A Change of Pace

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Pictured: Specialized Tri-Cross Comp bike. It's designed for both road and trail. Saddle bags are Ortlieb (water-proof, simple, single compartments). A Topeak handlebar bag and a Northface hydration/day-pack covered in a blue water-proof bag complete the carrying capacity. I added those super-cool-every-kid-wants-them fenders. All I need now are tassles to hang from my handlebars and a sissy bar. Maybe an Ace of Spades for my spokes too.

Originally, I planned to hike more miles than I biked this year. I enjoy hiking. From day and overnight hikes here in Montana to my thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail in 2005, I've always enjoyed hiking. So I set out to hike the Pacific Crest Trail this year--from Mexico to Canada. Then I was going to bike from the western coast of Washington to Glacier National Park in Montana, and then go back to hiking as I trekked down the Contintental Divide Trail through Montana and back home to Bozeman, MT. The plan was exciting--I was eager to start.


Yet best laid plans...


I prepared myself for hardships--foul weather, aches, pains, hunger, blisters, and fatigue. However, I was not prepared for the boredom induced by 700 miles of desert terrain and I was woefully unprepared for a thru-hiking culture as narrow as it was bookish. So I bailed from that world of a two-yard-wide trail with its rules and regulations copied straight from a tax-code instruction manual and hatched a new scheme. I would do what I thought about several years ago: I would bike across America. After liberating myself from hiker purity land, I came back to Bozeman to prepare. Some of things I did:

• Added touring gears to my Specialized Tri-Cross Comp Bike


• Re-did my gear load. I used most of my backpacking gear and added in some items for bike repair and a much larger tent (versus my tarp and bivy used on trail)


• Got in some training ride (never enough)


• Got rained on, snowed on, hailed on, sleeted on and frozen all while on the bike


• Went to Adventure Cycling in Missoula, MT to buy maps


• Ate snickers bars and drank pepsi (a left over habit from my month on the PCT)

That last one was by far my favorite.

The plan is pretty simple. Bike east. If time permits, I hope to get back to Montana for a late summer, early autumn hike thru Glacier, the Bob Marshal and other parts of the Continental Divide.

The trip, in whatever form it takes, must adhere to one principle: Impurity!

America is a vast and interesting place. Whether by car, foot or pedal, it's worth a look.