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Longest Bike Trip?

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JML · · Unknown Hometown · Joined May 2009 · Points: 30

I was just thinking today of the trip I took with my dad when I was a teenager. We did it in two parts because of logistics. First leg was Eureka, CA to Atascadero, CA(575 miles) and then we took the train to Seattle and did Canada to Eureka.(725 miles)

It was a great experience. Sleeping in cow pastures or campgrounds. Riding through thunderstorms into Coos Bay. Only stayed in a motel twice, both times to dry out after thunderstorm rides. Dad getting nicked by a logging truck in Oregon. Carried all our gear in saddlebags. 60mph run down a steep coastal highway in Oregon. Santa Cruz to Atascadero(150 miles) in one day. Lots of awesome memories.

Robin like the bird · · Philomath, or · Joined Jun 2008 · Points: 300

Are you the child from zenn and the art of motorcycle maintenance? It sorta sounds like it..

You should check out the people who rode the continental divide From banff to mexico. something like 2700 miles

ridethedividemovie.com/
vimeo.com/9654326

Pat C · · Honolulu · Joined Mar 2009 · Points: 45

Did the camino de santiago from Bilbao to santiago de compostela over 10 days on mountain bikes. I'd like to do it again sometime starting somewhere in france or italy or something like that, extend it a long ways.

Chris Plesko · · Westminster, CO · Joined Oct 2007 · Points: 485

Pretty excited Ride the Divide is finally out. I rode it last summer on my singlespeed and hope to do it again someday.

Todd Gordon · · Joshua Tree, CA · Joined Nov 2006 · Points: 10,806

Across the US west to east coast,...then Canada to Mex.....Did an Amsterdam to Switzerland trip, and the Montana section the the Con. Divide......something to do besides climb all the time..

csproul · · Pittsboro...sort of, NC · Joined Dec 2009 · Points: 330
JML wrote:I was just thinking today of the trip I took with my dad when I was a teenager. We did it in two parts because of logistics. First leg was Eureka, CA to Atascadero, CA(575 miles) and then we took the train to Seattle and did Canada to Eureka.(725 miles) It was a great experience. Sleeping in cow pastures or campgrounds. Riding through thunderstorms into Coos Bay. Only stayed in a motel twice, both times to dry out after thunderstorm rides. Dad getting nicked by a logging truck in Oregon. Carried all our gear in saddlebags. 60mph run down a steep coastal highway in Oregon. Santa Cruz to Atascadero(150 miles) in one day. Lots of awesome memories.
This was our family vacations when I was growing up. My dad would take my brother and I, and we'd ride from home (S. Arizona or Denver area) to our grandparents house in Albuquerque. Definitely lots of great memories from those trips.
Aaron M · · Westminster, CO · Joined Oct 2007 · Points: 140

Hey Chris,

I didn't see you in that 2-minute trailer. Are you sure you did the race? LOL

JML · · Unknown Hometown · Joined May 2009 · Points: 30
toddgordon wrote:Across the US west to east coast,...then Canada to Mex.....Did an Amsterdam to Switzerland trip, and the Montana section the the Con. Divide......something to do besides climb all the time..
Dang Todd, get any saddle sores?
Chris Plesko · · Westminster, CO · Joined Oct 2007 · Points: 485
Aaron M wrote:Hey Chris, I didn't see you in that 2-minute trailer. Are you sure you did the race? LOL
The trailer/movie is from the 2008 race. I started the trail that year as an individual time trial, three days behind the race. I caught and rode with Mary into Lima and dropped there. Why I did the race in 2009 and the ITT in 2008 is a long and stupid story but the 2008 experience helped a lot in 2009 and that turned out pretty well. Plus in 2008 I wasn't too tired to do the Colorado Trail race which was awesome.
JML · · Unknown Hometown · Joined May 2009 · Points: 30

Instead of titling it "Longest Bike Trip"...I should have labeled it "Best Bicycling Adventure". I knew mine wasn't very long compared to a lot of trips you folks have taken but at 17 years of age it was quite an experience for me. What is cool is my dad, now 78, is STILL tooling around on his bicycle. I haven't been on a long ride with him lately but we still go backpacking.

Dusty · · Fort Collins · Joined Apr 2008 · Points: 210

When I graduated high school I rode San Francisco to Virginia Beach solo.

KathyS · · Poughkeepsie, NY · Joined Nov 2007 · Points: 125
JML wrote:Instead of titling it "Longest Bike Trip"...I should have labeled it "Best Bicycling Adventure". I knew mine wasn't very long compared to a lot of trips you folks have taken but at 17 years of age it was quite an experience for me. What is cool is my dad, now 78, is STILL tooling around on his bicycle. I haven't been on a long ride with him lately but we still go backpacking.
Good for your dad to keep riding. My goal is to still be able to ride my bike when I'm 80.

My best and longest bike adventure was 4 weeks touring New Zealand back in late '89, early '90. We traveled light and stayed in hotels, lodges and such. It was about a thousand miles. I broke a pair of early-vintage Look clipless shoes in half in the middle of knowwhere and had to ride 4 more days with shoes held together only by the uppers. Clipping in and out took planning. Finally we got to Christchurch and I was able to find a new pair.

