This looks like a good spot for our tarp tent
This is a look back at a 270 mile bicycle ride and dog run in mid-May with greenandblue and Busta from St Louis to Columbia, MO and back, mostly on the Katy Trail. It was a great trip highlighted by stops to learn about urban agriculture and activism. The series of related diaries can be found in Busta What. Here, I will briefly cover the good, bad, smart, dumb, lucky and limiting things that might help to keep in mind for future rides.
Overall, I am thrilled that we did it. Moreover, we seem capable of more. It was a tough ride, and I did exhaust myself at least once. However, we did make good time and actually did more miles per day than I anticipated. We covered close to 270 miles in 7 travel days, including the short first day. I would rather cover less ground and spend more time learning about and reporting on interesting people and places. This trip showed me that it is possible to ride and write, just not simultaneously. We can hit the road for a part of the day, and leave time to eat, sleep and report for the rest.
Terrain and weather are important factors. The Katy Trail is flat gravel. Mountains will be much more challenging, but, with sufficient time, we can walk up mountains a mile at a time for days on end. We were also fortunate to avoid heat and storms (barely) in this trip. Weather extremes require utmost caution and will take time away from traveling whenever biking and running.
The best thing I did in preparation for this trip was giving Busta his tick and worm medicine. We trained almost daily to be physically prepared, but I still have to go with getting his tick medicine for best preparation. He was covered with ticks over the course of this journey, all of which died and rinsed off in the shower. It would have taken hours to pick them off alive. There were so many, chances are he would have been weakened or contracted a tick-borne disease.
The most fortuitous pre-ride break was getting better gears for hills from Sunset Cyclery in the week before leaving. I checked bike shops for over a year in search of easier climbing gears, with no success during the pandemic and supply chain shortages. There is a good chance that I would not have made it over the initial 20 miles of hills with the old gears that were made for speed going downhill.
My best decision for the first day was to go short. We started late and stopped as planned after about 10 miles. The 10 miles gave me time to assess the ride and make adjustments that made the long days ahead much easier. Busta showed he was good too. We shed a little weight when I pulled about 5 pounds of stuff out of the bags and left it for our return. More importantly, I repacked the bags for better weight distribution and balance.
Over the course of the ride, I figured out some places where we can lighten our load. For one, I brought too many clothes and tools. I wasn’t sure which I would use and learned that I can cut significant weight with more judicious packing. I can also cut weight with tech upgrades. In this trip, I brought old lights and batteries that proved to be nothing more than extra weight when I found out that their batteries had lost nearly all charging capacity. That’s a few pounds to leave behind next time.
Things that might limit future trips include family commitments, financial responsibilities, health concerns, traffic on bike-unfriendly roads, weather, crime, and bike failures.
My family has been extremely supportive of me to date. They even helped me buy my bike on my birthday. However, they still need me, and I want to be there for them. I can never make up for days away from cooking, cleaning, and just being there with the wife and kids. If I can keep up with family commitments, then it is possible these days to work on the road with a laptop, camera and cloud computing resources.
With my computer and data skills, and modern technology, I can do a lot of work in cloud computing environments. If download and upload speed limitations can be solved, then it’s also possible to do video reporting on a travel laptop.
Health is always an unknown. I did have pretty bad plantar fasciitis in my right heel, but that didn’t bother me during the ride. Busta had no problems on this trip. The cool weather in May let him run all day. In the future, we may have to stop more to cool down and recuperate. I am willing to keep trying as long as Busta and I feel physically able.
Bad weather and mountains can slow us, but can be overcome with time and persistence, as long as our health holds up. Given enough time, we can walk up mountains. On the other hand, I can see traffic or crime being too risky in some areas for us to continue. In those cases, we might turn around rather than risk losses in dangerous areas.
The bike and trailer have been great, but there is one component that I am concerned will jeopardize long journeys. That is the arm attaching the trailer to the bike sits close to the rear derailleur.
Rolling over curbs, humps, logs, or anything else over four inches can force the trailer bar to bend the derailleur. Even when parked, if the bike falls over, which is common for loaded tour bikes, then it can force the trailer bar to bend the derailleur. I am glad to have my bike and trailer. It’s definitely great around town. Still, the threat of the trailer arm damaging the rear derailleur is a real concern for planning potential longer touring journeys.
Things that can help future trips are companions, financing and technology upgrades. Two or three human partners to share weight and remote production tasks can help immensely and may make the journey safer. Funding or income to pay for long trips without racing to return for work would make it possible to properly experience and report on interesting experiences throughout the journey. No reporting will be possible without internet connections. On my standard phone plan, it is possible to write and present photos or short videos. On a planned longer journey, with adequate support, I will explore options for faster uploading for extended video reports to accompany text and photos.
In short, Busta and I had a successful trip. We learned valuable lessons about ourselves and equipment that can be useful in future adventures. Most notably, we learned that trips like this are possible and even enjoyable. We will look for opportunities to embark on more rides and runs in the future.
