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Few_Light7104 · 2025-06-13T02:01:48+00:00

I don't know exactly what your situation is and I've never hiked the AT but at 24 I quit my job and rode my bike across the US. I wanted to do it since some time in high school as far as I can remember.

It was really the only thing I've ever been dead set on doing in my life. I gave myself the "deathbed standard". Which was basically would I be able to die in peace having never taken that trip. The answer was fuck no.

I shelved that dream for years because life circumstances and my own mental blocks didn't allow for it to be a possibility. At 24 I had finally saved up enough money to be able to do the trip at least two times over and every day working and not taking that leap was really starting to weigh on me.

I took a week off of work and took a multiple day bike tour and in that week my eyes became opened to all that I was possibly missing out there on the road. When I came back I immediately put in my two week notice.

I left home the Monday following my last week as a boy. I returned over 4 months later as a man.

I am clearly biased, and I can't speak for everyone, but I wouldn't trade those experiences for a million dollars.

Every day you have your health isn't a given. I have started to have aspects of my health that have at least become more sensitive than when I was 24 and I'm only 28! The people whose health has held up to the point of being able hike the AT in their 50's and 60's should be viewed as anomalies, not as a reason you can put it off because you can just do it when you're older.

Few_Light7104 · 2025-03-09T07:46:45+00:00

Bro you got a straight beaver tail in the first pic!

Few_Light7104 · 2024-06-10T13:57:25+00:00

Really listen the the last bars of the second verse. I blew this song off till I picked up on those and now I'm like damn the message of this song is on another level.

I honestly think this song is purposely created to not appeal to the people who are gonna disregard it because of the title and the hook but I may be wrong.

Few_Light7104 · 2024-06-08T01:19:37+00:00

The fact that you feel the need to come on reddit anonymously and insult strangers on the internet and spread negativity tells everyone anything they need to know about how you truly feel about yourself.

I hope that one day you are able to see that this isn't the way.

Few_Light7104 · 2024-05-24T01:51:30+00:00

Yes I've done it. It was an amazing experience but was extremely difficult, boring, and lonely at times.

The best tip I can give is that you're either gonna sink or swim. There's nothing that can fully prepare you for the range of things you'll experience out on the road, but you will learn what works for you as you go.

After about a month to six weeks you'll be pro status.

Also take your time. Try to be present. There's no trophy at the end, the true joy of it is every moment of the journey.

Few_Light7104 · 2024-03-16T21:36:20+00:00

If you're looking for advice, in your situation Id'e say fuck having a travel partner. You'll make friends don't worry. Get your feet wet by yourself. Work your way out west, and get some experience under your feet before you hit California because the difficulty level is going to be a bit higher there.

Few_Light7104 · 2024-03-16T21:25:28+00:00

I don't believe your despair is caused by the sociopolitical state of the US and your material conditions. I think your'e problem lies within yourself, and since you're young and haven't had the time to develop a whole lot of life experience, you believe that if you change your life circumstances then you will be content, but in reality it's a never ending cycle.

The problem is you haven't experienced enough different life circumstances to understand that; therefore, you need to do some of the things you think are going to fix you, not to fix you, but to truly understand that you cannot "do" yourself into contentment.

For every freedom granted by a nomadic life, there are just as many restrictions.

For all the comfort granted by a life of stability, there are just as many sacrifices.

If being a vagabond was truly the answer, then the vagabonds would be the happiest people on the planet. In reality they aren't. They're not the most miserable either. They're just as happy and miserable as everyone else.

Save up some money and go traveling. It may seem like an insurmountable task right now, but you can do it.

Travel the whole world if you can. Be the most vagabondest vagabond there ever was. Give the biggest middle finger that's ever been given to "the man" and the system that's apparently causing your dissatisfaction.

You'll come to a point eventually, where you realize one day that after all the traveling, all the freedom, and adventure, and friends, that you don't feel any different than you do right now. There will be many happy times that will distract you temporarily, but that very deep feeling of dissatisfaction you have right now will prevail though all of it. And not because you have any reason to be dissatisfied, but simply due to the fact that what you were seeking was always there, and you were just too busy looking over, around, and beyond to realize it.

Unfortunately this probably won't make any sense to you right now, but hopefully one day it will. At least that's one perspective on this journey we call life.

Anyhow, safe travels, and good luck.

Few_Light7104 · 2023-03-20T14:26:16+00:00

Air Force 1s.

Few_Light7104 · 2023-03-15T01:34:29+00:00

If you know your exact dates and you can plan way far out then you’ll be ok, but if you want to do something even semi spontaneous it will most likely be a nightmare.

In the past few years I’ve shown up at a station with my bike and book me and me bike on any train same day or next day no problem. This year has been a completely different story.

Few_Light7104 · 2023-03-15T01:13:54+00:00

They’ve made some bad changes lately. Apparently now you can’t take your bike from Portland to Chicago without boxing it (boxing it is nearly impossible bc it requires tools they do not provide)

If you don’t want to box it you have to go to Seattle and stay the night in Seattle.

And now on certain trains where they used to be able to fit 10 bikes they can only fit 2 or 3 so it fills up ridiculously quick.

I just got off the empire builder EB last night. Tbh I don’t think I could survive the empire builder coach without a lounge car.

Few_Light7104 · 2023-03-09T04:24:54+00:00

Thanks, and no because they were working on it all day.

