Forty-four Down, Five to Go

I had to cancel my Spring/Summer 2025 bike tour, in which I planned to ride from my home in Kentucky to Newfoundland, when I underwent my second back surgery in two years.

The neurosurgeon says that I'm allowed to ride a bike again on July 22nd, and I'm hoping to do some sort of late-summer or early-fall bicycle tour. I've only ridden the bike four times this year (!) and am woefully out of shape, so who knows what I'll be able to do.

I have five states left to reach my goal of bicycle touring in all 48 contiguous states plus the District of Columbia, so my plan with this tour is to knock out one or more of the final five: Arizona, Delaware, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, and West Virginia.

Here's a list of all the states (plus D.C.) where I've toured, with links to each tour, for the excessively curious and/or bored readers:

Alabama (2018, 2021)

*** Arizona ***

Arkansas (2023)

California (2013, 2024)

Colorado (2006, 2010, 2013, 2016)

Connecticut (2008)

*** Delaware ***

Florida (2008)

Georgia (2008, 2021)

Idaho (2006, 2008, 2019)

Illinois (2006, 2008, 2012, 2016, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2022)

Indiana (2008, 2012, 2016, 2016, 2017)

Iowa (2008, 2012, 2013, 2019, 2022, 2024)

Kansas (2006, 2022)

Kentucky (2006, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022, 2023)

Louisiana (2021)

Maine (2008)

Maryland (2008)

Massachusetts (2008)

Michigan (2012)

Minnesota (2008, 2016, 2024)

Mississippi (2018, 2021)

Missouri (2006, 2012, 2015, 2018, 2022, 2023)

Montana (2006, 2008, 2019)

Nebraska (2013, 2016, 2019, 2022, 2024)

Nevada (2013, 2019, 2024)

New Hampshire (2008)

New Jersey (2008)

New Mexico (2016)

New York (2008)

North Carolina (2008)

North Dakota (2008, 2016)

Ohio (2008, 2016, 2020)

*** Oklahoma ***

Oregon (2006, 2019)

Pennsylvania (2008)

*** Rhode Island ***

South Carolina (2008)

South Dakota (2016, 2019, 2024)

Tennessee (2018)

Texas (2021)

Utah (2010, 2013, 2024)

Vermont (2008)

Virginia (2006, 2008)

Washington (2008)

Washington, D.C. (2008)

*** West Virginia ***

Wisconsin (2008, 2024)

Wyoming (2006, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2024)

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Scott AndersonYes, those five look like they naturally fit into a tour. Good luck with the surgery!
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1 month ago

Rich FrasierI vote for an exhaustive bike tour of Rhode Island. :)
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1 month ago

Jeff LeeTo Scott AndersonThanks! It's been two months since the surgery, and it's been fine. I just have to get through another boring month.
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1 month ago

Jeff LeeTo Rich FrasierHaha. My current idea is to have someone drive me to Rhode Island, to start. From there, make my way through (or more likely around) the highly populated areas to get to Delaware, then to West Virginia. That would knock off three states.

If I'm feeling very ambitious, I could try for a long tour and pick up Oklahoma and Arizona. But that would be very, very ambitious.
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1 month ago

Jeff TeelJeff,
I love this list! Illinois wins with eight, even beating out Kentucky ;-)
So glad to hear your recovery is nearing an end. Looking forward to reading more on your plans.
Jeff
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1 month ago

Jeff LeeTo Jeff TeelThanks, Jeff!

Yeah, I guess it's not too surprising that Illinois is my most-traveled state so far - it's on a few major ACA routes I've done, plus we lived there for six years and I started tours from there, and finally, even though we live in Kentucky now, if you start a tour here and want to ride west-ish, you pretty much have to go through Illinois.

Jeff
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1 month ago

Gregory GarceauI've only toured in 25 states, I think. The competitive part of me wants to remind you that I've toured in Oklahoma and you haven't. LOL

Anyway, whatever route you come up with, I look forward to reading about it. And I think your surgery and minimal training time excuses you from having to ride your normal daily mileage. In fact, PLEASE don't do that.
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1 month ago

Jeff LeeTo Gregory GarceauOk, now I MUST tour through Oklahoma!
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1 month ago

John PickettI have all but given up on my state hunt. The pandemic took two prime touring years away and last summer's Appalachian dog fest put me off riding in southern states.

Never the less, I have toured in 41 states, picking up three on the Natchez Trace tour this spring. The missing ones are Alaska, South Dakota, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. (I did Hawaii on my honeymoon.)
Good luck. Make sure you have some quahogs and a cabinet in Rhode Island.
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1 month ago

Jeff LeeTo John PickettOne of the states you haven't done is one of my favorites: Nebraska. I highly recommend bike touring there, especially if you can do some occasional dirt/gravel.
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1 month ago

Larry MitchellDo understand the quest as we worked on it for 25 years with Montana being state #50. The hardest for most folks are Alaska and Hawaii. I used Hawaii as the bait to get my wife to ride so we checked that one off first. And … as we live in Alaska, that one is a daily ride for us. Arizona … just wait until January or February, fly to Tucson, and spend the next few days or weeks riding the city. There are almost endless miles without leaving Tucson and if you want to add spectacular to the ride schedule, rent a car, drive up the Grand Canyon and ride the rim. Beyond spectacular!
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1 month ago