One of the great things about being involved with Bike Touring News is the opportunity to live vicariously through the people we meet. Soon (next month), Asa will fly to Europe with his bike for a year long “literary pilgrimage”. We got a chance to talk to him first about his planning and preparations.
Find out how the Schengen Agreement gave shape to the tour itinerary. How does a person get their bike and gear across an ocean? A trip of this duration might require a different solution than a trip of a few weeks. What about phone service? I’m getting stressed out….we should just listen to the podcast.
I hope we will get updates on how the trip is going and some good stories we can share here with the focus on the logistics of pulling off a trip like this. Maybe we can Skype it up when Asa is on the road and do podcasts off those if we can figure out how to record them. If you have pointers and tips for Asa and others who might be interested, add them in the comments.
Asa thinks I’m an (expletive deleted) because I mock him for naming his bike Rocinante. But it’s just because the Bike Hermit is a rough, illiterate man. And because I’m jealous of him. He is leaving next month for a year long bike touring trip in Europe. He is twenty something. Actually I am not jealous, I simply hate him…..just kidding Asa. There were three other bike touring novices on our trip around Lake Cascade this weekend. But every one of them represented!
A bout of dehydration resulting in nausea, headaches and chills for Paul prompted Scott to retrace the previous thirty miles in order to fetch a car for the rescue. Meanwhile we fed Paul ibuprofin and an electrolyte replacement drink…he actually recovered enough to put me in a spot of bother on the last day while trying to stay on his wheel. Scott met us at the second night’s camp and drove into town to buy beer and steaks! That’s what I call bike touring!
Paul was on put on a strict regimen to replace fluids and to balance electrolytes.
Exercise induced dehydration can actually be real problem when touring. According to Wikipedia- “Physiologically, dehydration, despite the name, does not simply mean loss of water, as water and solutes (mainly sodium) are usually lost in roughly equal quantities to how they exist in blood plasma” which means that simply drinking water can still result in dehydration if electrolytes are not also replaced. In fact, drinking too much water without replacing other nutrients can lead to hyponatremic dehydration, basically a low level of electrolytes, sodium in particular. Fruit juices, coconut water, sports drinks, milk, fruits and vegetables contain electrolytes. Fruit juices can contain a good deal of sugar which makes them more difficult for the body to digest and use. I prefer an electrolyte tablet that can be dropped into a water bottle because the tablets are small and easy to carry. Nuun brand tablets have no sugar and a little bit of effervescence, and they taste pretty good. Checking urine color can be an indicator of hydrated-ness, should be light, like lemonade, not dark, like apple juice.
The second night, we shared the full to overflowing campground with some very impressive RVs, pickup trucks and bass boats. At O Dark:30 in the morning a dozen diesel motors clattered to life and I extruded myself from my hammock to watch the start of the day’s bass tournament. After heating some water for coffee I wandered down to the boat ramp to watch the launch…all the boats were already in the water!…these guys have it down. The official’s boat was being circled by the school of bass boats as the lights on its mast changed from red to yellow to green. Then, in a display that would make any American (or OPEC member) proud, one by one the boats took off at 80 m.p.h. to their preferred fishin’ hole. They would fish and drive their boats really fast until 3 PM when the official weigh in took place. Almost wished I could’ve stayed.
It is well known that the Bike Hermit can be socially challenged. I enjoy being on my own and unknown in new to me places. But I’m finding that touring with other people can be rewarding. Something about it seems to bring out the best in a grumpy old man. I bear the discomfort and I realize that most of the others are committed to the well being of this little temporary micro-society we have formed. Feelings of sovereignty are put aside and group mindedness prevails…nobody wants to be the one who ruins the trip for the others. There is a tacit understanding that this is no place for competitive instincts.
Seeing how people solve the problem of carrying gear on the bike is instructive and entertaining too. From trailers to panniers to frame bags to wire baskets, there is no right or wrong way. This old hermit is looking forward to the next group tour!
Photo from the BLM website Day One Tuesday, April 17 Boise to Celebration Park – Total distance; 43 miles
I stare at the 22 oz. Rogue Dead Guy Ale for about five minutes before deciding not to buy it because I don’t want to carry it the rest of the way to Celebration Park, and surely there will be be at least a convenience store in Melba where I can get a decent beer to drink as I set up camp. There is indeed a market in Melba but it looks pretty homemade and, no you can’t buy singles but there are tallboy cans so I buy one of the least offensive…24 ounces of PBR. I often wonder why out of the way places don’t stock flavorful beer, since the distributors are the same ones that deliver the Bud Lite. And, is it just me or do real men not drink micro-brews? Bike touring forces one to face the weighty, existential questions. Boulders deposited by the Bonneville Flood
When the Bonneville Flood slammed through here a few years back, it tore chunks of volcanic rock the size of school buses off the walls of the Snake River Canyon. Bouncing along under water the chunks were rounded and smoothed and then deposited downstream…a jumble of huge boulders in the narrowest part of the canyon and a more even distribution of smaller boulders where the canyon widens out and the water slowed down.
