This week's story is by Adventure Cycling's own Amanda Lipsey, our super-duper Development Director. "I'm a runner, cyclist, and dedicated dog mommy in Missoula, Montana," Amanda says of herself. "I have the great advantage of working at Adventure Cycling Association, where figuring out how to do stuff like this -- travel by bike with a dog, that is -- is what we do."
Travel by bike with a dog, indeed. In "An Awesome Gal and Her Awesome Pup," Amanda and her border collie Astro packed up and hit the open road last summer.
"In preparation for a longer self-contained bicycle trip, Astro and I scheduled a mid-August shakedown overnight. The purpose of a shakedown ride was to figure out anything that might not be working logistically or mechanically with the bike, and to learn if there was any additional equipment needed. For our overnight, we went from Missoula up the Bitterroot Valley to Bass Creek, camped for two days, then rode back home.
"I was very worried about the weight I?d be pulling around. My bicycle without gear probably weighs somewhere between 15 and 20 pounds. I carry 15 to 20 pounds of gear, not including the trailer, which weighs 22 pounds. Astro weighs 55 pounds, and I weigh 160. That?s more than 270 pounds that I have to push/pedal up hills and across many, many miles. Needless to say, I was feeling a bit of trepidation.
"Soon, though, I was little disappointed in myself for doubting my own strength as a cyclist. We got over the set of hills just as easily as when I ride with no gear."
Once they got to the Bass Creek Road, however -- where they faced a tough, 2-mile climb to get to the campground -- Amanda let Astro out of the trailer. He even helped pull the load, thanks to an innovative device known as the
Springer.
"On day two of our shakedown," Amanda continues, "we went for a nice hike up Bass Creek, on which Astro was expected to carry his own gear.
"The next day we arose early, packed up, and headed back to Missoula. My colleague Arlen, who joined me for the return ride, seemed a bit impressed by how well I handled the hills with all of the weight. That?s because I?m so awesome. And so is Astro."
Read the rest of Amanda's tale at
BikeOvernights.org. There you'll also find a collection of Photos of the Week, including this week's image of a boy having an exultant time in the Canadian outdoors. It comes from
To the Sugar Shack and Back: An Alberta Overnight, a story about a father-and-son outing that has generated more comments than any of the other 100+ Bike Overnights that have posted over the past two years.
BikeOvernights.org Photo of the Week, 12.07.12.
Top 3 photos by Amanda Lipsey, bottom photo by Dave Buchanan. --
BIKE OVERNIGHTS is posted every Tuesday by Michael McCoy, Adventure Cycling?s media specialist, and highlights content from
BikeOvernights.org. Previously, from March 2009 through January 2012, Mac posted weekly at
Biking Without Borders. He also compiles the organization's twice-monthly e-newsletter
Bike Bits, which goes free-of-charge to nearly 47,000 readers worldwide.
Source: http://blog.adventurecycling.org/2012/12/awesomeness-all-way-around.html
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