Here's the VTXL ride I'm about to do, https://bikepacking.com/routes/vtxl/
The VTXL will be over 300 miles and way more climbing than the Erie Canal ride I did last year. Every day, I'll be doing about as much climbing on the VTXL as I did over all 8 days on the Erie Canal. Still, I'm hoping I'll be able to do 50-60 miles per day anyway. When I did the Erie I was around 265lbs, now I'm around 215lbs, so climbing is much easier now. Also, I've fixed the bike seat problems I had on the Erie (touch wood), so that should make a big difference. Hard to pedal with power when your butt is screaming at you. Yesterday (Friday) I did a 44 mile ride with 3600ft of elevation gain, and I felt great. At the end, I felt like I could keep going a couple more hours at least, and I woke up the next day with no muscle soreness/ joint stiffness. Touch wood, I'm ready!
If all goes well, the VTXL will take me 6 days, Tuesday to Sunday, and Jacqui will meet me at Mass MOCA in Adams Massachusetts Sunday afternoon to pick me up. I'm excited. Vermont is so frikkin beautiful for bike riding. The VTXL is mostly on Vermont's class IV dirt roads, which are well maintained and have very little traffic. Being able to do this sort of thing was a huge motivation for me to get healthy and lose weight. I want to be careful to not overhype it in my mind, but I'm close to dream come true kind of stuff.
Here's the Google Doc of my rough plan. I've also preplanned food stops at the General Stores along the way.
In the Google Doc above I linked the Google Drive folder someone put together that has a list of all the state campgrounds, wild camping spots, hipcamps, bed breakfast options, etc. that are along the route. When I'm in town with cell signal, I can adjust my plans if needed. The point is to have fun, so if bad weather makes me quit early on a particular day, or if I just get tired and need more time, so be it.
Next up is my packing list.
Google Sheet link after opening, be sure you're on the VTXL worksheet tab at bottom, also here's a screenshot.
Jacqui and I will be driving up to Brighton State park Monday, and she'll be camping with me. Jacqui will get the truck camper to herself, and I'll sleep in the tent I'm using for the bike trip. The GFC is kind of small for two people, and I don't want to wake Jacqui every time I roll over. Also, if she has the truck's GFC camper to herself, she'll have room to remove the floor panel, and hop down to the joolca gottago toilet I keep in the truck bed. So she won't have to do any middle of the night walks to the nearby bathroom in the campground. She can stay safe and secure in the truck camper. We've practiced the manuevers at home in the driveway, should work well.
I'm hoping she enjoys the outing. If it goes really well, maybe I can talk to Jeff about a couples camping outing in Somerset this Fall. Jacqui is best friends with Jeff's wife Maureen. Thinking just 1-2 nights, during the week, nothing crazy. Jacqui and Maureen can hang out while Jeff and I go off hiking/biking during the day. They can knit/cross stitch together, drink wine, eat snacks; and Jeff and I can bugger off biking so they have peace and quiet.
Anyway, enough daydreaming. Back to the VTXL trip. On the last day when it's time to pick me up, I've warned Jacqui to bring me a set of clean clothes and my Geyser Sponge Shower, so I can clean up in the parking lot in my truck's shower stall before she's trapped in the truck with me for 2 hours on the drive home. I'll pre-pack a bag for Jacqui to bring me. If she forgets, I'll probably be a pretty stinky boy by then, so she should be highly motivated to remember. But like yesterday after my test ride, I like showering before getting in the truck to drive home; far more civilized than smelling my nasty stink in a confined space.
Per my packing list, I am bringing my lightweight, collapsible fabric bucket and soap, so I can sponge wash with clean'ish river water along the way. I'll also pack a clothes line and clips so I can wash my clothes and hang dry them out in the Sun along the way too. I just have to find a sunny spot with trees close enough together to string up the line midday. I like using the bucket so I'm not adding soap directly into the river water when cleaning myself up or doing laundry. The soap I use is sold at camping stores and listed as biodegradable, but it's still soap. None of it is good for the water supply, especially if someone is filtering the water downstream to drink.
Speaking of gross body stuff people may wonder about but never be brave enough to ask when they wonder what bike touring is like.... I'll leave you with this last topic. Pooping in the Woods
I will be wild camping most of the time. No bathroom facilities nearby, so I'm bringing my culo clean adapter and a soda bottle. You shove the https://culoclean.com/ adapter into the top of a soda bottle filled with water. When you squeeze the bottle, the water spray cleans your booty crack after doing your business. A clean butt is a happy butt, especially when bike touring. It's also good for the occasional butt wash during the day. Never trust a fart after biking >30 miles and eating greasy pizza for lunch.
Anyhoo, in the mornings, I'll carry an extra 12-16oz of unfiltered river water, so I'm ready for when the #2 urge hits. I'll be burying my foul deeds using my lightweight, titanium poo shovel in wooded areas squatting behind some trees. I'll also have a couple emergency bags in case I'm near a town or farm fields, but can't wait, but I'll do my best to avoid that.
and my super lightweight titanium deuce poo trowel.
I had some leftover edging from a truck camper project. I cut a short piece of it and zip tied it to the end of the trowel. GAMECHANGER!!! Makes it far more comfortable (and safe) to use your palm to push it into the ground. A lot of people add tape on the end too, but i found it doesn't work that well. You want edging with the metal inside it, so you can really push hard on the trowel in rocky soil.
edging link, https://a.co/d/0ddeLDRT
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