Impossible Route: Death Valley – Team Arrives

February 27th: Arrival in Yuma, Arizona

The Impossible Route team arrived about as prepared for it as a groom to a shotgun wedding.

For months, we’d planned on paper, but this was the Mojave Desert and Death Valley; and they would definitely hold some big surprises.

The absurdly ambitious mission was to see if it was possible for Tyler Pearce “The Vegan Cyclist” and me to ride the core of the California Back Country Discovery Moto route and keep up with the motorcycle itinerary. Now only a damn fool would think this is possible, but both VC and I are qualified as knowing-no-bounds foolish.

For our rules, we would ride self-sufficient like a mountain bike stage race; only getting food, water, and resting at the villages or camps that punctuate the otherwise unthinkable desolate deserts.

Each day’s route would be about 110 miles, over sand and rock, through heat and cold, and under the burning sun; but our hand was full of aces! We have an outstanding team to capture this amazing effort and our food bar none. Finish or not, we would deliver some stunning photography, incredible videos, and great resources for those who follow behind us who will try the route.

We tested, pre-quarantined, and traveled with the highest level of caution to arrive safely to our bubble in the desert.

I hopefully asked my friend, the celebrated chef, Biju Thomas to join us, thinking he would have to say no because of all that he has on his plate (Dad Joke pun!), but he said yes! He ran camp life like a boss as well as keeping us fed with nutritious food.

Here’s a look at our Impossible Routes dream team:

Biju Thomas, a celebrated chef with great experience serving elite cycling teams.

Ramy Khalaf, our amazing risk-taking videographer.

Jake Orness, the artist-eyed and phenomenal photographer for Eliel.

Our “Aussie” Dale Travers, driving and shooting amazing social media.

The “young gun,” Travis Longfellow bicycle mechanic and support driving.

My nervous riding partner Tyler Pearce “The Vegan Cyclist,” the funny guy and our inspiring storyteller.

And me, the tough guy former pro whose job is to make barely possible challenges more possible.

What a great group to take on this unique mission.

The goal is to ride a gravel version I’d planned of the California Backcountry Discovery Route moto route. The course would be 750 miles from Yuma to Bishop over 7 days. I was fairly certain our chances to complete this were 50/50, when considering our rules of taking no outside assistance from our media team while riding, but trail angels or other good luck was fair game.

The basis of these rules comes from my experience riding the two-person Cape Epic mountain bike stage race. No outside assistance during stages and we both must ride together working as a team. What’s more, we had brought gravel bikes to a very rough place. Like a switchblade to a gunfight, but why not try? I think it can be a beacon of hope for folks who have been pent up for a year and we could inspire others to get out of their comfort zone.

 

This is the first of a nine-part journal of the Impossible Route: Death Valley expedition. Read part two. The journal is being released in conjunction with the feature documentary. Click here to learn more about The Impossible Route series.