Just a few short months ago, a young biker’s journey was brought to a screeching halt after a damaged gearshift inhibited the tired traveller from climbing the steep mountain pass just ahead. The biker’s trembling, callused thumb extended towards the pavement as he gazed forward, seeing and hearing nothing but the road ahead of him and the whistling, unkind air around him. The road that had once propelled him forward challenged him, taunted him, berated him. It was unforgiving. The path tempted the biker, serving as a constant reminder of how easy it would be to abandon the mission and return home to the comfort of his bed, the familiarity of his friends and family, and the safety of the college campus he called home. All alone and holding 92 pounds of travel and camping equipment, standing at the bottom of a hill too steep to travel in his circumstances, Jimmy Mulholland believed that his grandiose dream may have come to an end. Perhaps, his parents were right.
Bill Veteto, an avid cyclist, spotted the young, exhausted man on the side of the road, recognizing the obvious symptoms of distress. He offered the young man a ride to his hometown of Missoula, Montana. The scruffy, sore and worn young man was Jimmy Mulholland, a college student taking a hiatus from classes. Veteto’s friendly proposition served as a singular example of the kindness Mulholland, an aspiring photographer, encountered on the 4,229 mile, 62 day solo trek across the country that would alter the course of his life indefinitely.
Mulholland’s sophomore year of college, beginning in Fall of 2014, proved to be dually challenging both academically and emotionally. As a business management major in the Fox School of Business, his goal was to ultimately learn how to cultivate his own photography business. To his dismay, a range of circumstances would jeopardize his ability to envision that dream. Living on a notorious party street off campus in a house with seven other guys resulted in an environment that left him feeling lost, his self esteem shattered, and his future out of focus.
“I thought going to class wouldn’t matter,” Mulholland said. “I didn’t see things getting better at that point.”
His grades quickly plummeted, causing him to fail three out of his five registered courses. As a responsible and successful student up to this point, Mulholland was agonized with the stress of balancing school and the fast-paced college lifestyle. Mulholland and his parents both knew something had to change.
“I thought, what could I possibly do to feel better about myself?” Mulholland said.
In the spring of the same year, Mulholland flew out to Seattle to visit his aunt and uncle. During his college years, his uncle Rich Kline had spent his summers leading cross-country bicycle tours as a job for a company called Adventure Cycling, and showed Jimmy photos from his adventures. An idea sparked in Mulholland’s mind, and for the first time in a long time he had a vision for what he wanted to do.
He would ride his bike across the country, alone, with only his camera to keep him company.
He would see the country and build his photography portfolio on his own terms.
“It’s kind of a life-changing experience at that point in your life, so I was pretty excited that he was going to take on the challenge,” Kline said.
Over the summer following his tumultuous sophomore year, Mulholland salvaged and saved the money he earned working for a landscaping company, knowing that if he wanted to do this, he would need to financially support himself.
“My parents didn’t financially support me at all,” Mulholland said. “They didn’t want me to do this.”
His hard work paid off, and he managed to save enough money, about $1,500 to fund his journey through Adventure Cycling, just like his uncle did. The company would provide him with the necessary maps and various accommodations such as hotel rooms and rest stops throughout the trip.
In September, while his classmates and friends printed syllabi and purchased notebooks and folders, Mulholland flew to Portland to kick off his adventure. Classes began, and as everyone back home got back in the swing of school, he kissed life as he knew it goodbye.
With him, he brought various bike supplies, a sleeping bag, a small tent, a sleeping pad, a lightweight tripod and other camera gear, a camping stove, some food, and a portable radio.
He promised to keep his friends updated on his journey, updating his Instagram account with photos from each city, that is, if he had service.
And so began Mulholland’s ride, which would span from Portland to Eugene, Oregon, to Florence, Oregon, east to Idaho, to Montana, south to Wyoming, Colorado, Kansas, Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, and ending in Yorktown, Virginia. Simple, on paper, but challenging on a bicycle.
From the get-go, Mulholland realized he was in for a challenge. From Portland to Florence, Oregon, Mulholland experienced the easiest terrain of his trip, but was plagued with the realization that while he may have been financially and emotionally prepared, physically he was in for a rude awakening. His legs struggled to continue to push against the pedals as he started on his first portion of the trip. Sweat blurred his vision like raindrops, and each night his body ached with fatigue and pain after hours upon hours of intense riding. During the first week, Mulholland cracked his brand new camera in the middle of a creek after dropping it. By a stroke of luck, the camera wasn’t damaged beyond repair, allowing him to continue to document his journey. His camera painted illustrious photos that he displayed on his Instagram account, giving both friends and strangers alike an inside look at his trials and triumphs; for Mulholland, social media was a lifeline.
On Sept. 10, day five of his trip, Mulholland posted a photo to his Instagram account from Sisters Oregon, of a majestic mountainside. While the photo was breathtaking, the caption of the photo was heart-wrenching.
“When you stop, your legs will cramp up, and it takes a lot of energy getting back into your “mode,” Mulholland wrote. “I’m going to be honest with you guys, it’s been a really tough past couple of days. I’m very lonely and tired. If anyone wants to give me a call. I would love to talk to you guys and see how your lives are going. Other than my loneliness I also fell and hurt my leg.”
Despite minor setbacks, Mulholland embraced and celebrated his newfound freedom, absorbing the fresh air and new experiences.
“”It was awesome, being free and being able to do whatever you want,” Mulholland said. “Being completely by myself, making experiences just by myself that no one else can have.”
