Bikecentennial Stories

June 24, 2026

by Tom Ewing

Fifty years ago, Chip Haynes and Lloyd Sumner each rode across the United States as part of the Bikecentennial. For each rider, the cross country trip was part of a larger lifetime involvement with bicycling. Their experiences–before, during, and after 1976–offer connections to this project which provide an effective conclusion to this collection of Bikecentennial stories. 

Haynes rode from Oregon to Virginia as part of a Bikecentennial tour. An advertising artist at the Clearwater Sun (Florida), Haynes described the appeal of cycling: “When I’m out on the road, just cruising along, my legs will be doing 80 to 100 strokes a minute, but my mind will be 10,000 miles away. It gets me away from everything.” A profile published in the Tampa Bay Times on May 15, 1976 declared that Hanes and the other 10000 bicycle riders “will be able to see the country as it was meant to be seen and not the way the builders of super-speedway freeways would have us see it.” Haynes spent months planning the trip, including building a custom bicycle made from selected parts, including “an English frame, French crank, Italian bearings and Japanese components,” according to the July 10, 1976 edition of the Daily Times, published in Greenfield, where his family once lived. A list of items carried on the bicycle included clothing, tools, dog repellent, a compass, and a frisbee: “The frisbee can be used for two purposes — as a recreational device or a lightweight dinner plate.”

Sumner, by contrast, had already completed a mammoth bike ride before the Bikecentennial. He spent three years riding a bicycle around the world, leaving his home in Ridgeway, Virginia, in 1971 and returning in 1975, after cycling more than 28,000 miles. Less than a year later, Sumner signed up to lead a Bikecentennial ride across the United States. Sumner recalled that he was more nervous about the “challenge of leadership” than he was about riding across the country for the second time. A profile in the Roanoke Times (October 5, 1976) included a photograph of Sumner riding his bicycle on the “open road” of Blacksburg, where he had resumed his computer generated art. Sumner offered this statement about his commitment to “live an adventurous life” in ways that could reflect the Bikecentennial experience: “I think there is a bit of adventure in everybody, but most of them just watch something on television and get their experiences that way. Once you take the first step, giving up security is easier than expected.” 

After finishing his Bikecentennial ride, Haynes continued to ride bicycles while also writing and illustrating numerous books, including The Practical Cyclist. Bicycling for Real People (2009). Sumner published a book, The Long Ride (1978), about his trip around the world, and died in 1996, while setting up for a community art show with his wife, Jean. 

Postscript

These two stories from the Bikecentennial have personal connections that are part of this Bike 76 VA project. Fifty years ago, in the summer of 1976, my family was camping in the Mount Rogers Recreation area in southwestern Virginia. While stopping for lunch, we encountered a long distance cyclist who accepted an invitation to share our meal. He carried a frisbee which he used as a plate. I don’t know if this cyclist was Chip Haynes, as other cyclists probably discovered the same trick for reducing weight by using the same tool for multiple purposes. For almost a decade, this project has developed on the “open road” in Blacksburg where Lloyd Summer rode as he prepared for the Bikecentennial ride. These two experiences, one as a child in 1976 and the other as a cyclist several decades later, connect these Bikecentennial Stories to the origins and development of this public history project.