The Longest Ride

How, exactly, does one prepare for a 400+ mile bikepacking race?

I have no idea. It is one thing to be preparing to win an ultra-distance event, but my aspirations are much more modest than that--I simply want to challenge myself, enjoy the ride and survive, SNF.

Being completely new to this concept of riding/racing, my strategy has been to ride consistently, throwing in a few epic rides every 6 weeks or so. Is it enough? I have no idea, but with the race starting in less than 2 days, it will have to be.

Boise to Prairie, Idaho

For my first overnighter, in February, I rode to Prairie, Idaho, the first micro-town on the SNF route, about 50 miles from my front porch.  Given the variability in southern Idaho weather, what started out as a beautiful Saturday afternoon, dawned as 6 inches of fresh snow on Sunday morning. Despite the snow, it was a beautiful and enjoyable ride over the first 50 miles of SNF.

Saturday afternoon...

Sunday morning. Prairie, Idaho.

Looking east towards Prairie.

Boise to McCall, Idaho

The drive from Boise to the resort town of McCall, Idaho is just a few clicks over 100 miles on Hwy 55, but the back route I chose was in the 140-range with 13,000 feet of climbing. Due to my Memorial Day personal schedule, I left Boise late Friday evening, intending to camp at Bogus Basin ski resort 16 miles and 3,000ft above our capital city. The inadequacy of my Garmin navigation skills caused me to end up the the bottom of the furthest lift from the main lodge on the far side of the mountain--about 3 miles and 2,000ft from where I had intended to bivy, but hey, it was dark and topo maps are hard to read in the dark on a 2-inch screen. 

Scott Thigpen, author (Trail Magic--or the art of soft pedaling) and Tour Divide veteran, told me that the best way to prepare for long bikepacking races is to go out on a weekend trip and, "hope for [things] to go wrong". Well, I took this advice to heart and made lemonade, so to speak, by bedding down in one of four Forest Service toilets conveniently placed near the ski lift. Don't laugh. It wasn't so bad, given that it was warm, safe and because it was May, had not seen customers for months so there were no ready reminders of those who had visited previously.

The remainder of the trip to McCall was gorgeous, but I learned a valuable lesson about the need to eat at least 200 calories each hour spent pedaling on the bike. That is a lesson most people only need to learn once.

Bogus Basin, after successfully climbing out of 'the hole'

Boise to Ketchum, Idaho

In August, a former running teammate of mine and a fellow aspiring SNF participant, Grant Beebe, talked me into riding from our North End homes to his cabin outside of Ketchum, Idaho, about 165 miles away.  Because this route would re-trace the road to Prairie and then continue on the SNF route to Ketchum, this was an easy call. Although this was Grant's first bikepacking adventure, he passed the many tests we encountered with flying colors. We had a great time meeting and chatting with the locals in Prairie and Featherville, all of whom were eagerly anticipating the arrival of the 90 or so riders in the 2015 edition of SNF. The restaurant owner in Featherville had even bookmarked the trackleaders website so he could have advanced warning of the approach of riders to avoid the long delays in delivering food that had occurred in 2014. He was eager to welcome anyone on two wheels as an inviting sign hung outside his establishment demonstrated.

 Unfortunately, a weather-related washout of the road between Featherville and Ketchum has just recently facilitated a re-route that skips Featherville altogether. What a bummer for our eager and dialed in 'mountain tifosi'. I am already anticipating the 2016 edition of SNF so we can all drop some change in the tills of these wonderful people.

Dollarhyde Summit--the 'Biggie'. Ketchum is 25 miles away--all downhill.

The reward: The view of the Boulder Mountains from Grant and Mary's deck near Baker Creek, north of Ketchum.

Garden Valley, Idaho to Boise

After a family camping trip near Lowman, Idaho, I had my wife Angie drop me and my bike off at the junction of Harris Creek Road and Hwy 21, so I could ride the last 45 miles or so, of the SNF route. I had already ridden these roads in the opposite direction on my ride to McCall, but I was a bit blindsided by the severity of the two climbs that present themselves prior to the turnoff onto the Bogus Ridge Road that leads back to Bogus Basin resort and the prelude to the final descent into the finish in the Hyde Park section of Boise's North End. 

The charming micro-town of Placerville is full of colorful characters who, like those in Prairie and Featherville, were well-versed in the details of SNF including the number of race participants signed up at that point. I was even filled in on which riders had been through town in the past 48 hours!

Placerville, Idaho. Last re-supply before Boise.

 Ready or Not....

It is hard to know if I have done enough work to survive this crazy race. Even as I write this, less than 36 hours before the start on Wednesday morning at 6 AM, I can see that there are riders who's SPOT devices have betrayed their location out on the race course, pre-riding sections, I assume. I only hope that this is not a requirement for success, or I may as well just ride my cruiser bike with my backpack loaded for a 2-week adventure.

Due to recent weather changes, the daytime highs and the nighttime lows are both expected to be higher than average, even in Stanley, Idaho, which is often the coldest spot in the nation (Duluth, eat your heart out). As such, I have modified my kit a bit, opting to leave the winter riding gloves in favor of Windstopper over-shells, and I have ditched the Gore-Tex socks in favor of Castelli booties.

