.o/ What up neighbor! I live in Madison, several years ago I did Madison to Seattle and down much of the coast. I didn’t use ACA routes in planning my trip, but I ended up criss-crossing them at various points. I more or less did your dull purple line from Madison to Bozeman, then the bright green line up to the bright purple one. 10/10 would recommend. Everything from Minneapolis to Badlands National Park in central South Dakota was a hell of a grind uphill against the wind with a lot of… Let’s call it *subtle* beauty. But the Badlands and Black Hills are incredible (look into the George Mickelson Trail!). Crossing Wyoming was easier than I expected in terms of wind, but difficult with regards to the remoteness, making sure there was another town with a grocery store in a distance I could get to with how much food I had in my bags. I unfortunately missed Glacier National Park due to a major September snow storm. But North Cascades National Park in inland Washington State was spectacular! Only surpassed by my recent travels to Alaska, the North Cascades are my favorite place on Earth in terms of natural beauty.

Your bike: I ride a Trek 520 Disc, with 700x38c tires. There were some times when rough gravel roads pushed the limits of my bike, but in general I was happy with how it did. I would definitely lean towards something more road/gravel oriented than a Marlin.

Camping: kind of hard for me to answer, honestly, as many of my earliest memories are from the car camping trips my parents would take me on in the summers of my youth, and I did four years of smaller bike tours closer to home before heading west. I made a lot of mistakes on my earlier bike tours, and I’m glad I didn’t make them in the middle of nowhere South Dakota, where the nearest motel won’t always be within a day’s ride, especially not if you have those big knobby tires slowing you down. Realistically though, bike tour camping is pretty straight forward, at least for me. I usually don’t do a fire, I only cook very simple meals on my stove (think like simmering white rice and dumping a can of baked beans over it). Living outdoors all day every day for months on end, with massive efforts on the bike, I pretty much crash in bed as soon as the sun sets.

That said, one skill I would recommend you *not* pick up on the road is first aid. Before I left on my trip, a friend gave me as a birthday gift some money to put towards a first aid class, and I’m so grateful to her for that. When you’re playing with knives and open flame stoves far from the nearest hospital, first aid is a good skill to have. I think everyone should take the class, but especially campers. Some basic bike maintenance, too. Fix a flat, clean and adjust the drivetrain. I replaced all my brake pads right before crossing the North Cascades, as the Rocky Mountain descents did a number on them and I wanted brakes I could trust for the next set of big downhills. And a healthy amount of confidence in hacking and bodgery. Every seasoned touring cyclist has their story of a freak breakdown in the middle of nowhere, requiring some sketchy hacks to limp it to the next shop two days away…

If any other questions come to mind, don’t be a stranger! I’m happy to answer here, or if you’re in town and want to grab a beer, meet up for a ride, I’d be down for that.