This story was originally published on September 27, 2023 and was updated on April 5, 2024.
Biking roughly 3,000 miles from the northern tip of Maine to the southern tip of Florida would be an impressive feat for anyone to accomplish. But what if you attempted the trail with just a few hundred miles of cycling experience under your belt? And what if you had less than a month to complete the route?
Regina Yan, a beginner bikepacker based in Washington, D.C., set out to do just that.
Yan’s endurance cycling experience leading up to her departure was minimal. She’d only been biking for one year before deciding to take on the challenge. Her interest in cycling blossomed during COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns when she began renting bikes from her local bikeshare program as a way to get outdoors and avoid crowded trains. She fell in love instantly.
“I quickly discovered [because of biking] that I like feeling empowered,” says Yan. “I liked being able to take myself places that my two feet wouldn’t let me go without a car. Eventually, I just felt like I needed to push myself to do something that I wasn’t sure I could do.”
So she settled on a goal: Complete a “thru-biking” adventure along the East Coast Greenway.
Gear Up Like Regina
Jump ahead to get a full list of the gear Regina took on her one-month, 3,000-mile bike ride.
The 3,000-mile route, which links together paved trails, dirt and gravel paths, and sections of roadway, is the nation’s longest greenway. The ECG, as locals all along the Greenway call it, was established in 1991 and is currently nearly 40% complete. The ongoing greenway trail project travels along a mix of country roads, city streets, multi-use trails and paved bike paths, connecting 15 states and 450 communities from Calais, Maine, to Key West, Florida.
Most people access short segments of the trail in and around their communities. Around 50 million bike rides, runs and walks take place every year on the 1,000-plus miles of completed greenway trail segments. Over 100 people have completed the entire route by bike, as well as five walkers and a runner. Some finish the route over many months or years—or in one fell swoop, like Yan.
A challenging trip for even seasoned long-distance bikers, this trek is not for the faint of heart. One-third of the ECG route is car-free, while the other two-thirds share the roadway. Understanding how to bike along busy streets and gaining the confidence to take up space on the road is a must.
“My experience on the Greenway was a mix of, ‘Wow, this is so beautiful and I can’t believe I get to experience this wonderful glimpse of different cultures and different communities of the U.S.,’” says Yan. “But then there were also sections between cities like Charleston, South Carolina, and Savannah, Georgia, where you’re riding 150-ish miles along pretty fast highway on U.S. 17. While it’s not a main interstate highway, cars are going 60 to 70 miles an hour while you’re riding on a teeny-tiny shoulder. Some folks even skip that portion if they are doing the whole ride because it is quite dangerous.”
One Month, Two Wheels, 3,000 Miles
Yan started biking seriously in 2020. She learned to change a flat tire and was bike-commuting 20 miles round-trip to work. In that year prior to her ECG attempt, the longest ride Yan had completed was a solo weekend 200-mile ride to Shenandoah National Park on the Washington & Old Dominion Trail, among others—an accomplishment on its own, to be sure, but nothing near the physical and mental challenge of a several-thousand-mile adventure.
Now her goal was to bike the entire Greenway—and she only had 30 days to complete the route before needing to return to work. She was terrified, but optimistic. Biking on local trails and nearby greenways had already led her to connect with herself on a deeper level. It also led to her craving a more intimate connection with nature and the community around her.
For Yan, the Greenway felt like a relatively safe choice for a solo long-distance challenge. The route would take her through major metro areas like Boston, New York City and Philadelphia, where she had friends with whom she planned to stay, along with Raleigh-Durham and Miami, and smaller communities along the way. She knew she wouldn’t be too far from help, food, shelter or supplies if needed. The ECG winds through hundreds of local communities full of bike shops, grocery stores and community resources—another benefit of riding along a greenway. As epic a journey ahead as it was, Yan felt peace knowing she wouldn’t be too disconnected from civilization or quite as vulnerable along her route as, say, a solo backpacking trip or backcountry bikepack.
“I describe myself as somewhat of an introvert, but I really wanted to take on this challenge to push myself to meet new people,” says Yan. “I also went to school in New Hampshire and I have a lot of friends who live along the East Coast, so I knew it would be a way to reconnect with friends.”
On September 19, 2021, Yan rigged up her camping gear, clothes, food, tools and spare tubes on her bike, and rolled out on her ECG cycling adventure. Her goal was to ride an average of 110 miles per day, but on day one, she took on 140 miles to reach Acadia, Maine—her longest ride of the trip.
“I told myself that I knew I could bike 20 miles, and since 140 miles is like 20 miles but just seven times, I thought I’d be totally okay,” says Yan. “No, it was a really bad idea.”
In addition to facing severe chafing after logging her first day (she quickly discovered why people use chamois cream), many other challenges came barreling her way too: She hit a sob-inducing storm on the 100-mile stretch from Boston to Providence, her first time biking in the rain—but she told herself to keep going. Another setback in that same section was when her brakes cut out amid vehicle traffic; after a frustrating hour of trying to fix the brakes, she couldn’t do it, leaving her stranded 20 miles from the nearest bike shop. She even got beaned by a beer can once while pedaling.
