Personal trainer Adam Goerge is taking his love for cycling to the next level by racing across the country in the Trans Am Bike Race.
Spanning from coast to coast, the trail is approximately 4,200 miles long and follows the TransAmerica Bicycle Trail. Owner (with his wife, Nicole) of Charlottesville’s Elevate Training Studio, Goerge says cycling is a major part of his life, but preparing for the cross-country journey is still a massive undertaking.
“I’ve done various distance things like Iron Man … marathons, etc.,” he says. “I saw a video, Inspired to Ride, about the TransAmerica Bike Race from 2014, and thought it looked cool, and figured, ‘You know, okay, why not? Let’s see what I can make happen.’”
To prepare for the race, Goerge did “long rides on the weekends, anywhere from 100 to 280 miles, 400-mile weekends on the bike. And then during the week doing various speed workouts … trying to ride at least five or six days a week if not more.”
Since January 1, 2023, Goerge has put more than 5,000 miles on his bike.
On top of physical preparations, he surveyed the course for hotels, convenience stores, and water refilling spots. During the race, which started June 4, the clock does not stop, so participants must carefully budget their time between riding, resting, and refueling. Planning for food and rest stops is particularly important for Goerge because he plans to eat 8,000 to 10,000 calories a day.
While Goerge says he will “sleep on the side of the road” if need be, researching the course ahead of time gave him a better idea of where he could rest. Goerge plans to sleep only three or four hours each night, so he can maximize his time on the bike.
“I’ll be … trying to ride 17 to 18 hours a day for as many days as it takes to get across the country,” he says. “Under 20 days is the plan to get this done. The current record right now is 16 days and nine hours. I’d like to see how close I can get to that.”
Since kicking off in Astoria, Oregon, Goerge and his fellow participants have been pedaling their way across the country. With the race running through Charlottesville, the trainer will be zooming by around Father’s Day, but plans to keep pushing on to the finish line in Yorktown, Virginia.
While Goerge was somewhere in the Rocky Mountains at press time, he’s already anticipating reuniting with his family at the finish line. “I’m very appreciative of all the support I’ve gotten from my wife, from my friends, as I’m training for this thing,” he says. “I hope that I can get it done quickly and get back to see everybody here soon.”
The TransAmerica Bicycle Trail closely follows the route of the 1976 Bikecentennial event, which commemorated the 200th anniversary of America’s Declaration of Independence. While the Bikecentennial was not a race, cyclist Nathan Jones created the Trans Am Bike Race in 2014 using the pathway. The race has been held every year since its founding except for 2020, and has expanded beyond traditional bikes into other modes of transportation, including velomobiles.