It is a fictional book series, they based a TV show off of it. The show is pretty good, the books are a lot better though. I snag them for a couple bucks when they pop up in a used book store.
en.wikipedia.org
I had more trip to make something out of too lol. Honestly I had never driven that far before let alone in my Ranger and had never driven that far east. I have flown to Detroit for TRS and DC in high school with a layover in Chigago, never seen the country though. I got to see (and smell thanks to no A/C) a farmer picking tomatoes with a big tomato picker. Nobody does that in Iowa. Lots of ground had been worked, no idea what was in between seasons out there. It was rather incredible the smells you don't know you miss with A/C, it is probably the same for you on your bike. Passing little restaurants/festivals and smelling the food as we passed was neat, the various trees, the tomato field... it was cool and something easy to take for granted.