Why I Started Bikepacking at 59

Bikepacking arrived in my life as both a curiosity and a calling.

For context, I have ridden and raced bikes—mostly mountain bikes—for more than 25 years. I’ve always loved cycling. I’ve always loved camping. But combining the two seemed like a distant fantasy until I finally stopped chasing performance and started pursuing something different: joy.

At first, my curiosity about bikepacking looked like gear. Bags. Tents. Quilts. Sleeping pads. Route planning. Water. Food. Endless questions about whether everything would fit on the bike.

But underneath all of that was something much deeper. I was being invited into a new relationship with adventure, nature, self-trust, and the next chapter of my life.

I began watching bikepacking videos and found myself mesmerized by the rhythm of it all: riding through landscapes, setting up camp, waking beneath the open sky, packing up, and continuing onward. Something about that simplicity reached me.

It wasn’t just the riding.

It was the experience of moving through the world carrying what I needed, meeting uncertainty with curiosity, and discovering what else was possible from where I already stood.

I am 59 years old. I am strong, healthy, capable, and curious. I love riding Colorado’s mountain bike trails. I feel fortunate every time I encounter wildlife, every time I round a corner and see snow-capped peaks, and every time I find myself gasping for enough oxygen to appreciate the view.

As I get older, I also know there may come a day when I cannot do all the things I can do today. That realization didn’t make me sad. It made this season of life feel precious. It shifted something inside me.

For years, much of my cycling was connected to goals, performance, training plans, and racing. Those experiences shaped me and gave me so much. But bikepacking offered something different. It invited me to ride for joy. To explore. To wander. To be present.

That shift felt profound enough that I wanted to document it. Not just the routes and gear, but the feelings, fears, discoveries, mistakes, lessons, and moments of wonder.

This journal is a gift to myself now and to my future self.

A place to remember the campsites, the deer, the birds, the wind in the trees, the thunderstorms, the laughter, the frustrations, the confidence, and the moments when I surprised myself.

I'm exploring what bike packing and adventure mean to me. For now, it is about freedom. It is about movement, nature, simplicity, preparedness, curiosity, and wonder. It is about learning to trust myself in new places. It's exploring safety from within myself, free of bracing against my false imaginings and fears, and settling into a place of trust and safety to meet life as it comes. It is about creating a life that feels aligned with my values and continuing to expand into what is possible.

This is the story of that journey.

If you’d like, come along for the adventure.