[HN Gopher] An autumn bike adventure down the US portion of the ...
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       An autumn bike adventure down the US portion of the Eastern Divide
       Trail
        
       Author : kaycebasques
       Score  : 96 points
       Date   : 2025-01-06 18:50 UTC (4 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (www.crazyguyonabike.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (www.crazyguyonabike.com)
        
       | pjs_ wrote:
       | Great website and great use of time on earth
        
       | hackingonempty wrote:
       | Bikepacking: like backpacking but on a bike. You ride dirt roads
       | and easy trails away from cars, carrying your food, water, warm
       | clothes, camping gear, etc... in bags mounted on your frame.
       | 
       | The format is also used for races, you ride as quickly as
       | possible and can only rely on commercial services available to
       | all for resupply and lodging, no prearranged or private support.
        
         | femiagbabiaka wrote:
         | Doing the Great Divide trail is high up on my bucket list.
        
       | UI_at_80x24 wrote:
       | CGoaB is a fantastic resource. It contains great stories,
       | resources, and life lessons. Highly recommend.
       | 
       | I've gone on small trips myself (weekend length) and have kept my
       | trips under 100km. My eventual goal is to ride from the Great
       | Lakes region (of N.America) to the Yucatan Peninsula of C.
       | America.
       | 
       | I ride a recumbent. I camp in a hammock. Of course I use Linux.
       | =)
        
         | aziaziazi wrote:
         | Wonder what model do you ride ? Any ressources to learn about
         | those bikes ?
        
         | jkaptur wrote:
         | > I ride a recumbent. I camp in a hammock. Of course I use
         | Linux. =)
         | 
         | Beard? :)>
        
       | stevage wrote:
       | That rider took 77 days. Each year there is a race along
       | basically the same route, Canadian border to Mexico border. The
       | current race record is around 13 days.
        
         | flowingfocus wrote:
         | Ultra-endurance cycling like the race you mentioned is
         | fascinating. I once met a few contestants in a European bike
         | race and drove alongside one. He said the best in the field
         | sleep around 4 hours per night and do 500+ km per day.
        
         | limaoscarjuliet wrote:
         | There is also RAAM, but across the country
         | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_Across_America
        
         | hackingonempty wrote:
         | That would be the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route and Tour
         | Divide race through the Rockies. This journal follows the
         | Eastern Divide trail through the Appalachians.
         | 
         | https://bikepacking.com/eastern-divide-trail/
        
       | jpm_sd wrote:
       | When I retire I'm just going to do this all the time.
        
       | FpUser wrote:
       | One of my favorite sites. Been reading it for more than 10 years.
       | 
       | It is very unfortunate that the owner and developer of the site
       | can not make a living.
        
       | FrustratedMonky wrote:
       | Any maps? I could not find. Of the trip.
        
         | wmitty wrote:
         | OP says the US portion of eastern divide trail, which is on
         | bikepacking.com :
         | 
         | https://bikepacking.com/eastern-divide-trail/
        
           | shagie wrote:
           | It would be interesting for him to do the international
           | extensions next year.
           | 
           | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Appalachian_Trai.
           | ..
           | 
           | > As of July 2020, there are widely geographically dispersed
           | IAT-branded walking trails in Greenland, Iceland, Norway,
           | Sweden, Denmark, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Ireland, Isle of
           | Man, Wales, England, Spain, Portugal, and Morocco
           | 
           | > ...
           | 
           | > eological evidence shows that the Appalachian Mountains,
           | certain mountains of Western Europe, and the Anti-Atlas range
           | in North Africa are parts of the ancient Central Pangean
           | Mountains, made when minor supercontinents collided to form
           | the supercontinent Pangaea more than 250 million years ago.
           | With the break-up of Pangaea, sections of the former range
           | remained with the continents as they drifted to their present
           | locations. Inspired by this evidence, the IAT has been
           | extended into Western Europe and North Africa.
        
       | RadiozRadioz wrote:
       | How does one afford the time to do something like this?
        
         | BadHumans wrote:
         | You could take a sabbatical or they could be retired.
        
         | daemonologist wrote:
         | I think most commonly: have minimal responsibilities to begin
         | with (no kids, pets, business to run, etc.) If those aren't an
         | issue, costs are pretty minimal, and it's mainly a matter of
         | the long term career and retirement savings implications of not
         | working for several months - those wouldn't _stop_ you if you
         | wanted to do it, they 're just a judgement call.
        
         | JKCalhoun wrote:
         | There are smaller trails you can do over a weekend if you want
         | to try it out.
         | 
         | I started out on a two day ride on a rail trail. The following
         | fall then went on a 6 day rail trail ride.
        
         | Jtsummers wrote:
         | 77 days is quite a while (and assume a few more for final
         | transport home), but I get 5 weeks of leave a year and can
         | rollover 6 weeks from year to year, which, with weekends, would
         | get me 79 days. This is not even a stellar job. Of course,
         | being away from my wife (no kids yet) for 77 days might be a
         | hard sell, and when we do have kids that'll be off the table
         | for a while.
         | 
         | Then you schedule the event to coincide with holidays. In the
         | US, we have (depending on your employer) 3 federal holidays
         | from May through July (Memorial, Juneteenth, 4th of July). 4
         | for September through November but it doesn't line up well
         | enough to get all 4 starting with 11 weeks off (Labor Day,
         | Columbus, Veteran's, Thanksgiving). If you're willing to travel
         | to get a better climate for an event, you have November-January
         | which gives you Veteran's Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New
         | Year's, and MLK.
         | 
         | So 3, 4, or 5 extra days on top of leave are feasible several
         | times of the year (late spring/summer, fall, winter). That can
         | be used to stretch your leave if you don't have enough to make
         | it, or to give you a recovery week (or partial week).
         | 
         | Or, you get enough money and have no responsibilities and just
         | quit working for 2-3 months.
        
       | randcraw wrote:
       | For those whose browsers lack WebGL2 (like Brave), here's a map
       | of the trail: https://keepcalmandpedalonblog.com/the-eastern-
       | divide-trail-...
        
       | chrisweekly wrote:
       | Hey this reminds me of my good friend Chris Smith, who recently
       | completed the Tour Divide -- a solo, unsupported 2,700 mile bike
       | race from southern Canada to Mexico. He did it in 48 days --
       | which would be impressive for anyone -- but the kicker is, he's
       | legally blind. https://blindguybiking.org/
       | 
       | EDIT: adding link to his youtube videos:
       | https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLx86K7wVysS06YQqC6Q5jiRNw...
        
       | frereubu wrote:
       | This is one of those personal sites where you fall down a rabbit
       | hole. I've been reading this series of posts for quite a while
       | now because it's simply but enjoyably written. He has a nice turn
       | of phrase:
       | 
       | > The let up in the weather didn't last long, though. Even though
       | the forecast for the area had indicated a cloudy but rainless
       | afternoon, it just started pelting down rain in buckets. There is
       | nothing like a really cold, persistent rain to find the weak
       | spots in your rain gear, and before long my face, chest, and feet
       | were soaked and freezing. The rain turned what had been a
       | mediocre day into a miserable day. It could have been worse, I
       | guess, but only if it had rained snakes.
        
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       (page generated 2025-01-06 23:00 UTC)