Christophe Noel
Expedition Leader
Chad Carl - Go South. Go South, again. Go South as far as you can.
I've been eager to introduce my good friend Chad Carl to the Expedition Portal community for a very long time. I met Chad in the summer of 2000 in Skagway, Alaska while we were both working for one of the largest bicycle touring companies in North America. Chad, and his brother Darin, are Colorado natives and to say they are bike guys is a massive under statement. I'm also really stoked to say they're both very dear friends.
Earlier this year, Chad embarked on a serious bike ride from Denali National Park in Alaska. His destination is Ushuaia, Argentina. Currently, he's somewhere south of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico and making good time heading south. I had no doubt he'd be where he is today. I have no doubt he'll arrive in Ushuaia whenever he's damn good and ready to do so. You see, Chad is something of a million-mile man. This latest trip is just a drop in the bucket for Chad.
I've been keeping track of Chad and wanted to share his most recent voyage with all of you. He's been kind enough to take time out of his travels to shoot me a few emails so we can follow along. First, let me introduce you to Chad, the bike man.
1997: Chad and his brother Darin rode from Anchorage, Alaska to their home near Colorado Springs, Colorado covering more than 5,000 miles along the way. As I remember, they said they arrived in Colorado and decided to take "the long way" home. Their route through their home state was circuitous to say the least.
2003: Canada to Mexico via the Continental Divide Route. This was another epic the Carl boys and friends took in typical Carl boys style. 62 days. 2700 miles. Lots of gear. Lots of fun.
Colorado Trail: If it's worth doing once, it's worth doing three times, right? Chad cranked out the Colorado Trail three times. He did it in 1994, 1995 and again in 2004. The "CT" as it's lovingly referred to, is a 475 mile torture-fest that includes as much as 65,000 feet of climbing. It's possibly the hardest continuous stretch of singletrack in this hemisphere.
Denali to Ushuaia - In Progress: *He also stopped by Leadville, Colorado on this trip to bang out the Leadville 100 mountain bike race, one of the hardest events in the world. Did I say he is a bike guy?
Chad started this latest trip in Denali not too far from his home in Anchorage.
He's not particularly known for going "light." I'm sure there's a kitchen sink in there somewhere.
I wanted to ask Chad a few questions about his travels, and his general ideas about these long trips. Chad has also known me as "Flounder" for over a decade so....
Flounder: What's been your preferred bike platform? For those who know you, you love owning exotic bikes, but for these trips you go pretty basic, right?
Chad: My first trip from AK to Co was on a '95 GT Karakorum. That was a steel bike with a retail value of about $750. I did the Continental Divide Trip on a 2001 Specialized Rockhopper A-1 worth roughly the same amount. That's the same bike I'm on now.
Flounder: What advice do you have for people wanting to embark on similar journeys?
Chad: Try to plan your trip using as many resources as possible. Take as many weekend trips as you can prior to departure to refine your setup.
Flounder: When I look at your bike setup I think, holy hell. Why so much stuff?
Chad:I'm not a "minimalist". I believe the longer the trip the more comfortable camp I want. Example...base camp therm-a-rest @ 3.5lbs(approx), crazy creek chair and a 2 person tent for just me. Comfort on the bike too. Bike fit; saddle height, cleat position and reach. Pay close attention to the 3 contact points; hands, feet and your butt. Good wheels and tires and a spare tire are essential. Light weight is for race day not 60+days on a loaded tour bike. I've tried it and most, most of the time it doesn't work. The best piece of advice is...expect the unexpected and pack for it.
Flounder: What's the hardest part of any trip? What's the best part?
Chad: The hardest part about every trip is getting out of town. One step forward two steps backward. Or maybe it was the 19 days of continous rain in Canada. The best part of the trip is getting out of town. To many good things happen along the way to identify just one. Although, friends and family do come to mind often.
Chad sent this to me on a separate email shortly after the above answer: On today's ride I thought about your questions. A very hard part about this trip is not being with friends and family on the holidays.
I hope all of you draw the same inspiration from Chad and his journey that I get just following him via his emails and rare Facebook postings. He's an exceptionally talented dude. He's the real deal, and I wish him nothing but tailwinds and downhills all the way to Ushuaia. I once calculated a rough estimate of how many pedal revolutions Chad has cranked out on his southbound adventures, and my tiny brain got befuddled once that number tipped ten million pedal revolutions. Did I say he's the real deal?
As Chad heads further south on his decade old mountain bike, our own Jeremy Edgar (edgear) aims to catch up with him somewhere between here and Argentina. Good travels, boys!
What kind of guy rides a ten year old mountain bike to the end of the earth?
If you'd like to help Chad on his trip, please shoot me a PM. I'll be sending him a package of supplies later in the spring.
