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BIKEpacking vs. BACKpacking: which is better? A f

BIKEpacking vs. BACKpacking: which is better?

A few weeks ago I went on a four-day backpacking trip. At first, the heavy backpack was making me wish for my bike. But once I got into it, I realized that both forms of self-supported muscle-powered overland travel have their own distinct charms.

Pros of backpacking
🥾 No bike mechanics to worry about
🥾 You can get deeper into the wilderness, fewer people and cars
🥾 More immersed in nature, wildlife, and WILDFLOWERS!
🥾 Gearwise, there's a lower barrier to entry than bikepacking

Pros of bikepacking
🚴‍♀️ You load everything onto your bike, which carries it for you
🚴‍♀️ You can go a lot further in a day, and plan bigger trips in less time
🚴‍♀️ You can hit towns and soak up amenities (e.g. pie!) more often
🚴‍♀️ You get paid back for your uphills with freewheeling descents

What do YOU think? Which would you rather spend 4-6 days doing in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado?

#backpacking #bikepacking #selfsupported #musclepowered #outdoors #Colorado #GDMBR #flattopswilderness #wildflowers #adventurecycling #graveltravel #trailsvroads

Longest day of the year, shortest bikepacking trip

Longest day of the year, shortest bikepacking trip yet.

It was more like a campout party by bicycle and bike trailer. Good times last weekend on the @denverbikegang unaffiliated solstice ride 🌞

#tentsvhammocks #panniersvtrailers #differentspokesfordifferentfolks #gravelgrinder #gravelride #surlysteel #surlyogre #bikegang #bikepacking #kinda #overnighter #campout #solsticeride

Me: Happy Father's Day! I signed us up for the Pik

Me: Happy Father's Day! I signed us up for the Pikes Peak Hill Climb Gran Fondo.

My dad: You call that a GIFT?!

Here's why I think my dad can pedal his way up one of Colorado's most iconic 14,000+ foot mountains:

🚴🏻 He made it up Hoosier Pass with me during my TransAm bike tour
🚴🏻 He bike commutes to work almost every day (9 miles each way)
🚴🏻 He survived last autumn's Tour of the Canyons bicycle hut trip -- snowy mountain pass and all.

Not one for snobby specialized gear, my dad has done all of this and more in regular unpadded shorts, with flat pedals, in old-man socks, on a non-road commuter bike.

I have him to thank for a lot of my bicycle gusto and scrappiness. I would call that a gift.

Want to join us? There's still time to register. Team name: The Whole ORDeal.

#dadswhoridebikes #fathersday #oldmansocks #thewholeordeal

It's getting HOT out here. First road bike road t

It's getting HOT out here.

First road bike road trip was to Lake McConaughey in Nebraska. We rode all the way around the lake in 95 degree heat. And that was before the heat wave.

Highlights: Sandy beach camping, beach bonfire, lake floats, hammock hanging, and nutter butter s'mores.

Who knew? Good stuff east of Denver!

#highplains #easternplains #nebraska #lakemac #roadride #heatwave

Two years ago this week, I was road tripping from

Two years ago this week, I was road tripping from Denver to the coast of Oregon with my sister Gina and nephew Travis, age four, to start my Trans-America bike route.

We camped in national parks, collected junior ranger badges, silly-walked in sand dunes, jumped beach waves, and so much more.

This trip has become a memory as precious as the bike trip itself, and I'll do my best to share the memories with Travis.

Gina, thank you for this trip. Thank you for Travis -- he's the best. Thank you for all the sistering. We miss you every single day. 🕯️

One more small snippet of the Great Divide Mountai

One more small snippet of the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route, done.

We bikepacked 140 miles from Salida (where I left off last September) to Penitente Canyon. Four people, three high passes, two days, one Continental Divide crossing, and zero rain. We dodged it all!

Next segment: to New Mexico! Maybe early fall? Who's with me?

#greatdivide #GDMBR #salida #marshallpass #cochetopapass #carneropass #bikepacking #gravelgrinder #gravelride #graveltravel #colorado #fiona #surlyogre #surlysteel #adventurebike #adventurecycling #memorialdayweekend2021 #latergram

The desert 🏜️ A long weekend in Utah with a

The desert 🏜️

A long weekend in Utah with a good group of friends was just the change of scenery I needed.

Also, I really want a bike with shocks.

#gravelride #sanrafaelswell #utah #ismelllikeacampfire #stillsandinmyhair

When life hands you a spring snow storm, make a da

When life hands you a spring snow storm, make a daytrip to go cross-country skiing!

If you don't fall a few times on the downhills, you're doing it wrong.

Ok, snow can be over now. Bring on the bicycles.

#coloradospringtime #crosscountryskiing #nordicskiing #brainardlake #coloradolife

Happy spring! This is me springing. I sprang from

Happy spring! This is me springing.

I sprang from my bike countless times today when we hit patches of snow and ice on the trail. Then I pushed myself to pedal through it, and only fell once.

Fiona the big-wheeled battlewagon did great. But shocks would be nice someday 😆

#springconditions #placetoourselves #newterrain #surlysteel #surlyogre #gravelgrinder #snowcycling #mtb #coloradogal #buffcreek #gravelbike #getoutside #bikelife #springtime #BicycleColorado #bicycleadventure

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In the summer of 2019, I traveled coast-to-coast across the United States by bicycle.

4400 miles
75 days
10 states
11 miles per hour
Solo and self-supported

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