Introduction

My name is Robert Hickman. I'm an artist and college professor from Brooklyn, NY. I make sculptural objects, installations, and public art. My work can be seen on my website at hickmanindustries.com. I've done many transportation related public art projects, the best known being the skylight for the 72nd street subway station on the Upper West Side in Manhattan. I'm recognized for my unicycling and project to cross every single bridge in New York City on a unicycle, currently at 471 bridges crossed. We were the first to traverse the Florida Keys on unicycles. I have crossed 178 bridges in St. Petersburg, Russia on one wheel. I rode my bike around Sardinia in 2007. My girlfriend and I cycled the Erie Canal from Buffalo to Albany, New York in 2015. I commute everywhere in NYC by bike, often with my dog Blanka.

I've always said that I would bicycle across North America after my son graduated from high school. Caleb begins Berklee College of Music in May 2018, and shortly thereafter I will begin my journey. I will be following the TransAmerica trail, a 4250 mile route that crosses 10 states. Making it's debut in 1976 as the Bikecentennial, the route is coordinated and mapped by Adventure Cycling Association.

I will be traveling east to west, starting in Virginia and ending in Oregon. I will cross the Appalachians, the Ozarks, the Great Plains, the Rockies, and finally the Cascades. I will be staying at hostels, couch surfing, and camping. I will be living entirely off my bike and will be relying on the kindness of others. I expect the trip to take 90 days. Please join me on my epic adventure!

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