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Sam Sets a New World Record
Plus, a family bikepacking in Scotland and Stats for the Nerds
Sam Westby
September 18, 2025
Welcome to the Bike Bulletin. It’s a newsletter to encourage you to get saddle sores from your bike, not your desk.
A quick request for Gmail users. If last week’s Bike Bulletin went to your Promotions folder. Could you move that email from Promotions to Primary/Inbox? That would help train the Google sorting algorithm.
—Sam Westby @samcwestby
This is a weekly newsletter about bike trips, urban cycling, and a love for two-wheeled transit. The more time you spend on a bike, the better. I share new editions every Thursday, gearing you up for the ride ahead.
Here’s what we have today.
🌍 REPORT: 18 U.S. States in 1 Week
🎥 WATCH: Family Bikepacking in Scotland
🚲 ARCHIVES: RAGBRAI Through the Years
📰 NEWS: Wins for bike lanes and new ridership records
RIDE REPORT
Riding Through the Most U.S. States in 1 Week
Pending Guinness World Record. Now I can check that off my list. Phew.
Sometimes, the only way to get a song out of your head is to play it out loud.
It’s been on my mind since last year, when I rode through 8 states in 24 hours.
Some stats for the nerds:
18 states in 7 days from 9/7/25 at Noon - 9/14/25 at Noon
1305 miles (2100 km) with 75436 feet (22992 meters) of elevation
87.5 hours in the saddle
$15,100 raised for Shoes That Fit, that’s 503 pairs of shoes for kids who need them
Was this ride fun? Mostly not. The first 3.5 days weren’t on the best roads. The final 3.5 days were on better roads.
Over the course of the ride, my body relaxed, my dad and I got our schedule figured out, and my legs felt okay
There were a couple of hiccups.
I destroyed my phone’s motherboard with 2.5 days to go. How does that happen? One way is to drop it off the front of a bike so it lands screen down and then run over it with both wheels. This is especially tough because I couldn’t post any videos or update my Strava.
Second, I got behind on my optimistic mileage goal. In New York, I changed the route from 19 states to 18 states, skipping Vermont. Could I have done some things differently to squeeze in Vermont? Probably. Did I? No. My final 250 miles were on the same 8-state route I made last year. It was relieving being on a familiar and quality route.
Would I do it again? Probably not. If you want to go and break the record, be my guest. It’s tough.
You can still buy a new pair of brand-name shoes for a child. $30 per pair. Here’s the link: fundraise.givesmart.com.
WHAT I’M WATCHING
Family Bikepacking in Scotland
FROM THE ARCHIVES
RAGBRAI Through the Years
I stumbled across a massive archive of RAGBRAI (Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa) photos dating back decades. View the whole album at the Des Moines Register.
Preserved. Nearly $400,000 for the Dallas Bike Plan that was threatened by a now-dismissed amendment. (WFAA)
Banned. 5 Dutch cities are requesting the ban of e-scooters and e-fat bikes. (dutchnews.nl)
Defeated. A Boston anti-bike mayoral candidate, Josh Kraft, dropped out of the race after a 43-point loss in the preliminary election to the incumbent Michele Wu. (WCVB)
400,000. The number of trips in August made with Baltimore’s micromobility options, a new monthly record. (MSN)
Doubled. London’s cargobike ridership in the past year. (zagdaily.com)
A Note From Sam
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