r/bicycletouring • u/throwsplasticattrees • 3d ago
Trip Report Completed my first bicycle tour
My first tour and I took on a big one. The route was cobled together from several established routes including bike paths, gravel roads, Jeep trails, and pavement. It started in Grand Junction, CO and followed Kokopelli Trail to UT-128 into Moab and Arches National Park. Back roads to Monticello, US-191 and across UT-95 through Bear's Ears, Natural Bridges, Fry Canyon, and Glen Canyon. UT-24 through Capitol Reef National Park to UT-12. UT-12 through Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument to Bryce Canyon National Park. Back track on UT-12 to Kodachrome State Park and Cottonwood Canyon Road and House Rock Road through the Grand Staircase and Vermillion Cliffs National Monuments. South on US-89 to AZ-64 a long South Rim of Grand Canyon, then US-180 to Flagstaff, AZ. As a bonus, I rode to Sedona, AZ on US-89A to the bike shop that packed and shipped my bike home.
It was a three week tour, covered 1,000+ miles with 50,000+ feet of climbing. I had one zero day at Bryce Canyon, otherwise averaged 50 miles and 2,400 feet of climbing per day. I camped most nights with a stay in a hostel in Moab, a cabin in Teasdale, a cabin in Bryce Canyon, warmshowers in Tuba City, and a cute 1920s traveler motel in Flagstaff.
I rode solo and met some wonderfully supportive and encouraging people along the way. Planning the tour was incredibly stressful because there were so many unknowns, but riding the route was extremely fun with very little stress. The only mechanical issues I had were from dust gumming up the drivetrain, an easy fix with a rag and cleaner/lube. No flats (tubeless) and no other issues. My biggest concern was the rental RVs and "wagon trains" (a truck pulling a large camper that is pulling a vehicle).
It has been a dream of mine to do a long distance bike ride and it feels amazing to have accomplished a dream. It was rewarding, it was fun, and I have the big to do more travel like this!
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u/Woops_1 3d ago
I envy you and all bike tourers with admiration - great to do this when your body can. I had cancer recently so I may never have the stamina to do such a thing esp when at middle age. I ride every day but max for 60 mins. I hope in 1-2 years I will be better and do a short tour like 500 km or so. Keeping fingers crossed with optimism :-)
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u/Andiamo_cyclingtours 1d ago
Sometimes, when we get older, you have to adjust your goal and expectations, much less having cancer. It's just as much of a win if you did a 50k or 100k over several days. It's the effort, not the distance that you have to be proud of. I'm sure there aren't too many people going through the treatment you are, riding for 60 min. Keep up the good work, and be proud of what you accomplish.
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u/HackberryHank 3d ago
Nice! So much great riding in that area. I love Cottonwood Canyon.
Were the campground and little store open at Hite Marina?
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u/throwsplasticattrees 3d ago
No, and I don't think that it will ever reopen. The boat launch ramp is at least a quarter mile to the river bank. The river bank is at least a 15 foot cliff to the river. It's dried up. I stayed at the North Wash ramp and it was the same, no way you are dropping or pulling a boat there.
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u/HackberryHank 3d ago
Ah, thanks for the info. That's a bummer. I stayed there on a trip I think two years ago, but already it was unusable as a marina, so I guess not surprising they've closed it.
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u/Notlims67 3d ago
This is so great! Would love to do this. Did a slightly shorter and MUCH safer variant of the North Coast 500 in Scotland last summer. This looks like a good follow up trip. 
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u/alexs77 3d ago
Colors indicate days?
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u/Notlims67 2d ago
Yes, except for the first two legs heading west out of Inverness. For whatever reason, I broke that single day’s ride to Lochcarron from Inverness into two distinct trips. 🤷🏼♂️
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u/Awkward_Nectarine_51 3d ago
Wonderful tour and pictures. We have been many times in these areas but never with a bike. Much respect for this!
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u/2wheelsThx 3d ago
Great pics and write-up! Thanks for sharing this! I can relate to the pre-tour jitters, especially with transit (train, bus), but as you say, once you start riding, the worries melt away.
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u/ConfusingElf 2d ago
Sounds amazing...good one! any chance you can share the route map? I'd like to do something big in the area.
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u/Repulsive-Stand-5982 3d ago
Any tips for someone new? I am my planning a 326 miles this summer
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u/throwsplasticattrees 3d ago
Spend time researching the route. Then spend more time researching the route. Figure out the points that make you nervous, uncertain, or feel less than confident and make a plan and contingencies for those specifically. Accept there will be unknowns and rely on your skills and knowledge to get through.
Always ask for help, people are kind, generous, and supportive. Most people don't want to see someone suffer or get hurt. If you need help ask. Be comfortable approaching people, even if just to chat. I was alone, but rarely lonely. I could always find someone to have a chat. Be prepared to feel lonely if you are solo; the feeling will pass, but it will happen.