Being alone for so long was refreshing at first, but soon Mulholland would encounter challenges that would cause him to question whether or not he could continue.
“Jimmy had two challenges that I did not,” Kline said. “He decided to go by himself, and I‘ve done that trip five times and not once did I do it by myself.”
Mulholland also began the journey in September, and by October, he encountered harsh weather conditions that made camping out alone even more challenging, particularly in Hell’s Canyon in Idaho. Mulholland pushed through on his bicycle, sweating and panting through over 100 degree weather. At night, the temperatures dropped to below freezing. Alone, Mulholland camped in a small tent, with nothing but pitch black nothingness and the mysterious noises from the wild animals around him to keep him company. During one night, Mulholland remained awake, paralyzed with the fear he would be attacked by a bear surrounding his tent. The next morning, he was relieved to find the “bear” was a wild horse.
His solitary trip had it’s pleasant moments, but he missed his friends and family back home. Communication with friends and loved ones back home wasn’t guaranteed either, as Mulholland only had service about 20 percent of the time.
“He would call multiple times throughout the week just to talk to someone,” said Mike Hearon, a close friend of Mulholland and fellow Temple student. “Whenever he had access to wifi he would FaceTime. There were a couple times when Jim called to listen to us to give him play-by-plays for Temple football games. I know by the end of his trip he was feeling so extremely anxious to just finish that he actually stopped communications to focus solely on the finish.”
Mulholland’s journey proved to be more mentally taxing than physical, although the strains on his body were significant. During one particular day, his body and stomach failed him after hastily consuming Burger King. He vomited continuously,
Travelling alone, with occasional visitors left Mulholland with little to no interaction with other people.
“I would talk to myself,” Mulholland said. “I would find myself having conversations with myself while I was riding, and I would catch myself doing it all the time. I lost a lot of weight, I would be burning 4,000 calories a day.”
Luckily, along the way Mulholland encountered several people who would influence him and assist him on his journey home. One night, he had dinner with a couple he met in Soula, Montana, a population of 40 people, after finding out the wife attended Temple in the 1970s.
“As soon as I said Temple, his face lit up!” Mulholland posted on his Instagram page.
When Veteto found Jimmy, worn and weary on the side of the road, he had a flashback to his own experience doing a three-month cross-country motorcycle trip in his 20s.
“It was obvious to me right off the bat that Jimmy was a friendly, polite young man,” Veteto said. “As I talked with him on the way home, which took about three hours, I got a better sense of what he was about and the kind of person he was. Based on Jimmy’s personal qualities I felt no hesitation in offering him a place to stay. He stayed with us for a couple of nights, and we had a great time discussing all manner of things, from politics to photography.”
Kind souls continued to find Mulholland throughout his journey, including in Yellowstone National Park, where he encountered a 55-year-old man from New Zealand named David Linnzmeyer, travelling the same route with the same intention–to explore the country.
“He was the smartest man I’ve ever met in my life,” Mulholland said. “He was part of the team that created the first artificial heart.”
Also while in Yellowstone, Mulholland found himself in financial turmoil, depleting the last of his summer savings. Desperate, he created a GoFundMe page, and quickly earned nearly $2,000 from both loved ones and generous strangers alike. Those following his hardships and triumphs on Instagram must have been inspired by Mulholland’s endeavor, relating to and admiring the energy he exuded to those around him.
“Jimmy brought a fresh view of the world — he was living for the moment and appreciating each day, Jimmy taught me that it’s good to forget your fears and go out in the world and have an adventure, because adventures really make us feel alive,” Vetero said.
While in Yellowstone, Mulholland posted a black and white photograph of a series of trees, and peaking through the leaves was a shooting star. He reflected on his experience at the park, and admired the natural beauty around him. His only wish to make his evening better was to have his girlfriend lying next to him.
The rest of his journey was a blur, he was so close to being home he could taste it.
On day 55, he arrived in Chester, Illinois, after driving in a car with David in the snow. If it were up to Mulholland, he would have continued on bicycle.
“Seeing the country through a car window is just not the same,” Mulholland posted on Instagram. “I constantly wanted to stop and take pictures, but couldn’t. It really made me appreciate how awesome biking is. You have the freedom to stop at anytime, and take in part of the country people usually drive right through.”
After Illinois, Mulholland biked non-stop, desperate to make it home to his family, friends, and girlfriend. The rest of his trip remained undocumented on Instagram. He didn’t have time to pot.
On day 62, 4,229 miles later, Mulholland arrived in Yorktown, VA.
Mulholland finally made his emotional homecoming, on his 1984 Craigslist bike, boasting up to seven patches on one tire, returning to the environment he once knew, but with a fresh perspective.
And an exciting job offer.
Shortly after returning, he was offered a position as a photographer for Ivory Ella, an increasingly popular retail company that donates a portion of its proceeds to saving the elephants.
“They loved my Instagram, and wanted to incorporate my travel style photography into their clothing design,” Mulholland said.
Mulholland’s success has proved to be an inspiration for those around him.
“If you want to do something don’t let the difficulty of the task discourage you,” Hearon said. “Jim was the epitome of determination on his trip.”
As for the future, Mulholland decided that the best place to live is in the present.
“It [the trip] did everything it should have done for me,” Mulholland said. “Things are happening for me. The end of my sophomore year, my life was going nowhere. I have a job, a big portfolio, and I’m doing well in school. Things are flowing for me. I’m in no rush.”