I see a lot of couples lately bicycling long long distances AND carrying way too much gear. After one hikes the John Muir Trail over 12,000 ft peaks in the Sierras with an 80 pound pack,,,you might start to get interested in "light backpacking" !! One of the most beautiful peaceful hikes in the world , and you can't enjoy it because you brought everything,,, including the KITCHEN SINK, it feels as you are bent over every day, staring at the dirt track , NOT THE FABULOUS VIEWS. So why do it at all ,,, if it is just going to be a grunt? And you are going to be miserable under such a backbreaking load,,, every ,,, day ? Doesn't make much sense ,,, does it,,,?
Take it from someone who bicycled from the Bay Area in Cal. up to N. British Columbia and across Canada in 1973 ,,, with 2 friends ,,, when i was 25 !! We all 3 started out with panniers. Mine where big and green on the back only. My pals had rears and handlebar bags. After just a hundred miles , i started to send stuff home by post. By the time i was in central Oregon , i had sent both BIG GREEN panniers home and had only a small 1 cubic foot stuff sack on the rear book rack ,,, with a thin sleeping bag, ground cloth , and some clean socks and uw , wallet and disposable camera . We camped out a lot ,,, sometimes on back lawns of people we met who invited us when we explained how poor we were. And ,yes, we 'cheated' and took pickup truck rides offered in heavy rains,,, hid out in flop house hotel in Coos Bay for days of heavy rain,,, took a bus to Corvallis ,,, and a train to get from Calgary to Edmonton for a party that was a non. Oh , and a bus across Ontario mid-summer to avoid the biting black flies everyone we met was warning us about.
We 3 ,plus one, bicycled up the hill into Ville Quebec in a heavy downpour ,,, with both hostels full . We found free hotel rooms for 2 weeks !!
So why oh why are so many young couples trying to kill themselves with massive bike loads that can't be any fun to pedal,,, 140 extra pounds EACH?!! ,,, up and down those steep little hills on Hwy 1,,,, !?
Is it some purist thing ?
Is it some 'claim to fame ' i did it all , like a sherpa up Everest, thing ?
Or is it just pure and simple ,,, S&M !?
I say it must be S&M!,,, I saw a young couple that had pedaled around Cuba for a month ,,, then bicycled thru Texas in summer (worst hottest least-comfortable wx of the year , what the frack !??),,, and Arizona (hell) and Nevada(shiittt) with Death(wish) Valley and Tioga Pass from the east to Yosemite Valley and then Monterey. "Hey !!, Why don't you just whip each other , husband and wife, with a cat of 9 tails too ??" And this was a wealth German couple who could afford to 'go light' and stay in motels and hotels .
Yes, they did it. So what? Really. Anyone who hears what they did will be asking "WHY ,,, would you do it ,,,that most uncomfortable hardest way !?" What point is there ,,, to do it THE HARD PAINFUL SLOW UNFUN BLISTERING-HOT NEAR-IMPOSSIBLE PACK-TONS WAY ? ? ? Believe me, it is super hard enough with just a bicycle and all those miles !! I met them in Muir Woods ,,, and they definitely were not smiling. And they plan on doing this yearly !?! I bet on d-i-v-o-r-c-e !! The husband was the motivator and the wife the follower ,,, No stops at massage spas ,,, No great rest days by the motel pool with margaritas and beers ,,, Yikes !!
Hey, if they want the hottest , most uncomfortable weather, the worst car traffic and highest risk of auto-bike collision, and the heaviest load of gear that is NOT that necessary ,,, just for superiority bragging rights that they humped an extra 140 POUNDS EACH ,,,
i just don't get it.
We got in great shape without all that baggage. We had killer hill/mtn climbs and long boring (e.washington) stretches,,,But i'll bet we had TONS MUCH MORE FUN THAT THESE 'SHERPA' BICYCLE RIDERS !! It was even fun to ride a bicycle ,,, every day ,,, for months. Bet they can't say that.
And i would do it again, with friends , LIGHT and Fun !! Maybe Glacier National Park this time ,,,
For instance, you could travel across Paris on your hands and knees for a long weekend , wearing a mule crosstree on your back, with 2 big suitcases. You could, but why would you ?
You could go to Africa 'on safari' and haul a long large double wide trailer-park trailer,,, with a beat-up junkyard VW bug. For months. You could, but why oh why would you ?
Or ,,, you could swim the English Channel ,,, in a Speedo ,,, with a toaster under the front and a kitchen sink tied to one ankle. You could, but why would you ?
You could ski all the N. American downhill ski areas ,,, let's see ,,, wearing 20 pots and frypans tied from head to waist to ankle ,,, tied to a barcalounger ,,, and a Costco pack of deluxe toilet paper tied behind that. You could , but why would you ?
You could cruise the Caribbean ,,,in a cast iron bath tub ,,, with 20 ft oars ,,, a couple of stray cats and dogs ,,, and every pair of shoes you and she own. You could, but why oh my why would you ?
