hillary dixon rust

The goal is to make a series of documentaries about a realistically optimistic man riding his bicycle across the United States of America. The first of the journeys will be from Los Angeles, CA to Austin, TX and will take place in the spring of 2010. The subsequent adventures will cover the entire US from Seattle, WA to Green Bay, WI, Charlotte, NC to Portland, ME and so on. 

The main objectives during each outing will be to find some of this country’s unknown national treasures (culture, architecture, and nature), to experience as many new things as possible, and to meet many new people that are shaping their communities and this country into what they want and need right now and interview them about how and why they do what they do. 


The breathtaking scenery and detailed exploration of the country where we all live would be enough for any travel documentary, but this country is more than just the mountains, rivers, forests and cities that make up its physical aspects. This country is made up of the people who live in it. You can’t paint an accurate picture without knowing these people. 


After covering roughly 2,000 miles in 30 days we hope to have approximately 90 “man on the street” style interviews with the people we meet along the way. We will interview anyone we meet who is willing as long as time allows, but we’ve set up specific interviews with prominent figures; artists, activists, experts, tinkerers, DIYers, environmentalists, urban farmers, minimalists, musicians, amateur scientists etc. that are finding new and creative ways to approach problems that affect us all.


We want to meet everyone. We want to meet America. Meeting the people that make up the USA, exploring and beginning to understand their actions, wants, and needs is the first step to moving forward as a country and making the changes that are necessary to get us on track for a sustainable future. 

Why go by bicycle? The simple answer is pace. There are small towns and communities where people are born and raised and they never experience another culture. These people are part of our country and we may never meet them. There are neighborhoods inside cities and vacation destinations that have cultures all their own. There are people who go to these places and fall in love with them and never leave. What are those people like? In the Southwest there are people who have learned to live with minimal resources and could share their knowledge regarding problems that affect us all. 


The route we take each time will be partly decided by what will give us the most diversity and be most interesting, and also by what is possible due to weather, time and the physical landscape. We won’t be avoiding cities but cities don’t make up a majority of the landmass of this country. In between the cities there are a multitude of things that people never have a chance to do or see. Slowing down or stopping to take in a view, watch a hawk fly in circles, or listen to a creek is not possible on most major highways. Our current society makes it almost unfathomable to take anything but the fastest most direct route possible, which means most people will almost never find themselves in a position to really see this country or meet the people we share it with. We move too fast.


The snail’s pace of a bicycle is perfect for really exploring America so we can know what and who it’s made of. The most direct route isn’t even an option on a bicycle. Riding a bike forces us to take the back roads, do and see the things most people would never experience otherwise. And even though going 30 mph on a bicycle is normal and feels fast, it’s still only half as fast as a car normally travels in similar situations. Average speed on a bicycle over long distances is normally about 17 mph for avid riders. At that speed you can really take it all in, time slows down, details become more visible, but more importantly, with a little effort, you can travel 2,000 miles in 30 days and still have time to stop and “smell the roses”.