OK, time to begin!
Start time is scheduled for Friday @ 4:00am at the American Mountaineering Center in Golden, CO – There’s a small chance I’ll start a little earlier depending on how my schedule works out. Trackleaders has been kind enough to take the time to put up a Tracker for this, so you may follow along:
http://trackleaders.com/tour14er
I’ll be riding/climbing this as a self-supported individual time trial
– the goal is to ride to, and summit all the named and ranked 14ers in
CO (53, by my count, but it’s a given thatn I’ll do the other usual
suspects). Goal is to better a time set by Roy Benton in 1995 of 37
days, 12 hours – the last and fastest self-supported, self-powered time
I could find in my research. It works out to roughly 1.5 summits a day.
My rules are here. It’s a DIY thing.
My
projected route is shown on the Tracker, but there’s nothing to say I
won’t change my mind and take a different route – in fact, it’s a given. There’s no course really, so there’s no, “off course”, so don’t worry about that.
I’ll also try to post photos while I go and you may follow me on whatever you’d like:
Instagram:
http://instagram.com/longrangerjustin
Twitter:
http://twitter.com/justinsimoni
Facebook:
http://facebook.com/longrangerjustin
My
hands – and feet are going to be pretty occupied, so if you spot me
while on your own hikes and take a photo please share them! It would mean a lot to me. It’s been great to meet people while on my training runs/hikes.
I’ll
be easy to spot: big busy red beard and most likely a bright red,
“Salvagetti” bike jersey on and a tiny, gray casquette on my sunburned
head.
I’ll look – and smell like a thru-hiker, but my pack will be
minuscule or non-existent. Hi-fives and smiles are definitely
appreciated if we cross paths, but please don’t meet up with me to
explicitly give me any sort of support, like food. Or whiskey.
Thanks goes out to a very long list of people: Salvagetti for being a wonderful bike shop to me for over a decade, Greg at Bolder Bikepacking
for making some amazing packs that have taken me across the country –
twice, and my lady for hanging in there, while I go out to do my /silly
things. And also for the belays at the crags, which I guess would also
fall under, “Hanging in there”. A few companies/individuals in those
companies have been helpful with gear. Thank you: Selle Anatomica for making literally the best saddle in existence, BOA Technology for having me on their product testing group, Ultimate Direction
for making some pretty sweet vests. I’ve gained much inspiration from
far too many individuals to count, really – I’d list them out, but I
don’t want to forget anyone.
I’m not doing this to raise money
for a non-profit or anything like that, but if what I’m hoping to do
inspires you, my suggestion would be to give to the 14ers.com CFI
fundraising effort (if that’s OK with you, Bill):
https://www.coloradogives.org/cfibillm
If you’re looking for a more humanitarian org., consider the Colorado Harm Reduction Action Center:
http://www.harmreductionactioncenter.org
Wish
me luck! As it’s been shown, this type of challenge is TOUGH. I hope I
can myself make it back to Golden before all the Aspen leaves change.