One day, we started out on the west side of the South Island and rode uphill all morning in the chilling, soaking rain. Over the pass, and down the other side, we went for miles and miles of downhill, in top gear. Everything was dry except the insoles of my shoes by the time we got to the hotel at the end of the day.

We went blackwater rafting (riding an innertube down an underground stream) on New Year's Day. It was definitely a trip to remember.
Dirty Gri Gri, or is it GiGi? · · Vegas · Joined May 2005 · Points: 4,115

Hmmm...
The longest bike trip was 6 days, and nights, or so in Amsterdam, the bike capitol; I'm pretty sure I didn't ride continuously though, you know, all those cool stops along the way, but whoa, what a ride! Flashback: I did stop for creeps, I mean crepes, the crepes at the creperies, where I ate crepes (it's a blur; too much indulgence). Anyway, I was impressed with the bike friendly city; bicyclists, and bicycles everywhere, it seemed as if all the happy, and colorful people were riding, even the working girls in the windows of the red light district were looking like they ride.



BUT the most memorable was the 17 mile drive in Monterey, California. At the time I rode it, it was the most exhilarating, and beautiful ride I've ever experienced on a bike. I've been thinking about riding that stretch again.
Doug Lintz · · Kearney, NE · Joined Apr 2004 · Points: 1,196

Before reentering college I did a trip with a couple guys. We took the train to Grand Junction, CO with our bikes and no clue. That afternoon we deboarded the train, looked around decided the Grand Canyon couldn't be too far away.

Eight days later we were in Arizona and hating life. The wind and stinging sand literally drove us back to Colorado. We finished our little trip in Durango before taking a bus to Las Vegas for an additional week of anything but biking.

That was in 1992 and is still the best "vacation" I've ever had, it was all new territory to me. Sleeping by the side of the road in Gateway, getting sunburned one day and snowed on the next in Telluride, Lizard Head Pass and all it's surrounding beauty at 10 mph, biking along Hwy. 160 near Four Corners and seeing this amazing formation in the hazy distance that I couldn't even tell was real or not (Shiprock), sleeping an afternoon away under the bridge of a dry creekbed in Arizona. That trip was tough but worth every pedal stroke.

Good memories.

Tim McCabe · · Tucson, AZ · Joined Oct 2006 · Points: 130

In 2004 I rode the Arizona Trail from Mexico to Utah, with a lot of exploring and a fair bit of back tracking (parts of the trail were incomplete at the time) a 200+ mile detour around the Grand Canyon and then from the state line back to Cameron through Lee's Ferry. In the end I had nearly 1500 miles on the bike, I counted up 40 days of riding spread out over two months.

In 06 I did the AZT again this time with a lighter load and with little back tracking, carried through the Grand Canyon (21 miles vs 210) and had a ride home from the state line home. Ended up with a 811 mile course spent 30 days riding (a lot of short days) spread out over 39 days total. I took 3 days to carry the Canyon managed to get into the bunk house at Phantom Ranch and the camped at Cottonwood camp the second night.

In 07 I finished the AZT 300 I keep starting every year but haven't gotten past Tucson the last 2 maybe this year.

I posted up a bunch of pics from all 3 trips over at bikepacking.net bikepacking.net/forum/index…

Chris Plesko · · Westminster, CO · Joined Oct 2007 · Points: 485

Nice to see you're on this site too Tim :) I wish my ankle was ready for the full AZTR this year, perhaps next year. The 300 was awesome and I want more!

Tim McCabe · · Tucson, AZ · Joined Oct 2006 · Points: 130
Chris Plesko wrote:Nice to see you're on this site too Tim :) I wish my ankle was ready for the full AZTR this year, perhaps next year. The 300 was awesome and I want more!
I mostly just lurk here as I don't climb very much anymore. The AZT is a great experience that's for sure. This is not likely the best year for the full thing though better wait and give it a go on a drier year.
Spencer Dries · · Golden, CO · Joined May 2007 · Points: 95

I rode from my apt in Fort Collins up through Estes via Devils Gulch/Glen Haven to the Alpine Visitor Center on top of Trailridge Road in RMNP. It was awesome besides the fact that it stormed on the way back down to Estes and I almost got smashed by a Texas tourist in a Caddy SUV. It was a solo, one day trip consisting of +15000' of climbing, 130+miles and it took me almost 13 hours.
The other cool road riding adventure I took started out with the same route up through Estes then down the Peak to Peak all the way down and out Golden Gate Canyon into Golden and on into Applewood where some family lives. This one took 11 hours and was about 120+ with a hell of a lot of total climbing as well. I'm hoping to do one the same way to the Alpine Visitor Center and down into Grand Lake, past Winter Park and up and over Berthoud to Idaho Springs and then up Squaw to Evergreen where more family lives. I Google mapped it and it was 180+ miles! Might have to camp on that one .

Craig Randleman · · Bend, Or · Joined Sep 2007 · Points: 290

April to September 2011, Panama City Beach, FL, to Denali NP, AK. 5549 miles and a whole lot of lonely. cirquesaction.blogspot.com

Total Fucking Blast and adventure of a lifetime.

Guideline #1: Don't be a jerk.

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