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The original was posted on /r/bicycletouring by /u/elbearo_BM on 2024-04-09 00:12:32.

Hi Everyone - I host and produce Seek Travel Ride - a podcast which shares the stories and experiences of people undertaking amazing adventures on a bicycle. I’ve had the pleasure of being able to interview some amazing guests for the show and hear them talk about their travels. I recently interviewed Kari Loia who in 2015 cycled the TransAmerica Trail with his 75 year old father Merv.

This trip was one which Kari and Merv had dreamt of taking for decades. In fact it was in early 2001 when Kari first purchased the adventure cycling association maps to look into making it a reality. But as with many things, life got in the way and it wasn’t until 2015 that they set off. By then Merv was 75 and also suffering from Alzheimers. As you can imagine, this added quite a layer of complexity to their journey. But Kari knew he had a limited time window to make this dream a reality for his father, before his state of decline with Alzheimers took over.

They left from Virginia and made their way to Oregon. They chose to travel East as they wanted to look forward to the spectacular scenery which lays west of the Rocky Mountains. This meant starting out in Apalachia country which was very testing - as were the dogs in Kentucky!

It took 73 days for them to make the complete journey - over 4400miles/7000+kms. Kari mentions that for each day of their tour his father couldn’t recall which town they started from, or which town they finished in, but regardless of that - this journey was so enriching for Merv. He was totally in the moment and a particularly moving experience for Kari was seeing his father cycle up Hoosier Pass, with a grin from ear to ear, as he climbed up the road with snow banked up on either side of it.

The full interview with Kari is available now on Seek Travel Ride - which you can find on Apple and Spotify and all podcast players - or directly via