My favorite type of bikepacking race is when someone comes up with a route in their backyard and invites their friends to ride it. Our friends, Charlotte and Matthew did just that when they created Uinta Bikepacking. The grassroots approach, local knowledge, and excitement about sharing places they love add to the magic of bikepack racing for me.
On top of putting together the route, Charlotte and Matthew organized a get together the night before the race, provided goodie bags with personalized snacks, and showed up at each person’s finish, even the ones in the middle of the night! They accomplished all this while taking care of their sweet nine week old baby.
The weather forecast looked ideal with highs in the low 80s and lows in the 50s with a 0-20% chance of rain over the three days I’d be out there.
Here’s how I packed my bike with those conditions in mind:
- Frame Bag: bivy, rain pants, rain mitts, extra batteries, repair kit, first aid kit, water filter Seat Bag: 35F sleeping bag, lightweight puffy jacket, extra pair of socks, ear plugs
- Full Top Tube Bag: snacks!
- Hydration Pack: 3L water bladder, rain jacket, wool buff, snacks, toiletries, earbuds, sunscreen
- Worn: sun hoodie, shorts, mountain bike gloves, phone in shorts pocket, helmet, blinky light, photochromic sunglasses
- On the bars: Garmin, handlebar light
Here are some stats from the ride:
- Distance: 328 miles
- Elevation gain: 35,382 feet
- Time: 2 days, 14 hours, 50 minutes
- Sleep: 6 hours per night (about 7 stopped)
To be honest, I didn’t feel as well prepared as I would have liked before this one. Sometimes I’ve taken the stance that if I’m not dialed, it’s not worth showing up, but this time I still really wanted to ride the route, to visit our friends, and see a new part of Utah, so I said yolo and went for it. I figured my fitness was good enough, and I was confident my base of endurance was solid enough to pull me through.
It was fun to see a new part of Utah and the route was a nice mix of dirt roads, singletrack gems, and pavement. The route was punctuated with several monster climbs to between 9,000 and 10,000 feet with rewarding views and descents. I stopped at the two on-route resupply options, Duchesne and Daniel’s Summit. Charlotte and Matthew provided a gpx with detailed waypoints for food, water, and camping options.
Some highlights of the route for me were big views at the top of climbs, Willow Creek Trail, Strawberry Narrows Trail, seeing a badger in broad daylight, getting an amazing night of sleep under a cozy juniper tree, the gas station attendant asking me, “are you actually going to be able to carry all this on your bike?”, golden hour in the changing aspens, and the singletrack into Park City.
Here’s a link to the route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/50621420
Here’s one to the event page: https://www.uintabikepacking.com