Joe Kurmaskie · 2008 · road

Joe Kurmaskie, the self-styled Metal Cowboy, recounts a four-thousand-mile bicycle ride across America with his two small sons in tow, seven-year-old Quinn on a trailer bike and five-year-old Enzo in a trailer behind. Unsupported but for the kindness of strangers, the trio pedal from Oregon to the capital over mountains, plains, and thunderstorms, in a funny and big-hearted story of fatherhood on two wheels. The route crosses the United States from Portland to Washington.

1. 1
   Portland

   Joe sets off from Portland, Oregon, hauling hundreds of pounds of gear and two young sons, bound improbably for the far side of the continent.

2. 2
   The Rockies

   They grind over the high passes of the northern Rockies, the boys providing comic relief while their father provides the legs.

3. 3
   The Great Plains

   Across the wide plains they roll through small-town America, met everywhere by curiosity and kindness.

4. 4
   The Mississippi

   They cross the Mississippi and push on into the green heart of the Midwest, the miles and the days blurring into one long summer.

5. 5
   The Appalachians

   Over the worn ridges of the Appalachians, weary and bonded, the little band makes its final push east.

6. 6
   Washington, DC

   Two months after leaving Portland, they roll into Washington, DC, a father and his sons carrying one permanent summer in their hearts.