Trading Pixels for Pedals

After picking up his degree in computer science from Knox College at Commencement on June 7 and before starting his new job in Denver, Cody Sehl traded programming pixels for pushing pedals -- on a month-long, 1,500-mile bicycle ride, halfway across the country, from Illinois to Colorado.

He passed along comments after arriving in Denver: 

• 1500 miles over 35 days -- pretty much exactly what I'd mapped out, even though I went off route many times. My average speed was usually around 12-15 mph. Usually around 8-10 mph in the hilly areas and 14-18 mph in the flatlands. Little wind, somewhere around 90-100 degrees every day.
• I met another cyclist maybe three or four days into the journey, while I was going south along the Mississippi. He was in his mid sixties and had been cycling around the coasts for at least a decade -- he was basically touring indefinitely. He gave me a few pieces of advice, but his most helpful words were "Don't panic," which for some reason seemed to make the utmost sense, then and now. Any time anything happened over the journey, I would think of that.
• Most days in the beginning I wanted to quit... There was a period of two days in the Ozarks, maybe 100 degrees and hilly. I felt dangerously unwell, health-wise, after I reached my destination in Potosi, MO and I learned that I should not do something like that again. I rested two days in an air conditioned hotel (which was INCREDIBLE!)
• Things became much easier as I entered the flatlands and had some cycling experience to draw on. Western Kansas and eastern Colorado were by far my favorite places. Kansas was entirely flat with fields of wheat and corn, so much so that it was like biking through an ocean. Colorado was hilly and dry and you could see the mountains over the horizon - gorgeous!
• I arrived at my new home on the morning of July 10th and I've been here for a few days just puttering around, exploring the city, and relaxing until my new job starts in August.
• I would definitely do another ride again, and I very much expect to get restless here and set out again on a much shorter tour before I begin working. Maybe to the Rockies? I also plan to participate in the RAGBRAI ride across Iowa.
• Astonishingly, the worst mechanical failure was the bike chain falling off. I did take a nasty spill a few days into the journey, the evidence of which has yet to heal completely.
• As you might expect, small town midwestern folks are just the nicest people! I would pull into the only diner in town and order a huge breakfast, and people were always interested in what I was doing.

"I've always been interested in going around the country," Sehl said prior to the trip, which he chronicled at www.twitter.com/codysehl

Scheduled to start work as a software developer in mid-August, Sehl recently wrapped up a big computer programming project in Knox's StartUp Term. Teams of students developed and marketed tech-based products or services, in a ten-week-long immersive learning program that simulates the experience of working in a high-tech business incubator.

Above, Cody Sehl rides through Galesburg to begin his cross-country bicycle trip to Denver, prepping for the ride, including using his front porch as an improvised vise to bend a piece of metal. Top of page, he packs for the trip.

• More photos from StartUp Term
• More photos from Cody Sehl's bike trip