Are you attempting to pack your touring bike yourself for the first time? I found myself in this situation recently. I had finalized my plans to go on a two week self-contained bicycle tour that started and finished in Victoria BC. I would fly from Cincinnati OH to Seattle WA, and stay with my sister before catching the ferry from Anacortes WA to Sydney BC. I now had to make a decision on how I was going to ship my bike to my sister’s house. My bike is a 2012 58cm Surly Long Haul Trucker (LHT) with standard rim brakes. I was familiar with using bike shops and BikeFlights to box and ship my ..read more

  It took me 100 days to ride from Yorktown VA to Portland OR. That is a lot of time to get to know myself and the people I rode with. It also put a lot of stress on my body and equipment. I learned a lot while riding day after day for 4,710 miles, so I thought I would share some of that knowledge. I will be identifying brand names of the equipment I used, but know that I have not received any compensation from the companies I mention. This blog is not intended as a commercial; I just wanted to share with you what worked for me. Equipment Surly Long Haul Trucker with Surly racks – I could not ..read more

Florence OR to Astoria OR (Days 93-100, 322 miles/4710 miles total) Charlie, Bonnie, Tom and I retraced our previous day’s ride back north to Beachside Campground. This time we stayed at the Hiker/Biker site. For $8, you get a tent site and can use all of the campground facilities. The best part is that you do not need a reservation. It is a fantastic (and necessary) offering that I wish all local, state and federal campgrounds would adopt. Whales On Day 94, we stopped at Depot Bay on our way to Lincoln City to do some whale watching. Sure enough, whales were out in the bay feeding on whatever ..read more

Baker City to Florence (Days 83-92, 483 miles/4388 miles total) Days 83-85 Eastern Oregon Desert and 4000 miles Day 83 was a rest day in Baker City. We definitely needed one because the next two days would be some of our longest and hardest rides. Day 84 was our longest mileage day of the whole trip at 84 miles. We were up at 4am and on the road at 6am to try to beat the afternoon heat. The day’s route included climbing up and over three passes: Sumpter Pass (5082 feet), Tipton Pass (5124 feet), and Dixie Pass (5279 feet). There were lots of pine trees at the higher elevations, which was a nic ..read more

Missoula MT to Baker City OR (Days 75-82, 425 miles/3905 miles total) Day 75 Cookout at ACA HQ We were treated to a cookout at Adventure Cycling Association HQ on our day off. The entire staff had lunch with us, and we talked about all things related to bicycle touring. It was nice to put faces to names of people I had talked to or emailed over the past few years. Days 76-80 Riding the Roads of My Childhood Days 76-80 were very specials to me. I was riding my bicycle on roads that I had traveled by car with my family since I was five or six years old. The reminiscing began at Lolo Hot Springs ..read more

West Yellowstone MT to Missoula MT (Days 68-74, 347 miles/3480 miles total) Days 68-69 Two Layover Days in Yellowstone I awoke the morning of our first day off to my first flat tire. Sometime the previous day, my tire and tube were punctured by a 1/4 inch piece of wire from the remnants of a steel belted radial tire. Luckily, the leak was slow so that my tire did not flat during the ride. It was a quick patch and the tube was as good as new. With so much to see in Yellowstone Park, our itinerary allowed for two layover days. Our tour leader made reservations for us to be picked up by a tour bu ..read more

Lander CO to West Yellowstone MT (Days 61-67, 315 miles/3133 miles total) Day 61 4th of July Our 4th of July started with pancakes hot from the griddle, complements of Jennie, to celebrate the day. Tom and I rode downtown after breakfast to watch the parade. It was a classic small town parade, with over 100 entries. About one third of the entrees were politicians, which was about one third more than I would like to see! There were a number of Native American entries from the Shoshone and Arapaho Nations. Lander has a unique way of ending their parades. After all the floats had passed by the an ..read more

Royal Gorge CO to Lander WY (Days 51-60, 394 miles/2818 miles total) Day 51 Royal Gorge Layover Hidden from view, but just five miles away from our campsite, was Royal Gorge Park. It is a 955 foot deep canyon with the Arkansas River at the bottom and a foot bridge that spans the gap. A group of us visited the attraction, rode the gondola across the gorge, then walked across the bridge back to the visitor center. The winds through the gorge were strong enough to sway the platform back and forth. It reminded me of trying to walk on the decks of a cruise ship in rough seas. Do not cross the bridg ..read more

Newton KS to Royal Canyon CO (Days 41-49, 517 miles/2318 total miles) Day 41 Layover Day in Newton I have a new respect for our US Postal Service that was earned while on this trip. Sometimes it is not possible to pack 100 days worth of something that has a short shelf life. This is true of the homemade protein powder that I eat every day. Michiko was kind enough to make up a batch and mail it to me in Newton. She addressed the box to the Newton postoffice, with a note that I would pick it up sometime around June 14. When I went to the Newton postoffice, all I had to do was show my I.D., and t ..read more

Eminence MS to Newton KS (Days 33-40, 432 miles/1801 miles total) Day 33 Layover Day in Eminence  The Circle B Campground rents rafts, canoes, kayaks and inner tubes to float down the Jack Fork. We rented three rafts and had a blast floating down the river for about 2 hours. Day 34 Alley Springs and a Fire Watch Tower In the morning, we passed by Alley Spring and an old mill that was built right next to the spring to take advantage of the 80,800,000 gallons of water that gush out of the ground every day. That is not a typo. 80 million gallons!  A little farther down the road was a fire watc ..read more