John and Pat's 2005

 Bike Trip Adventure

 

Introduction

This website contains pictures taken during John and Pat Dickinson’s 2005 Bike Trip.  We started the 2045 mile trip on May 7, 2005 from our home in New Hope, MN and traveled to Mt Rushmore, Fort Collins, CO and returned home on June 19, 2005.   Below are a few statistics from our trip: 

Duration:                                  44 Days (May 7th through June 19, 2005)
Biking Days:                             39
Total Miles:                              2045
Non Camping Nights:              9 (Motel, Friends or Family)
Longest Biking Day:                 76.0 Miles (May 15th)
Longest Biking Time:                7 Hr and 44 Min (May 15th)
Shortest Biking Day:                 22.9 Miles (May 25th)
Shortest Biking Time:                2 Hr and 45 Min (May 25th)
Highest Daily Ave:                 13.7 MPH (May 12th)
Lowest Daily Ave:                 6.3 MPH (May 18th)
Flat Tires:                                 Pat 1, John 7, Trailer 4
Broken Spokes:                        John 2
Crashes:                                   John 1, tire side wall blew out, no serious injury 

The motivation for the trip was to visit our daughter Natalie in Fort Collins , CO over the Memorial Day weekend to participate in the Bolder Boulder 10 K Run/Walk event held in Boulder, CO on Memorial Day.  Nat and Andy and their friends Aaron and Jenny had participated in the event for the last couple years.  The event attracts 40,000+ participants each year.  We had heard a lot about the event and wanted to witness it first hand ourselves so we put together a bicycle trip that would get us there in time for the event and allow us to do a little site seeing enroute. 

We had bicycled to Fort Collins in the past by taking a very direct route so this time we thought we would take a different route that would take us through the Bad Lands in South Daklota and on to the Black Hills and Mt Rushmore.  We had heard a lot about the Mickelson Bike Trail that was just West of Mt Rushmore and runs North and South and wanted to tie that into the trip as well.  We had also heard about the Cowboy Bike Trail in Northeastern Nebraska and wanted to work that into our return trip from Fort Collins.

 

Summary

We have never experienced such weather extremes on any of our bike trips.  In the first week, we had rain, 90 degree weather, frost and snow.  Winds so strong we did not even attempt to bike in them.  It did not seem to matter which direction we were heading, with the exception of three days out of 40, the wind was always against us.  We were in 65-70 mile straight line winds, numerous tornado watch areas, numerous severe thunderstorm watch areas, a hail storm and many nights of rain.  We were however very fortunate that most nights we were in camp and set up before it rained.  We experienced a higher than expected number of  mechanical problems as well (flat tires, broken spokes, tire failures, speedometer problems, etc) for the distance traveled.  We also encountered much more road construction than we were anticipating. 

In spite of the weather, construction, etc.  It was still a great trip and very enjoyable.  As always, we met some very interesting and friendly people along the way.  We saw some fantastic scenery, shared some great times with friends and family and had the opportunity to enjoy each other's company in completing this challenge.  There is a tremendous feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment that makes the hard work and daily challenges of a trip like this all worthwhile..

Pictures Organized by Topic

 An assortment of the pictures that we took on our trip are grouped in various topics. There are very few pictures of the early portion of our trip since the weather was so rainy, the camera never got out of its waterproof case.  Use this link to access the Topic Menu.  From the Topic Menu, thumbnails of each picture are provided to use as poke points to access an expanded view of that picture.  Use your browser’s forward and back buttons to navigate through the pictures and return to this page. 

Trip Diary and Updates

We carried a Compact iPAQ 3765 handheld computer with a foldable keyboard and solar recharger.  Each evening, Pat would type up a summary of the day’s activities.  The Diary is organized by day and can be found by clicking here. 

During the trip we had several updates sent out via email.   The Trip Updates can be accessed by clicking here. 

Contact Information

If you wish to contact us you may do so using the contact information below.  We enjoy answering any questions you may have about our trip.  We also enjoy hearing about trips that you may have taken. 

John and Pat Dickinson  jrdpad@aol.com

 

 

Last revised: July 13, 2005