Dreaming of Bike Touring

As Spring  has turned into Summer - this year I have been sinking all my time into being mountain fit for two things: 1) my mountaineering course at the end of June, and 2) making sure I am bike fit and getting out on the bike as often as possible. After having our bikes stolen just before Christmas, having 2 new bikes I am set up for anything - XC, AM and DH riding, as well as getting on the road bike and training and burning whatever is left of my energy out in fitness session before work in the mornings.

I have been madly planning weekends and trip with my riding buddies to pack in around all the weddings that seem to be happening this summer, and looking around I came across these movies for mountain biking in BC:

The Kootnies one especially has me wanting to do several weeks through the mountains and ranges of interior BC, just riding and camping with a good group of friends. (why do we only get three weeks of holidays a year here!!?)

The other bike adventure that I have been talking about with my mate Budro is a bike/camp trip out to the San Juan Islands down in Washington, inspired by another bit of footage I saw at the end of last year:

Getting everything together onto a trailer - walking onto a ferry and heading out for a long weekend over in Moran State Park on Orcas Island, WA.

Lets see how many of my thousand bike related dreams I can pull off this summer!!

JM

"You can't script Adventures like this"

Having just got back from a biking trip around Oregon in which the biking was somewhat diminished due to a) weather but mostly b) my wife now being pregnant, when I saw this today I instantly knew I was going to miss the more challenging trips we usually go on in the next couple of years..

Three friends from Colorado set out to conquer the Huayhuash Range in the Andes, on Mountainbikes... this sort of trip is borne of a true sense of adventure.. challenge, weirdness, adversity, danger.

For the full trip details head to: http://huayhuash.bikemag.com/

Thanks a lot guys, I am on my second day back at work from a biking holiday and I am now burning to get out for another one... well done ;)

Shutting off the Excuse Machine

Adventure Journal popped up today with a great little article about Turning off the Excuse Machine.

I laughed when I read the line ..By pointing out that we are “so out of shape,” we’re implying that our real self is actually a super-fit gnar machine that would obviously be crushing it, if only we had been able to sneak a few more workouts in the last couple of weeks.

This is so me! oh man did this article just call me out :)
I keep blaming my work for not letting me be the lean mean machine, training 10-14 times a week in 7 different sports guy,,, back when I was 20.

Not nailing my target of sub 4 hours in either of my 2 marathons was a bit of a blow to my ego, and yet I had excuses for both times to make me feel a bit better about it. Sick the first year was a fairly good excuse, but last year.... well that was all down to me not putting in the hard yards.

Have you ever seen the movie "About Time" ? No big spoiler alert here, but the message of the movie is that you don't have to have special time warp abilities to enjoy life to its fullest. You just have to pay attention, stop to smell the roses, and appreciate the beauty that surrounds you every day,

And that's kind of the message that the article had as well. Stop it with the excuses. You don't have to be crushing it and at the front of the pack. How many other people managed to get off their ass this weekend and get outdoors like you did. In fact, even better than that - who cares how many people got outdoors last weekend. You did, and if you took the time to appreciate what was around you, breathed some of that fresh air, saw the little creatures running about... well that's the goal. Don't apologise for being slow, revel in the hard work and tired exhaustion. take a break and look at whats around you.

Thinking back on the first marathon I did, I remember turning the comer at the top of the long downhill stretch from UBC to Jericho beach: The mountains of the North Shore were perfectly framed in the big V of the West Coast evergreens on either side of the road, the sun was out after months of training in the cold and wet weather, and it was warm with clear blue skies. I felt so good to just be there, doing this, running, my first marathon.. I felt emotional and giddy. I was absolutely loving the moment. That's my best memory of the day in fact.

Feeling good, enjoying the sun, loving life..

..as I crossed the line. I think I wished I had done a little more training right about then.

My goal for this summer - train as much as I can, and don't be the Excuses Guy if I don't crush it every single ride and run   :)

Riders Best Friend

So this winter has been terrible for snow, but a couple of new bikes in the stable mean that weather reports like this dont make me sad, they make me excited for a weekend on the trails without a face full of mud!

I'm heading out to explore the trails at Burke Mountain this weekend with my wife and some of the guys, and have been chatting online with a few of them, co-ordinating times and logistics.. when all of a sudden this hits my feed:


I never got a chance to ride the trails over in NZ while I lived back in Oz, but watching stuff like this makes me wish I did.. and had a dog like Poppy along for the ride!!

A Lesson in Packing

After doing the West Coast Trail in the middle of last year I realise the logistics involved in preparing for a longer journey. It was a learning experience for me to research the weather conditions and to prepare the gear list and the menu that would be suitable (and palatable) for the trip.

Trying to estimate the calories per person that would be required was a task in itself. I know that my normal daily consumption is in the 3000-3500calorie range, but add a 20kg backpack and 8-10 hours of hiking a day, and you throw my calculations right out. And speaking of weight, thats one of the other things I am always thinking about when I consider gear to buy or pack for a trip. In fact all the stocking filler I got at Christmas this year from my wife were ultralight hiking kit - flasks to repack liquids into, cooking and eating gear. Minimising weight means you travel easier, or can take more gear which means more comfort or more safety - all of which are highly desirable!

These guys are taking it to the next level though. 2900km on foot in Antarctica - thats Paris to Moscow. Dragging up to 200kg of gear on sleds, in temperatures of -50 or more. Much respect. It truly is a journey of human endurance as they are calling it - the longest unsupported polar journey in history.

I am always amazed at the daring of those driven to accomplish such adventures. The drive that pushes them to conquer their fears and make it through such tough times and conditions.

I'd love to hear a debrief after they complete the journey, revisiting what they learned on being over prepared, underprepared, or what they could have done differently. What creature comforts they missed, what sanity savers they are glad they included.. and if they'll ever eat those brands of energy bars again after 4 months of eating them every day!

Here's a clip of the guys during their preparation for the journey:

I like their cardboard planning matrix for the food - a very cool hack for making sure nothing is forgotten!