Introducing...Vancouver to Cabo!

Hello and welcome! The blog has been on a brief four year hiatus, but I'm back and ready to write. My amazing partner Hunter and I are going on a two month bicycle trip this summer, starting in Vancouver and flying out of Cabo. I'll be using this blog as a platform to share our experiences, reassure our parents that we are still alive, and keep a log of our trip. For the more visually minded folks out there, Hunter started an Instagram account for the tour, so feel free to follow it concurrently / instead! @a_bike_named_beau

Some technical information:
Start: June 3rd in Vancouver, CAN
End: August 1st in Cabo, MEX
Mileage: ~2800 (1800 in US, 1000 in Baja)

Our daily mileage is going to be a little weird - Hunter's cousin Helen is graduating from Portland State on June 16th, so we're starting super slow and taking many rest days to visit friends in the PNW, and ramping up to higher mileage days afterwards.

We're packing pretty minimally, with two panniers each and a shared rack pack. To practice riding with gear and to get some kinks out of our system, Hunter and I biked out to Swan Falls dam with our fully loaded bikes as a practice overnight trip. It's 42 miles each way, so we figured it would be a fun aperitif before the main course.

We spent all of Monday morning cleaning our apartment and packing, so we didn't make it out of the door until around 3pm. The weather was beautiful, if you chose to ignore the 20mph gusts of wind. We headed south out of Boise, crossed the interstate, and meandered through the neighborhoods of Southeast Boise before hitting farmland north of Kuna.
An hour and a half in, I remembered the most crucial rule of bike touring: keep your friends close, and your snacks closer. On the side of the road, frantically tearing through our carefully packed bags in search of the nutella stuffed crepes we ate for breakfast, I vowed never to make that mistake again.

Hanger status: subsiding

After that incident, the trip went smoothly. The wind was in our favor past Kuna, so we made good time and arrived at Swan Falls after about four hours of riding. You lose about ~1000ft in the last two miles down to the dam, and I clocked 42mph on the steepest section. Still a ways from my 55mph record on a fully-loaded touring bike, but respectable nevertheless and a good start to the trip!

Practicing our selfies

Dynamic lighting!

The view before our descent

Upon arrival, we made camp, and cooked dinner. Using our dual purpose frisbee / cutting board, I chopped up some onion, zucchini, and mushrooms, and we cooked up an instant rice and veggie extravaganza before getting some well deserved rest...sort of. The wind never quite died down. In fact, it kept on blowing, and gusts kept waking us up throughout the night.

Chillin' by the Snake River

Beau and Gertrude 

The next morning, we woke up, ate some oatmeal, and prepared for the day ahead. The aforementioned winds were still going strong, and we were not looking forward to greeting them upon exiting the canyon. We got in our granny gears, and slowly made our way up the hill, taking a couple breaks on the way up to stretch as we warmed up.
Poking our heads above the canyon's rim was like entering a new world. The wind, previously at our backs, was now unleashing it's full fury on us. We put our heads down, and started biking. What had taken us a couple hours the previous day to go 22 miles from Kuna to Swan Falls now too us three and a half hours, as we made our way back at around 6mph. While morally sapping, it was a good experience. Hunter and I were both tired, but it was doable, and it felt damn good to get an early lunch at the Moxie Java in Kuna. Also, on our way into town, we stopped at a red light next to a car with a 'The traveler is my co-pilot" bumper sticker. For those of you who may not know, that is a reference to Critical Role, a deeply nerdy Dungeons & Dragons stream that Hunter and I are very into. We waved at the driver until she rolled down her window, joyfully shared our nerd-ism with each other for about 30 seconds, and were back on our way. 

A much needed refuel

Not pictured: our invisible friend, the howling wind

After our rest break, satiated (me) and caffeinated (Hunter), we were back on the road. As we re-entered Boise, the winds were dampened by the suburban sprawl, and we sped up to double digit mph's . Once we hit the greenbelt, we called in some takeout pizza, popped by Guido's to pick it up, strapped it to my bike, and made our way back home. 

What can't you carry on a bike?

Upon arrival, we shared the pizza, ate lots of ice cream, and relaxed!

That's all for now! Hunter and I are currently packing up and moving out of our apartment, then we drive to Vancouver Saturday, relax and explore Sunday, and start biking our little butts off Monday the 3rd!

Love,
Malcolm & Hunter