As we wrote about here and in our July/August issue, 16 bikers rode from Maryland to Washington state this summer on a trip planned by Boy Scout Troop 845. If you're doing the math, that's 3,700 miles (70 miles a day). They left on June 13 and returned Aug. 18 to RDU after their parents flew to the West Coast to meet them. The majority were students at Chapel Hill High, East Chapel Hill High and Carrboro High. The trip has so far raised $20,000 for UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center -- that $2,000 more than a similar trip raised in 2007. They'll be accepting donations for a few more months -- find out how to donate here.

I asked a few of the riders -- Aidan Kelley, a senior at Chapel Hill High; David Hare, a sophomore at UNC who graduated from Carrboro High in 2009; group leader Brian Burnham; and Mark Flournoy, a junior at Chapel Hill High -- what life was like on the open road. Special thanks to Burnham for the photos. Taking in the beauty of the skies.

CHM: What was the coolest part of the trip? What was your favorite state to visit?

David Hare: I'd have to say there were two favorite parts. The first is a more obvious one. As we finished up the large switch back heading toward the peak of Washington pass I remember feeling one of the biggest
rushes I've ever felt. Being up there with four of my best friends and being able to see how pumped these guys were was amazing. I couldn't help but smiling, and it was just one of the strongest feelings
of accomplishment I've ever felt. After completing the trip once myself (in 2007), making sure everyone else made it was certainly a priority for me and seeing how excited they were to be up there and watching them
have the feeling of complete accomplishment was amazing to see. Other than that, I can't describe a specific time but hands down the best moments of the trip were when you were laying down on the ground trying as hard as you can to breathe because the funniest thing in the whole world just happened. I think the only thing that stopped me eating all day was that people would make me laugh hard enough I'd have to stop eating or I would throw up. Those moments somehow happen several times a day and that is something about the trip that is just impossible to recreate back at home and really makes the trip what it is.

Aidan Kelley: It’s difficult to narrow the trip down to one specific coolest part, but I’d have to say the three days we spent in Glacier, Montana rank near the top. The hiking was great, and the views were beyond spectacular. The states in the Midwest were nice because they were mostly flat and were decently populated, which meant plenty of gas stations for snacks and breaks. Montana was probably my favorite overall though. Its remoteness posed challenges at times, but the scenery can’t be beat.

CHM: Did you learn any mental tricks for overcoming the fatigue?
DH: I think the main thing you learn on this trip is how much you are actually capable of doing. Back at home, there are too many excuses and too many ways out of things so you never really get the opportunity to be pushed as far as you go. Out there, you have no choice but to keep biking, and it's amazing how much you can do once you accept that fact. I think keeping upbeat and just laughing together about how hard
parts of the trip are and how much you would rather be sleeping in a hotel room also keep you going because you can get through the pain together and you know your whole crew has to do the same thing. If you
are eating at a McDonald's telling jokes it's a lot easier to forget about how numb your legs are than you realize.

Mark Flournoy: One of my main motivators for the trip was just curiosity. If one day was bad or hard, it was real cool to know that the next day you would be another 100 or so miles away and in a completely new environment. The group aspect also helped because whenever you were struggling, chances were that 15 other guys were, too, and it helped a lot going through the same thing. Music definitely got me through the trip, though; my #1 one equipment was my iPod.

AK: The main thing I think I learned in regard to fatigue is just how important it is to be well hydrated, especially the nights before biking. I’ve always heard from coaches and parents how key hydration is, but it wasn’t until this trip when we had to do so much physically demanding activity every day that I could feel how real and how strong the correlation is between hydrating and performing day in and day out. As for mental tricks, chewing gum, eating sunflower seeds or listening to music usually worked in taking my mind of the fatigue.

CHM: From the pictures, it looked like you all ate a lot -- and I suppose that was justified considering the number of calories you were burning! What's your go-to snack to replenish your energy?

