Harvers Bike

Hello friends and family from Helena, the capital of Montana! Don’t worry- we’re alive and well, we just haven’t had enough time or internet to post. Official Harvers Bike photo, taken somewhere in British Columbia. 1 tandem bike + 1 beast of burden. Starting from Banff (the Canadian Rockies were so beautiful- thinking of you Aunt Audrey and Pam!!), we have biked about 625 miles. We’ve been enjoying the Great Divide, but I admit that it’s been more challenging than anticipated. Montana seems like the equivalent of our Appalachian Trail Maine; rugged, difficult, and each day has a new challenge...thunderstorms with hail, tough single-track trail, intense headwinds... we are excited to cross the state border in about a week or so. Though taken in Alberta, Canada, we’ve continued to encounter a lot of rain. We leaned early on that too much mud makes the bike dysfunctional, and that re-routes on road are necessary. Given the time we have, we have a new goal of taking time...

Last weekend, Emma and I decided to take our first bikepacking trip.  We have the gear, we got decent weather, and we found a one night, 100 mile route in the Croatan National Forest.  That's about where things stopped going in our favor. I found this great resource for bikepacking that has trips all over the world, including the Southeast.  We wanted to pick a trip that was close to Raleigh so we could do it in a weekend.  The mountains were too cold, so we headed out East where it looked like it was going to be warmer.  The Neusiok Trail is out that way, which is a 20 mile section of the Mountain to Sea Trail through the National Forest, and the trip on bikepacking.com included the Neusiok in the route.  I was excited to see the trail as I heard it was a good place to hike when the weather is cold. I called the Ranger lodge to check about the trail bed and turns out the Neusiok is closed.  Womp.  I found a reroute on some gravel roads and w...

It's here!  Our bike arrived in the mail the other week and I was super excited.  I patiently waited at the FedEx counter while the man at the counter shuffled some small boxes around until he finally realized I was picking up the enormous box looming over him.  He called a co-worker over to ask what he was supposed to do in such a situation.  The older employee helped him bring it over and they comically passed it over the counter. Strange Passenger. Just fits! They helped me carry it outside and asked me where my car was.  I said it was a mile down Hillsborough St. and headed off leading the employee through the parking lot.  When I looked back at his face, he looked equal parts confused and concerned.  I told him I was joking as we got to my car 10 feet away and he looked very relieved. VP doing a concern. I had to put all the seats down to cram it in the Golf, but I got it in there.  When I got home, I had to do quite a lot o...

I already know pretty much what you're going to say Sam, but hear me out.  I reject chamois.  It is squishy and wet and full of bacteria.  I will attempt to live without it. For those of you who don't know what a chamois is, its that large butt pad spandex clad riders wear.  The conventional wisdom says the chamois provides cushioning to your perineal area that a saddle cannot while preventing chafing and wicking away sweat. Ooooooo yay! Why do I hate them?  Well, in short, they've robbed the joy of cycling from me!  In long:  I started cycling in high school.  I went to a boarding high school (it was public!) and had no car.  The only way for me to get around was on two wheels.  When I bought my first bike, I was free.  I could go where I wanted when I wanted. Over time, I wanted to ride longer, faster.  This led me to get more into the sport of cycling; buying special shoes, eating weird gels, using special tires....

After reading my last post, Emma asked:  "What does this have to do with our trip?"  Admittedly, not much....... I guess?  Either way, I suppose it's time for a post with a bit more about the trail.  Ready for some stats!? Total distance:  2,696 miles Starting Point:  Banff, Canada Ending Point:  Mexico Border in Antelope Wells, New Mexico Total Climbing:  149,664 feet Highest Point:  Indiana Pass, Colorado;  11,910 feet States:  Alberta, British Columbia, Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico Not me.  Thanks BikePacking.com Billed as 'the longest off-pavement route in the world,' the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route travels almost 2,700 miles from Canada to Mexico on rail trails, gravel roads, singletrack, ATV trails, and some pavement crossing the Continental Divide 32 times.  The route climbs the equivalent of Mt. Everest's peak from sea level five times with the highest point almost twice the heigh...