The shakedown

This weekend was the first of what I hope to be many bikepacking trips. Marc met me at my house after I work (of course I got out late b/c it was a gorgeous day and everyone wanted to get a new bike) and we loaded up our new-ish frame bags and backpacks with all the clothing, food, gear and tools we thought we would need for our bike adventure. I got dressed and finished packing and we were on the road by 7:30.

After a short road ride, some dirt road and double track, it was on to our favorite local trail. The stats are as follows: 5 miles, 54 LOW sap lines (added this spring) and 1,400 ft of climbing to a beautiful view.

Although, when you arrive at 9:30 at night, the view looks like this:

We set up camp, cooked dinner and went to bed quickly. I was pretty beat from 3 hours of riding Friday, 3 hours of trail work Saturday morning and then 6 hours of work before we left. I crawled into my bivy and bag and was out pretty quick.

The night was mostly uneventful. The rain that had been threatening held off, and the only thing that woke me was the wind, which picked up so much during the night I thought my bike might get blown off the cliff. I think next time I will bring some small earplugs and a better pillow, and my sleep system should be ready to go.

We packed up after a lunch of granola bars and water. Neither of us wanted to spend time cooking oatmeal or coffee. I was up at 7, and we were packed and ready to go by 7:45

The 15 minute downhill got our blood going and lifted our spirits enough that we convinced ourselves to forego the bakery stop and ride for the morning. We rode 4 miles of dirt and pavement to the next favorite trail system, Sleepy Hollow. This climb was another 1,200 feet of climbing to another killer view (it is much better w/out the stocky redhead)

This pic was taken at the cabin that Sleepy rents out to people who want to hike or bike up and spend the night in comfort. The main reason it was on our list was for the facilities.

It isn't five star, but having a place to sit and fresh TP made the morning if you ask me. The other highlight is the ripping downhill from the cabin to the next section. Marc and I cruised down and hit another dirt road and had to make a decision. We could continue on to another trail system just a quarter mile away, or head back on pavement and river trail to get home and eat a late breakfast/early lunch. It was about 10:30, and since we had a 20 mile ride home and I had to pick up my wife at the airport at 12:30, we opted to head home. Overall, it was a good first ride with weighted bags and full sleep set up. It was also nice to find out how I would feel riding for a while after sleeping outside. Everything went as well as could be expected, although now I just have to figure out how it will feel on my singlespeed when I get my frame back.