Dan's Travel Adventures

Like any grand adventure, there are serious considerations around the equipment needed. Some you will buy for the trip, some you’ve had for years. All must be tested before being allocated any of the limited space on the bike. And some equipment, when honestly evaluated, is worn out, and may not be serviceable. This last category is where I found the most important equipment I was bringing to Alaska – Me.

At 60, it’s been too long since I’ve been disciplined about exercise. Earlier this year, in anticipation of Alaska, I started to address that deficiency – but it hasn’t been a straight road.

Logically, I started with a trainer. I was referred to Kent Sammons by a friend, and started working out at his gym 3 days/week – 2 with him, 1 on my own. Kent shared my excitement about the trip and we talked at length about tailoring my workouts to the strengths I would need for the trip. I started making progress, and building strength and flexibility.

The problem with strength, of course, is if your body is already a bit, shall we say, misaligned, the stronger muscles just pull things out of whack that much better. With about 7 weeks left until departure, I began suffering with low back pain. It was debilitating and I worried I had put off self-care too long, and the trip hung in the balance. The sense of despair, over missing a trip one can only hope for once in a lifetime, and disappointing my fellow riders, was significant.

Time for action: First, Elliot Martin, Chiropractor and gentleman farmer (you have to understand Columbia County to get this combination). The x-rays were frightening, but with each session I was getting a little straighter. Impatient patient that I am, I added in an orthopedist, who after pointing out the degeneration in my spine said “you’ve got rust”. His treatment was PT and an Rx for inflammation and muscle relaxers. Next to my primary care physician, who gave me a “for emergency only” Rx for steroids, should I become immobile in Saskatchewan or South Dakota.

Not wanting to leave out the patchouli wearing, eastern healers, I looked at alternative medicine. Mitch had been raving about Jonathan Ferguson, a structural therapist. So convinced was Mitch in Jonathan’s abilities that he generously gifted all the travelers in our posse a session. After the first session, I went back every two weeks until departure. You’d never know such a kind, gentle person could impart that much pain…but it’s the good kind, and you go back for more.

Lastly, I began to see a wonderful physical therapist named Nikki Fredericks. She helped me sort through all the advice and various exercises, and explain some of the mechanics involved. She was so instrumental in helping me understand what was going to be critical, and how to protect my back.

To say I am grateful to them all is inadequate. They got me to the starting line, and they will all be with me in Alaska, in a way.

And I am grateful for the trip itself. After years of not finding the will to exercise, the trip was what I needed to both realize what is required of my body, and take on the job. As we streaked across South Dakota on Interstate 90 at speeds approaching the route number, I was doing hip hinges and a modified cat-cow stretch. Parked in front of a Japanese restaurant for lunch in Pennsylvania, I did hamstring stretches on my footpegs. My piriformis muscle gets stretched in pigeon pose on the bike’s crash bars when we stop to enjoy the view at Badlands National Park. Every night and every morning, I set out my special folding travel yoga mat on the floor of a different hotel, and do what must be done.

At 60, it’s a big ask of my body to ride 40 out of 45 days, to cover 13,000 miles. Unlike the other equipment on the trip, I needed a serious overhaul, and it feels like I’ll be running well for a while.