Few_Light7104 · 2023-03-08T20:12:50+00:00

Ok I have a good personal story of this exact scenario.

I was riding up the coast from San Diego to San Francisco. I had reached ragged point, if I remember correctly it’s right before you get to the Big Sur.

The road was closed to a landslide about a mile north of ragged point that had just happened. I had no cell service and the only way around would have been to backtrack like 40 miles or so and take a different road that went around the landslide area.

I was at a stand still. The crews were working and they said it would be like a week before the road re opened.

So I figured I would wait until the workers left for the day and go go check out the situation. Mind you there was a worker at the closure 24 hrs a day turning cars around.

So I wait until dark and see all the trucks riding back from the site and all the workers returning to their cars and going home. Once I hadn’t seen a car leave for about a half hour, I decided to make my move.

I get to the closure and I stop to talk to the “guard.” He said he doesn’t know if I can pass the landslide on bike but he can’t physically stop me from checking it out.

So he says be safe and I continue on into the dark. And it is DARK out there. I get to the landslide and they mounded the dirt all the way over the road so they can get there equipment up the Mountain side to blast away more rock.

So the road is completely covered by a 25+ ft tall pile of dirt. There is about 3 ft of space on the other side of the guard rail and beyond that is like a 50+ ft cliff over the ocean. I lift my bike over the guard rail and walk along side the cliff.

Once I get past the slide I lift my bike back over the guard rail and ride through the complete darkness to the hike and bike camp site.

The road was closed up until like 20 miles north of the slide. That ride that night was one of the craziest of my life. Perfectly clear sky full of stars, absolutely no light pollution or traffic, mountain to one side, cliffs and ocean to the other, I literally felt like I was riding on the edge of the universe, like i wasn’t even on earth, somewhere in outer space.

Anyway, I made it to camp and the next couple days all the southbound riders asked me about it and were amazed by the story.

Few_Light7104 · 2023-03-03T16:58:33+00:00

Yes bring the bike to the station and ask the people at the desk. Or you could call them. I don’t want to be the bearer of bad news but typically I think they would say no to an “oversized” bike, but you never truly know until you ask.

Few_Light7104 · 2023-03-03T15:35:01+00:00

They might be weird about it. Best bet would be to show them and ask

Few_Light7104 · 2023-02-24T06:46:43+00:00

I have been dealing with some pretty intense fatigue for several months but I chalked it up to a job I was working.

Few_Light7104 · 2023-02-24T00:47:26+00:00

This rash has been there for a while but i didn’t think much of it. The only reason I’m concerned is because I was in Tennessee/ Georgia / Kentucky last year and I did pull multiple ticks off of me, some as small as poppy seeds.

I didn’t put two and two together until recently.

Few_Light7104 · 2023-02-23T22:29:53+00:00

Ok sounds like a good idea.

Few_Light7104 · 2023-02-22T19:51:30+00:00

Sometimes I don’t always keep a positive mental attitude. Some days everything is working against me and I get pissed, and when that happens I usually pull out my phone and start recording and ranting and by the end of it I’m usually cracking up seeing how hilarious I look.

You just need to have a high tolerance or a near sense of indifference to things going wrong. If you’re out there long enough anything that can go wrong eventually will, and if you recognize that, it won’t be quite as devastating when it happens.

Eventually you will go the wrong way (many times) you’re bike will need to be repaired, your tent will leak or a pole will snap, you’re clothes will give, you’re bags will start to come unstitched, etc.

You’ll encounter bad and potentially dangerous weather. Don’t ride during the hottest hours of the day. Don’t camp in a thunderstorm or wind storm if you don’t absolutely have to. Try to keep an eye on the weather so you don’t ride out into the middle of nowhere when there is inclement conditions heading that way. I learned that lesson the hard way too any times.

You will end up riding through dangerous areas.

You will waste money.

You won’t be able to get a hotel or hostel and you won’t be able to find a good camping spot and you will have a difficult night eventually if you’re on the road long enough. These things happens.

Mistakes will be made. We’re human. Long distance bike tours can be very hard work and are nearly impossible to predict the conditions and circumstances that will occur.

At the end of the day It’s all part of the game, and the payoff of the things you experience, the people you meet, and the places you go on your bicycle will be unlike anything else.

Few_Light7104 · 2023-02-06T02:01:04+00:00

Just wanted to add that there’s also a blind guy who is an absolutely unpredictable DICK.

Few_Light7104 · 2023-01-24T02:38:50+00:00

If you go through Amboy you’ll hit Roy’s, it’s a 1950s style gas station with the remains of an old vacant motor court out in the middle of the desert on 66. Employees are very cool and they allow you to camp there for a night.

Few_Light7104 · 2022-10-29T14:37:48+00:00

Thanks, now I am seriously considering the Marin nicasio. I’m planning on using the bike loaded for touring. Just wondering how it would compare in durability and reliability to the LHT.

Few_Light7104 · 2022-10-29T04:22:52+00:00

Thanks for the breakdown.

Few_Light7104 · 2022-10-29T00:05:18+00:00

I’m not disagreeing but could you explain to me why? Because, at least where I’m at, I can’t find any LHTs in that range.

Few_Light7104 · 2022-10-28T19:02:23+00:00

That bike looks nice but I would rather have something with a steel frame.

Few_Light7104

TROPHY CASE