lost elephant 2025
this was such a beautiful route — I'm sad I missed the end of it!
the ride was off to a really good start. I was a little (very) unprepared for the amount of rain, but my body was feeling good and I managed to cover 380km / 9000m elevation in the first 43 hours. I slept well on night 1, and I fed myself well despite the almost non-existent resupply
things didn't go so well on night 2 though. I stopped riding for the day after finishing one of the last major climbs on the route. it involved at least 3 hours of pushing my bike over loose rocks at a 15% grade, followed by an incredibly chunky descent in the dark (last pic). after that I cruised down the next gravel road until I found bit of shoulder wide enough to set up my bivy, around 2am
I was still in good spirits, looking forward to waking up after a few hours of rest and finishing off the last climb and riding to the finish
unfortunately I was woken up a little abruptly due to some... uncomfortable feelings in my stomach. I proceeded to vomit and shit blood on the side of the road. it was more than a little concerning. I wasn't feeling any real pain, but I knew my ride was over — it wasn't safe to continue into the wilderness like this. but it also didn't feel quite serious enough for a 911 call. so I texted Jocelyn my coordinates using my inreach and ask him to come and rescue me with our rental truck once he wakes up, which I knew would be in a couple hours
I managed to fall back asleep, and I woke up to a message from him saying he's on his way. also worth noting, this guy just won the race 12 hours ago at this point, riding like a madman for 36h straight with no sleep, conked out, and then he woke up and came to save me. extraordinary human. probably needs therapy
he took me to the hospital and I had some tests run — thankfully there is nothing serious, and I am already feeling much better. my body must have just had a freak reaction to something. not surprising. what we put our bodies through on these rides is.. not normal
all in all — quite an eventful way to wrap up my month long trip in BC. I'll be missing the mountains
the bt700 is the reason I started bikepacking 4 years ago (I blame @pablothee for this), so it was really special to return to the route and try my hand at racing for the first time
I managed to finish ahead of my goal time, I rode with so many great people, and I learned a ton. it was also just so much fun
here are some of my favourite moments from the ride:
on day 1 I was riding faster than I ever have. the terrain was easy and beautiful. everyone was so excited. and we had an incredible tailwind. I was probably pushing too hard but I didn't really care. I was blasting through rail trail at 30+km/h for hours on end, watching the fields and the trees go by, and I had the minari soundtrack playing. listening to something slow and ethereal when you're riding your heart out is seriously underrated and it was a magical experience
on day 2 I had my very first ditch nap. these are also seriously underrated. I found some shade in a ditch by the side of the road during the heat of the day and just laid down, staring into the swaying grass, and fell asleep listening to the wind. that 20 minute nap felt like hours worth of rest
on day 3 the heat and humidity were so extreme that it was hard to even see anything when you were in the woods. once it became dark, turning on your lights would only make it harder to see because of all the humidity in the air. in the midst of this I rode through the longest stretch of singletrack on the route with @heyimsorryyy and for what felt like hours, we were just riding through fog in the woods. it looked so surreal and it felt like riding through a dream. it was an excellent distraction from how horrifically nasty the weather really was
thanks @rocketfuelfood and @theokelsey_ for doing what you do 🥹
and thanks @ethanthehawk for the incredible photos!
it's winter and I'm in hibernation mode now, so this person feels like a complete stranger to me. but whoever he is, it looks like he had an alright year
Okay. I’m about to attempt the most stupid thing I’ve ever done. I’m going to race my bike 4,160km from Banff to Mexico in the 2022 Tour Divide.
This route is 90% off-road, and it's completely self supported. I’ll need to carry all of my own supplies for dealing with every possible challenge I might face out there.
Most nights will be spent in a tent. Most days will be spent alone — climbing mountains, riding through snowy alpine passes, avoiding forest fires, or searching for water in the desert. Expected temperatures throughout the trip will range from -10 to +40°C
By the time I reach the end (if I make it that far), I'll have climbed a total of 60,000m – the equivalent of climbing from sea level to the summit of Everest. Seven times.
No reasonable person would ever do this. It’s going to be the most ridiculous challenge of my life. But I’m not a reasonable person, and I am so fucking excited (and maybe just a little bit terrified)
Race starts this Friday. Link in bio to watch my progress!
throughout the day I always think I'm hilarious but then as soon as I'm trying to post something on instagram all I can think of is different ways to dryly self deprecate and my expectations lower to the point where all I can hope for is that I can just make at least one person laugh at my pain
