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Liao Shusan quit her job as a software engineer and spent 62 days bicycling across the United States. They used warmshowers and camping to reduce their accommodation expenses by more than 300 yuan. During the trip he reacquainted himself and the United States.
Liao Shaousan, 28, quit his job as a software engineer this year and decided to fulfill his four- or five-year travel plan and cycle across the United States. He was interested in sports and history since childhood, and was particularly interested in the story of early immigrants to the United States from the East Coast to the West. He hopes to reconsider his interests and future directions by visiting different places by bicycle. He spent only NT$300 on accommodation along the way, and was warmly welcomed by stranger riders and Taiwanese compatriots.
To save on accommodation fees, he contacted fellow cyclists through Warmshowers, a mutual aid forum for cyclists, and found free accommodation for over 20 nights. Some homeowners provide not only bedding, shower and laundry facilities, but also dinner receptions. As long as he had time, he would check out the cities he might pass through over the next week or two, calling each one and asking if he could stay overnight. He described this process as somewhat like submitting a resume. The more you send, the more likely you are to get a response. With camping along the way and accommodation expenses deducted during the trip with his girlfriend, the accommodation fee for the bicycle trip cost just over 300 yuan.
After sharing his trip on Instagram and threads, Taiwanese people living in St. Louis, Manhattan, Kansas, Denver and Las Vegas, as well as Apple Valley and Los Angeles in California, invited him to stay overnight. Some also specially prepared braised chicken legs, braised pork rice, salty crispy chicken and other hometown dishes. “I’ve been eating burgers and french fries all week. I literally want to cry when I eat these.” Riding for a long time, being able to eat familiar Taiwanese food in a strange city has become a particularly precious memory during the trip.
Communication with hosts during overnight stays also gave them a different understanding of the United States. He once stayed at the house of a Trump supporter and an anti-Trump person for two consecutive nights. The two owners had completely different political stances, but both were kind, polite and hospitable. This showed them that even though they may have different views, they can still find common themes in cycling, traveling and daily life, and there is no need to negate other aspects of a person because of their political stances. When communicating face-to-face, people get along with each other without any confrontation like on the Internet.
Biking the whole way gave him a clear understanding of the differences in urban density, backgrounds and lifestyles of residents in different places, and he saw an America he had never seen outside of big cities. The trip also allowed him to temporarily leave the familiar pace of life and reconsider his interests and future direction. I continue to shoot videos and record daily experiences along the way. In addition to leaving behind memories for myself, I also hope that those who are interested in taking on the challenge will understand what they may face every day on long-distance bicycle trips and how to prepare. If someone is inspired and takes action, it will make sense of the journey for them.
For beginners who want to ride longer distances, he recommends starting with two or three days and then gradually increasing it to a week or two. Don’t increase the intensity too much in the beginning. He candidly admitted that the route required him to move every day, and that sometimes it was difficult to enjoy cycling. After completing his goal, he did not even want to touch the bicycle for some time. If you want to arrange a short-distance challenge, he suggests a route from Los Angeles to San Diego, which has beautiful scenery and relatively convenient supplies. Although this 62-day journey did not allow him to find answers to all of life’s questions, it did help him understand himself better.
Summary FAQ
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He has been an avid fan of sports and history since childhood, and is particularly interested in the pioneer stories of early immigrants to the United States. This trip has been a plan for 4 or 5 years in hopes of reconsidering his interests and future direction.
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They found accommodation primarily through Warmshowers, a mutual aid platform for bicycle commuters, and successfully stayed for more than 20 nights. He also camped on the way. He only had a few extra expenses when traveling with his girlfriend, so the total accommodation fee was very low.
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He was warmly welcomed by Taiwanese compatriots and stranger car riders throughout the United States. He also realized that people with different political stances could still get along well with each other, which allowed him to better understand himself and see American life outside of big cities.
