(he/him) I am a proud husband, father to two young children, and an active member of the Carbondale, Colorado community. I went on my first bikepacking tour in 2019 and was immediately hooked. Since then, I have explored many published and unpublished multi-day routes in the Rocky Mountains and desert southwest. The Colorado Trail is my favorite so far. In 2022, at the youthful age of 47, I discovered my passion for ultra-endurance bikepack racing, which I have pursued wholeheartedly ever since. Friendships, inspiration, and lessons learned from others along the way have had a seismic impact on my life. I often write about these experiences at my personal blog site mofogo.org. I am currently documenting a number of routes in Northwest Colorado that I hope to publish in the near future. My family is also in the midst of planning our first bikepacking adventure, together as a whole. We look forward to learning and growing alongside many new friends.
I have been riding and documenting backroad routes in Northern Nevada for the past 9+ years. Over the last 3 years I have been hosting overnights open to all interested, first timers to highly experienced. These events have been year-round, one or more a month. The last two years I have hosted Rides with Friends, a collaboration with Friends of Black Rock High Rock, to inspire stewardship of Black Rock Country through non-motorized recreation. All of these routes are curated by me.
John (he/him, Phoenix, AZ) is originally from Allentown, PA and developed his love for bikes riding BMX Freestyle Flatland. He moved west to Arizona to attend college and never looked back. He took up mountain biking in 1994 as a way to stay in shape for alpine skiing, now it’s his passion. His bikepacking adventures began about 5 years ago, and he loved the freedom it brought to explore new places I otherwise would not be able to get to. He also organizes multi-day rides to introduce newcomers to the realm of bikepacking. He also has a reputation for loving good hike-a-bike!
John (he/him, Butte, MT) started bike travel with a few simple road and gravel tours in his 20s, but picked up bike travel again in his 40s. Though John works full-time, he is still able to manage several tours per year ranging from overnight to several weeks, mainly in the western US (MT, ID, AZ) and Mexico (Oaxaca, Yucatán, Huasteca). John is also a Warmshowers host along the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route in Butte, MT, and has hosted over 450 guests throughout the years.
Joe (he/him, Missoula, MT) was raised in Minnesota and followed his call to the mountains in his early 20s. The endless trails and forest roads in western Montana is where he found love and obsession for mountain biking and bikepacking. Joe is the founder of Spotted Dog Cycles, a dirt-minded, Missoula-based bicycle touring and outfitting company. By offering backcountry cycling tours Joe hopes to help others learn to appreciate and respect our wild lands and the opportunities they provide. When he is not on two wheels he is usually in the woods with his dogs or trying not to crash at the skatepark.
Jason (he/him, Pasadena, CA) is a recent bikepacker, starting in 2020. He has multiple finishes in the top 10 of Stagecoach 400, and before that, an ultra endurance athlete in Ironman & marathon.
Jacob (he/him, Morgantown, WV) is a native Appalachian, hailing from the Great Smokey Mountains. Bikes began shaping Jacob in college, starting as a means of cheap transportation before eventually becoming the inspiration for his philosophy in everyday life today. Jacob has worked as a professional backcountry guide, bike mechanic, and is currently an outdoor educator and instructor based in the heart of Appalachia, passionate about bringing bikes and their philosophy to the region. While relatively new to bikepacking, Jacob is the founder of West Virginia’s only bikepacking group, Hellbender Bikepacking, and hopes to bring attention to the sport in the Mountain State.
Greg Hardy (he/him, Asheville, NC) is the owner of Rockgeist (rockgeist.com), a small business dedicated to manufacturing bikepacking gear and expanding the boundaries of your bicycle travel. In addition to selling great gear, Rockgeist has curated a route library (https://rockgeist.com/routes/) that focuses on short and accessible East Coast bikepacking routes. They also have a Bikepacking Rental Gear Library to support new bikepackers in the Southeast.
Gregg (he/him, Thousand Oaks, CA) is an ITT holder for the Tour de Los Padres and 2021 winner of Stagecoach 400. He’s also the first finisher & current FKT holder of the New Colo route. Greg is a co-creator and Steward of the Escape LA bikepacking route, along with Justin Shafer. The route was inspired by tens of thousands of miles logged while training for bikepacking adventures in other locales.
(he/him, Washington, DC) As a child, learning to ride a bicycle meant freedom to explore my surroundings. As an adult, pedaling through a forest is a great way to recapture this feeling. Plus, it’s just fun! I created and maintain C&O Canal Byways (https://canalbyways.com/), a collection of routes ranging from a few miles to 500+ miles that intersect the C&O Canal but primarily feature more adventurous terrain. For the last few years, I have been specializing in routes that are possible without car for riders who can get to Amtrak or other regional transit. I enjoy all aspects of creating routes, including poring over maps, scouting and refining a route, seeing a place in different seasons of the year, hearing feedback from other riders, and spending hours thinking about each little choice that defines the route. Route creation is both a rewarding personal experience and a way to share that experience with riders who might otherwise stick to the comfort of the most well-traveled roads and trails.
I enjoy all aspects of creating routes, including poring over maps, scouting and refining a route, seeing a place in different seasons of the year, hearing feedback from other riders, and spending hours thinking about each little choice that defines the route. Route creation is both a rewarding personal experience and a way to share that experience with riders who might otherwise stick to the comfort of the most well-traveled roads and trails.