I scout out what appears to be the best place to hang the hammock and get after it because the clouds are turning blacker and more menacing and I can see lightning to the north. I am ecstatic that the parking lot is empty and I will have the whole place to myself. Then a car comes fishtailing down the gravel road from the “east campground” and out the entrance road and after the dust settles I hear sounds of a beer blast coming from the same direction. Oh well, that’s what they make I-pods for.
Various Boy Scouts have made Eagle projects out of building structures at Celebration Park and so there is a network of boardwalks and decks and even an atlatl range. There are bathrooms and a visitor center and the place starts humming in the morning with park staff getting ready for the busloads of fifth and sixth graders coming that day. That entertains me for a while but, with peace and quite my main objectives for the trip, I decide to push off (quite literally as will soon become apparent) The rain is coming, but I think we are ready.
Day Two Wednesday, April 18 Celebration Park to Swan Falls Dam – Total Distance; 16 miles
Google Maps shows what looks like a road along the Snake River between Celebration Park and Swan Falls Dam. After maybe a mile or maybe two, motor vehicles are restricted and the road becomes double track and then single track and in places almost non-existent. I spend some time pushing the bike through loose sand encouraged by Wendell’s report after riding here last week that the loose sandy section is not too extensive. But with a loaded bike weighing probably close to 70 pounds and relatively skinny 700cx32 tires I end up pushing quite a bit. But there is no rush and the scenery is on par with that of southern Utah, so I push along and ride when the ground is firm enough.
Other sections of the path are interspersed with melon sized rocks which means I ride (scoot) with one foot clipped in and the other pushing. Even further on, where the trail occupies a narrow shelf between the river and the canyon walls, and is hemmed in by willow bushes, tumbleweeds have collected in the path. They are impossible to miss and every time I ride over one it attaches to fenders/chainrings/derailer/chain/wheels….so I am stopping every twenty or thirty feet to pull them out.
Motor vehicles are restricted over about eight of the twelve miles between Celebration Park and Swan Falls Dam. The last four miles to the dam are on gravel road. Swan Falls Dam is owned by Idaho Power and there is a day use area with boat ramps and picnic tables and bathrooms, but no camping. There is too much activity and noise around here anyway so I cook some lunch, refill the water bottles and head back down the gravel road and about half a mile down the car-less path and find a spot to pitch shelter just before the rain comes again.
Day Three, Thursday, April 19 Total Distance; 47 miles
I am in the heart of Morley Nelson Snake River Birds Of Prey National Conservation Area. Laying under my improvised shelter this morning, waiting for the rain to stop, I can hear many species. Crows (mostly), mourning doves, geese, ducks and loons? Sometimes I am sure I hear people but it is just the birds laughing at the old guy hiding under a tarp. Climbing up the switchbacks out of the canyon this morning I stop to watch a golden eagle floating overhead and he is soon joined by three others. The steepness of the terrain means that they are very close when they pass over and I watch them for several minutes. The whole time I spend watching, none of them flap their wings. Must be nice. Last night I startled a pair of pheasants before they startled me with their drum beat winged escape. I didn’t encounter any vampires but I did observe a couple of George Romero-esque zombies disguised as sight-seeing tourists.
The eight miles of trail along the river was definitely the highlight of the trip and made the jaunt more than worthwhile. When I do it again I will have a bike with fatter tires. A fat bike like the Surly Pugsley would be perfect and I think the whole trail would be rideable even with a loaded bike. 700×40 or 26″x2″ tires would be the minimum cross sections for tires through here I would think. Any bike capable of the whole trip without driving would necessarily be a compromise; one that can handle the off road sections while still being able to cruise on the pavement.
As the Bike Hermit is deep into his remodeling project, Sky King jumped at the chance to do some great slow pedaling with the ladies. This turned out to be a perfect way to enjoy spring weather, work in bird watching and be reminded that life is about the journey, not the destination.
Pelicans In Flight
Lisa, Julie and I spent hours exploring the Snake river along State Highway 30 just south of Hagerman, Idaho and then more hours at Bruneau Sand Dunes. Our only goals were to have fun and enjoy the abundance of waterfowl. Spinning along we never passed up the opportunity to stop, grab the binoculars and take in the views. We took advantage of soaking in the pool at Miracle Hot Springs – even admired the alligator.
Waking up to the sound of Thousand Spring’s waterfalls made for a delightful start to our ride.
