Singletrack/MTB
Gravel/All-road
Dirt-road Touring
Fat-bike
Jonas Deichmann: Crossing America (Video)
Last year, German athlete Jonas Deichmann pedaled across the United States from New York to Los Angeles, then turned around and ran all the way back to New York. This hour-long documentary from Markus Weinberg chronicles the incredible double-crossing experience. Watch it here…
In 2023, German adventurer Jonas Deichmann successfully completed a back-to-back double-crossing of the United States by bike and on foot. As part of his Trans America Twice project, he pedaled out of New York City on July 29th and rode some 5,500 kilometers to Los Angeles on a gravel bike. Once there, he swapped his bike for a pair of running shoes and started running back to the East Coast, covering a return distance of around 50 kilometers a day.
Jonas closed the loop 100 days later, arriving back in New York City in early November, where he said, “I am overjoyed to be back in New York. Running across the USA had been a dream for a long time. During my triathlon around the world, I had to change and ran across Mexico due to border closures. To complete it now is just great.” As an aside, he earned the fitting nickname “German Forrest Gump” while running across Mexico on that trip, and the moniker seems to have stuck.
Jonas’s route took him through the Mojave Desert on blazing-hot days, across the iconic Monument Valley, up and over high passes in the Rockies, and through the vast plains of the Midwest. His bikepacking bags held his minimal gear on this ride west, and he pulled a trailer full of essential supplies on the running portion of his trip. He lost around 20 pounds and burned through nine pairs of running shoes along the way. “It was definitely one of the hardest challenges I have done so far,” he remarked, which is saying something given his many accomplishments, which include a triathlon around the planet and multiple world records.
You can learn more about Jonas and his adventures at JonasDeichmann.com.
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