All-American mission? Check

By BRIAN WALKER

Staff Writer

After enduring a goose attack, sore hind end, knee pain and Nevada's Donner Pass, it only seemed fitting that Julian Redman should finally be rewarded with rolling into Boston on his penny-farthing bike on the Fourth of July.

The single 28-year-old Coeur d'Alene man completed the 3,333-mile trek from San Francisco to Boston in 44 days, retracing the feat of British adventurer Thomas Stevens in 1884.

"I wouldn't trade the experience for the world," Redman said. "That said, I would not do it again.

"The Fourth of July was the perfect day to arrive in Boston. It's great that it worked out that way."

Redman said he underestimated how hard the trek was going to be mentally and overestimated how it was going to be physically. "Mentally, it was a real challenge," he said. "There were many points along the way where I wanted to quit."

When he pedaled out of San Francisco on May 21, Redman figured he'd arrive in Boston in early August.

"I guess I was a little conservative on what I could do," said Redman, who considers himself a casual bike rider. "I didn't want to push it if I didn't have to."

Redman said he now has more appreciation for what Stevens accomplished on the same type of bike.

"I had the benefit of paved roads," Redman said. "He had to push through mud and sand and that's why it took him three times as long as it took me. I also know he had a harder time meeting people (due to open spaces and the Wild West)."

Redman, who works for the Digital Lizard printing company, said meeting folks along the way was his favorite part of the trip.

Among them was Kevin Lloyd, who lives near Chicago. Lloyd took Redman in for a night, tuned the bike up, grilled steaks and showed Redman the city.

The two became friends forever.

"I'd love to be able to do what he did, but I've got work to do and kids to feed, so I can only live through him," Lloyd said with a laugh.

Lloyd, who rode about 25 miles with Redman, said he admired Redman's humble attitude when heads were turning.

"People would talk to him about his bike and I'd have to brag about him," Lloyd said. "I hope he didn't mind."

Redman said the Sierra Nevada mountain range and Donner Pass — just three days into his adventure — proved both to be the most difficult stretch and what prepared him mentally for the rest of the trip.

"I was utterly unprepared physically or mentally for it," he said. "When I finally reached the summit, snow was covering the path I wanted to take so I had to carry my bike and trailer down the face of a snowy and icy mountain."

Since the bike doesn't have brakes or gears, Redman said pushing it was the only option in some steep stretches.

On the descent of the Nevada mountains, a patch of snow collapsed, injuring Redman.

"It left me quite rattled," he said. "That was definitely the lowest point of the trip. But it never got that bad again, so it became a sort of mantra that kept me going after that."

A man took in Redman that afternoon to help him recover.

"Had he not been there and helped me out, it's hard to say if I'd have finished," the 2007 Post Falls High graduate said.

Thinking the coast was clear after leaving the mountains, Redman settled in on a flat stretch on a nice day when he crossed paths with a flock of geese.

"The mother goose was not sure what to make of the bike and was protecting her fowl when she attacked and derailed me," he said. "I scraped my arms and legs."

Redman said he crashed five times and one of his pedals broke in Nebraska.

"All things considered, that's not terrible, especially since the bike is front-heavy, unstable and crash-prone.”

Redman said the biggest physical obstacle was a sore right knee that started to hurt in Nebraska.

"It's hard to even walk right now," he said.

His butt did just fine, thank you.

"It was sore at first, but after a while you get used to it," he said.

All along the way, Redman said people pulled over or paused for photo ops.

"I was afraid I would cause accidents," he said. "They'd slow way down, laugh or their jaws would drop. I'm sure I'm in tens of thousands of photos, but that's OK because they got excited about it. Grabbing their attention seemed to get people to come out of their shells."

Strangers offered Redman food and water or even a place to stay.

"I definitely won't forget that," he said, adding that he camped, stayed in hotels and people's homes.

Redman rode an average of 75 miles per day.

"It depended on the terrain, weather, where towns were and, most importantly, how I felt," he said.

His modern spin on a historic adventure also traversed salt flats, ghost towns and a forgotten cemetery.

Redman said he's had a hankering to pedal across country on a penny-farthing for several years.

"It was a neat way to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the bike," he said.

Last year he purchased the replica bicycle and rode it about four months to get used to it.

The trip was the latest adventure for Redman, who also swam at the edge of the world's largest falls at Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe and traveled the globe after graduating from the University of Idaho.

"It's going to be hard to trump this," he said.