Thousand SpringsFashionably dressed bird watchers
Being open to meandering lead to sweet surprises. One of my favorites was observing the Heron’s working on the nests in the rookery. There were at least two dozen birds nesting in a compact group of trees. Would be fun to come back and watch “hatchling” flying lessons.
Heron Rookery
Riding anywhere in Southern Idaho in early spring, means laughing at the yellow bellied marmots and their insatiable curiosity.
soaking up some sunchecking us out
Finally no birdwatching trip would be complete without the harrier hawk in the sky, a few ducks in the pond and the beautiful wax wings.
Marsh Hawk at Bruneau Sand DunesHold still so we can take a picture
Black Sheep Bicycles is located in Fort Collins Colorado and they have some mad skills with titanium. They brought two fat-bikes to NAHBS 2012 and these had some quite unique and well thought out details.
S.S.T.T. - Super Sexy Titanium Tubing The fittings right below the growler and right behind it (not super clear in this pic), and the fittings on the chainstays -> -> accomplish 3 things; provides a way to tension the chain in a single speed or internally geared hub application,allows for taking the bike apart to pack in a small case, and provides a way to run a belt drive system. The judges recognize chops when they see them. Titanium Long-Tail Fat-Bike
Customer and friend Wendell came in the other day with his new Salsa Fargo “adventure” touring bike. As we were talking about places to go with such a bike he mentioned the Owyhee Uplands Backcountry Byway (which sounds much better than the local name of Mud Flats Road).
Here is a mostly dirt road on mostly Bureau of Land Management real estate connecting Grand View, Idaho and Jordan Valley, Oregon through the Owyhee Uplands, one of the largest areas of un-fragmented sagebrush habitat in the West .
The Byway can be reached through Jordan Valley, Oregon 80 miles southwest of Boise or through Grand View, Idaho 70 miles southeast of Boise. It is 103 miles between the two towns, 74 of those miles on unpaved surfaces. I’m sure it could be ridden in one grueling day but that is not the point. Experiencing what’s out there is the point. Three days and two nights one way seems reasonable.
2 or 3 options present themselves:
1) drive to either Grand View or Jordan Valley, leave a car and drive to the other end. ride the Byway and shuttle back to the start.
2) drive to one end and do the roundtrip.
3) start in Boise and ride the loop.
There are no services between Grand View and Jordan Valley. There is water along the way but it is best not to drink it without boiling it or treating it first. If chosing the first option above it might be possible to stash a cooler loaded with extra water and food and other refreshment at some point along the route and retrieve it when shuttling back. If taking the second or third options provisions will need to be made to either boil or filter or otherwise treat enough water for drinking. Carrying enough for even three days would be awkward and heavy.
Wide, stout tires will make the loose, rocky washboarded sections more comfortable. I’m thinking 700c x 42 or 26″ x 2.3 or 650b x aswideaspossible. Of course a fatbike such as the Pugsley or Moonlander deserve serious consideration. 4 to 5 inch wide tires inflated to 10 or 12 psi would float over the rough stuff and track straight in the loose gravel and sand. Then they could be pumped up to 20 or 25 psi for the paved sections.
Above Shoofly Canyon. BLM photo
Camping is allowed in non-designated areas on BLM land. But if you choose to do this, please remember to stay on established roads and trails, “leave no trace,” and “pack it out.” Along the Byway there are parcels of private land and the BLM recommends purchasing one of their surface management status maps available for a small fee from the BLM (208)-373-4007) Ask for the “Triangle” section. Respect private property and avoid trespassing. There is one developed campground at the North Fork Recreation Site about 32 miles from Jordan Valley.
The road is sometimes impassable from late November through March due to snow. The surface will also be slick and messy if it is wet and that would be no fun. Daytime temps in the summer can reach triple Fahrenheit digits and the nights in the high desert can be cold anytime of year. So, plan accordingly.
With all those caveats in place I can say that the more I have researched this, the more excited I am to ride in and explore this area. We have lived in Boise for over twenty years and, until we got touring bicycles, never made the effort to see some of the amazing, remote areas in our back yard. The byway overlays several different vegetation zones – riparian zones along the rivers, the sagebrush steppe, salt desert shrub landscape and juniper woodlands. The Owyhee Canyonlands are home to one fifth of the world population of native California Bighorn Sheep. There are over 500 thousand acres of designated wilderness areas in the Owyhee Canyonlands. One half. million. acres. You have some ‘splorin to do, Lucy!
The campsites at Fay Bainbridge State Park, normally $21 are $5 apiece for bikes. Coin operated showers too.