It will get hard, you may want to quit, but look deep inside and find the thing that will keep you going. For me, it was a quote from my high school cross country coach: "when you feel like you have nothing left in you, you aren't even halfway through what you have to give. Don't stop, keep moving." This became my mantra when I was facing brutal headwinds, long climbs, busy traffic roads, etc.
You can do it! Get out there, it will be extremely fun!
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u/Notlims67 2d ago
All of this☝🏻…and find a local bike shop. They’ll probably have more accurate “on the ground” info about the route and any weirdness…or will know where you can find that info. Also, you’ll want to know who to call if mechanical issues arise beyond your capacity to fix.
For my NC500 in Scotland, Ticket to Ride in Inverness saved me thrice over with critical route info and support.
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u/swissvespa 3d ago
Used to overnight at arches driving hwy 50 for Christmas to Colorado. Once it was so cold it froze my thermometer 🥶
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u/mickeyPijamas 3d ago
Great trip! Congrats! How was the battery on your gos unit? I have the same and my trip is in August! First time using it for longer periods of time.
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u/throwsplasticattrees 2d ago
I typically plugged it in when I stopped for lunch. A full day used ~70% charge in battery save mode with route navigation and recording.
The screen would act weird at times, blacking out for a minute or more. It happened mostly if I was off route and not on the map screen. The gps is sensitive to the programmed route, pulling into a parking lot or scenic view pull-off would trigger an off route warning. I disabled auto recalculate for manual to save battery. I rarely needed to recalculate because I would rejoin the route and it would correct.
The unit is a Garmin Edge Explore
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u/Due-Boysenberry3958 2d ago
How did. you Plan your Route and by how I mean which App did you use and how did you get to Travel routes and other established routes in the internet? I am planning a trip from Vancouver to San Francisco along the coastline and so far I am struggling 😅
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u/throwsplasticattrees 2d ago
The route materialized when I decided to take Amtrak to get the bike out west. It meant I could roll the bike on fully assembled in the baggage car. Having never traveled with a bike, this felt like a solid option to reduce the risk of damage to the bike in travel. I also relished the idea of a long distance train ride. It felt like a true western journey, but it limited me to stations with baggage service.
The Grand Staircase - Escalante route on Bikepacking.com looked interesting, and I wanted to visit Bryce Canyon as well. Grand Junction, a baggage station, put me closest to both. It also happened to be close to the trailhead for the Kokopelli Trail, another route that looked interesting on bikepacking.com. This more or less set the destination and direction. I wanted to go point to point so I looked at Southern baggage stops on Amtrak and Flagstaff stood out for many reasons.
I found Adventure Cycling Association route maps online and the Western Express Segment 3 got me to Escalante and Bryce Canyon. The Grand Canyon Connector almost connected with the western leg of the Grand Staircase Loop and almost with Flagstaff.
I purchased both route maps from ACA and plotted them in RidewithGPS. I plotted several options for connections between the established routes based on different conditions and excluded single track trails. RWGPS has heatmap data, which helped with some A or B route questions. Eventually, I settled on my entire route, point to point.
RWGPS has a slice feature with the paid subscription. I used this to break the total route into daily segments. I broke days in 50 mile segments, longer or shorter based on a campsite with reliable water. A dry campsite meant a heavy water haul, so I really tried to avoid that.
RWGPS is an incredibly powerful tool for route making. The premium subscription is well worth the cost. I used GaiaGPS for reference to USGS topo maps, satellite topo, and an overlanding layer that has road and trail classification. I used Google maps to reference services like food, dining, lodging, groceries, etc. Ioverlander has an excellent database of dispersed campsites and was very helpful for A or B campsite questions.
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u/Single_Profile8012 2d ago
Love that front bar bag set up. What size Ortlieb rack pack is that? And what rack are you using? I’m looking for something very similar!
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u/throwsplasticattrees 2d ago
Surly 24 pack rack with an Ortlieb 24 liter Rack pack. I initially wanted the Surly Porteurhouse bag, but it has been unavailable for months. I was very pleased with the Ortlieb bag, it held a ton of stuff and was solid on the rack with just the bag straps. For the bumpier sections, I strapped it down with additional webbing to keep it from bouncing.
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u/True-Sky2066 2d ago
Sweet rig
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u/throwsplasticattrees 2d ago
Thanks! The bike is a Surly Bridge Club, a super comfortable, very capable bike for a mixed surface tour.
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u/ApprehensiveStudy671 2d ago
Amazing scenery! I'd be careful on those remote roads. I used to go on similar tours till I realized such areas are not that safe.
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u/zurgo111 3d ago
Today I went to the office and make PowerPoint presentations. Why am I doing this.