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Filmed on 04/22.
Filmed on 04/20.
Also, be sure to watch my video from the Kansas border, if you haven't seen it yet!
I was nervous. This whole bike touring thing is new to me and I've been making novice mistakes with my bike throughout the course of my "training" on a daily basis. Couple that with a pretty down to the wire pre-ride schedule and then top it off a relatively nasty storm system had rolled in on Thursday night and was making zero indications of passing by. (Good new: powder skiing the morning before the trip!)
But do I look it?
From the start this trip has had an emphasis on flexibility. Rather that committing fully to "completing" a Colorado to New Jersey ride on a very tight schedule I instead decided I'd just go, see what happens, and if it becomes necessary, hitch hike in order to reach my destination in the time alotted.
And so, after fighting the reality of this storm coupled with the difficult high elevation climbing and mountain passes
And just that easily I had solved the problem and taken a lot of weight off my shoulders. Then, after consulting my trusty road map alongside the recent radar findings I decided to drive down (thanks Jeff!) to Buena Vista and begin my ride from that point forward.
It proved to be an excellent idea as we were able to escape some very bad weather in Vail, drive up and over the pass and therefor avoid some dangerous conditions, come out the other side, and have mostly sunny skies and warm weather!
We arrived in Buena Vista where I packed up my bike and began pedaling.
I was, once again, back in control, running the show, and out on my own with thousands of possibilities and a world to explore!
I feel excellent and after having pedaled twenty miles or so came across a stunning and secluded campsite I simply could not pass up!
Can you beat this place?!
Happy trails everyone! And stay adventurous!
It’s been a while, folks! In the words of Wendell Berry, “I never doubted that the world was more important to me than the literary world…” (Wendell Berry, A Native Hill, 1969).
Christmas with the Vail, CO family!
I make no apologies, for having been caught up living. Work, friends, snowboarding, and of course the mountains had (rightfully) taken precedence over my writing. In truth… in additional truths, my laptop threw in the towel; I took my time replacing it with a “new” refurbished unit, which also gave me a handful of problems and needed to be replaced as well. Only a few days ago did I finally get a working computer.
Regardless. I much prefer to live in the present and to make a few plans for the future.
Here’s the details.
Departing Date: April 20th
End Date: May 22nd
Days Available To Ride: 33 Days
Estimated Total Mileage: 2,400 miles
Required Miles Per Day: 73 miles per day
Concluding Thoughts: That there is a mighty aggressive schedule!
More details and thoughts to come shortly. I've still got a lot of prep and conditioning and not a whole lot of time to do it, but I'll be sure to fill ya'll in on some further details and thoughts on the trip!
* This is not entirely the truth. I’ll actually ride from Vail, Colorado to Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania where I will attend our annual Klein family reunion, a favorite event of mine, and I will then take a ride back to my parents’ place after the weekend. Also, of relevant note, the last time I was able to attend the reunion was during my 2010 Appalachian Trail thru-hike in which I had walked all the way from Georgia for the event!