My rigs over the years.

1981 Virginia. My first tour.


1982. Central Colorado. 7 lb tent. Cook gear was 3 aluminum pots…3qt, 1.5qt, 8” skillet…with the handles removed. Probably 70 lb of gear.



1983. Northern Colorado. Rode over Rabbit Ears Pass. It was a shorter trip with less stuff.



1984. Scotland. Greatest tour of my life.



1985. First mountain bike tour. Utilized several old rail trails to cross the mountains. (Detailed in “Old School When It Wasn’t…”




1996. The trailer years. This one was a Wheelie trailer which attached to the seatpost and was one of the worst trailers I’ve ever used. Every time I braked on a downhill, the trailer lifted the rear wheel off the ground. It was very disconcerting.



1998. Estes Park over Trail Ridge Road and Loveland Pass to Georgetown. The air over the whole trip was “sipping’ air”.



2003. Lower third of the Lewis and Clark Trail. Sioux Falls, SD to St. Louis, MO (Solo Without Pie)



2005. The western third of the Lewis and Clark Trail with my daughter (Picking the Scablands).



2008. KATY Trail with my wife. (The Days of Wineless Roads)




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History of my rigs, part 2

2009. Grand Canyon north rim trip to Sublime Point. Still in the trailer days. Better trailer but still not my favorite way to carry gear.



2010. Arkansas circle around Texarkana. (Twisting Down the Alley)



2010. Natchez Trace with my wife and daughter.



2012. Southern US loop. (A Good Ol’ Fashioned Appalachian Butt Whoopin’”



2015. A ride around Lake Erie (Pokin’ Around the Poconos.)



2018. My first modern off-road bike packing trip. Gold Camp Road (Gold Fever!)



2019. Fisco, CO to Glenwood Springs, CO



2020. Picture Canyon, Colorado. The bikepacking rig is ever changing.



2021. Round Lake Michigan. (Plan Epsilon)



2022. Weston Pass, CO

My rigs over the years.

2022. Gunnison to Glenwood over Schofield Pass. Not for the faint of heart.



2023. Cowboy Trail, Nebraska.



2023. Rollins Pass, CO



2024. Riding down the Mississippi. (Dreamin’ of Bemidji)



2025. Something new, touring by tandem. A ride on the rail trails around Des Moines.

Just got back from 10 days on the road in the Eastern Townships east of Montreal...




Bear Keg is for food, kitchen, toiletries and anything that would attract critters big and small.



Even without my headlight I'd probably look like an oncoming train to an approaching car in the dark (smiley is a 3M Diamond Grade reflector).

______________

I love the smiley!!!

Well, you had beautiful weather for it, great timing.

I went on a short ride along the waterfront to watch the Autumnal Equinox sunset over the Golden Gate. Fall is here.

Last week, my wife asked me to get some bags at the (allegedly) Happiest Place on Earth, and I saved a huge amount on parking by using the bicycle for the final few miles.

Just got back from a 3 day camping trip at Indiana Dunes National Park with my SO. Didn't take many pictures of our setups but had a great time. This was my first camping trip on my Trek 620. I am planning on doing the Grand Illinois Trail or Lake Michigan Loop next year.

pub stop


I’ve convinced myself I need a new Appaloosa to replace my MountainKat 3.5

you’re not helping me to make a counter argument.

Guessing most here are familiar with the Rough-Stuff Fellowship club in England which was founded in the 1950's. Truly hardcore over 'roads' and routes around the world that would humble most modern cyclist. This is my Utah version (with pics and videos of my loaded rig).


Hope you enjoy... this is a great area (the Price-Green River- Ferron triangle in SE, Utah) to tour in,

SOMA Saga, Eastern Utah

Man, that looks great, but what a workout! A lot of weight to push and lift and schlepp. And the sand... .

Yep! When I mapped it out on MapOut (excellent tool for $5.00 BTW), the sandy / rock crawling road didn't really reveal itself. I was aware of the ups and downs, the elevation gain and the distance, but it wasn't until I left those super nice gravel roads, turned north, saw the 'warning signs" pictured in the album, that I thought I might have a tougher time. But I had cycled appx 80 miles by that point (2 days worth) and I really thought, how bad could it be!? I thought it would be a continuation of the almost always excellent backroads of Utah. And that I'd be through that section in maybe 3-4 hours tops, but it was more like 10 over 2 days. Surprise! Got a little nervous on the water situation since there is zero out there, but got through that too with a little to spare.

Having said all that, I'm prep'ing for a ride that will be super tough, a route that has never been done, in remote area in S.A. So in hindsight, I'm glad I persevered given what's in front of me come January, 2026.

that certainly is the advantage when looking at doing routes that others have done before, just so you can get an idea of realistic travel times, surface variations, recommended tire widths, water availability and all that--- taking with a grain of salt whether the folks recommending it are super hardcore, very strong riders etc compared to what you know about yourself.
As. you have a fatbike, you probably know exactly how fatter tires very much suit some situations, and especially for an older guy like myself, I really value not getting the crap shaken outta me, so really like wider tires for the overall comfort thing, figuring if a lot is taken out of you if you really underbike it, it aint worth it--or conversely, worth it in the big picture for enjoyment of riding.
S.A- meaning South America? I've traveled in Latin America a fair amount (not SAmerica though) but can recommend trying to get as much info as possible with a route or area, especially if there isnt much bikepacking info, recent stuff, of a given area.

This route hadn't been ridden by anyone as far as I could discern.., nothing on Strava, RideWithGPS, etc. So I only knew the milage and the elevation profile. I wanted to do a difficult route to test out my road touring bike (not a fat bike) for another upcoming tour, the one to S.A. The bike I rode here, a SOMA SAGA, takes a max of 50mm tires, is a drop bar bike, etc. I've done some other tours near by / in Utah on my actual fat bike, a Pivot Les Fat. Some of those trips can be seen here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/64293959@N00/albums

So yes, S.A. is South America, and the route I'm planning there has definitely never even been attempted. I'm still waiting on permissions to crosss / camp on private land(s), etc. I'll need to carry 2 weeks worth of food, and the wind and temps can be harsh.

I'm 68, fit, and can still suffer with the best of them! Have a good one, Tony, Carbondale, CO, US of A

Hallelujah and keep us posted.

2019 Georgia Caucasus

Muley Point, Utah, with 12 litres of water on board, May 2025

Burley tandem headed to Mercey Hot Springs April 2009

Chilling in Florida. Squirrel stayed behind.

My Velo Orange Neutrino on the pass between Shillong and Dawki Meghalaya India, taken a couple of days ago as I ride from Kathmandu Nepal, through north west India and Bangladesh finishing in Calcutta.

First ever self supported tour, Falkland Islands, Stanley to Port Stephen’s on the west most point on the West Island, and back. Incredibly difficult with

Always wind, 10-30 mph, west to east. Slow progress going west , flying going east. But then there are the hills to deal with in both directions.

The only designated camp ground in all of the Falklands
[img alt="Camped 10 feet from the only main road. Very slight windbreak.
"]https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikeforums.net-vbulletin/2000x1504/img_5372_49260774b7f8da6ac6fecb83a2f1aed71159e9a2.jpeg[/img]
Camped 10 feet from the only main road. Very slight windbreak.