It’s always nice when you can accomplish a goal. This time it was a big one and has some significant impacts on my mind, capabilities and future goals. After years away from doing a multi day bike packing tour, I’m happy to say I checked that one off recently with a ride through the Black Hills of Wyoming and South Dakota. I guess it’s time to set a new goal!
A quick note about the trip itself. My friend Tim Lucking, an engineer at SRAM and fellow photographer, built this route which he is calling the Black Hills Divide. We are working on a piece together about the route and hope to share more about that in the future!
Now…Back to the goal. I had shared previously on the blog that one of my goals was a multi day bike packing trip. I also shared that I have been longing for something bigger and longer on the bike. These thoughts and dreams were about pushing myself, testing myself and finding that place of freedom where the focus is to ride, sleep, eat, repeat.
I’m happy to share that I checked the multi day box off with a banger of route and trip. It was 3 full days of riding. It had it all and truly put me to the test. Sun. Rain. Hail. Altitude. A little snow. Lightning. Howling coyotes and grunting elk fin our camp. Coffee Outside. Challenges. Mud. Walking. Pushing. Scenic vistas. Tourist towns. Country roads. Gravel. Chunk. Pavement. Grass. Bushwhacking. Gas station food. Friendship. The reality though is that this trip provided me a way to test myself. From start to finish it did just that.
There is something so freeing about doing something so intently and deeply that it removes all the distraction life. Something that breaks down your day and thoughts into the ride/route, food/water and sleep/shelter. Other cares, worries and thoughts slip away. I find it is in this place of simplicity that I find clarity. Stripping away all the fluff and really getting to the core of who I am and what I want to be.
My previous post was about the overwhelming feeling of gratitude while on this trip. It’s no doubt that I am lucky to be in this situation and that gratitude is expected. However, it would be very easy to not start in gratitude and thankfulness when you have slept, or attempted to sleep, in a rain, hail, and snow lightning storm at over 6500 ft or pushed your bike for roughly 5 miles through mud. Those are just two of several instances on this trip that gave us the opportunity to make critical decisions. It is in these moments that you get to decide does this suck or is it amazing? Thankfully both Tim and I felt thankful to be where we were and made the decision to feel the amazing aspect of the situations. I
One other fun fact about this trip. I often am the one taking pictures on a trip or ride and don’t often get a picture of myself. Thankfully Tim is a really talented photographer and sent me this pic (SHOWN BELOW). We had just turned off pavement onto gravel and it started raining with small BB sized hail. We got our rain gear on and started trudging up a long muddy climb. I feel like this is a true capture of me in those moments where the only option you have is to trudge, or move, forward in any way that you can. Ride. Run. Walk. Just move forward.
Thanks Tim. Appreciate you. For photo nerds Tim shot this on the wonderful Nikon ZF!
With this trip behind me, I can’t help but think about a week long trip and pushing even further. It feels so good to have worked hard to get to this point and to be able to think bigger and longer. I am a schemer and my mind is constantly dreaming. What will be the next big goal? Stay tuned!
ImagineGnat 