How I Design Human-Powered Adventure

As a cartographer for Adventure Cycling Association, I spent heaps of timing studying the interplay between terrain and bikes, and as the architect of the Idaho Hot Springs Mountain Bike Route, I've learned what those lines really mean out there on the trail, and as a serial bikepacker, I've experienced more ups and downs than I can count. Human-powered adventure is challenging and amazing, and here is—in five unique steps—what I've learned about how to put together a trip.

Step 1 - Determine Initial Goals

This is the point to put your loose goals on the table. These can be as simple as "I want to ride my bicycle and camp in the woods with my friends." Or, as complex as "I want to test my limits to see what is accomplishable to further the activity of bicycle travel by swimming across Lake Superior with my bike on my back."

These are your goals and they are personal. The point here is to sketch them out to establish why you are doing this trip, and what you hope to accomplish. At the same time, don't worry about having definitive answers right now. You don't need to be super-serious. Again, these are loose goals. You'll have a chance later to add or take away from them. You may even change them entirely.

Step 2 - Determine Moral Constraints

For most self-supported adventures, the best moral style for a trip is one which negatively affects the environment the least. The logical extension of this would mean to head out the door naked, using only your feet and hands for transportation, forage for food, and encounter no outside human assistance. There’s probably no way we are looking to get close to this, but it is healthy to understand what the logical end of the spectrum is. Ultimately, you will have to decide how close to this you can get by deciding what is ok for your trip, and what's not.

You'll also have to morally deal with cultural regulations, such as areas where it is illegal to use a method of transportation. Or, areas which require permits to travel through. These regulations may go against your desires, but they may be the best for the environment of that area, which if you went against, would comprise your moral constraints entirely. If any doubt exists, it's best to follow cultural regulations.

These constraints are intended to narrow your focus, and make trip planning easier. Ask tough questions. Is this a human powered trip only? Are re-supply airplane drops ok? Hitchhiking? Amtrak? Train-hopping? Staying in hotels? Can I ride from my front door instead of getting a ride to the trailhead? Is burning trash in the wilderness ok? Would a SPOT tracker compromise my wilderness experience? Phone? iPod? eBikes? Headlamp? Helmet? Toilet paper? Is riding a bike in a designated Wilderness ok? What about just that trail that barely dips in? What about packing a disassembled bike on a backpack through designated Wilderness? What about using a guide book? A map? Inquiring trail info from locals?

These questions are but a few. The rabbit hole runs deep. Dive in. The more questions you invent to ask yourself, the stronger your convictions will be, and the more meaningful your adventure will become.

Step 3 - Establish Destinations Constraints

Do not think of a route as just a line between a start and end. Don't limit yourself. Instead find intermittent points in an area to connect. If you glance at a road/trail network in an area, it can be pretty daunting and/or boring to suss out a route. Instead find destinations. Then, connect them.

One technique that has worked for me is to plot out interesting locations in your chosen area and try to link them. Here in the Northern Rockies, I love hot springs and fire lookout towers, but you may prefer waterfalls, quaint towns, ice cream stands, breweries, knitting shops, gold mines, ghost towns, idyllic streams to fish, or desert towers to climb. Don't be afraid to narrow your focus even more by making it a themed trip.

Really get down and dirty with this. Study the cultural and natural history in the area. There's always things that will make your trip more interesting.

Your destination constraints do not have to be points. They can also be linear parts of the greater route. Such as singletrack you've always wanted to ride, a river to packraft with your bike on board, or a hill to skin up with your bike on your back.

It helps to also work in where you are going to sleep each night. Again, this can be a point. Such as a campground, cabin, or bed and breakfast. Or, it can be a rough area. Like camping somewhere along a certain creek. If it is a longer trip you will need to locate resupply destinations, and work them in. It also helps to figure out water sources, especially in the desert. On some desert trips, water becomes the main destination constraint.

Lastly, mix in as much of your destination goals as you can. Make this personal. Connect destinations that give you that warm fuzzy feeling of excitement. Or, that grizzled sufferfest feeling of accomplishment. Or, don't - this is your adventure.

Remember, these destination constraints make planning easier by limiting your routing options, and narrowing your focus.

Step 4 - Determine Tool Constraints

Now is the time to figure out what gear you need to get you to your destinations, within your moral constraints. This could mean choosing a road bike over a mountain bike, or deciding you're going to try multi-sport travel.

Ultralight, SUL, Disaster, Yardsale - these are all gear ethos to work from, but they will ultimately be determined by your mental and emotional experience both within the environments encountered, and chosen method of travel. They will also be determined by your physical abilities, and the destination and moral constraints you have already established.

Light is right, until it's not. Don't fall into the trap of thinking one gear style is better than another. This includes bikepacking bags vs trailers vs panniers. Again, don't limit yourself - especially due to something being culturally in vogue. Each trip might call for a different approach. A lot of people think I run on the lightweight side of things, and on the trips where my destination and moral constraints call for it, I do. Truth be told, I also do my fair share of yardsale-in', and it's awesome too.

Step 5 - Analyze and Adjust

Now that you have set up your constraints and rules, you know them. And now that you know them, feel free to modify them while still holding true to your initial goals. Manipulate your proposed story so it communicates better - to yourself. Maybe, you want to add some of your moral, destination, or tool constraints to your initial goals. That's great. This is the time to do that and work back down the list.

Repeat until you are 100% satisfied. If you are not 100% on this, scrap the whole design, and start over. Or maybe, just half of it. Don't get stuck on trying to put a square peg in a round hole. Although, sometimes the square will fit with the right modifications.

This part also involves the heaviest amount of research, but because you've whittled your trip down with all of those constraints, it becomes manageable. Again, and I can't say it enough - these constraints make trip planning easier by limiting your options, and narrowing your focus. Which will hopefully lead you to design your perfect human-powered adventure.