Bike Across America 1965 

You really don't ride anymore? That summer of 1976 did it for me. I was hooked. I've always ridden. I had a 37-year career in the bike industry. Now retired 8 years. I still ride 6000+ miles a year at age 73. I don't know what I'd do if I couldn't still ride. Have well north of 100 vintage bikes to choose from.

"If you're not riding your bike to school *visible disgust* something is wrong with you." LOL I loved that.

"This was before the Tour de France .... " The first Tour de France was in 1903, and apart from during the two World Wars, has been held pretty much every year since then. It's always been extremely popular in Europe. Perhaps the news didn't make it across the pond till after 1965.

Great story. I am a 73 year old who grew up in the suburbs of NYC and started doing 50-70 mile rides in the early 60's by heading north into Westchester County. I used a 3 speed english bike made to look like a racer from an article I saw in Sports Illustrated about the Tour De France. I did these rides with no planning and suffered mightily, but the sense of freedom was so overwhelming that I did many of these journeys. I stopped riding around '65 because 'it wasn't cool' but picked it up again in the early 70's and started to do competitive cycling. As i aged, long distance touring became attractive again and, to cut to the chase, I rode from Minnesota to California to celebrate my 50th and from California to Minnesota (much easier) to celebrate my 60th. Your story is amazing for me because of your description of road conditions, touring equipment, knowledge of food, etc. The cross country trip is hard and humbling even today.

Mr. Hansen, I remember hearing about your trip in the newpaper when I was 16 - It impressed me. Your story is amazing and I'm glad you and Butch survived being the transcontinental bike pioneers! When I was 19 I bought a three speed and commuted for a while to work - I became hooked on the freedom bikes gave me. A young Yorkshire man going back to UK gave me a beat up Raleigh Blue Streak 10 speed on which I learned how to wrench - rode that until I broke the seamed down tube. Then I bought a new '72 Atala Record Pro with the same kit as you had, including sew-ups. I worked a lot, saved up enough to take it on Laker flight to London, and rode it solo to Copenhagen and back, using Youth Hostels as stopovers - they are only maybe 50 miles apart in most of northern Europe. Because I was well fed and rested, I managed a laden 110-mile day and many in the 80s but I have to say that sew-up repair was a big issue in western Denmark. I could manage a patch in a half hour before hitting the sack. I still have that bike, though I have graduated to a lighter 30-speed bike now. All the Europeans ridiculed my Bell Biker helmet - no one there wore helmets then. My '70s biking buddy and I still ride occasionally. It feels good to get the better of a hill under your own power! My hat is off to you Norm - you seem like a great, positive guy. There is much to be done here in the U.S. I wish people would put away their differences and get to solving real human problems instead of posturing over ideological stances and obstructing progress.

I started doing century rides on the East Coast with one of my good friends in 1971. I was 14 and he was 13. My Bike was Schwinn Varsity and he had a Schwinn Continental. We would start our days at 3AM to avoid the bulk of the traffic and cops would almost always stop us assuming we were runaways or mentally defective. No one could believe that anyone was purposefully riding hundreds of miles for kicks. I remember the dog problem, for sure, and the bad road, trash...and the flats. We were so quick at patching flats the they often delayed us only a few minutes. Good memories from back then.

Soon I'm adding day forty two, the day find my father. It is extremely tragic.

The satellite comment rang a bell. As young kids in the 1960s we would hang out talking at night, especially in the winter months when it was dark at 4.30. We'd stare at the sky and might need all night to see a single satellite, often we would see none. Now you'll see a satellite in 30 seconds. Space was virgin territory back then. Today satellites run everything. It's a different world.

This brings back so many memories of my ride on the first Bikecentennial route from Oregon to Virginia in 1976. A small group of us came over from Australia to be part of the 4000 riders that did parts or all of the ride. Loved the dialogue.

