Farnsworth Engineering

On Monday night, I looked at my loaded bike and came up with a new plan for getting to the Tour Divide Race.

One of many great things about a bike is the places it can take you.

The original plan for this week was to hang around Northern, Va until Friday then my dad and I were going to start the long drive to Banff for the June 8th start of the Tour Divide.

The new plan was a 473 mile bike packing ride Reston to Kent where I could meet up with my Dad for the drive to Banff. This gave me a chance to test my equipment and body in a final few big training days before the TDR.

The ride went very well with three big days. On Tuesday, I did a little bit more then 200 miles before finally camping along the Great Allegheny trail. Wednesday was another long day taking me to just past the Ohio border. Thursday completed the trip. The route as well over 70% on bike paths with a few road sections to knit things together.

The bike performed great. At some point in the night riding on the C&O tow path I broke spoke but other then that no mechanical issues. My body did very well and I felt fresh and comfortable the entire ride. Most of my kit was great but my camera broke the first day so no photos from this trip.

My mom and sister live here in Kent so it’s nice to see them. Tomorrow my Dad is driving up and then we will drive the rest of the way to Banff together.