Bike riding can be economical, but a cross country ride isn't to be entered into lightly. It's expensive. My estimate of expenses for the trip are 4000 dollars. This doesn't include money to cover my fixed costs - rent, bills, etc - during the period I am without an income. And it doesn't include the bike.
Assume 60 days to cross the US, and no free meals, lodging, etc. That's 900 dollars for food on a daily budget of 15 dollars a day. Assuming I spend 30 nights in a hotel at 50 dollars a night, that's another 1500 bucks. Add in more money for camping gear, for bike repairs, sunblock, toothpaste, ibuprofen, my train tickets back to PA, etc, and I've made a big bite out of 4K. Now, of course, I do have some offers for lodging, and I'll probably be fed by some people too. But I can't count on it.
To help finance the trip, I'm having t-shirts designed. I'm also going to put up a "donation" button. While I have no desire to become the bike touring world's answer to "Save Karyn", I'm not so proud I can't ask for sponsorship, either in cash or in kind. More on this in a future post.
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You might wish to check out hostelling en route (although there are some big gaps in coverage on this continent!): http://www.hiusa.org/usa-hostels/index.shtml
I stayed recently at the hostel across from Harper's Ferry and it was very nice and quite reasonable. There are alternatives to $50/night but not necessarily a lot in the US. Between camping and occasional stays in motels/hostels for showers and a better night's sleep you should do fine. Adventure Cycling is a goldmine of information about places to stay as well, I think.
Have you checked out Warm Showers?
http://www.warmshowers.org/
If your route brings you close to NW Arkansas, look me up.
Good Luck
Kevin
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