I had a totally different introduction. The first day of my first tour—ACA’s 1999 unsupported Northern Tier tour—marked only the second time I had ridden a loaded bike. The first night marked the first night I had ever slept in a tent. It got down close to freezing that night in WA. Prior to that, my camping experience had consisted of a couple of nights where I and my kids at a summer camp dragged out mattresses down to the model campsite and slept outside in nice weather.

Fitness-wise, I was a long time roadie, so that wasn’t an issue. But the early weather was tough. The fourth day of the trip was in a heavy, cold rain. Two days later we crossed the North Cascades Highway. On the way up it started to rain. The rain turned to snow before Rainy Pass and continued through Washington Pass. That was a first for me. A few days later we crossed Sherman Pass in light snow, but I saw my first ever moose during the descent, which was exciting.