ride on June 1, told her friends and family, borrowed a Specialized Sequoia bike from Buddy Nelms, owner of The Loft, and visited Ride On Bikes in downtown Columbus, which set her up with a cargo rack and some panniers.
Gearing up
Gallagher spoke to individuals who’d done similar rides before, and they all relayed the same message: The first two weeks will be your training phase.
The longest distance she’d ridden was 40 miles, and she’d done one day of hill training before departing.
“And then I started doing that every day,” Gallagher said. “For three months.”
Gallagher credited her yoga practice as the reason she was able to accomplish the feat. She grew up with anxiety, she said, and the past several years of yoga helped her learn to keep herself calm.
“I knew I was mentally ready to do it,” she said. “If you’re mentally ready to do anything, your body is just going to follow.”
The ride
The first two weeks were among the hardest Gallagher experienced while on her ride. On Day 4, she was biking against 30 mph winds, which “suck the soul out of you,” she said.
Gallagher started riding 25 miles each day with one rest day per week, eventually working her way up to 60 miles each day. The first time she biked 66 miles, she was in eastern Oregon.
“Every time I got to my destination, it was a success,” Gallagher said. “It was this sigh of relief.”
Gallagher stayed at campgrounds and with hosts through Warm Showers, a cycling nonprofit hospitality service where hosts are not supposed to charge for lodging.
Through Warm Showers, she met individuals she still maintains contact with today — including a couple, Mary and George, who gave her a tour of Aspen, Colorado.
She also was alone quite often, as most of the nation was in COVID lockdown. She found the experience calming but at times scary.
“I saw (a bear) in Yellowstone Park,” Gallagher said. “Even though I was scared, I would just keep going. I would take my deep breaths. There were times I was lonely, or scared if I was by myself, but there were other times where I was like, ‘Yes. Quiet. Silence.’
“It was almost better when there was no traffic, because I could just be with my thoughts.”
Gallagher hitchhiked 19 times and got one flat tire on the trip, which spanned 12 states. She was chased by dogs over 15 times, saw four moose and one bear, she said.
Gallagher’s GoFundMe page raised more than $3,000, over $1,000 for each of the three nonprofits.
On her final day, she woke up outside Tuscaloosa, Alabama. As she watched the sunrise, she cried. She had 90 miles left and was trying to make it home ahead of Hurricane Sally, the first hurricane to make landfall in Alabama since 2004.
She was excited to be home and see her husband, Adam.
Gallagher crossed the finish line at Waveshaper Island, her favorite place in Columbus, surrounded by friends and family.
“I remember stopping, and it was like I went from 90 mph to 0,” she said. “I was like, ‘Oh, I’m home. What now?’”
The months that followed were difficult, Gallagher said. Going from a high-adrenaline state to “nothing” brought depression. She wasn’t back working since River Flow was still closed, so she journaled about her trip and traveled to see family in Alabama.
After River Flow reopened, her mental state improved. Now, the trip is something she looks back on with fond memories.
It feels like a dream, Gallagher said — and she’d do it again.
“I want to do the northern route,” Gallagher said. “There’s a northern, middle and south route. ... That’s one of my next adventures.”
This story was originally published May 23, 2021 at 8:00 AM.
