Late in the evening, we are relaxing in lawn chairs outside Hillcrest Motel room in Hot Springs, VA. It is peaceful listening to crickets and looking across the road to the cows grazing in a green field. We are all dirty and exhausted from riding and changing the tubes my tires. We determined the cause of a flat back tire to be small metal burrs between the wheel and tube. Fearing that the front tire may have the same problem, … Read More

A porch swing looks over a vegetable garden and beyond to a valley where tomorrow’s sun will rise. It is day three of riding and we have almost finished segment one of the Mid Atlantic Backcountry Discovery Route (MABDR). Last night, we slept in our tents along side of Beaver Dam creek. The sound of the wet logs crackling in our fire and the rush of the stream lulled me to sleep in my hammock. The camp host’s warning of … Read More

I thought all of the wilderness of America remained in the West. Growing up in Utah, I am familiar with the alpine lakes of the High Uintas, the red rocks of Southern Utah, the high peaks of the Rockies, and our Grand Canyons . This trip will be a discovery of the eastern American wilderness. We cross the Appalachian Trail countless times, pass by historic battlegrounds, cross rivers, and meet many people from diverse backgrounds. We awoke to a rainy … Read More

The official beginning of the Mid-Atlantic BDR is in Damascus, VA. Taking a queue from our Patagonia trip, the first day was intended to be an easier ride. This would allow us to fine tune any of our packing approaches and enjoy some of the North Georgia and North Carolina rides. Dave and I began our ride from my house in Atlanta. We had our group hugs with my family as we set out. Curt had a work commitment and … Read More