Michael Throolin, a BYU–Hawaii senior studying mathematics from Washington, successfully completed a 2,400-mile journey through some of America’s most rugged terrain on his bicycle, taking the word “road trip” to a new level.
For Throolin, biking is part of his normal routine and one of his childhood dreams. Throolin said, “When I was growing up, we would visit a lot of national parks. It was in these parks where I saw my first bicycle tourists and I thought to myself, ‘I want to do that someday.’”
Starting at his home in Shoreline, Wash., Throolin journeyed across five states using highways and backroads entering Oregon, Idaho, and Wyoming, until reaching his final destination of Provo, Utah. Then he turned around and biked all the way back home. According to Throolin, most of his 30-day adventure was done alone.
“My friend, Trevor, had some work commitments so he was only able to bike the first 300 miles,” stated Throolin. While contemplating the other 2,100 miles, Throolin decided to carry on with determination to visit friends along the way.
Throolin departed April 22 from Washington, and arrived May 21 in Provo, a period of early spring when weather is unpredictable. It posed various threats to him throughout the trip, especially as he summited mountain passes, Throolin said.
“When I was coming into Boise, I was caught up in a storm and was forced to take refuge in a Jack in the Box restaurant.” After hours of waiting for the storm to pass, the employees finally had to dismiss him. “That night I just camped on the other side of the parking lot.”
One day Throolin even encountered a dust storm. “The wind was so strong that I couldn’t breathe. I had to grab a coat and put it over my face so that I could breathe air. That was scary.”
Throolin averaged around 130 miles a day on easy terrain, while on mountainous terrain he was able to push around 50 miles a day. “The Teton Pass was the hardest part of my journey. It was the steepest incline. There were parts where I would do wheelies on my rear wheel because of my weight in the back and the gear I was in.”
Descending summits was also dangerous for him on his trip. While biking with his friend, Trevor, they “were biking at 60 mph in the dark and couldn’t see anything.”
Throolin only had his tiny light to guide him during the night. While living on the road, Throolin’s eating habits were anything but ordinary. “I would go into a McDonald’s and order 20 McChickens, eat 10 of them on the spot, save 10 of them for the road, and then go back in the evening.”
Throolin said he was able to maintain the same weight for the entire journey because he burned so many calories while bicycling.
On the road, Throolin’s sleeping arrangements were also different. “I would normally sleep out under the stars, and I only had to use my tent four nights the entire trip.”
Some nights were more eventful than others. On the return leg of his journey, Throolin had a flat tire to repair in Baker City, Oreg. “I slept just over a road barrier next to a truck stop. I woke up with $5 of change in two cups because various truckers thought I was homeless,” he said. Upon his arrival into Provo, Utah, he suffered a setback as his bike tire blew and he was forced to journey the remaining miles via car to the house of one of his friends.
Ben Rencher, a returned missionary who served in the mission that included Throolin’s home ward, said, “I wasn’t surprised at all that he had the stamina to complete the trip. When he got to our house, he looked like he should’ve been miserable. His skin was burnt and peeling. But it didn’t seem to faze him.”
Rencher said Throolin would go out of his way to help in the missionary efforts of the area. “He went with his bike everywhere he went. He would meet us for missionary discussions anywhere, even if that meant biking for 30 minutes to get there.”
Logan James, one of Throolin’s friends whom he visited in Idaho along the way, said Throolin’s will to win and his personality made the endeavor possible. “He is the hardest working person I know. He’d come at the drop of a hat for anything.”
Throolin plans to bike around the island of Oahu before leaving, and as far as the mainland goes, he’s got his sights on Highway 101 along the Pacific coastline.
As part of his trip documentation, he is in the process of writing a book to record his experiences and share them with the world.