But amazing moments happened too: She saw an entire region’s worth of stunning landscape and scenery; reconnected with old friends and met new ones; supported and learned from local bike shops how to mend her bike; and gleaned a variety of perspectives from community to community.
“One of my favorite experiences was staying with a Warm Showers host named Tony in Hartford, Connecticut,” says Yan. (The nonprofit Warm Showers is an international hospitality community that connects bike tourists with free lodging from verified hosts.) “At the time, he was in charge of the city’s only bike shop called BiCi Co., a cooperative bike where people come in and actually learn how to use tools and fix their bikes through community programming.”
BiCi Co. Community Bike Shop, a partner nonprofit to the Center for Latino Progress in Hartford, Connecticut, focuses on improving youth and adult safety, sustainable transportation, youth bike education programs, mechanics classes, job training and more. Yan was able to learn about Tony and BiCi Co.’s involvement with the local cycling community and the organization’s efforts to make biking more visible in the city, especially for diverse communities who lack access to safe and accessible walking and biking trails.
Eventually, Yan began to find her groove on and off the saddle. She started nourishing her body with the right food, taking time to rest and learning how to fine-tune repairs as she went. She also met helpful people in each community she visited along the way, which made the experience even that much more impactful.
“Greenways are great for thru-riders but also for community members,” says Yan. “Having these paths to get from one place to another, or to just be able to walk around at the end of the day, is so great for the community.”
As she neared the final stretch in south Florida, a thought ran through her head—one she was too scared to have at the beginning of the trip: “I think I can actually make it to the end.”
She rolled up to the finish line 29 days after her departure, setting the then fastest-known record for completing the East Coast Greenway route by bike. Now a board member of the East Coast Greenway Alliance, Yan says the trip helped her realize that we may be stronger than we think we are.
“No way did I think I could jump into a bikepacking trip and finish it, and ahead of schedule too—but when we push ourselves, we grow.”
If you are inspired by Regina’s adventure, the East Coast Greenway Alliance recommends interested long-distance travelers focus on experiencing the beautiful, completed segments of the East Coast Greenway, in particular the 250-mile, nearly developed stretch of the East Coast Greenway between New Haven, Connecticut, and Boston.
A Community Connector
Greenways are essential for linking parks, green space and communities large and small. They connect the people who recreate there with the nature around them.
Dennis Markatos-Soriano, executive director of the East Coast Greenway Alliance, says greenway projects aim to transform the way people move around and interact with their communities. He argues the biggest obstacle for folks to live active, healthy and sustainable lives is a lack of safe infrastructure. That kind of investment makes activities like biking, running, walking, skating and wheelchair hiking more accessible. Even those who sit at park benches along the greenway can connect to the communities and the nature around them.
“Communities everywhere in this country need safe access to enjoy the outdoors,” he continues. “So that’s what we’re doing: We’re building access to green space and nature right out people’s doorsteps in the biggest cities in the country.”
Since its founding in 1991, the ECG has become the most visited park in the country. This year, the East Coast Greenway Alliance launched Greenways for All, an initiative that supports local government and community efforts in accessing regional and federal funding for continued greenway and trail buildout. ECG staff work alongside mayors, city council members and county commissioners along the East Coast to help local leaders navigate the application process to gain funding streams that will help complete trail segments throughout their communities.
“We see the next three years as the best potential we’ve ever had to complete the East Coast Greenway,” says Markatos-Soriano, referring to the $550 billion Bipartisan Infrastructure Act. This law earmarks federal investments into roads and bridges, railways, water infrastructure, internet access and more. The East Coast Greenway Alliance argues that this law can have a lasting impact on biking and greenway infrastructure through funding issued for Transportation Alternatives and federal RAISE grants.
“We’re working closely with leaders from the local to the federal level to take advantage of this historic infrastructure moment we’re in,” says Markatos-Soriano. “We’d need less than 1% of that funding to complete the entire East Coast Greenway.”
In Simsbury, Connecticut, a town with just under 25,000 residents northwest of Hartford, mayor Wendy Mackstutis says her team has their sights set on completing pivotal connection points between their community and the neighboring towns of New Haven, Tarrifville, Bloomfield and Hartford.
“Any enhancements to the trail system and connecting other towns to Simsbury is great for economic development, great for tourism and a great opportunity for nearby communities and visitors to see what we’re all about,” Mackstutis says.
The connecting trail segments will link the existing 54-mile Farmington Canal Heritage Trail, which runs through Simsbury to Bloomfield and beyond, finally linking up with Hartford’s 16-mile Charter Oak Greenway trail. Mackstutis’s administration is collaborating closely with the East Coast Greenway Alliance on the completion of the project.
