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Michael Throolin, a BYU-Hawaii senior studycording to Throolin, most of his 30-day advening mathematics from Washington, successfully ture was done alone. completed a 2,400-mile journey through some “My friend, Trevor, had some work of America’s most rugged terrain on his bicycle, commitments so he was only able to bike the taking the word “road trip” to a new level. first 300 miles,” stated Throolin. While contem For Throolin, biking is part of his plating the other 2,100 miles, Throolin decided normal routine and one of his childhood to carry on with determination to visit friends dreams. Throolin said, “When I was growing up, along the way. we would visit a lot of national parks. It was in Throolin departed April 22 from these parks where I saw my first bicycle tourWashington, and arrived May 21 in Provo, a peists and I thought to myself, ‘I want to do that riod of early spring when weather is unpredictsomeday.’” able. It posed various threats to him throughout Starting at his home in Shoreline, the trip, especially as he summited mountain Wash., Throolin journeyed across five states passes, Throolin said. using highways and backroads entering Oregon, “When I was coming into Boise, I was Idaho, and Wyoming, until reaching his final caught up in a storm and was forced to take destination of Provo, Utah. Then he turned refuge in a Jack in the Box restaurant.” After around and biked all the way back home. Achours of waiting for the storm to pass, the KE ALAKA‘I
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