So, it's been a while since I've posted, and I thought that now is as good a time as any, since the unofficial "beginning of summer" is now upon us.
This weekend, I went and di something I have never done before - hooray for adventures! I went "bikepacking." The concept here is simple: take packpacking and biking and mix them together. Yup, get on the bike, ride to a campground, stay the night, and ride back the next day. The trip was simple enough: meet up with a couple friends after work on Friday, head out, and get back on Saturday. It was roughly a 40-mile trip one way. Some good miles, and it was all along the GAP trail - that's the Great Allegheny Passage, for those who don't know - so it was pretty much flat the entire way. Seriously, look this thing up if you haven't already. It's an old railroad bed that has been converted into a trail for use by hikers, bikers, horses, and the like and goes from Pittsburgh all the way to Washington DC, roughly 300 miles. Someday, I will do the entire thing...but I digress.
Now, I rarely do distances like that after a day of work. Usually, I will wake up, have a nice big breakfast, and make sure I am fueled and watered significantly before heading out on such a journey. But I had to work, so I ate my customary workday foodstuffs. This was an error, for salad and veggies, while tasty, were not proper fuel for this 40-mile trek. Also, I did not take care of hydrating myself correctly. THEN, I strapped 35-40 lbs on my back and took off on this trip. Simply put, I was stupid. About halfway there, my back really started to bother me. That's a lot of extra weight to carry. My pack included: hammock, blanket, dinner for three, small steel mess kit, tarp (it was supposed to rain) a change of clothes, flip flops, bike lock, rope, hatchet, emergency medical stuffs, firestarters, and a few other small camping supplies. It was a lot to carry on my back. It was bulky and awkward. Nevertheless, we began the journey.
The problem was, I was underfed and underhydrated. By the time we got to the campsite, I was in pretty rough shape. I needed to eat, but I couldn't, because I felt like I was going to throw up. I needed water, too, and I started guzzling. We had to get firewood, which meant foraging in the woods for whatever we could find. As it seems to be my lot....I found an entire tree of dead wood, and hauled it out of the forest. My friends were GREAT, in that they really helped me out an were very patient with me. Eventually, we got the fire starte, heated up the food (thankfully, I pre-cooked it the night before) and I turned in early....Did I mention that I'd been up since 4:30 that morning? Well, it was a workday, after all.
That was the first time I actually got to sleep in the hammock, and it went fairly well. I woke up rested, and ravenously hungry. I'd eaten the night before, but not nearly enough - I simply couldn't force it down. Camp Coffee to the rescue!!! It was a great time, and after hydrating really well again, and eating plenty of good morning food, which involved some of the leftovers from the previous night, and plenty of fruits and carbs and things, it was time to make the trek back. My friends were continuing on a little, but I was a little gunshy about doing such a thing. I began heading back, and tagged along with a couple of gents who were sight-seeing and going slow. We chatted for a good bit off the ride. One guy regularly rode, and was getting his pal into it. I could totally relate, as his friend looked to be about as heavy as I was when I started this crazy ide of riding a bike a lot. it was a nice thing, to catch on with these guys, and we made nice conversation for a good part of the trip back.
Eventually, they wanted to stop, and I was very much wanting to get back, so at the halfway point, I stopped and had some lunch and met an elderly couple who was out trying to get some exercise in the hot sunshine. After a nice chat, I continued on my way, and met with another guy who looked to be having some trouble - his knee was kicking out away from his body as he rode. I asked him if he was having difficulty, and it turns out he'd had an operation on the knee the previous year. We struck up conversation, and this....this floored me. He asked if I raced, and I told him, no, there wasn't much of a call for a 200-lb racer - commonly referred to in the cycling community as "clydesdales." We're big, we're powerful, but please, don't ask us to go superfast...we're not made for it. Anyway, this fella looked at me and said, "You don't ride like you're 200 lbs." Probably the best compliment I have ever gotten on a bike. For those who know me and know the issues I have had with weight throughout my life, this is kind of a big deal. It was then that I realized that I wasn't really working too hard to keep up with this guy, and here I was, 202 lbs (yeah, that's my current weight) with another 30 lbs strapped to my back, and this guy is telling me that I don't ride like I'm that heavy. For a former "Fat Kid," this is a big deal.
The rest off the trip remained uneventful, but wow was I glad when I got home. A shower and some therapeutic stretching, some good refueling with plenty of anti-inflamatory spices, and I was good to go. What a trip!! I can't wait to do it again sometime, either with friends or even just by myself - and now I know just how much I should pack...and eat/hydrate beforehand, if it's after work!!
Not a fantastic tale, to be sure, but it was refreshing on many levels, and I'm glad I did it. Next time, though, I am packing a lot lighter!!!
Thanks for reading,
Me.
