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https://preview.redd.it/1bei8h2cbtsb1.jpg?width=800&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=cfc0d44772b84336c011674caca735814a7356bb
Just got back from my first longer-than-overnight trip: roughly 240 miles and 9800 feet of climbing. *Much* more physically taxing than I expected, but plenty of beautiful scenery to make up for it.
**Route**
I based my route on the [Yellow River Loop](https://bikepacking.com/routes/yellow-river-loop/) (GPX available there) from Bikepacking.com. I live in the Twin Cities, so my plan was to take Amtrak down to La Crosse, WI, bike down along the Mississippi to Big Paint campground in Iowa’s Yellow River State Forest, do the loop, and then head back up the same way I came down.
On the morning of my departure, I got an alert that the train was running three hours late. Even on time, I was going to have to hustle to make camp by nightfall. As I was thinking about what to do, I also remembered I hadn’t seen an option to reserve a space for my bike on the train and figured I’d better call Amtrak … who informed me there was no more bike space on the way down. Shit. Luckily my partner had the day off, so I got a ride to Great River Bluffs State Park in southern MN instead, adding 10 extra miles to my day through gorgeous prairie blufflands.
[Good gravel in Yellow River State Forest](https://preview.redd.it/lt0ck7ehbtsb1.jpg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4cfb1f8e74a52103ed239c20279e9971c2be44ea)
For night 2, I had found a nice-looking campground outside Elgin, IA, Gilbertson Park Reserve. The campsite *was* really nice (beautiful river and short walk to a little grocery store in town), but the “shortcut” I mapped out to get there might be the most brutal 10 miles I’ve ever done: southwest through dramatically rolling cornfields into high headwinds and 88-degree, late-afternoon sun.
It was clearly busy season for the Iowa DOT, and a lot of the roads were covered in large, loose, freshly dumped gravel. This was unpleasant on both steep climbs (had to walk a few times and *hoo boy* is that different pushing a fully loaded bike) and descents (impossible to relax and build momentum). Also, *so* dusty. Some drivers, god bless them, would slow to try to minimize the dust cloud, but others would blaze through, engulfing me in a whiteout for 30 seconds at a time.
By the end of day 2 I was feeling pretty spent, so I sat down with the backup maps I’d printed and noted some possible detours onto state highways for the next day. Slept poorly overnight due to rain and strong winds rattling my tent, but day 3 was much more clement, and I did the first half of the day as planned in good spirits on less zealously graveled roads.
Eventually I hit more of the loose stuff, though, which came to a head on a steep climb around a corner where two furious dogs came charging out at me from a farmhouse. The larger one was galloping and growling alongside me by the time their owner called them off. While the adrenaline was useful, I decided that was enough gravel climbing for the day, so I made my way to IA-76 for 10 happy miles of tarmac to get back to Big Paint.
[Blufftop overlooking Paint Creek](https://preview.redd.it/aymylbzebtsb1.jpg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f84e231403ff38d60f2c8003a80e6bb125650647)
After a hike in the morning, I set off for La Crosse into headwinds that were now coming from the northwest, bringing in true autumn weather. My body was very ready to be off the bike by this point, but I did have some cool “holy shit, I climbed this?!” moments on the long, steep descent from Harpers Ferry to Lansing, IA. The train ride back to St. Paul was a breeze, though I did have to put on all my camping layers for the cold midnight ride home from the depot.
**Gear**
Overall, I was extremely pleased with my setup for this trip.
https://preview.redd.it/14iov838btsb1.jpg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d601502c091121a277c5a5e6a28e413f1abba9fb
I rode a Cannondale Topstone 1, modded with a GRX 810 crank and 42mm Teravail Rutland tires—which were awesome on the dirt climbs but didn’t do much for me on the loose gravel. Although I love the frame, I’ve had a lot of front derailleur problems, and it refused to move to the larger chain ring for long stretches on this trip (way better than the reverse though). Eventually we reached a fragile peace that depended on my shifting in exactly the right way from exactly the right cog.
My bike weighed in at 67 pounds (half my bodyweight) with food and water, which were heavy but necessary: I couldn’t count on water sources between campsites on the middle two days of my ride, and as a vegan I also couldn’t count on getting adequate meals at restaurants or convenience stores in rural Iowa. My XS frame doesn’t give me a lot of space to work with, but everything *just* fit for four days:
* Ortlieb 11L handlebar bag: sleeping bag, ground cloth, repair stuff, toiletries, sleeping pad pump that doubles as a tiny pillow, giant 99-cent Ikea tote for carrying my bike bags on the train
* Drybag lashed to handlebar bag: sleeping pad, satellite messenger, book and glasses for the evenings
* Ortlieb 4L fork packs: Jetboil and other kitchen things in one, food in the other (Tasty Bite-style Indian meal pouches for dinner, PBJs for lunch, oatmeal and coffee packets for breakfast, and soy jerky, dried fruit and tons of protein/energy bars for snacks)
* 1L top tube bag: battery pack, cords, maps, other small things
* Ortlieb 11L seatpack: Big Agnes Tiger Wall bikepacking tent and clothes (extra bike shorts and jersey, extra socks, long underwear, running shorts and tank top to wear at camp), with camp sandals strapped to the top
* Revelate Hopper frame bag: 3L Apidura water bladder with a straw running up to my cockpit
* Feedbag on bars: 1L water bottle devoted to hydration mix
* Bottle cage: 750ml water bottle for refills, cooking and washing up
* Downtube mount: Abus folding bike lock
**Lessons learned**
* If you are planning to take your bike on Amtrak and don’t see an option to reserve space for it, maybe investigate that instead of thinking, “Hm, weird, it’ll probably be OK though” and going on with your life.
* Multiple methods of navigation are *really* useful. I bought a used Wahoo Bolt for this trip and was very pleased with that decision, but when I decided to reroute off the gravel for a stretch, my paper maps and phone were so helpful.
* Little luxuries like a book, sandals and non-sweaty clothes to wear at camp are totally worth the extra space.
* Think about your usual daily rhythms and plan accordingly. I am not a morning person. It took me about three hours each day to get up, have breakfast, and pack everything back onto my bike. Could I have moved faster? Yeah, probably, but I was glad I scheduled things so I could mosey through my mornings at camp.
* If I were doing this kind of daily mileage and terrain in the future, I think I’d aim for three days on, one day off. My contact points stayed fairly comfortable for the first three days, but my butt and hands really started protesting on day 4.
* Pack your sunscreen in an easily accessible place from the beginning, dummy.
by DellaBeam