Two-wheelin' from the capital to Key West

The trip from the nation's capital to the Florida Keys should take around 20 hours. Matt Wittmer plans to do it in about two months.

Wittmer, a Cape Girardeau native, will be riding a bicycle the entire trip. He recently became involved in the East Coast Greenway Alliance, a not-for-profit organization trying to link pedestrian and bike trails from the Canadian border to the Florida Keys using existing trails in all the coastal states and connecting them with safe roads.

He will be riding, starting today, from Washington, D.C., to Key West, Fla., roughly half of the total 3,000 miles of trail. Beginning Sept. 30, Wittmer will report back to the Southeast Missourian about his travels each week.

The East Coast Greenway -- or the Green-way -- would allow a cyclist to ride from Calais, Maine, to Key West. Eventually, the alliance wants to have the entire course plotted off-road.

"They have maps of the current trail, and I will help them update those maps and just get this trail better than when I found it," Wittmer said.

The route he maps out will allow cyclists to ride the trail "without fear that they're just getting out into the unknown without any information," he said.

Wittmer grew up in Cape Girardeau from age 5. He went to Trinity Lutheran and graduated from Central High School. He hopped on his first bike when he was 3, he said.

After graduation, Wittmer went to school in California, where he didn't own a car.

"For like 10 years, I just rode my bike to do everything," he said.

The alliance didn't choose Wittmer because of how many years he'd been riding, but how many miles.

"Last summer I took off on my bike and rode it from Virginia to Maine," he said. "I've always ridden with no support."

Before that, he took two 800-mile trips in the United States and rode all over Korea when he lived there in 2000 and 2001. All the trips were solo.

"Those rides helped me, in their minds," Wittmer said. The group needed someone flexible and independent, he said.

The route takes him on several trails made of dirt, gravel or pavement. He'll ride through Charleston, S.C., Savannah, Ga., and other vacation cities on the East Coast.

Wittmer plans on riding about eight to 10 hours a day, keeping a "nice pace" of about 15 mph when he's on an open road.

"The main worry is getting smacked," Wittmer said. "As a biker you realize that it really comes down to yourself and your awareness. Cars can't be aware of that."

The trails are mostly city or state bike trails that run through woods or along beaches, but they are linked by highways and roads where Wittmer will be pedaling through traffic.

"When cars are whipping past you at 55 miles per hour it can get a little dicey."

Traffic is only his worry during the day.

"The second thing is when night's coming and you're somewhere rural," he said. "You've got to figure out what you're going to do, because when it's dark, it's dark."

The route maps out a few hotels for possible stays, and the alliance has provided Wittmer with "homestays." The homestays are times when Wittmer can stay with people involved with the group who live along the route, or simply bike enthusiasts who don't mind hosting a fellow cyclist for a night.

The alliance -- based in Wakefield, R.I., -- was launched 14 years ago with this border-to-beach trail in mind.

"The long-term goal is to have it entirely separated from traffic," said Eric Weis, spokesman for the alliance. "We do recognize it's going to take some time to get there."

The Greenway is currently 21 percent off-road. Weis called them "firm surface trails suited for a touring bike."

"That doesn't necessarily mean they are all paved," he added. "Some have a crushed stone surface that's more environmentally sensitive."

The environment plays a key role in the alliance's objective. Weis said if more cities along the route see the benefit of bike tourism, they may begin to build more bike- and pedestrian-friendly trails and sidewalks, resulting in less pollution and a more active population.

"You can't ride your bike out on the street because the streets are too narrow and the cars drive to fast," he said. "We've made it too difficult for kids to walk to school. They don't know they can walk to school."

Bike trails are "essentially linear parks," he said, that bring new people into town.

"They're going to need a place to stay. They're going to need food to eat," he said. "It's sustainable tourism."

Wittmer is taking a one-man tent in case he needs to camp a night or two, but said he travels light. The bike he bought weighs 26 pounds and his gear will add about 50 pounds.

He works out often and bikes around Cape Girardeau to "train" for his trip.

Check the Lifestyles page every week for Wittmer's column "Capital to Key West" detailing his travels.

charris@semissouiran.com

335-6611, extension 246