Our friend Kaolin has talked up the Crusher in the Tushar race for the last few years so when the open spots were quickly dwindling and he was bragging about his entry Danielle turned to me and said let’s do it, to which I casually replied “sure.” After we guaranteed our spots I didn’t give it much thought because I was head deep in training for 24 hours in the Old Pueblo…fast forward to July, with months of training behind us, we had the bikes loaded up and headed north to Beaver, UT. We rolled into the small town of Beaver Friday afternoon and picked up our race packets and then settled into our condo for the weekend up the mountain at the Eagle Point ski resort. Kaolin, his family, and some other friends were staying right next door so we passed the evening hanging out with them and watching them do some last minute maintenance on bikes. Around 9 pm it was lights out while we rested up for the day ahead. (more…)
Author: ryangoold
Big Bear, Big Fail
Standing there with tears streaming down my wife’s face while horseflies and mosquitoes mercilessly attacked us I had a decision to make: do we press on towards the campsite or do we hit the metaphorical abort button? The only problem was turning back meant a five mile climb, with most of that being hike a bike. Where was this chapter in the Bikepacking guidebook? When do you decide to call it quits and throw in the towel? (more…)
Chino Grinder Race Report: A Tale of Two Races
The Chino Grinder was our first gravel grinder, and it was also the first race we did simultaneously. It ended up being one epic day in the saddle for all the racers due to some crazy weather, and the race was ultimately called for those reasons. Read bellow for his and hers perspective on the race; I reached the 53 mile mark exactly one hour before Danielle, so it was interesting to compare how different our experiences were based on a mere one hour separating us! (more…)
24 Hours in the Old Pueblo: Solo Singlespeed Race Report
Before I start I ran a 32×20. I just wanted to get that out of the way because I know how much singlespeeders like to ask “what gear you running?” So, now that that’s taken care of read on… (more…)
Evolution of the Camp Stove
A few posts back Danielle shared some of the top gear for your car camping kitchen. One of those pieces of gear was our faithful Coleman stove. We’ve had this thing since college and it works great every time. We love this stove and it’s probably one of the most used pieces of gear in our arsenal. We have cooked plenty of meals on that thing. Its high output can boil water quickly or it can be turned down to provide a nice simmer. It really is a great piece of equipment, but the only problem is that you can’t take it backpacking. Well I suppose you could if you are the anti-ultralight backpacker, but as the saying goes an ounce in the morning is a pound at night so this would feel like 55 pounds at night (and that doesn’t include the propane canister)!
Enter in the backpacking Primus stove. (more…)
Mammoth Cave National Park
When we travel the first things I look for near our destination are bike rentals and National Parks, while the first thing Danielle looks for is a pool. On our recent trip to Nashville, I was successful in one of the two and realized Mammoth Caves National Park (MCNP) was a short one and half hour drive away. PERFECT! (more…)