I've been eager to introduce my good friend Chad Carl to the Expedition Portal community for a very long time. I met Chad in the summer of 2000 in Skagway, Alaska while we were both working for one of the largest bicycle touring companies in North America. Chad, and his brother Darin, are Colorado natives and to say they are bike guys is a massive under statement. I'm also really stoked to say they're both very dear friends.
Earlier this year, Chad embarked on a serious bike ride from Denali National Park in Alaska. His destination is Ushuaia, Argentina. Currently, he's somewhere south of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico and making good time heading south. I had no doubt he'd be where he is today. I have no doubt he'll arrive in Ushuaia whenever he's damn good and ready to do so. You see, Chad is something of a million-mile man. This latest trip is just a drop in the bucket for Chad.
I've been keeping track of Chad and wanted to share his most recent voyage with all of you. He's been kind enough to take time out of his travels to shoot me a few emails so we can follow along. First, let me introduce you to Chad, the bike man.
1997: Chad and his brother Darin rode from Anchorage, Alaska to their home near Colorado Springs, Colorado covering more than 5,000 miles along the way. As I remember, they said they arrived in Colorado and decided to take "the long way" home. Their route through their home state was circuitous to say the least.
2003: Canada to Mexico via the Continental Divide Route. This was another epic the Carl boys and friends took in typical Carl boys style. 62 days. 2700 miles. Lots of gear. Lots of fun.
Colorado Trail: If it's worth doing once, it's worth doing three times, right? Chad cranked out the Colorado Trail three times. He did it in 1994, 1995 and again in 2004. The "CT" as it's lovingly referred to, is a 475 mile torture-fest that includes as much as 65,000 feet of climbing. It's possibly the hardest continuous stretch of singletrack in this hemisphere.
Denali to Ushuaia - In Progress: *He also stopped by Leadville, Colorado on this trip to bang out the Leadville 100 mountain bike race, one of the hardest events in the world. Did I say he is a bike guy?
Chad started this latest trip in Denali not too far from his home in Anchorage.
He's not particularly known for going "light." I'm sure there's a kitchen sink in there somewhere.
I wanted to ask Chad a few questions about his travels, and his general ideas about these long trips. Chad has also known me as "Flounder" for over a decade so....
Flounder: What's been your preferred bike platform? For those who know you, you love owning exotic bikes, but for these trips you go pretty basic, right?
Chad: My first trip from AK to Co was on a '95 GT Karakorum. That was a steel bike with a retail value of about $750. I did the Continental Divide Trip on a 2001 Specialized Rockhopper A-1 worth roughly the same amount. That's the same bike I'm on now.
Flounder: What advice do you have for people wanting to embark on similar journeys?
Chad: Try to plan your trip using as many resources as possible. Take as many weekend trips as you can prior to departure to refine your setup.
Flounder: When I look at your bike setup I think, holy hell. Why so much stuff?
Chad:I'm not a "minimalist". I believe the longer the trip the more comfortable camp I want. Example...base camp therm-a-rest @ 3.5lbs(approx), crazy creek chair and a 2 person tent for just me. Comfort on the bike too. Bike fit; saddle height, cleat position and reach. Pay close attention to the 3 contact points; hands, feet and your butt. Good wheels and tires and a spare tire are essential. Light weight is for race day not 60+days on a loaded tour bike. I've tried it and most, most of the time it doesn't work. The best piece of advice is...expect the unexpected and pack for it.
Flounder: What's the hardest part of any trip? What's the best part?
Chad: The hardest part about every trip is getting out of town. One step forward two steps backward. Or maybe it was the 19 days of continous rain in Canada. The best part of the trip is getting out of town. To many good things happen along the way to identify just one. Although, friends and family do come to mind often.
Chad sent this to me on a separate email shortly after the above answer: On today's ride I thought about your questions. A very hard part about this trip is not being with friends and family on the holidays.
I hope all of you draw the same inspiration from Chad and his journey that I get just following him via his emails and rare Facebook postings. He's an exceptionally talented dude. He's the real deal, and I wish him nothing but tailwinds and downhills all the way to Ushuaia. I once calculated a rough estimate of how many pedal revolutions Chad has cranked out on his southbound adventures, and my tiny brain got befuddled once that number tipped ten million pedal revolutions. Did I say he's the real deal?
As Chad heads further south on his decade old mountain bike, our own Jeremy Edgar (edgear) aims to catch up with him somewhere between here and Argentina. Good travels, boys!
What kind of guy rides a ten year old mountain bike to the end of the earth?
If you'd like to help Chad on his trip, please shoot me a PM. I'll be sending him a package of supplies later in the spring.
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