Major League Baseball

Jake Mintz cruising along on baseball bike trip from NYC to Chicago

Updated Jul. 29, 2021 3:54 p.m. ET

By Jake Mintz
FOX Sports MLB Writer

Turns out that biking from New York City to Chicago is hard. Who knew?

Hey all, remember me? Jake Mintz? That absurd dude with the questionable blonde beard who lost a bet that the White Sox wouldn't hire Tony La Russa and had to embark on a 1,200 mile bike trip? Yeah, that’s me, and I’m back to share a little update on how the trip is going.

It’s been a very eventful first four days of my journey thus far, filled with beautiful views, lovely minor league baseball games, a few hiccups and lots and lots of biking. But even though there are almost 300 miles and four days in my rear-view mirror, there’s still another 900 miles and 10 days in front of me. So let’s do a little review, a little preview, and then I’ll let you fine folks do something else on the Internet.

The Trip So Far

Day one from Yankee Stadium to Somerset, New Jersey, was pretty uneventful. For most members of the New York Yankees organization, getting sent from the Bronx to Somerset means you just got demoted two levels, but for me it meant the beginning of this giant excursion. Only 55 miles or so of pedaling, most of it through suburban Jersey made for some pretty lackluster riding.

The stadium experience itself in Somerset was brilliant as the Yankees' new Double-A affiliate made us feel right at home. We also got to interview a few interesting players on both teams, including visiting Pirates Double-A slugger Mason Martin, whose dad is a hall of fame bodybuilder.

Day two from Somerset to Allentown, Pennsylvania, featured a particularly bizarre stop: the country’s largest model train exhibit, a place in western New Jersey called Northlandz. For my driving companion and friend, Jordan Shusterman, who is also a Big Train Guy, it was quite a joyous time. Also, a toothpick farm?

The ride itself was pretty uneventful, some really wonderful gravel trails along the Delaware River and some difficult climbs once I headed inland toward Allentown. With about five miles to go, a kind fellow saw me on the route and cheered from the street, which gave me a huge boost.

The folks at the Lehigh Valley IronPigs were similarly welcoming, and quite literally had a steaming hot, delicious bacon-on-a-stick waiting for me upon my arrival. Jordan and I also got to throw out the first pitch on the field pregame, and we absolutely nailed our double-barrel Eephus.

Day three from Allentown to Scranton took us through a town literally called Jim Thorpe, which turned out to be a lot more serious and complex than we anticipated. Everything was going smoothly until a wrong turn led me through some State Game Lands — with active hunting happening. I ended up in the middle of a brush with some rifle shots in the vicinity. I skee-daddled out of there pretty swiftly and got to the Scranton-Wilkes Barre RailRiders ballpark just in time for Derek Jeter bobblehead night.

Day four from Scranton to Williamsport was a beast, with around 86 miles and almost 5,000 feet of climbing on the docket. Despite a killer headwind, everything was copacetic when a companion and I pulled into lunch with about 16 miles left on the day. Somehow, our lock got jammed and we were unable to pry it open. After about 30 minutes of struggle, we bought some garden shears at the local dollar store and sliced the lock in half. I made it to first pitch at the MLB Draft League game in Williamsport by the skin of my teeth.

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How Do I Feel?

Tired. Really tired. My quads feel really heavy and sore, but they don’t bother me once I’m on the bike. When I get out of bed in the morning, the first five minutes suck, but as soon as I get on the saddle, the first 40 miles or so breeze by. Piece of cake. If we wanna be honest here, my butt hurts more than anything else. It’s just a lot of sitting.

Things I Have Learned, A List
Knocking out 30 miles before 9 a.m. is just an enormous emotional boost and makes the entire day go a lot easier.
Wearing baseball jerseys while you bike is actually pretty comfortable.
Peanut butter crackers have a ton of calories in them and are a great gas station snack.
Listening to full albums (on a speaker, no headphones on busy roads) rather than single songs makes things go by quicker.
Pennsylvania has many hills and/or mountains.
I’m much stronger than I thought I was, and I can definitely do this.

What’s Coming Up

Chances are, if you’re reading this at some point Monday morning, I’ve already begun my most ambitious day of the trip: a 137-mile mega-ride from Williamsport to Ebensburg, Pennsylvania. The day features around 8,200 feet of elevation gain, including a mountain climb in the last 15 miles that would qualify as a Tour de France level Category Two climb.

There’s no game at the end of the rainbow on Monday, just a lot of water and an early bedtime. But it’s a must if I want to make Tuesday night’s Pirates/Brewers game at PNC Park. Oh, the things we do for this game of baseball.

Some Helpful Links

If you want to check out the full trip website, click here.

If you want to donate to LostBoyzInc, the youth sports organization in Chicago we’re raising funds for, click here.

If you want to check out my rides after they’re done, click here.

If you want to follow my rides live on the map as I’m riding, click here.

And if you wanna be caught up on all the various fun happenings, click here to follow us on Twitter.

Bye everyone! I’ll update you all in a few days.

Jake Mintz is the louder half of @CespedesBBQ and a baseball analyst for FOX Sports. He’s an Orioles fan living in New York City, and thus, he leads a lonely existence most Octobers. If he’s not watching baseball, he’s almost certainly riding his bike. You can follow him on Twitter @Jake_Mintz.