August 1, 2011
It’s only about 46 miles from Fay Bainbridge State Park to Fort Worden State Park in Port Townsend. By the time we were finished riding on the day we had covered 58 miles.
After a few miles on the scenic pastoral backroads we were back to the treacherous 305. Crossing the Agate Pass Bridge on a bicycle is not for the timid. Sky King went first and did it exactly the way it should be done. Timing her entry in front of a big box van, she rode in the traffic lane, since there is no shoulder, and the truck slowed to follow her across, with traffic backing up behind. There is no choice but to hold up traffic in situations like this and most people are not psychopaths and they will not, usually, mow down a bicycler.
Immediately after crossing the bridge we took a right onto Suquamish Way up to Suquamish and to Port Gamble. Winding back roads with low traffic brought us to the town of Port Gamble where we stopped for lunch. Then we were on the ACA West Coast route up to Fort Townsend.
The hills are numerous and steep, but, thankfully, usually short.
We passed by Fort Townsend State Park south of town because it was our intention to stay at Fort Worden State Park. It is not evident on reaching Fort Worden that any camping is even offered. We rode around the barracks and other buildings and found a campsite but the sign said pre-registration was a requirement and that the campground was full anyway. I flagged down a passing vehicle and the driver told us the office was closed but directed us to the hiker-biker camping area. A network of trails connects primitive campsites for tent campers all of which were available except for one which contained a tent already pitched. We stopped at site adjacent to this one to leave our bikes and reconnoiter the area.
A man of normal build and maybe 40 years, wearing basketball shorts, a t-shirt, gym shoes, a short hair cut and a goatee walked passed us and said, “How’s it goin?” in a voice that was maybe a little too loud and forced, before he turned into the next campsite which apparently was his.
“Fine” I replied.
We could still hear him talking and as we continued past his site we saw him standing on the bench of his picnic table facing away from the trail towards the woods and reading aloud from the bible. We thought that was a little different and looked for a site as far away as possible. When we came back to retrieve our bikes he had changed his demeanor and was assuring some person who remained unseen that,
“They are all f****** liars. They’re all f******* liars and they aren’t going to get away with it.”
When our eyes met his words to me were,
“Yeah, I’m talkin’ to you”
We secured our bikes and gear and took them and exited out of the other end of the hiker-biker area. We rode down to the beach camp ground which was also full. I told a passing city cop about the incident in the hiker-biker area. We saw him again a few minutes later and he told us he had spoken to the park ranger who was going to have a talk to the individual, and who was not happy that we felt too threatened to stay in his park. Both the city cop and the park ranger took us seriously and they were concerned about keeping the area safe and so I’m sure this was an isolated incident.
As we were riding back towards Fort Townsend State Park I couldn’t help but feel sorry for this fellow. I can’t even imagine what it must be like to live inside his scrambled head, but it must be terrifying. He might have been a high functioning schizophrenic but still he doesn’t have a lot of choice but to scuffle around and try to find someplace to stay until he gets run off. There are not really any social services for these poor people. I don’t know what can or should be done for them but it’s really sad.
Adjacent to the boatyard, through which runs the bike path, the Port Townsend Brewing Company is located just off Haines Place on 10th Street. This is just a tasting room with no food but the beer is good and there are nearby places to eat. After doing our due diligence here, we proceeded to the Safeway across the street and bought a baked, whole chicken and some broccoli to take back with us to Fort Townsend State Park, where we ate and collapsed into our sleeping bags.
The last section of the ACA route into Port Townsend is on this bike path. Slow down here because the brewpub is adjacent to the boatyard, and the Boatyard Coffee Shop is in the yard.You look purty to me boy. Where do you think yer goin'?I was taking pictures and the proprieter said everybody in the port rides it. So......"
In 2008 Dylan Kentch and Eric Parsons rode and carried and rafted with their singlespeed bicycles across 300 miles of wild Alaska coastline from Yakutat to Cordova. If one were to look at this on a map and/or Google Earth they might not think it possible. But these guys did it and lived to tell the story. What’s most impressive to me is that they never complain about the difficult conditions, they had fun, and they were sad when it was over. Epic.
Their blog is called Bike The Lost Coast
In 2010 some homies from Bozeman, Mt. did it too. Their blog is Biking the Lost Coast
Eric’s company is Revelate Designs LLC
He makes frame bags for expedition touring and for bikes which are rack challenged.
Bike Camping or Bikepacking
Revelate Designs LLC frame bags
Looking at these photos and reading the ride reports gets me to thinking about different ways to set up the bike, and it gets me thinking about an off road adventure touring bike. Of course, being a Surly groupie, the Troll or Karate Monkey come to mind. I’m sure Sky King will be happy to know I have a new obsession! Anybody else use these bags and have stories to tell of their expeditions?