Wow, what a story! In 1981 I rode cross-country from Toronto ON to SoCal via Northern BC, about 7000 miles in total, and had the best time. I was on little backroads almost the whole time, except for a few days near Missoula MT when I was on the BikeCentennial Trans-Am route, and local people everywhere would keep asking me where my bike's engine was: they couldn't grasp the idea that anyone, let alone a foreigner, would want to ride so far. I much preferred to not be on the Trans-Am route because the locals were much more generous and welcoming to me as I rode through their little towns; on the Trans-Am route nobody paid any attention to 'just another touring cyclist' pedaling by. I rode my old 10-speed Holdsworth Equipe with a flimsy Pletscher rear rack and a Regina 14-28 5-speed freewheel with Campagnolo Velox derailleurs, so the big climbs out west were tough, especially in the Cascades that were harder than the Rockies (except Berthoud Pass...). After riding in jeans for the first few hundred miles I also bought some Protogs wool shorts with real chamois inserts - ah, bliss! I smiled when you mentioned Red Hill: last year I did a little ride from Albuquerque west and went through there on Hwy.60, and the sole remaining inhabitants of Red Hill NM helped me find a motel in Springerville AZ (thank you, Dan). Lots of good memories! I'm still riding now in my retirement, and I hope to ride the entire US Pacific Coast this year to cover the parts of it that I've not yet ridden.

I rode Boston to Iowa City in 1970. Beautiful. Small roads with little traffic that are gone or made into 'stroads' now.

A wonderful gentlemen. Great story of the old days. 100 pr cent loved it. Hello from Australia 🇦🇺 😊.

What a great story. Loved watching it. I bought my first high end bike in 1973, I was thirteen years old. From 1965 to 1973 not much changed as far as bikes go. Up graded my bike to sew ups. About the single biggest up grade you could do at the time. Wool shorts with a real chamois and wool jerseys. Thanks for sharing.

Great story. Brings back memories of how things used to be. It struck me how bsck then, you just did stuff. Joked maybe, complained some, looked upon things as an adventure. There were fewer choices but somehow it didn't matter.

I had 42/34 low gear. Never walked an inch. Nowadays I use a triple most of the time.

I frequently used my tire pump to defend myself from dogs in the 1970’s and 80’s. Bike chasing dogs are a much smaller problem now, but it still occasionally happens. So I can understand it was probably worse in the 1960’s. I have been riding an “English Racer” since the 1970’s. Lol

I enjoyed listening to your story, especially on how the technology, vernacular and culture have changed. It brought back memories for me.

Fascinating ! I've never suffered so much listening to someone tell a story. I'm from that era and got into bikes in 69. I owned, eventually an Italian Atala, yellow and green, with a 24 inch frame (now they use cm., so I don't know what it means, I can eyeball a frame and tell what size it is by the length of the head tube),and full Campagnolo set up. I did 100 miles a week, between going to work to 46 st and 5th in Manhattan from Staten Island and back at 5. Weekends i went out all day and hit Central Pk. which closed the drive on week ends for bikes and runners . I'm 75 now and I havent ridden since that Atala, sold it in '70/71. BTW, it cost me 179 bucks, just like yours. I had to save for months for it. If I were 22 again and I heard this story, I wouldn't take that trip even for money. No way I'm gonna willingly suffer so much ! My hat's off to you and your buddy.

This is a treat. A fantastic time you had. Wow. So well done. Thanks for the story.

My freind Bob and I rode from Georgia to California back in 1993. We had 21 speeds, waterproof tents, and much better roads. It was such a great adventure! This video was excellent, and really reminded me of our own journey!

Thank you for posting this fascinating story. What was done with that equipment is really impressive. Had a schwinn high sierra f/h.s. & college. Converted to a 1x5, loved it!

Great story! I hope there's more stories to come.

Congratulations for getting this out there, Norm! Your memory of all the painful little details is remarkable and make it all the more entertaining to hear! Been there, I could relate to almost all of it (only we had a tent and karrimats, thank God!). Lets hope Butch turns up and gives us his perspective, that would be fun! All the best!

