Epic Trip…is it possible?

A couple of weeks ago Adam and I talked about summer plans.  He said, half joking, that we should bike to Yosemite and climb for the summer.  I checked it out on Mapquest and it’s just under 1900 miles.  This is by car, of course, and puts us on the freeway, so likely an alternate route will need to be found, but the distance looks possible.

Assuming we ride 15 mp/h on average, and ride a total of 7 hours per day, taking two rest days we can bike it in three weeks.  Of course, going 100 miles a day is crazy for guys just starting out, but we have all winter to condition on skis and stationary bikes, then the spring to get some real road riding in.  It’s a stiff goal to be sure, but I don’t think it’s impossible by any means.

Now it just comes down to weight.  Figuring 250 lbs for bike, gear, and rider, at my current weight I can carry about 50 lbs of gear.  Adam can probably take about 25-30.  That’s not so good.  Climbing gear is heavy as shit.  So, we need to go (I can’t believe I’m saying this) fast and light.  We each could stand to drop another 10-15 lbs which will help, but we’ll likely have to forgo a tent for a pair of (or even one) bivies, bring 20-40 degree bags (probably Big Agnes so we can cut weight even further), and food we don’t have to cook so there’s no need for stoves or fuel.

The next thing to do, I suppose, is to weigh our camping and climbing gear and try to estimate whether or not we can actually make weight.  It’s important because not only is it going to be difficult for us to haul a ton of gear any appreciable distance, it’s also rough on the bikes to load them too much.  The max for the Trek 1.5 is around 275 for bike, rider, and gear.

Another issue is going to be food.  At 120 kilos of total weight for bike, gear, and rider, and riding a steady 15mp/h, we’ll burn about 1050 calories an hour, or 7350 per day.  That’s just riding.  Add on basal metabolism and we’re burning a solid 9000 calories per day.  We’re going to have to eat.  A lot.

I’ll do some more planning, and maybe the dream will become a reality.