Mission accomplished! On July 26th, 2025 I finished my bicycle journey in Anacortes, WA. It was a surreal moment riding through town to the West coast and finishing this 82 day journey. $16,860 was raised for Veterans Community Project and I am extremely humbled by all that have given. We absolutely smashed my original goal of $5,000 in support such a great organization! Read more about the last leg in my blog post!
Follow my live progress on Polar Steps!
Route Details
On May 4th, 2025 I set out and embark on the TransAmerica Bicycle Trail, a ~4,000 mile long route crafted by the American Cycling Association. I chose to ride from East to West, eager to soak up the beautiful landscapes and avoid getting snowed in while traversing the mountains. For more details on the route, check out the link below!
Date and Location Prediction Spreadsheet:
Veterans Community Project Fundraising
A few months back I took ann opportunity to work at the Veterans Community Project (VCP) in Sioux Falls, SD. I was really impressed with their operation and have always had strong feelings that veterans who have risked their lives for our country should be taken care of. VCP takes in homeless veterans regardless of discharge status and sets them up in furnished homes built on their property. They also provide support to them to help get them and or their family back to independent living again. There are a lot of great things that have been done through this project and I would like to help be a part of their success! Please consider donating to this cause, even if it is only a few dollars, I know every bit helps with these kinds of programs.
My goal is to raise $5,000 in funds for VCP for this trip, which is a little over $1 per mile of my ride! I would be ecstatic to beat that goal! VCP is a 501(c)(3) organization so donations are tax deductible! For more information and to check out some of the testimonials on their website linked below. To donate, click the ‘Donate :)’ button at the top or click the link below, thank you!
Read about my journey on VCP’s blog here!
https://www.veteranscommunityproject.org/
Please watch this powerful music video to learn more about the homeless veteran issue in our country.
News Articles
Dakota News Now – Sioux Falls, SD
https://www.dakotanewsnow.com/2025/05/18/south-dakotan-biking-across-america-honor-veterans/#
Channel 29 News – Charlottesville, VA
The Rig
My Kona Sutra steel frame touring bike with front and panniers, three water bottle cages, a top tube bag, and lights. Fully loaded with 4 sets of clothes, jeboil, and some other stuff this bad boy weighs in at 95 lbs! Pictured below is on the way up to Blue Ridge Parkway.
Please email me at gage.matzen1@gmail.com with any questions. If you have my number, call me whenever, I’m usually always up for conversation!
Check out my strava for more tracking stats and previous activities I’ve tracked (the rightmost link button below)! Please feel free to share this site with whomever. Cheers!
“The more I traveled the more I realized that fear makes strangers of people who should be friends.”
-Shirley MacLaine
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