Really loved finding your story. It was wonderful. I can appreciate your struggles. I had a direct descendant of your bike ill equipped to make an emergency run from the campground in Arches NP to Moab for a fuel pump in 100 degree heat. That race gearing was not fun on climbs. Only after years of experience and much improvement in bikes and tires did I ride from my home in NJ to Labrador and Jackson WY. I can’t imagine going on such an amazing journey w/o GPS and Cell Phones or without todays best tires and bike gear let alone not having gearing for about 1:1 drive.

Great adventure. Thank you for sharing this.

Fascinating story and really well told. Must have this book! Every word is so interesting. Your description of American society and infrastructure back then is really something, and when you remind people of what tremendous progress has been made across so many areas of life since and the need to just 'have patience' that really hits home. Congratulations on the bike trip, on your video and on your book....brilliant!

Thank you so much for sharing your amazing story. It is inspiring and will help me to keep pushing myself towards my goals.

That was excellent, really enjoyed it. A great story, well told! Greetings from Scotland

More than a very interesting story, your tale is a time capsule. More than a description, you present yourself with complete authenticity. A very refreshing experience. Thanks. Ron

THIS IS GOLD - love this story

Wow! That's amazing! Thank you for sharing your adventure.

Amazing story, thank you! What an adventure this must have been back in the day.

What an interesting story you're telling. Amazing, Best wishes from Germany.

This was excellent! Thanks for sharing your story. 🙏🏻 I’m also from Orange County. ✌️

This is a fascinating story of an incredibly journey, and it’s wonderfully told. Thank you so much for sharing it with us. I think the messages of perspective and appreciation for modern improvements are things the younger set needs to hear. How anyone can watch this and their biggest takeaway is a nitpick about what year the Tour de France started or who wrote the Grapes of Wrath is beyond me. It takes all kinds, I guess. Thanks again. Looking forward to your next video.

That was excellent! Many thanks 👍

I really enjoyed this. Thank you for telling your experiences.

I enjoyed listening to the story about your journey. You have seen a period of time of great accomplishments. I too have traveled across the country by bicycle on multiple occasions by comparison with modern day equipment and hotels no farther apart than a good days ride we had it easier and more comfortable. I am a member of Rail to Trails (love those trails) plus now we have bike lanes and many other parks and forested trails for biking or hiking. I thank people who had the vision and want

Man! What a wonderful story! My son just sent this my way! Made my day! I started riding in the 70s . Had alot of nice bikes! Mostly loved the old Gitanes! Stated my son riding around 4 years old and he's carried it on today! Sends photos from 90 miles away from home on his Cervelo! Really Really enjoyed your story! What a story to tell! Man experience of a life time!

You Tube is a wonderful thing, here I am sitting on my lap top in England browsing stuff and this gets recommended by the algorithm. Its not often something on you tube grabs me for a full 45 minutes but this did. Really enjoyable and so interesting to understand the context of doing it back in the 60's. Well done to you guys, if only you could meet up with your old Pal it would close the circle.

Remarkable. Well worth making and posting this.

what a cool story, mad respect for these guys! to do something so big at a time when NO ONE was riding bikes as an adult. just inspiring

Just meet u in person so cool to see everything u did just at 20 seem like a really nice person really cool that u did that people like u change the future

That was an amazing trip and story. I had a 1967 Schwinn 10 speed that I bought from a friend after he went in the Marines. I had a 3 speed Raleigh first and we rode around in the backroads of Maryland east of DC. We had to ride in the road all the way with almost no traffic that is now jammed with vehicles starting in the 70 s. Our longest ride was over 80 miles round trip to a Chesapeake Bay beach and back home. I think we did it in less than 5 hours. A great memory. No drivers would be distracted by anything but a AM radio so it was probably much safer then.

Quite a trip indeed! I would rather ride across the country 10x in 2023 than once in 1965!