Anyone can watch the race unfold from start to finish on trackleaders, and this year you can even hear reports of how each rider's day went, both the good and the bad, by surfing over to MTBcast, where each racer will call in daily and leave a short message. I would love to have you follow my blue dot and give me a message of encouragement or two on the trackleaders page. 

This will be fun!

Cheers!

What am I doing?!

This is crazy, ridiculous and likely the most foolish thing I have ever done.

I am 48 years old, a married father of two great kids, I am nowhere near the best shape of my life, and yet I am about to embark on an adventure that offers no prizes, no publicity, no fanfare, yet promises to rob me of my sleep, my sanity and likely my dignity.

I am so excited.

One year ago, I had never even heard of the term, 'bikepacking'. If you would have told me it was possible to race a mountain bike over hundreds of miles, unsupported, I would have laughed and given you a million reasons why that was not even possible, much less worthy of discussing. I was blissfully ignorant of the activity that has become nothing short of an obsession for me over the past 11 months. Yes, I need professional help.

Although it was happening in my own backyard, I knew nothing of the inaugural Smoke and Fire 400 (SnF) bikepacking race when it began in the Hyde Park section of Boise's North End, just a few blocks from my house. When my neighbor told me that our mutual friend, Andy Stauffer, was racing his bike over 400 miles and was planning on making it to Galena Lodge (175 miles or so) before sleeping on the first night, I was incredulous. He sent me the Trackleaders link, and I was hooked. I don't even want to estimate the number of hours I spent 'spot-stalking' over the next two and a half days, but suffice to say, by day 2 of the race, I knew the names and bios of the front half of the field and could describe the action thus far to anyone who cared to listen. There weren't many takers.

And now, 11 months later, I find myself preparing for my own attempt at this crazy, ridiculous and foolish undertaking.

One of the many siren calls of bikepacking is the gear---oh man, the gear. Some people have described bikepacking as, 'running away from home as an adult", and in some ways I agree. The only problem with that mental picture is that when I ran away from home as a kid (mostly just to the woods that bordered our property in rural Oregon) I took the clothes on my back and maybe a small daypack worth of what I deemed essentials. If bikepacking is the modern-day equivalent, the spontaneity of the moment has been lost--totally and completely.

Kit Selection

Not wanting to jump into an expensive undertaking with unproven equipment, I chose Revelate Designs' bags to carry my gear. They are trail and time-tested, no frills, but reliable--just the sort of foundation I want to build my efforts on: No surprises. My college roommate just happens to be the world-wide brand manager for the cycling clothing company Castelli, so with few exceptions my kit is solidly from that little company in northern Italy. Knowing the attention Steve pays to details, I am sure I will not have to worry about my clothing not performing well during SnF 2015.

This is the clothing I will be carrying, unless the weather changes dramatically between now and the morning of September 9th. The only missing piece is a light-weight down coat that got left out of the picture.

Castelli arm and leg warmers, Wind Stopper long sleeved undershirt, skullcap, 'Head Thingy' hat/neckwarmer, Estremo gloves, Goccia due Wind Stopper pants, Gabba 2 Wind Stopper jersey, Sella rain jacket, Stormsocks

My sleeping system previously included a Eureka! 1-man tent that worked terrific on an outing to Prairie, Idaho in February where I awoke to 6 inches of freshly fallen snow, but for SnF I chose to shed a pound and use REI's Minimalist Bivy Sack, along with a Marmot Atom 850-fill bag and a Nemo Ora sleeping pad. The entire kit weighs less than 3.5 pounds.

Being a complete novice, when I comes to lighting systems I relied on the capable hands of Jim at Bike Touring News, in Boise.  Because I did not want to carry too many batteries to keep my iPhone and iPod humming along, Jim recommended the Luxos U iQ2, by Busch and Muller, along with a SON 28 hub. The system is sleek, dependable and the light beam varies its intensity and angle with changes in rolling speed--cool! Plus, it has a USB charge port to keep my electronics happy. Score!

It's not about the...Bike

Not being the strongest rider in the world, or even on my street, I decided that I would need to shed as much bike weight as possible if this was going to be anything close to an enjoyable experience. The gang at World Cycle in Boise, steered me to the Scott 930, which I absolutely love. It rides well, is light and quiet and is just a blast to cover the foothills in. I swapped out the Fox fork in favor of a Niner RDO to shed a couple more pounds. I also added ergo grips/bar ends after enduring a numb right thumb for 3 weeks after my first over-nighter.

The Hardest Part

The physical challenge of the SnF 400 is by far the biggest I have ever subjected myself to, yet I know that that will not be the greatest obstacle to finishing this event. As I have heard many people say, "Bikes and gear don't win bikepacking races, attitude does", and although the only award I am likely to get at next month's event is the Lanterne Rouge, I think the emphasis on an unshakable positive attitude even in the face of adversity is what will get be back to Hyde Park sometime before my first patient shows up on Monday morning. Thanks for reading.

Stay tuned. More to come.