Spencer McCullough, a 29-year-old Yardley native, has met his life goal — visiting 51 national parks by bike.
Currently living in Denver, he recently returned to his hometown to rest after his extensive trip. McCullough biked an astounding 18,247 miles, involving 757,552 feet of climbing over 411 non-consecutive days.
When he was not biking he was camping, staying with host families he found on a website called “Warm Showers,” or sleeping at the homes of “Good Samaritans” he met on the road and through his website — gobikecamping.com.
McCullough, whose background is in ultra-running and bike commuting, explained that he had to do far more maintenance on his bike than normal considering how many miles he biked in a day.
As he persevered through the lengthy miles he said got significantly stronger.
The change in season proved to be a struggle for McCullough, requiring biking in completely different clothes to keep warm during the harsh Colorado winter. Leveraging technology and ingenuity, McCullough biked through snow and ice with adaptive bike parts.
“There were many different trips inside of this trip,” McCullough said. “I had to carry my water under my jacket against my back so it didn’t freeze, but these were the challenges that came and went as the trip went on.”
However, these challenges never proved to be too much for the young cyclist, who never doubted that he could accomplish his goal.
When reminiscing about the different parks he visited, McCullough said he did not expect to meet as many special people as he came across. He also had a chance to see old friends and reconnect with people from his past. Their generosity allowed him to complete his trip.
“Something that people don’t realize is almost half of the car trips in the U.S. are three miles or less — going to school, going to work, going to the grocery store, etc,” he said. “Almost anyone can bike three miles.”
Riding his bike everywhere and encouraging people to take public transit, he said, greatly impacts the environment.
For McCullough, the highlight of his trip was his visit to Yosemite National Park. He also enjoyed riding through the Sierra Nevada.
His least favorite was visiting the Gateway Arch in St. Louis at Gateway Arch National Park.
“It should be a national monument at most,” he said.
McCullough also expressed frustration that National Parks have far more amenities for people who are driving than cycling.
On his website, McCullough is compiling a list of cyclist-friendly campsites in America. Information about safe places to stay and amenities for cyclists tend to be underground and almost unattainable, he said.
His goal in creating the website is to ensure that cyclists are aware of all the places that are available to them while they are on the road.
On July 24, McCullough gave a presentation about his trip at FZ Works on Main Street in Yardley. Those who missed the presentation but want to know more can follow him on Instagram at www.instagram.com/spencexyz.
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