WE START DESIGN, BUILD, RIDE BETWEEN VOLCANOES AND GLACIERS IN A WEEK (Copy)
We start Design, Build, Ride Between Volcanoes and Glaciers in a week.
We:
John Reynolds who I have been friends with for almost 40 years and who has been to Iceland with me, including last year, multiple times, with whom I share an instantaneous read of any situation that leaves both of us laughing;
Tarryn Bleakley who is the other half of Black sheep Bikes and who I met when he was 12, and who has, with his father James done the Black Sheep Bikes @ Iowa workshop every year for 12 years, and he went on last year’s adventure riding from north to south through the Central Highlands;
My brother Brian who has always laughed as I did crazy ass shit and who poured gas and the lit the fires on my flaming bike ramps when I was a boy;
Andy Peace Train Long who is my mental sherpa and without whom many adventures would neither happen or be the same;
Tim Baur, my brother, who in his enthusiasm for this project has set off with me on an adventure of knowledge and learning, film, adventure, science and art, late in our careers, and who it just so happens is perhaps the first drone videographer and is considered now one of the best photographers and drone videographers in the world (no shit);
Lucas Baur, my nephew who in 1998, when he was 7 took me to school for the day in Seal Beach California, our crew leader and the other half of the father/son film team - Baur Films (did I mention he leads 4 x 4 expeditions in New Zealand?);
Aaron Kennedy who I met nearly a decade ago in a 100 mile endurance event on the Maah Daah Hey trail (we crossed the Missouri River together), and it just so happens he is one of the country’s best atmospheric scientists and has created a portal weather station for the bike for Iceland (he does research in Iceland, which helps).
Scott, Brian, Woody and Judd, all brothers from another mother, will be with us smiling in the alternate reality.
I have to thank Billy Cho, “The Legend“, my colleague. He makes this all possible with his knowledge and skill. Only two people have to approve what I do. Lore and Billy.
Tim and Lucas are Baur Films and they will be doing all the film work of the expedition. I believe that given we have one of the best film studios n the country and are making the second east west crossing (first single speed) just above Europe’s three largest glaciers, we’re going to have something vey cool.
Brain and Andy will be manning one Toyota Hilux and supporting the film team, especially as a second recovery vehicle for the 70 + river crossings. They will be the rider’s emergency vehicle.
Aaron, John, Tarryn and I will be riding single speed bikes. All titanium and ones we ourselves made for this purpose in the University of Iowa Bicycle Studio and at Black Sheep Bikes in Ft. Collins. Given the difficulty of the ride, we are approaching this ride as a self-supported bike packing adventure. Anyone who has done multi-day or even 200 mile events knows that having a support vehicle makes everything much harder (it’s paradoxical, believe me). BUT, someone is injured or spent, Andy will arrive at least within 10 hours.
There is a section of the route, north of Hofsjokull Glacier that cannot be crossed by even the biggest 4 x4s, only on foot. the quicksand and water are insane. The two Toyotas will detour 126 miles around this 70-mile stretch, and here we will be outfitted with GoPros. I believe the film crew can reach in as far as 20 miles of this section before they have to turn around. that 126-mile detour will take 10 hours to drive.
You might believe me when I mention that between mapping, phone calls to farms and Icelanders, gear reviews, grant writing, and of course training I’ve spent hundreds of hours to date.
Why do I do this? For Tumbleweed and the next generation of artists/scientists adventurers.
Some thoughts about the start, days 1 and 2.
I know how lucky I am to still be able to be doing this stuff 41 years after doing my first bike-packing tour. And how maps and drawing, which sparked my wonder and joy as a young boy, are front and center in my work. Imagination and drawing are powerful.
“Nothing ever bridged the gap between the person who stayed and the person who went”.
Iceland’s interior is a maze of rivers formed of melting glacier water, and this is going to be challenging to ride. Rivers might be swelled so deep they are impassable. We’ll detour if needed. Hopefully we have packed for all eventualities.
The terrain of the first two days is relatively smooth, as far as challenges. We’ll go through Iceland’s largest forest and climb onto Iceland’s high plateau where we will be greeted by a moonscape and dirt tracks. Like last year we will begin with a steep ascent, and even if we weren’t on single speed we would be pushing and walking.
The first night is at Laugerfell hut, and it has a natural hot tub. The things we need to consider this day are:
Getting to the coast – 35 miles from Egilsstadir and Guesthouse Lyngás where we stay the night before – and beginning to ride at 8 am the next day, July 15. I believe we are going to need to assemble our bikes the day before and drop our front wheels and load everything into the Hiluxs. This will mean sorting gear and bags the night before in Egilsstadir and heading out around 6:30 am on the 15th.
Day 2 we will ride 80 miles and at mile 57 we will begin a steep, five-mile ascent. The steepest ascent of the trip. We’ll be going through Iceland’s only real forest, Hallormsstaðaskógur, about mile 45. It may take us 12 hours, all stops and photos considered, to reach Laugerfell.
My experience has been that if we can establish a rise, start/finish routine in the first two days, we will establish success for crossing the interior. The plan would be to assess everything each afternoon, and before going to sleep, review the next day. It will take all we can muster, for the first 400 miles, just to remain flexible in our thinking each day, as we will be sleep deprived and exhausted. Unlike last year, we will have two vehicles we can call into action. If anyone wants to rest a day and hang with Andy, they should do it.
BPR Code of Conduct. Never express frustration. Never, ever. My ultra-friends at Arrowhead and ITI and the like will tell you that you do not see much frustration on an event course. The reason is simple. Frustration will stop you in your tracks, and only you control your frustration, and all frustration is merely a thought that was not let go. If you do ultras more than twice you either learn this lesson and don’t repeat it, and you begin not to be frustrated in your everyday life, or you stop doing events. Always remain cognitively flexible.
This group knows how to work as a team, and I share this piece for anyone who wants to pull something like this off. You need a Tim, Lucas, Aaron, Brian, John, Andy, Tarryn.
Here's how I imagine riding. Focus collectively on body warmth (stop and put on rain gear, 110 times a day if needed). Sticking together within eyesight. Waiting for others to catch up, as happens. Stopping every two hours, depending, for food and water. Consulting on navigation as needed (except for the north side of Hofsjokull Glacier there will be track/road markers). Hammering when hammering is required, and everyone agrees.
