By Kelly McPherson — During the 2022/2023 school year, I had a couple of near-death experiences that landed me in the hospital multiple times. It’s kind of cliche, but it is true that near death experiences have a way of changing a person, or at least their perspective. Between those experiences and the realization that I have more of my life behind me than in front of me, I have come to understand a couple of things. One of those things is that life is too short to be worried about what other people think and that you should probably do what gives you joy, and you should also probably let go of the things that don’t. I have started wearing long feathery dream catcher earrings, because I like them and have given up the pain of racing my bicycle in lieu of riding and training in a way that makes me happy. I might still race, but only if I really want to. One of the other things I have learned is that I really don’t want to get to the end of my life and regret not doing something I always wanted to do. For that reason, I started grad school this past summer and I am planning to ride my bike from Massachusetts to Oregon this next summer. I think this will be an amazing adventure and is the kind of riding that will bring me joy.
Cross country touring/bikepacking is a very different style of riding than racing and riding in organized events. I have done a little bit of it when I rode from Canada to Mexico a couple of summers ago and down the Oregon Coast last summer, but I was fully supported by my husband with our truck and trailer. When I ride from Massachusetts to Oregon, due to how long I will need to do it, my husband may not be able to support me the entire way. He is not a teacher, like me, and so does not have summers off work. I realized that I needed to learn how to solo bikepack.
As I began to research bikepacking, I have learned that there is a lot more to it than just strapping a sleeping bag onto the back of your bike and pedaling away, though, if that is what you do, that is totally ok too. There are a lot of details to think about when planning to support oneself completely from a bicycle. What kind of bike will you use? How will you transport your gear? What route will you take? Where and how will you sleep? Where and how will you eat and drink? What happens if you get a mechanical? What will you do in bad weather? How, when, and where will you clean yourself and your clothing?
One of the best things that happened during my research was meeting and connecting with Lou Melini at a Bonneville Cycling Club social last fall. Lou has been bikepacking for a very long time and pointed me to some fantastic resources, some of which led me to other valuable resources as well. I will link those resources below. Lou was hesitant to tell me how to bikepack correctly. According to him, there is no right way, only the right way for you as you learn your own style of traveling. Still, I wanted to know how other people did it so I could get ideas and try things out. I peppered Lou with questions, and he patiently answered them.
Probably the best thing that Lou did was invite me to go bikepacking with him and some of his friends to Affleck Park, just outside of Salt Lake City, Utah on the road to Big Mountain. Originally, I had thought to do my first trip solo, so no one would have to witness my newbie mistakes. If everything fell off my bike and I didn’t make it to the campground, I didn’t want anyone to see that. Going with other people would end up being the better choice.
The date of the planned group trip arrived, and I was nervous. I almost didn’t go. I had gotten home from my first day at grad school after 3 PM and was super-duper tired. Maybe I should just bail and go another time? I hadn’t tested my setup, even on local neighborhood streets. I had no idea if all my gear would stay attached or if I could even pedal a bike weighed down with camping gear. I had purchased a tent and had not even set it up in the living room. Maybe I wouldn’t be able to figure out how to put it back in the bag in the morning. I would have to ride all the way home with a tent billowing behind me on my bike. Ugh!
I put the final packing touches on my bike and tested to make sure everything was secure and then I learned my first lesson. Maneuvering a bike with 40 pounds of gear on it is challenging. Just turning it around in my entryway to go out the front door was a comical display of acrobatics. Getting my bike down my front steps was terrifying. Then came my attempt to mount the bike. Hah! My habit of throwing my leg over the saddle of my road bike wouldn’t work here unless I suddenly developed the flexibility needed to get my leg up over all of the gear that was strapped to my rear rack. Leaning the bike and putting my leg over the top tube resulted in almost dropping my bike due to the extra weight. This is something I will have to practice as what I did was a super ungraceful shimmy of my foot over the top tube.
Despite the weight of my gear being mostly over my back wheel, my bike rolled fairly comfortably. I just had to be aware that the placement of the weight might make it necessary to take corners a lot more gently. A bike lean might prove disastrous!
Because I had gotten home from school so late, I knew that there was no way I would make it clear across the valley from South Jordan, up Emigration Canyon and part of the way up Big Mountain before it would get dark. I also wasn’t sure that I could physically make it. I had no idea how much energy it would take to ride a bike this loaded up. I chose to cheat and take UTA Trax up to the South Campus stop and then over to the canyon. That cut about 20 miles off my ride. I think that was a very smart idea.
Riding with 40 pounds of gear really levels up the difficulty of an Emigration Canyon climb. I was so very slow, but I got up to the top without having to push my bike at all. Yes! I felt so empowered that I had to take a picture of myself at the top. I did it! Then I headed down the other side and up to Affleck Park.
Affleck Park is a quirky little campground. I wandered around quite a bit before I finally found the camp spot that Lou and the others were at. I was elated to finally be there. Nothing had fallen off my bike. I hadn’t run out of water. I hadn’t gotten lost. I hadn’t died. These facts made me very happy. Lou and his friends were amazing. They helped me set up my tent and helped me figure out how to use my brand new, never tested water filter. Later we had the adventure of helping me put my food in my bear bag and hanging it from a tree. Let’s just say, I don’t have great aim and the task required multiple humorous attempts and a very long stick to finally get it set up. Lesson learned: Make sure you have eaten your fill before putting your food in a bag 15 feet in the air in a tree. They were all so nice and so patient with me as I learned and asked questions.
Next time I camp, I would like to have a better sleeping pad and some wool socks. The $40 inflatable pad I bought wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t fabulous, and my hips hurt by morning. My feet were also freezing all night. I also needed a pillow that was better than all of my clean clothes stuffed into the next day’s bike shorts and shoved under my head. I didn’t sleep much, but did spend quite a bit of time by myself outside my tent looking at the stars through a canopy of trees. It was meditative and peaceful to my soul. I could get used to this.
The next morning, I got up and re-packed my bike while I munched on a couple of carrot pecan muffins I had brought from home. I managed to get my tent completely back in its bag and strapped it to my bike. I exchanged numbers, said good-bye to my new-found friends, and started back down the canyon.
I grinned all the way down Emigration Canyon, proud that I had tried something new and felt strong in a way I hadn’t in a while. Bikepacking isn’t for the faint of heart. It is hard. The friends you make, the views you see, the adventures you find and most importantly the sense of accomplishment make it all totally worth it. I am looking forward to my next adventure.
Resources I found helpful:
- www.bikepacking.com
- https://www.adventurecycling.org/
- https://www.facebook.com/groups/989185796141253 (Utah Women’s Gravel and Bikepacking)
- https://www.facebook.com/groups/624044381031476 (Utah Bikepackers)
- https://www.facebook.com/groups/bikepackingforbeginners (Bikepacking for Beginners)
- https://www.saltlakerandos.org/ (not quite bikepacking, but similar enough to be helpful)
- https://www.cyclingwest.com/author/lou-melini/ (Anything written by Lou)