Deep respect for you , Nowadays all stuff you need to do such a trip is available. Back then it was problably a sort of daily survival trip. Unbelievable how things changed over there also here in Europe. Hope you will find your trip partner! Greetings from the Netherlands.

Last year, I got a 1986 Schwinn Paramount. By '86, the free wheel had 6 cogs and the crank was 52/42. My Chinese-made free wheel is a 14-28. Your cogs were a lot smaller - not easy getting over those mountains, I would imagine.

Really enjoyed hearing about your trip. Thanks for making the video.

Fantastic! I was riveted to every sentence. I'm in awe over the tough resilience of these two young men. I'm about the same age as Mr Hansen, so I can especially appreciate his comments regarding the changes that have occurred in culture and public behaviour - not only in America, but also in my native Canada. This is a brilliant document, and I hope it gets a lot more attention. About the same time as their journey, I owned an English sports bike with a Reynolds 531 frame - but the bike was not as as rich and light as the Paramount and Bianchi. These days I'm still riding vintage bikes that are very similar to the pairs' racers. They still have 5-cog clusters and "sew-ups" . I just go for short rides, not continental triumphs.

Awesome story and trip !

This is a great story about these two Queer guys and their relationship and ride across America.

Loved this story, what a great video!

Fascinating. Thanks so much. Greatly admire your sense of adventure and toughness. Now you must laugh like crazy when you hear bicyclists today saying how tough the TransAmerica trail is.

I’m pretty sure the Tour de France started before 1965😂

Bravo! My first long ride was in 1983 from Montreal to Quebec and back on a yellow Schwinn Varsity. I envied my friend who had a Continental. We dared not dream of someday owning Paramounts... Today, I ride a late 90s Waterford, the next step in that evolution.

Geeze ....inherited Schwinn ten speed from my older brother who rode to PA from Massachusetts with another brother in the 60's ...brings back memories both the bike and the brooks leather saddle 🙂

Absolutely Wonderful listening to your journey......

Great video! Thanks for sharing it. I love about 5 mins away from the former bike shop in Santa Ana, CA. That location is now a car stereo locale.

Seriously, you are right up there with Orville and Wilber Wright. Thank you far your daring. Lon Holdeman and Mike Sherman (of the RAAM) were my heroes back then and still are are, of course, but I've been unaware of you both until now. Wow! Love you guys....HEROES, both. Thank you for explaining your equipment and difficulties. I loved working on bikes back then. Steel frames. Braze-on fixtures. On and on. Bike equipment has come so far compared to the 60's era. Maybe to far? Lol! And, gotta say, the beauty of the original Campagnolo Record derailleur has never been surpassed. Never. (I'll probably get some push back on that, but that's OK.) Thank you, and Bravo! Multo Bravo! rocket

i am 80 yrs old , I am mesmerized by MR. Hansons journey and also highly impressed by it . pity to hear that he is not cycling any more . I still cycle a little bit myself , but Ireland is a very small country , idid do route 66 bout ten yrs ago , but my wife insisted on a car [ automobile] for our American friends , and really enjoyed it . Mr Hanson my hat off to you . Denis Maher .

I've just bought a bike. I'm gonna explore the uk. This is very inspiring

Am happy I stumbled across your video. What a wonderful story so nicely told. In 1972 I was inspired by a story in National Geographic about a couple that were riding to Alaska. A year later I purchased a Schwinn Sports Tourer. This rig had 3 chainrings and a 14/36 freewheel, that was administrated by a Campy Grand Tourismo derailleur. My climbing experiences were much easier than yours. I rode from Berkley, California to Boston, Massachusetts. One reason, to see if I could, just by memory, find the house that I spent the first 5 years of my life in. Great adventure and conditions were much improved over what you experienced. You were indeed, a pioneer. I rode solo and as well, generally camped off the side of the road. People were still great and surprised my bike had no motor, just pedals. Thanks for sharing

Thank-you Man

Terrific story & a great learning for me :) Awesome video :)

What an amazing story! !

What a great guy. Super story with no BS and an honest account of his experience.

