tchill

Hello,

I want to plan a trip from Vancouver to Mexico or San Diego for the summer of '08 and would like a group of people to go with. I think we'd leave sometime between May and July, depending on what works best for people who are interested in going. I'm not sure what the flake-rate is for this type of thing so I'd like to have an adequate group so that, minus people who don't show, there are still at least 10-15 people going. So far, there are 6 people who have expressed interest but it's dependent on various un-forseeable factors whether they'll be able to make it, as I suspect it could wind up being with most people. I posted on craigslist before I realized that might not be the most effective place to try to solicit group members so then I found here. Anyway, the plan is still really flexible and I kind of wanted to organize this as much ahead of time as possible because I think it will be fun to have a really big group.

Let me know if you think you're interested (even for just part of the trip) or if you have any ideas.

Also, regarding the let me know thing, I'm hesitant to make my email available because I really don't want spam - has anyone had a problem with spam as a result of this site (i.e. do I need to worry about it)?

Thanks,
Travis

dekaru

Hello !

Are you planning to do this on or off road ??

A similar plan starts to form in my head, but mainly going offroad all the way from Vancouver or something like that, to Cabo San Lucas in Baja California Sur, around the dates you say.

cheers!

tchill

Hey,

I was planning to go on road, but I did run across a route through the rockies that sounded really cool. I would totally love to do it off road because I really like mountain biking more than road biking. However, I think it would take way longer if I tried off-road and I'm going to irritate my advisor enough just by taking 25-30 days off (she said she'd be ok with 25, but I think I could probably get away with 30 without risking my appointment). I would definitely be up for a trip like that after I complete my program (~4 years). I really didn't think it was possible until within the past few days when I started looking into routes for the road version, but it seems that it is.

Do you know how intense the trails are? It sounds like a must do.

-Travis

dekaru

Yeah, probably going off road would be a lot slower... but a lot funnier, i deem !

I'm more into vast singletracks and landscapes, going from town to town than paved routes so I think I'd rather do only a segment of the trip off road (maybe some kind of circuit) than the whole route, instead of switching to road bike :S .. but well, it's a year from now and i'm going to france so maybe i finish liking up road bike more (which i doubt)


I've never been that north in the USA (at least not mtbiking) so i wouldn't now if they're harsh.

I haven't reallly written anything on that crazy idea, but I know I'd like to go through several states, so it might take a little more than 25 days, but maybe i could squeeze it into 30.. i was thinking of something that included portland, colorado, moab, lake tahoe and then south.cal.....

how south do you want to go ?

tchill

Regarding the trails, I'm not sure because I just moved out here. When I drove out though, it seemed like there should be tons of really technical trails, but I also saw lots of room for trails in what looked like more tame terrain. I should have a better idea in a few weeks because I just hooked up with the biking team and they seem to be pretty active - unfortunately I won't be able to do anything for the next week but after that it should be fun.

I also met some people in Arizona who were building part of some trail that I'd never heard of. They said it would eventually connect several states, but I don't remember the details. That does open the possibility of trying to make it all the way from Canada to Mexico by trail because I'm sure others have thought of this too and have probably been working on connecting the dots in more northern states as well. I kind of think we should try to plan a trip like that for four years from now because then I'll be able to get the time off and be able to attempt to go all the way mexico (maybe to La Paz?). I have no idea how to figure out how long it would take and I'd definitely want a group for that in case someone got hurt in the middle of nowhere.

The trip I want to go on next summer will definitely be on road because I've never done a trip nearly that long - my only and longest was ~400 miles and a while ago. So, I should be happy going on road again, but for longer. I think the roads will be moderately interesting, too, so that should be a plus. I think it would also be helpful to have already done a trip of similar distance, but easier.

-Travis

adun111

Is there any reason you need 10-15 people going with you? Seems like 6 would be plenty with all the logistics.

tchill

I think it would potentially be more fun with more people, but I think that 6 would really be fine. I'm primarily trying to get more because I'm concerned that various things will come up so people will have to cancel their plans and I really don't want to do it alone. So, because I don't know how many people will have to cancel (maybe none will), I'd rather overshoot. Additionally, I don't think it could hurt either way and I think a larger group might cause cars to be more hospitable.

dekaru

definitely, the larger the group, the less possiblities of getting stranded all by yourself! Roads are fun, indeed, and with a large group you might even want to do some promotion or partnerships, something of the sort....

i wish you the best and keep in touch for that trail ride, even if its four years from now, you never know where one might be.


happy trails and tailwinds

Flic

man I was wantin to go across canada, down california into mexico and southern america but I dunno when I'm gunna be allowed to start ridin' again, I thought maybe on a motorbike, but can you make a blog of this trip or somethin'? I'd really appreciate it. Goodluck mate!!! xxx

Tom Stormcrowe

Flic, good to see ya posting!

wrafl

I would be interested but will join only the leg from Vancouver to San Diego. I think it would be neat to try this and look forward for more details. Please keep me posted of the plan. PM me if you want to exchange e mail address.

tchill

Hey,

Regarding the trail ride in four years, I'm going to start looking into it and will probably start a similar thread if it looks like it could pan out.

Regarding the blog, that's a good idea and I'll try go get something put together as the details of the trip become more definite.

The most recent idea from one of the people planning to go was to consider the trip as a series of legs and to allow for people to join or disperse at points from which doing so would be convenient. So, if the trip were from Vancouver to San Diego, this might include exchanges at Seattle, Portland, Redwoods, & San Francisco. Of course, there wouldn't be an exchange if no one was planning to join or depart at a given point. Additionally, the points listed are completely arbitrary at the moment as I don't know of anyone yet who wants to, but that could change. To me, the idea makes sense, but I'm not sure how much time we'd want to spend at each point, if they do wind up existing. More than a day wouldn't make sense to me and I think it would ideally be less than that - sort of like we have a short day of biking when we're expecting to exchange bikers. Another possibility might be to see if we could arrange to have people transported to and from the airports or train stations by someone who might want to wander around the coast in a van (I happen to know such a person). This would also give the group a bit of flexibility schedule-wise. Let me know what you think.

-Travis