California Route 66 Trek: Breaking the Rules

All the great Explorers (Most of whom seem to be dead now) speak of a few basis "rules" that cannot be broken, or at least not tempted, if expeditionary success is to realized.

Rule 1: Do not experiment with "new" untried and inexperienced skills on an expedition.

(The idea being you should get experience and skill BEFORE you head out into the dangerous unknown. Learning and trying new skills is a training camp focus. Not a matter of wilderness experimentation. For example: Learn to sail in a small lake. Not the day you set off across the ocean.)

Rule 2: Do not utilize non-field tested or unfamiliar equipment on an expedition.

(The idea being since you never touched this new equipment before, you might not know how to use it properly or efficiently. Or possibly the equipment, not due to any fault of its own, may not be suited for the purposes intended. For example: That new survival kit you unwrap after you've been air-dropped in the Rocky Mountains for a week of learn-as-you-go training might not be exactly what you need. But there is no Wal Mart nearby where you can exchange it .)

But Bro Mark and I must be very brave or very foolish (This matter will not be discussed or voted on at this time). Why? Because we are consciously breaking both these rules.

We are going to camp out for three of the five nights we will be trekking across California on old Route 66.

I prefer motels with nice showers and soft beds. That has been our style in the past.

But California Route 66 is a radically depopulated highway. Most the motels now lining this once busy road are now deserted empty shells. Ruins. See the photo of one such "expired" Route 66 motel.

So in order to keep our daily distance to a reasonable 100 km (62 mi) per day, we have to stop and camp in some rather remote places.

We will be breaking rule one by using tents, sleeping bags, and air mattresses we have not traveled with or field tested. Nor will we do so until the first night we pitch camp near Victorville.

We will be breaking rule two because we have never tried camping on a bike trek.

But Mark and I are no strangers to camping. We experienced what would nowadays be labeled "extreme camping" when we were pre-teens and teens.

Mark had extensive hiking and mountaineer training through an elite Boy Scout facility in New Mexico.

I received similar training through an intensive course offered by the Sierra Club.

Both of us exercised these skills in climbing the slopes to the peaks of several California mountains including Mt Whitney, the highest mountain in the Continental United States.

When my wife heard of the camping component in our upcoming trek, she said, "But all that camping experience was a few years ago." I asked her what her point was, and she just smiled and shrugged her shoulders. I find women difficult to understand sometimes :-)

Packing for bike camping is very similar to backpacking: Take as little as you need, and the lightest you can find.

Our sleeping bags are lightweight felt fabric; warm yet light (if we are to believe the REI write-up)..

We will each carry our own tent; about 3 lbs, so says REI.

We also have lightweight air mattresses and inflatable pillows, and ground covers. (Mark says ground covers are now called "footprints." I haven't figured that term out yet.)

We don't have to carry pots and pans and food (other than our ever present power bars and PowerAid drinks) because we will be near food sources (fast food or convenience store sandwiches) from which we will purchase our required meals prior to stopping for the night.

All other equipment is what we have used and tested on our previous rides.

Now all we have to do is hope that minimalist camping skills are like bike riding -- Once you've learned, you never forget.

Will let you know if that is true.