This is wonderful to watch. Great stories. Touring gear actually exists now and has come a really long way. I can imagine the misery of a soaked cotton sleeping bag in the open air. My mother went to Newport Beach all the time back in the day. On her first date with my father, they rode bicycles to the beach, then went back home for a steak dinner. I'll ask her if she remembers your cyclist story. Neatsfoot oil is synonymous with baseball glove care. Of course when you use them on bicycle saddles it actually softens them up to the point that they can sag and it's considered destructive to the leather when used in excess. If your saddle is newer or in good condition, Newbaum's leather dressing is the best option, IMO. I have a vintage Brooks that I used Ko Cho Line leather dressing on because it sat in a garage loft for years and needed to be conditioned against drying out. Ko Cho Line works on mold and cracking (there are limits). Anyways I hope this information helps others restoring or taking care of their leather. I have a '61 Raleigh Trent Tourist that I restored last year. The vintage brooks is on there now and it rides great. When I take this bike out I imagine what it was like for people riding back then, and your story really helps paint the picture. Ulnar nerve pain is the worst. I'll take a little more sore butt if it means sparing my hands from numbness, so I ride more upright.

Very interesting story, can’t wait to hear about your father. One suggestion, add links to you website and the book. Yes, I’m aware the publisher is shown at the end of the video.

Nice stuff...me and a friend cycled from Sheffield to Scotland one summer for 3weeks....19mm wheels and 42/52 and 13 /21 gears with all the bags 🤪apart from that been riding since 13 now 50...hoping to do Sheffield to Italy next year

Brilliant video and very interesting 👍

This guy is how we all were back then. Big gears, big legs, big dreams.

It would be a great video of the Butch reunion. I hope it takes place one day.

Interesting comments about a fascinating journey!

Thanks for sharing your adventure. Ordered the book. Still hoping to do the ride one day, but no way in 6 weeks. That seems incredibly fast,. Wond er what happened after that ride. As you mentioned, those were years of change. You mentioned you had an acceptance letter and a draft notice.Or perhaps the book expands a bit on your story. Will see when it arrives.

As much as it was mainly torture and gruelling for you both this adventure is burned into your soul and maybe made the men you are today ! Just think about it your telling the story for all the world to listen and enjoy and if you look at the youths of today they are miserable and have no personality.🎥🇬🇧👍

"... this was before the Tour de France..." That's an interesting perspective. First running of Tour de France was in 1903 and it ran every year except for WWi and WWII. I guess for all practical purposes Tour de France did not exist in US until Lemond won it. Either way, this is an amazing story!

amazing story!

Great video!

Good day to you! I am a senior rider on HONDA motorcycle from Japan. I am enjoying camping ,touring and upload video. Your ride video is so nice! Awesome! Full supported ! Have a nice day my friend!

I really liked your video. Fun to see your bicycle experiences. I'm 74, but can relate to some of your experiences. Did you ever belong to the A.B.L of A.(Amateur Bicycle League of America). That was the racing orginization that promoted cycling. We had races every Sunday during the summer. We also had an organization (forget the name) that promoted races at the Encino Veledrome. Bicycles with no brakes and direct drive, no coaster brake. It was fun riding with Ted Ernst Jr's club, South Bay Wheelmen out of Manhatten Beach California. This was probably the late 60's, also rode an Allegro with the shifts at the end of the handle bars. Later had a Rickert bicycle, that was hand made in West Germany, in a garage. I liked to set cross country goals, but never got to do the cross country thing. Rode from LA to Yosemite(4 days),Yosemite to San Francisco(2 days), San Francisco to LA(5 days). Did that with a cycling friend. The sew ups were good for those long distances, since they were so easy to change, but not to repair. One time at a race, I rounded a corner and my tire rolled off the rim and I went down. The glue was sticky, but I should have used fresh glue. Such memories, but mostly good ones!

Great story! A nice movie should be made.