DH: This is where the truth comes out. I think some moms and nutritionists would actually cry if we told them what we ate, but here is a brief preview. A go-to snack if you are starving (and you always are no matter how much you eat) is a couple of cheeseburgers. Milkshakes, ice cream, 64-ounce sodas, corn dogs, Fast Break candy bars, Arizona sweet teas, Rolos, a refill on that 64-ounce soda and maybe a chicken All you can eat -- all the time. sandwich are usually the go-to snacks. If we hit a grocery store, we actually would try and buy a lot of fruit, but those didn't come around too often. On the bike trip, you can only temporarily reduce your starvation from super hungry to just really hungry so you might as well enjoy what you are eating.

AK: A king-sized Reese’s Fast Break bar and a kiwi-strawberry Arizona iced tea. Works everytime.

CHM: Were there any disasters? Crashes, getting lost, snake bites, etc.?

Brian Burnham: All 16 of us made it, so there were no real disasters.  There were a lot of crashes, and in the first week people fell over daily from simply not being used to being on a loaded bike. Brian Stanton set the record of the fastest wreck when he laid the bike down going 30-plus mph after hitting a bump on a steep hill. Mike Ruston destroyed a front wheel when he crashed coming down one of the passes in Washington.  And the road rash first aid kit came out a number of other times as well. There were a couple contestants for most 'bonus miles,' which you earn when you miss a turn and end up in a town not on our route and have to come back. Someone earned 20 bonus miles one afternoon when it took them 10 miles to realize they'd missed the turn to town - a good lesson to keep your cell phone on during riding hours.Adventure was found on and off the bike.

DH: As long as no one gets seriously injured, a disaster to one person is a treasure to the other 15. I'm pretty sure Zach Janson found it to be a disaster when he rode onto gravel doing 18 mph and rode across it on his hands and knees, but it made 15 people cry with laughter and is a very memorable story from the trip, so I wouldn't say it was a complete disaster. We all made it and had a fantastic time so to me there weren't any disasters, maybe just a couple things that could have been better.

AK: Crashes, yes. Getting lost, yes. Bike mechanical failures, yes. Poison ivy, yes. While all of these were inconveniences at the time, I wouldn’t say any of them deserve to be labeled as disasters. We were pretty fortunate to make it coast to coast without any problems too severe.

MF: One day in Montana, a few of us were biking and got caught in a huge thunderstorm out in the middle of complete nowhere and chose to stop biking for concerns of lightning safety. We then sat on the side of the road with no covering in the pouring rain for about an hour watching cars go by until we could bike again.

CHM: What was your go-to cycling soundtrack on your iPod?The moment of victory -- finally reaching the Pacific.

DH: I had a couple 50-song playlists that I listened to on the trip. All are for different times. You need some nice chill music to listen to as you ride and let your mind wonder in the morning. You need some comics to keep you laughing and get your mind off the day when you want a break from music, and you need whatever music that gets you hyped for mountains and moments where you are just ready to smash some miles.

AK: I generally stuck to country music or anything soft in the flat lands and hip-hop for the hills. Eminem’s album Recovery was without a doubt my go-to, though.

CHM: So, 3,700 miles later -- Would you do it again?

DH: I will definitely keep adventuring around the world with all different kinds of people. As for a bike trip, I might take some years off, but I'll make sure I fill them up with other adventures. A great guy we met on the
bike trip told us to "never settle," and I think that is the best way to put it. There is a lot I haven't seen, and I'd love to see as much of it as I can.

AK: I’m definitely open to doing it again. It would have to be at the right time and with the right people, but it was an amazing enough experience that if the perfect opportunity presents itself, I don’t think I could pass it up.

BB: Ahhh, the question on the minds of all the young scouts in our troop eager for the next run out.  Scouts have done the trip three times now, so there are plenty of experienced potential leaders out there. Maybe they'll carry the torch next time. Or maybe spring fever will overcome me again and Orangy, my
bike, will come out of the closet for another go at it.