Tom O’Brien wearing a bicycle helmet and sunglassesTired Old BikerThe bicycle journals of Tom O’Brien

A family-preserved cycling archive

Sixty years.
Fifty states.
A lot of miles in between.

Tom O’Brien chronicled his bicycle tours in plainspoken detail—routes, weather, diners, strangers, wrong turns, and all the “other bike stuff” that made the miles memorable.

Open the touring atlasBrowse every ride →
Tom waving from his bicycle in West VirginiaWest Virginia · State 50
“That first pedal in West Virginia was very emotional for me.”
50states ridden
60years to complete them
5,169.2coast-to-coast miles
0flats on the 1998 tour

Choose a road

Tom’s Touring Atlas

The major journeys get their own folders. Smaller rides, bicycles, annual mileage, and stories remain easy to find instead of disappearing under the headline tours.

UNITED STATES · PERSONAL TOURING MAP
Map of the United States showing approximate corridors for Tom’s major bicycle tours, with an Alaska inset. 1998Coast to Coast 2003Route 66 2004Alaska 2006Great Circle

Four roads worth opening first

The Big Tour Folders

01 · 1998Tom's loaded Cannondale touring bicycle

Northern Tier

Coast to Coast

Seattle to Boston by way of Canada, RAGBRAI, and thousands of miles of rural kindness.

Distance
5,169.2 mi
Duration
69 days
Open folder →
02 · 2003Santa Monica Pier, the western beginning of Tom’s Route 66 tour.

The Mother Road

Route 66

Santa Monica to Chicago through eight states, old roads, motels, headwinds, and ice cream.

Distance
2,726.19 mi
Duration
42 days
Open folder →
03 · 2004Tom in an Alaska cycling jersey at a bicycle shop

Alaska & Yukon

Alaska

Nearly every major paved highway in the state, with bears, dust, pie, and a wallet that went missing.

Distance
2,901.3 mi
Duration
51 days
Open folder →
04 · 2006Tom and his riding partner at the Michigan state sign

Great Lakes

The Great Circle

“Just a great ride”—3,182 miles through the Great Lakes, Manitoba, and plenty of headwind.

Distance
3,182 mi
Duration
45 days
Open folder →
A quiet northern lake seen during one of Tom's bicycle tours

Tom’s recurring conclusion

“Have I said
life is good?”
Usually after a tailwind, a diner, ice cream, a stranger’s kindness—or simply reaching the motel.

Links to my tours and other bike stuff

The Complete Road Box

A fuller archive that keeps Tom’s original homemade-web spirit, organized so a visitor can actually find things.

Showing all 56 preserved entries.

Coast-to-Coast in 1998Coast to Coast · 1998C2C: June 11 to June 17Coast to Coast · 1998C2C: June 18 to June 24Coast to Coast · 1998C2C: June 25 to July 1Coast to Coast · 1998C2C: July 2 to July 8Coast to Coast · 1998C2C: July 9 to July 15Coast to Coast · 1998C2C: July 16 to July 22Coast to Coast · 1998C2C: July 23 to July 29Coast to Coast · 1998C2C: July 30 to August 5Coast to Coast · 1998C2C: August 6 to August 12Coast to Coast · 1998C2C: August 13 to August 21Coast to Coast · 1998C2C: Tour StatsCoast to Coast · 1998Route 66 - 2003Route 66 · 2003About Route 66Route 66 · 2003R66: CaliforniaRoute 66 · 2003R66: ArizonaRoute 66 · 2003R66: New MexicoRoute 66 · 2003R66: TexasRoute 66 · 2003R66: OklahomaRoute 66 · 2003R66: KansasRoute 66 · 2003R66: MissouriRoute 66 · 2003R66: IllinoisRoute 66 · 2003R66: Wisconsin - MinnesotaRoute 66 · 2003R66: Tour StatsRoute 66 · 2003Alaska - 2004Alaska & Yukon · 2004AK: PlanningAlaska & Yukon · 2004AK: Getting There - June 15 to June 21Alaska & Yukon · 2004AK: AnchorageAlaska & Yukon · 2004AK: KenaiAlaska & Yukon · 2004AK: FairbanksAlaska & Yukon · 2004AK: ValdezAlaska & Yukon · 2004AK: HomeAlaska & Yukon · 2004AK: Stats - More Than You Wanted KnowAlaska & Yukon · 2004AK: People I (we) met along the way.Alaska & Yukon · 2004Sound to Sea with Adventure CyclingOther ToursPortland to Tulare TourOther ToursCanadian Rockies Tour -2001Other ToursCanadian Rockies Tour -2002Other ToursThe Great Circle Tour - 2006Other ToursTour to ride in 8 new states - 2007Other ToursTour to ride The Natchez Trace - 2008Other ToursCycle Oregon XII, Sept. 12-18, 1999Cycle OregonCycle Oregon X, Nyssa to YachatsCycle OregonCycle Oregon 2004 - Crater Lake - Big BlueCycle OregonCycle Oregon 18 (2005)Cycle OregonRoss - Almost FreeBikes & GearGary Fisher - Big SurBikes & GearBike Friday - Pocket RocketBikes & GearShort Stories & Annual MilageStories, Rides & RecordsTour InformationStories, Rides & RecordsGreg LemondStories, Rides & RecordsSTP - Seattle to Portland - 2002Stories, Rides & RecordsRide with Lance - 2005Stories, Rides & RecordsRide in all 50 statesStories, Rides & RecordsTOB’s Home PageStories, Rides & Records

Open all preserved entries

The machine behind the miles

Real touring equipment, recorded in Tom’s own detail

“The bike is a Cannondale T-1000. I believe it is set up for real touring…”
  • 42/32/22 front gearing
  • 11–30 eight-speed rear
  • Magura hydraulic brakes
  • Shimano XT components
  • Bar-end indexed rear shifter
See the bikes and gear →
Original low-resolution photo of Tom's Cannondale touring bicycle
The Cannondale T-1000Original website photograph—small, practical, and unmistakably part of the story.

The long route

From a Christmas bicycle to all 50 states

1948First bicycle
1994Retirement opens the road
1998Across America
2003Route 66 at 66
2008Fiftieth state

Two more ways to know Tom

Beyond the Tour Journals

The roads tell one story. The surviving photographs tell two more: the fifty-state goal made visible, and the fuller life lived around the bicycle.

Tom at the West Virginia state sign.

39 surviving state photographs

The Fifty-State Goal

Open the photographic record →
Tom with his children during a camping trip.

Family, mountains, and finish lines

Tom Beyond the Bicycle

Open the family album →
Tom wearing a bicycle helmet and sunglasses

About the rider

Tom O’Brien

Tom called himself the “Tired Old Biker,” but the title was more wink than warning. His journals are observant, practical, occasionally grumpy, frequently funny, and deeply grateful for the people he met.

“You have to start small.”