Inspired to Divide Part 7 : The Logistics
I always tell folks, the hardest part of any challenge is to make it to the start, healthy, with your bike intact and your spirit eager. IT IS LITERALLY the hardest part of any challenge. When folks ask me am I excited, I tell them NOT YET.
The facts are, there is still so much that can happen and can go wrong that I wont get excited till I make it to the start with all my stuff intact and ready.
Tuesday 730pm we fly out of Orlando. We have a lay over and then we fly to Edmonton Canada. Our estimated time of arrival is 130am.
We would gladly taken a shuttle to Jasper, but the price was four times as much as renting a car and they didnt start shuttling till 3pm on the next day. NO way I was going to burn up so much day light so I rented a vehicle.
Once off the plane we drive four hours to Jasper. We have to find a place to stay and then we will re assemble our bikes.
We were meticulous in the boxing of the bikes and triple protected the boxes and used gorilla tape to seal them. If all goes well, after we re assemble the bikes we will roll out sometime in the morning of August the 2nd.
The Goal is to ride 80 miles a day. If we can do more, then we will. IF we do less than we will. I am deeply philosophical and I do what the trail tells me. When it tells me to go fast, I go fast, when it tells me to go slow, I go slow.
There is a potential for things to go wrong, and if something does, there is a bike shop right in town. There is also an outdoor store in town to score fuel and other things.
The best Case scenario is that nothing is broken and we roll out happy and ready to hit the trail. That is what I am hoping for, and if that is what happens, THEN and only then will the excitement start to build. Until then, It's all a mystery and all part of the adventure.
As for the route, well route study is so easy these days. It took me exactly 3 minutes to find a re stock list. BUT, I also have the brand new map set which has all the info. I plan to carry maps the entire time, I am also downloading this off line as a back up, https://ridewithgps.com/routes/28161921 .
New this year, the route start was moved north to Jasper Canada. I talked to several bikepackers and NONE of them seemed keen on the new start, so I figured if I am going to ride the route, then I will ride every inch, and we are definitely gonna find out what the new addition is all about.
Once on route, we both have a box that has extra supplies that we will grab stuff from, put stuff in and the push along the route. Our General Delivery stops are Whitefish Montana, Steamboat Colorado and Silver City New mexico. At any point if we feel we dont need the box we can always call the post office and ask them to return the box home. Pretty nifty how it works.
Nick has trained super hard and in every single training ride we rode together without issue, I didnt have to wait for him, he didnt have to wait for me. Our team is cohesive and transparent I see no issues in that regard. It's just a matter of seeing what the course hands us and making lemonade as necessary.
For safety and contingency we will always travel with at least 3 days worth of food just in case we hit a restock that is expected and is closed. We will have a PLB and a SPOT tracker, you can follow us HERE under the name TEAM SAMURAI
Going into this, I have a quiet and calm resolve. I am not super excited nor super complacent, I just AM. I recently acquired an app that allows me to blog from my phone so I intend on keeping the blog series rolling since folks have been enjoying the info and the words.
To all those folks who have donated, thank you very much, it is appreciated. You will see something in the mail from me. Thank you.
More words once I get to Canada,
thanks
Karlos