Glad I Took the Trip

May 14, 2026

by Tom Ewing

Steve Loitz finished his bicycle ride across the United States in a hospital bed, but he still thought the experience was worth the time and effort: “Oh, boy, am I glad I took the trip.”

Loitz and two friends, Jeff Lydenburg and Mike Yates, all students at Kent State University, planned their ride across the country to raise funds for Humanity House, which supports several service organizations, including the American Friends Service Committee, the National Organization of Women, and the American Civil Liberties Union.  A June 3 story included a photograph of the three riders as they trained for their trip.

Loitz documented the ride from Oregon to Virginia in regular diary entries in the Akron Beacon Journal. On July 25, a column, “On the Bikecentennial” related the first four hundred miles across Oregon. Subsequent entries described the ride over the Rockies, across the plains, over the Ozarks, and through Kentucky to Virginia. 

Loitz offered this assessment of the land and people encountered along the way: “It’s been fun seeing the land and meeting the people from the different regions, each of which, it seems, is termed ‘God’s County’ by its natives.” On August 16, Loitz offered this prediction for the final stage: “Tomorrow, we start the final and most demanding section of the trip — a week through the Appalachians.”

On August 27, a final diary entry and a story in the Akron Beacon Journal recorded the final stages, including the stomach illness and dehydration that landed Loitz in the hospital. Loitz described cycling in the Appalachians “the hardest here of anywhere on the TransAmerican trail,” as he and his companions rode over ridges rather than along valleys. While camping on the Blue Ridge Parkway, Loitz shared the site with a group of Scouts riding 40-70 miles a day pver a 600 mile itinerary: “I only hope the enthusiasm for cycling of the 11- to 15-year old boys will continue.” 

On August 21, Loitz reported that he had “picked up a little bad water recently,” but the ride continued through central Virginia for the final day, August 22: “We made it! In 39 days we completed the Bikecentennial TransAmerica trail in the shortest time for cyclists carrying their own gear…We traveled 4417.9 miles in 39 days with no rest days, at an average 113.2 miles per day clip.” 

In his final entry, Loitz offered this reflection on the journey: “Does pedaling across the country on a bicycle sound childish? Maybe. But an adult is only a child who ceases to grow — and I never intend to stop growing.”