About Us

Howdy,

We’re just 4 guys biking across the U.S. during the Summer of 2009. We call ourselves The Tumbleweeds. Several years ago the Tumbleweeds biked from Jackson, WY to San Francisco, CA. Despite long days in the saddle, brutal headwinds, and the effects of too many post-ride beers we found the experience intensely rewarding and insightful. We always dreamed of taking a longer trip and five years later we’re making that dream come true.

We’re riding to raise money and awareness for a charity called Project Rwanda because we believe in what they do. You can find more information about donating to Project Rwanda on the ‘Donate’ page.

We plan to go from Newport, OR to Cape Cod, MA, making stops in Jackson, WY, Iowa City, IA, and your house (if you’ll have us) along the way. Please visit our ‘Route’ page for more information.

We’ll be blogging from the road so please follow us on this site, Facebook, or Twitter.

Know The Tumbleweeds:

Ben

Ben, a TV fell on his head

Ben’s Positive Ape Index (API) is both impressive and disgusting. A native of Alabama, Ben attended Davidson College where he quickly became friends with his fellow Tumbleweeds. After graduating in 2003 he headed out to Jackson Hole with Dan and John, and later shared a room with Ryan. He currently lives and works in DC as a real estate consultant but is headed to Austin, TX to eat all the Tex-Mex he can handle. Out on the road he’ll really miss long video chats with his girlfriend and sanctimoniously riding his fixie around D.C.’s many gentrified neighborhoods. He likes to talk, hates tents, attacks on hills, and has regular emotional breakdowns when facing a headwind.

Ryan

Ryan, arguably the sexiest Tumbleweed

A romantic at heart, Ryan already loves you. He has cultivated the “cute and scruffy” look in order to compliment his impressive resume; formerly a Teach for America volunteer in Chicago and ski school instructor in Jackson, Ryan is currently a Boston-based PhD candidate in something no one will ever understand. Out on the road he’ll really miss reorganizing his iTunes collection and wearing ripped-up jeans. He likes to trim his beard, collect items adorned with skulls, and ride his bike everyday, but he hates technology.

Dan

Dan, bonafied prospects

Dan is the best basketball player to ever come out of Northfield, VT, but don’t let his raw athleticism fool you. A graduate of Davidson College, Yale University, and currently a PhD candidate at Iowa University, Dan can meet any intellectual challenge in his chosen field, American Religious History. While riding across the great USA Dan will really miss his fiancée and the fields of Iowa. He likes to grow impressive facial hair, perform marriage ceremonies, dance, and he hates zero. When a McDonalds is within site Dan is the best sprinter in the world, it’s a proven fact.

John

John, skinny

Originally from D.C., all 120 pounds of John is a traveler. Davidson College, Jackson Hole, Ethiopia, Chile, the Bahamas; there is nowhere he won’t go to find a decent tweed sportcoat. Currently working in marketing and business development for a D.C. consulting company, John is headed to business school in the fall.  While biking cross country John will miss a lazy cup of coffee from down the street and his rowdy neices and nephews.  He loves airplanes and tennis, but hates showering and gaining weight.