Dad was having a mid-life crisis.

His teenage sons wanted to avoid summer jobs. The solution? Ride across America on bicycles. They set out from the east coast in June, loaded down and looking for adventure. They rode straight into the Appalachian Mountains, and into the hottest summer in recorded history. Sure, the pioneers struggled with starvation, disease, and wilderness. But did they have to pedal a loaded bike all day against the wind, wash in the sheriff's bathroom, and camp in 90 degree heat on the courthouse square surrounded by jacked-up Chevies?