Great achievement, but you never mentioned the thunderstorms! You must have encountered a few, I certainly did hitch hiking coast to coast and feared for my life on one occasion. Biking it like that in 1965 was certainly epic. I found sleeping out in the desert ok but cold like you said. Great story hope you get to meet your buddy again and share some memories.

I rode my bike to work today, as I usually do. About a 10 mile commute. I bought the bike at my local bike shop, the Oscar Wastyn bicycle shop. Oscar Wastyn was a '6 day racer'. He was a racer and bike builder who worked with Ignaz Schwinn, they both lived in the neighborhood I live in now. Oscar Wastyn designed the Schwinn Paramount. The Wastyn family still runs the shop today. You can see some of the 100 year old racing bikes on the walls. The wheels weren't steel or aluminum, but were made of bamboo! Kind of the carbon fiber of the 1920's.

A marvelous adventure Norman, I believe 'sew ups' or tubular tyres are pretty much confined to competition racing nowadays, tubeless is being ridden in European races by some teams. Hope you find your mate Butch.

i followed similar stories, as grew up with bikes an early touring. NYC worlds fair mom wore Lakota buckskin dress and later family friend visited us in Rapid city sd. early 60's 2 boys left their bikes to us kids, similar as english racer, fuji , maybe motoebecane? my first road bike from department store, did ride age 15, rapid valley to Wall Drug,1973. many rides and tours ive done. but not enough. now retired i got bit too old ill sore to restart world tour. i gave dozen bikes recent years, still 5 left need fixed to do long ride. recent buy vintage english Hurcules,10 speed needs attention. i want 3 way sitting, gave away a blaze recumbent, like sit up easy but need race postition for hills and downhill. i missed the first raa. i on hiway 90 Southern tier, seen watch for cross country riders. one passed by at 3pm Marfa, but new gear lite...

I took his book to Italy enjoyed it so much. Back in the time when I was that age and I was a bicycle mechanic half my life. Recommend it highly, Easy Read an interesting articles., Thanks , Kirk

goddammit this is a great story

Riding in the later '70s and early '80s, things hadn't changed much as for bicycle acceptance on the roads. But the Japanese were really making inroads with the group sets. Frames hadn't changed much except for the few extravagant unicorns. 531 was still well respected. English racers were the 26" three speed bikes with fenders like the Raleighs. I guess all drop bar bikes were racing bikes regardless of its quality.

Sadly, there is still a bottle problem in America. During my east-west crossing, I saw countless plastic bottles (water & energy drinks) by the side of the road. (Mostly in Idaho and Oregon) What are truly gone are the bags of trash, fortunately…

Fascinating 👍🏻

I thought when I attempted Race Across AMerica in 1983 that things were very primitive but I see that I've got nothing on Norm except being from Huntington Beach and not stinking Newport. Yeah, no credit cards or cellphones save for a giant ham radio to check in with...downright Draconian if you ask me. But we had support cars and high pressure clinchers...I made my own helmet light before NiteRider was a gleem in somebody's eye. In Norm:s era they only built about a hundred Paramount's a year by the way. I know cause I own a '61 coincidentally, plus a slew of 70's ones from the bike boom decade.

Neat accomplishment. Great story. He speaks from memory about things and hasn't researched recently to make sure that he remembers everything correctly. He makes a number of factual mistakes. Somebody may get the wrong idea about a couple of things, but I doubt that it will cause any problems. I'm glad that he is telling the story.

Great story

1973 myself and two friends rode 1000 miles Ohio to Florida I was 18

Great story. I disagree on one aspect though. I did it in 1976. Was a leader on Bikecentennial. To me, it shrunk the country. Before it had seemed like a vast distance across the US. But I rode my bike across! No big deal. I continued on, doing 6000 miles total that summer. That was enough, and I went home.

Yes your absolutely correct.😊

"before the Tour de France" Someone misspoke

"Grapes of Wrath" is an American realist novel written by John Steinbeck...

My great friend

An amazing adventure.