We loaded up our bike with about 60 pounds of gear (clothes, food, tent, sleeping bag, cooking gear, bike tools…) and left from 5 miles above Garden City headed for Soda Springs Idaho. It was a slog! We had a powerful headwind for 90 percent of the ride. The high temperature for the day was about 35 degrees F. I used a German route mapping program to set our path. I thought I had a route with minimal hills and all pavement. We ended up climbing about 1700 feet over 67 miles, with about 20 miles on a dirt road.

The fully loaded bike is heavy! It is probably about 150 pounds. That isn’t a big deal on the level, but the hills are punishing. Maybe I shouldn’t have changed the gearing to give up better speed… The hills plus the headwind were exhausting! This was far harder than the centuries we’ve ridden on our road bikes.

We are exhausted but happy.