PURPOSE: Little is known about the physiological responses and adaptations to cross-country cycling. To wit, studies show that experienced cyclists may demonstrate osteoporosis in the spine, associated with many years of training accompanied by little or no weight bearing of the axial skeleton. However, the ways in which high cycling mileage may affect the health of axial skeleton among novice cyclists has not been studied. Greater understanding of this issue is needed, as long distance cycling has increased in popularity in recent years. This study explored the effects of 60 days of cycling upon the bone mineral density (BMD) and body mass composition (BMC) of novice cyclists, who rode across the United States to raise awareness of Alzheimer’s disease. METHODS: Five novice cyclists (21.0.2 ± 0.71 yr, 187.842 ± 6.50 cm, 82.84 ± 5.42 kg) completed laboratory testing prior to and after the cross-country trek. Each visited the laboratory on two occasions, 60 days apart. Each completed a DEXA scan, and the following measures of BMD were assessed: whole body, femoral head, femoral neck, and lumbar region. BMC was also assessed using DEXA technology. Paired t-tests were used for statistical analysis; the non-parametric Wilcoxon signed-rank test was also used due to the small sample size available for this study. RESULTS: Non-significant differences were found pre- and post-ride for the following measures of BMD: whole body (t(4) = -0.177, p = 0.868), femoral head (t(4) = 0.382, p = 0.722), femoral neck (t(4) = 0.498, p = 0.545), and lumbar region t(4) = 0.808, p = 0.465. Measures for femoral head, femoral neck, and lumbar region were decreased following the ride across the country. Significant differences for BMC were found between the following measures: left arm lean mass (t(4) = 3.841, p = 0.018), left arm total mass ( t(4) = 4.200, p = 0.014), right arm fat percentage (t(4) = -3.048), p = 0.038). All other measures of regional and total body BMC were not significantly different. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest non-significant changes in BMD occurred among these cyclists. These participants also demonstrated changes in upper extremity BMC measures. These findings suggest that BMD and BMC measures may change in relatively short time frames. More study is needed on the impact of prolonged cycling on BMD among novice cyclists.