“I think the people in the communities are what makes the Greenway special,” says Yan. “It’s great to have a bike path, but it’s the people and the community you meet along the way who impact you that makes a big difference.”
The East Coast Greenway + REI Co-op
The East Coast Greenway Alliance is a grantee partner of the nonprofit REI Cooperative Action Fund, a community-supported public charity directly supporting the organizations and initiatives making change in the nation’s outdoor culture. The ECGA seeks to create a greenway network that connects people to their destinations, making it easier and more enjoyable to commute, experience nature, exercise and travel by bike or foot, reducing the carbon emissions caused by cars. Since 2021, the Cooperative Action Fund has awarded East Coast Greenway Alliance $160,000 to help complete this greenway project.
The REI Member community is invited to support the East Coast Greenway Alliance and the rest of the REI Cooperative Action Fund grantee community by making a donation today. Donations are tax-deductible, and 100% of donations from the public go directly to organizations that promote justice, equity and belonging in the outdoors.
Gear Up Like Regina
Chamois Butt’r Her’ Anti-Chafe Cream – 8 oz. – Women’s
I’m embarrassed to say I thought the padded shorts I wore for daily bike commutes would function just as well on a 3,000-mile trip. Four days and a couple of rain showers in, I began experiencing skin irritation just about everywhere on my bottom half. That’s when I discovered Chamois Butt’r Her’ at a bike shop in Boston, which not only prevented chafing but smelled delicious—truly a trip-saver and the difference between a comfortable ride and dreaded saddle sores.
Amphipod Xinglet
It’s so important to wear reflective gear, especially when you’re a solo rider who doesn’t take up much space, touring on roads that may not see much bike traffic or riding in the dark. I made myself as visible as possible by wearing the Xinglet, which is a lightweight, stretchy and adjustable vest with impressive reflective coverage. I’d also recommend applying reflective tape to your bike and helmet, and you can get creative with the shapes!
Ortlieb Sport-Roller Free Panniers – Pair
Ortlieb panniers are the gold standard for waterproof storage. As a light packer, I opted for the smaller Sport Rollers on my back rack, which fit everything but my tent (which I kept in a dry bag). They’re easy to clip on and off, and a breeze to clean. When I’m not bike touring, I use these panniers for groceries, commuting and everything in between.
Pedro’s Tire Levers
There’s a lot of hype in the cycling world about Pedro’s tire levers. Folks swear by them, and after seven flat tires on this trip alone, I have to as well. They’re light and sturdy and allow you to smoothly snap your tire back on your bike when you’re stressed and crying on the shoulder of a highway … though I hope no one else ever finds themself in this predicament.
Bontrager Mini Charger Frame Pump
I had countless crying sessions during my trip, but the biggest occurred when I got a flat tire in rural Maryland and my cheap bike pump broke. When I finally made it to a bike shop 20 miles away, the mechanic recommended the Bontrager Mini Charger as a reliable and user-friendly pump. Though it’s larger than your typical portable pump, its folding foot and high volume provide the benefits of a full-size floor pump. Inflation is so easy it makes having flat tires almost pleasant.
Terry Butterfly Ti Gel + Saddle – Women’s
If I had to pinpoint my best bike trip investment, it would be my comfortable bike seat. My bike’s stock seat performed well enough for commuting, but I knew I’d need a women’s specific seat if I didn’t want to, well, saddle myself with a host of soft-tissue problems. The Terry Butterfly Ti Gel + Saddle fits my anatomy perfectly, and I recommend trying a few options to see which one is the best for your sit bones.
Therm-a-Rest Questar 20 Sleeping Bag
I remember spending hours on sleeping bag research prior to this bike trip. I wanted a bag with enough fluff to keep me from freezing while being compact enough to fit inside my panniers. I chose the Questar 20 for its superior warmth-to-size ratio and found it performed extremely well when temperatures dropped to 40°F.
Sea to Summit Ultralight Insulated Air Sleeping Pad
Everyone should switch to sleeping bags with pump sack. It takes seconds to inflate your pad and you’ll never be lightheaded again! Those who find themselves turning like a rotisserie chicken may find the pad a bit loud, but if you’re like me and sleep like a mummy, this ultralight Sea to Summit pad is a great 3-season option.
Big Agnes Copper Spur HV UL2 Tent
I like to ride compactly but sleep spaciously. I owned this Big Agnes two-person tent prior to bike touring and decided to bring it rather than purchasing a one-person tent. I’m so glad I did. Having extra space allowed me to stash my gear inside, feel comfortable and condensation-free on rainy days, and enjoy my morning cat-cow stretches fully protected from mosquitoes. If you’re traveling with someone, I recommend the Big Agnes three-person tent because you lose all the aforementioned benefits and gain a lot of grumbles when sharing a two-person tent (I, unfortunately, speak from experience). This tent comes in a bikepacking version with shorter tent poles, but I found the regular-size tent poles fit perfectly on the top tube of my bike.
—Regina Yan, REI Co-op Member since 2015
