Bike About 2025 – The Last Phase
March 15, 2026 § Leave a comment
This is it. The final part of my cross country adventure on my Lynsky GR 300 gravel bike. In my last post I had zero’d for 3 days at my friend’s cabin in the woods on the edge of Bald Eagle State Forest near Woodward, PA. Some friends were up to hang out with us as well, and now they have returned to Northern Virginia, and it’s time for me to hit the road again. The plan is a simple one but perhaps not one you guess, knowing that I live in Monmouth County New Jersey not too far from the Jersey Shore. You might expect as much of a Bee line as could be made, trust me when I say the mountains do not support that kind of a journey. Anyway, my plan was to continue North on the PANTS route until I intersect the JORTS route where I will head East through some of the toughest riding in PA if not the country. That will put me on the same route as my prep ride that I finished in May. Hancock NY, across the Catskills and down the Empire State Trail into NYC to Pier 11. It was a nice ride in May, it should be a nice ride in August too. As hard as I tried to coordinate getting friends to meet me at Bear Mountain State Park to finish this ride off the only person I could get was my friend John L and the details of that meetup are still in the works. The Bear Mountain Inn was full because it was a weekend that I would be coming through, and so no vacancy means no friends. I thought detouring there and climbing Bear Mountain would be a nice diversion from the May route, but it was not meant to be.
« Read the rest of this entry »Weminuche 2021- Day 4 Up, Up and Away
December 11, 2021 § Leave a comment
If you recall, we broke two long days into three shorter days, and today was the second of those days, and this day would be nothing but regaining most, if not all of the elevation we lost yesterday. Distance-wise it was a little shorter, but terrain-wise we would hit some big gains in two sets of switchbacks, where I believe each set was 20-30 turns. The feeling was that we would find something between the second and third set where we could pitch our tents, but until we got there, we wouldn’t know. We hadn’t seen anyone we could ask.
The morning was another fine morning where the mountains to our East shielded us from direct sunlight until long after we hit the trail. Our fourth morning, and everything is very routine by now. Before I even leave my shelter, I have dressed, re-stuffed my sleeping bag, deflated the air mattress and returned it to its carry sack, deflated my pillow, and broken down and rolled up my tarp. Then it is time for hot water and a little relaxation while I watch everyone else do their thing. Of course Kevin is already up, as is Jim, and by the time I sit down, everyone is up and moving.
Weminuche Wilderness 2021 – Day 3 Easy Peasy
December 9, 2021 § Leave a comment
We met a lot of people on this adventure. Way more than in past adventures excepting Banff. The least number we ever saw was in the High Uintas where we met a Ranger, and then a guide with two charges, all on horseback. After that, nothing. This day would not be a high volume people day, but the two characters we did meet (Father/Son) were a real eye opener.
Our second morning was a little different than our first. For one, we weren’t in a hurry to get over two passes as all we had on the agenda for the day was mostly all downhill, or perhaps it is better to say our net elevation gain today would be a loss. About 1000 feet (304.8 meters) loss. No need to hurry for that. We would probably be done by 1 or 2 and then have the rest of the afternoon to relax, and maybe even cleanup a little in Vallecito river/creek. Another difference was our tree cover was greater, so the view of the surrounding mountains was obscured. That wouldn’t last long once we started to hike, but until that began, we were in the shade of mountains we couldn’t really see, and it was a cool night. I had my usual 3 times up for personal business, and my usual sleep issues, but that doesn’t keep me in bed.
« Read the rest of this entry »Weminuche Wilderness 2021 – Day 2 A Two Pass Day
December 7, 2021 § Leave a comment
It’s been awhile since I last climbed the Continental Divide under my own power. I crossed it as a bus passenger in June, but that doesn’t count in my book. We were in the Pacific drainage when we both started and ended this day, but we hiked in the Atlantic drainage for a short while, which meant that we had two passes ahead of us. I can’t find a name for the first pass, and maybe there is a definition of “Pass” that I am unaware of that this first “Pass” doesn’t meet, but I feel like if I cross from one side to the other, say from one valley to another, that is a pass. The second for our day would be Hunchback Pass. A real name.
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