Gumption & Grit - Take A Chance

You can tell your old man

You'll do some largemouth fishing another time

You just got too much on your plate to bait and cast a line

You can always put a rain check in his hand

'Til you can't

If you got a chance, take it

Take it while you got a chance

If you got a dream, chase it

'Cause a dream won't chase you back

If you're gonna love somebody

Hold 'em as long and as strong and as close as you can

'Til you can't

'Til You Can't, Cody Johnson (2021)

Bikepacking is not for everyone. More than anything, it requires gumption and grit. 

Gumption to get out there. Grit to see it through.

But that's really all it takes. Most cyclists probably have a bike and camping gear that would work for a night or two.

To get started, you just have to start. You probably won't be ready. Take a chance.

Five years ago, I wrote a short blog post about a mom who took her daughter and a friend on a three day bikepacking ride on the Mickelson Trail in the Black Hills. It's worth posting again, with summer approaching and people thinking about trying this bikepacking thing for the first time.

Take a chance.

Gumption & Grit, Black Hills BackBone, June 24, 2021.

More and more people are expressing interest in bikepacking, but many say they don't know how to get started. I often suggest an Overnighter, where you ride on the first day to a fun place to camp and ride back the next day. Neither ride has to be far or hard. And it's only one night. Right now, you can probably piece together stuff to make it work. Just get out there.

At this point, many hesitate, not sure how to respond. Then they often say that they don't have the right bike, or the right gear, or the know-how, or a place to ride, or whatever else comes to mind to put off trying something that may be a bit outside their comfort zone. It sounds fun, but it also sounds like too much. Someday. Maybe next year.

Tell that to Jessica Reimer Tindall, a Girl Scout leader from Sioux Falls, South Dakota who took her daughter and a friend on a 3 day bikepacking ride of the Mickelson Trail in the Black Hills.

Last week, cycling friends Lucas Haan and Chris Grady were racing the 210 mile Mother Lode gravel grinder, which allows support crews at designated check points along the way. While they crushed gravel, I relaxed in front of the Moonshine Gulch Saloon in Rochford, with drinks, snacks and bike bits at hand, waiting for them to arrive. A steady stream of tourists came and went.

Then a young woman and two girls soft pedaled heavily laden mountain bikes to the front of the saloon. They were utterly spent. Overheated, exhausted, and well beyond the time to stop. But all bore a steely resolve that must have carried them this far. They'd made it through their first day of bikepacking the Mickelson Trail.

Jessica said that her daughter and friend were Girl Scouts who decided to go for a few merit badges on a 3 day bikepacking ride of the Mickelson Trail. No, none of them had ever ridden a bike that far, or carried camping gear on a bike, or even been on the Mickelson Trail. But they researched the route, prepared their provisions, loaded up the bikes they had, with gear they had, and went for it.

At first, they quietly, almost reluctantly, talk of their ride and their plans. Gradually, however, their voices rise in pitch, tempo and volume, as they begin to express their day and feel the depth of their experience. 

I want to listen to more from each of them, but sunlight is waning. They have camp to set up, bikes to attend, and dinner to prepare. And tomorrow will be another big day. I wish them well, marveling at their gumption and grit.

Three adventuresome ladies on a three day bikepacking ride.

It's all out there.

'Till You Can't, Cody Johnson (2021)