Far better it is to dare mighty things

 

I asked for questions on my first post on Facebook and Instagram.  Here are some answers:

 

What is this?  Is this an organized ride that you are a part of a group or something?

 

This will be a solo - self-supported, credit-card tour.  That means the following:

 

    Solo:  I'll be riding by myself most days (some followers for a few miles are always welcome).

 

    Self-supported:  I'll carry all my own gear for the week, no support vehicle behind or in front.

 

    Credit-card touring: I plan to stay mostly at family, friends, or hotels and motels along the way, so I don't plan on taking a lot of camping gear.  I may camp one or two nights - I'm still undecided.  I'm mostly planning on paying for food along the way - I hope to be in a town with a grocery store every night.

In short, no, this is my own planned and carried out adventure.  I'm on my own here.

How?

 

By bike.  Not an eBike. A pedal bike, one that you pedal with your legs.  My average speed will probably about 15 mph, 5 or 6 hours a day.  60 to 80 mile days for 7 or 8 days in a row.  My bike and gear will weigh 80 lbs or so,  I'll weigh it all before I leave to get a better estimate.  I'm using front and back panniers and racks to hold gear.  I've ridden my bike a lot that past few years to get ready for something like this.

Why?

 

That is hard to explain.  It just seems like the right thing to do.  Also, I'm toying with the idea of a much longer ride, like across the country, in a few years so this seems like a good trial run.  I love most everything to do with cycling and bike touring sounds amazing to me.  I'm eager to try it and now seems like a good time to try it.

Have you done something like this before?

No not really.  I took my scout troop on a bike-packing ride this summer from Smithfield, Utah to Preston, ID about 30 miles.  Camped a couple of nights, and then rode back.  I was fully loaded to try it out and it went very well.  The scouts were incredible too, although they didn't carry any gear.  I also just rode the Bike-the-Bear scout ride a few weeks ago with all my gear (50 miles).

Last summer I convinced my family to do a few couple-day rides to from our home in Cache Valley to our family in Roy.  And then to SLC the next day.  A separate time, my wife and I did an overnight bike ride to Tremonton, stayed at an AirBnB and rode back the next morning. We were not carrying much or any gear on those trips either.

 

On top of Sardine Canyon, Summer 2021

 

Ready to Ride from Roy to SLC, 2021

I've also participated in many organized bike rides the past 4 or 5 years including the Cache Gran Fondo, Cache Valley Century, MS Ride, and Bike-The-Bear.  I have completed several century (100 mile) rides, but that is a very different type of riding.  Those are mostly about speed and one-day endurance.  Bike touring is about seeing and experiencing and being on the road.  Speed is not a priority on this trip.

 

Cache Gran Fondo, 2022

Cache Valley Century, 2021

Cache Gran Fondo, 2021

MS Ride, 2021

Cache Gran Fondo, 2020

MS Ride 2020

Where will you be?  What is your route?

Day 1:  Franklin, ID to Roy, UT

Day 2:  Roy to Lehi

Day 3:  Lehi to Nephi

Day 4:  Nephi to Richfield

Day 5:  Richfield to Panquich

Day 6:  Panguich to Orderville

Day 7:  Orderville to St. George via Colorado City, AZ.

 

My route will mostly follow the US Bicycle Route System (USBRS) through Utah.  Read about it here and here and here.  Maybe another post on that later.  The route is all paved roads, mostly quiet, lonely side roads, but occasional main roads.  No freeways.  

Maybe a few change here and there.  I'm also toying with leaving a day earlier and going into Bryce Canyon National Park or Ceder Breaks National Monument for a day.

 

Are you afraid?

 

No, but that doesn't mean I shouldn't be.  I'm an a very experience bike rider and with adequate bike mechanic skills.  I'm also fairly good at talking to people.  To go on a trip like this you have to decide that there is enough good in the world that the risk are worth the rewards.  I fully expect to meet and become friends with very good people along the way.  I also realize that there are dangers and risks and I'm trying my hardest to be prepared and cautious. That being said, staying at home doing very little is also very dangerous.  

“Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to rank with those timid spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat.”

 

Theodore Roosevelt

 

 

 

 

How are you coming back?

The family is coming to St. George to see the Green Canyon Marching Band compete in the Band of America competition the first weekend of November.  They will give me a ride back home. 

Can I cheer you one somewhere? 

Sure!  More details will follow on where I'll be and when.