Following in Their Footsteps...Literally

A couple of years ago I decided it would be neat to ride a bike from my home in Colorado to Utah.  Why?  I once had a co-worker who rode his bicycle from Missouri to California.  He stopped in Colorado to earn more money to continue on.  I was fascinated by his stories of camping along the route.  He had a trailer hooked up to his bike into which he packed a tent, a sleeping bag, and whatever else he needed to be self sufficient on the road.  It was like a form of long distance back packing. What an adventure!

About that time I read a book about the transcontinental rail road.  The stories of the Union Pacific laying track through what is now the I-80 corridor in Wyoming and Utah excited my imagination.  I drive the I-80 route often to visit family.  Why not bicycle it some day?   I like doing physical activities to stay fit, I like adventure, and I like reliving history.  A trip like this would meet all three goals.  I can't quit my job and go cross country, but a trip from Colorado to Utah seemed doable.

As I started to investigate possible bicycle routes, I took notice of the Oregon, Mormon, and California trail route.  Why didn't I think of that before!  I love stories of my Mormon pioneer ancestors. My great-great grandpa Eli traveled the trail with the Mormon Vanguard Brigade of 1847.  I always figured that the original trail was remote and inaccessible.  But as I looked into it, it became clear that a bicycle trip might be possible.  Not only would I be reliving some history, but it would be my own family history.  Not only does the Mormon trail intersect important events in history such as Oregon Trail, Pony Express Trail, and the transcontinental railroad, but it also avoids some of the drier and windier high plains of I-80.

Thus was born the idea of bicycling the Mormon Trail.  A lot of farms, fences, and roads have been constructed since the late 1800's.  But, the trail can be paralleled very closely on public roads and in several places the actual trail can be visited.  There are places where you can travel the existing trail, but I plan to do so only sparingly and with care: it is important to protect the trail for future generations.

I'm scrapping the idea of making it all the way to Utah (at least for now).  My goal is to ride from Chimney Rock, Nebraska to Fort Bridger Wyoming.  Using the "bicycle" feature of Google, it comes out as 492 Miles.  Where possible, I'll rope Robyn and kids into this project.