General News
21 September, 2023
“It was a wonderful trip”
CAMPERDOWN resident Sandy McBean, 62, is putting his legs up after cycling 4193 kilometres from Canada’s border to the Mexico border, travelling through five of America’s states.
CAMPERDOWN resident Sandy McBean, 62, is putting his legs up after cycling 4193 kilometres from Canada’s border to the Mexico border, travelling through five of America’s states.
Mr McBean rode his bicycle, loaded with a tent, sleeping bag, medical supplies, spare parts for his bike, food and electronics, along the Western Wildlands Mountain Bike Route from July 9 to August 23.
The route, which takes cyclists through Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Utah and Arizona, is only completed by 15 people each year.
Mr McBean said he was inspired by a couple he met when travelling through China and into northern Pakistan when he was 30.
“They’ve been cycling around the world for seven years or so. I just couldn’t believe; they were both over 60,” he said.
“I thought ‘wow’; I was about 30 at the time, and I thought ‘wow, how good is this.’
“I stored that away; the seed was planted a bit for later on. Now I’ve had the opportunity.
“I’ve always wanted to do something like that, but then it’s like a great challenge, a great adventure.”
The ride spanned over 51 days, with Mr McBean cycling an average of eight hours each day and camping in national parks and state forests as he went.
While close to 80 per cent of the route was on gravel roads, fire tracks and single-track roads, he did occasionally stop in towns to restock and resupply.
Mr McBean said one of the highlights of his trip was the scenery and the landscapes he travelled across.
“There were forests in the north and deserts in the south,” he said.
“A couple of scenic highlights would be Bryce’s Canyon; that was amazing, and the Grand Canyon too.
“There was one night that I camped on the more northern part of the Grand Canyon, on my own, and the next person was about 40 miles (64.37km) away.
“It was so remote where I was, right of the edge, and that was a pretty awesome experience being way out there.”
Mr McBean said, he enjoyed the whole trip despite the challenges he faced.
“Just the challenge of day-to-day cycling and all the challenges that go along with it, like you’re exposed to the weather, the track conditions, and you might be really fatigue. It’s just a bit of an unknown how you’re going to go,” he said.
“Other highlights would be things like the American people were just fantastic; so helpful it just blew me away.
“They were so helpful, the ones I came across.
“Some of the biggest highlights of the lot were just getting in touch with my family if there was internet working at night. It was just wonderful to be able to do that.”
Mr McBean faced many challenges as he pedaled across America, including weather exposure.
He said some of the uphill ascents he had to complete on the way were “massive”.
“I think there was one that was 40 miles (64.37km) uphill,” he said.
“Some of the track was pretty rough.
He was also fearful of the risk of grizzly bears as the first six days of his ride were in the northern parts of America, known for their grizzly bear population.
“I was so scared that I might come across a grizzly bear, but I just kept going and it was okay,” Mr McBean said.
“There’re other things too, like dogs. Some of the dogs were pretty nasty along the way; I came across some wild dogs out in the desert, and they followed me for a little bit and they snarled at me but thank goodness they didn’t have a go at me.
“They probably made me cycle a bit faster when I was around there.”
Mr McBean said he found being alone a challenge at times.
“Just being on your own is an enormous challenge in itself; I quite like doing that, but it’s just tough to keep going sometimes when you’re on your own and there’s no-one about,” he said.
“No-one to help you with anything if something goes wrong, you’re totally on your own.
“At night when you’re on your own, that could be pretty hard, especially when you miss your family so much.
“In the end it was a wonderful trip.”
Mr McBean said family and friends were “incredibly supportive” during his trip and found banter with members of the Camperdown running group and gym group helpful.
“My wife Shelly was incredibly supportive right from when I decided I wanted to do the trip, and it’s quite a fair period of time to be away for two months," he said.
“You think about them when it gets really tough, that’s what you do.”
Mr McBean is looking to do another trip in the future but said he wouldn’t go for as long as this trip and is considering bringing someone along with him.
“I’ll probably end up doing something,” he said.
“More importantly, I’d prefer to do some trips with my wife and kids too.
“If there’s time, I’ll do something on my own.”
