Idaho Women’s Bikepacking (IWBP)

6/24/23 - 6/25/23

Lauren and I spent two days and one night with Idaho Women’s Bikepacking on June 24-25, 2023. The ride was estimated to be 100 miles and 10,000ft of elevation, and we were going to join for all of it… but that’s not exactly what happened. This ride was filled with wonderful people, dusty roads, brake burning down hills, outrageous uphills, losing a camera, finding the camera, and good times all around.

The route started in Idaho City, went north through Crouch, then we camped about 10 miles north of Crouch in the National Forest. Then they went south taking Mordor, a wild elevation climbing stretch that the locals in Placerville did not believe. Once they made it to Placerville they had about 14 miles and one last climb to get back to the parking lot in Idaho City.

Our preparation for this ride started on Friday, by dropping one of our cars off in Garden Valley. This was about 30 miles into the ride, and just at the right spot where we didn’t have to carry too much on ourselves, other than snacks and all the camera gear. Also, in the worst case scenario we could bail at this point and follow by car if needed (which did end up happening).

I started my day at 4am on Saturday, mostly that early due to nerves. I had never done a 100 mile bikepacking trip, especially not while getting shots too - so I think that was all a bit overwhelming. I had been struggling with IT band issues for the past year, so I decided to start going to a physical therapist a couple months before this trip to help prevent any pain.

I got into the office around 6am to gather all the camera gear and get my bike rack setup on the work car. By 8am Lauren and I rolled out to Idaho City, about an hour drive from Boise. I forgot all my camping utensils so I snagged a plastic spoon, filled water bottles, and used the bathroom one last time before heading to the parking area where we were all meeting. The group slowly started trickling in as the time got closer to 9:45am. We already had our bikes setup by the time people got in, so I could focus on getting footage before rolling out around 10:15am. The group had diverse bikepacking experience, some people had been bikepacking for 10+ years, for some this was their first ever bikepacking trip. Laura Guymon Heiner is the bad ass leader for IWBP, and it was so wonderful to get to know her better. Encouraging, silly, and such a positive spirit the whole ride. After a brief rundown and introductions we started biking!

I quickly learned that I was the slowest of the pack, and it didn’t help that I had to stop to take the monopod out and get footage. Long story short, I fell behind quickly. I played leapfrog with the group for while, trying to get all the shots I was hoping to get. The group took a longer break to fill water and to help one of the riders with some mechanical issues. This ride was a “no drop ride”, which means no one is left behind. Bee was ready to give up biking forever, but as a group they all encouraged her to continue on. We had a very intense descent, where we had the best landscape view. Unfortunately….I learned at the very bottom of this descent that I lost our 360 camera… It must have jumped out of the water bottle bag without me noticing. At this point we were about 30 miles into the ride and decided to reroute and change our game plan for following the group. Luckily we had our car parked 10 miles north, so we rode to that before I backtracked to find the 360 camera. I was terrified of driving the work car up this very steep, tiny tiny tiny road, with no turnarounds. Lauren continues on with the group to get some drone shots of them rolling into the Garden Valley and Crouch, and I get into the car to search. I was so grateful to find the camera at the base of the incline, so I didn’t have to ride on the terrible road. I wish I would have turned around on my bike when I noticed it was gone, it was probably right behind me.

I knew the group was going to take a long break in Crouch to grab a bite to eat. I meet them and Lauren there to take a breather myself, and everyone saw that I found the missing camera and they give me a small round of applause lol. After some quick deliberating, Lauren and I decided to call it on riding with them the rest of the ride and follow in the car to get more shots. Before following the group in the car, Lauren and I struggled for way too long figuring out how to use the bike rack that was on our car… I’m familiar with bike racks, but for some reason our bikes would not align right without hurting the other bike.

We all camped together at a group campsite that was hugging the Middle Fork of Payette River. We rinsed off in the river, made dinner together, and had a good time chatting until we one-by-one got into bed. I’d also like to mention that Bee that was having bike problems earlier had to do more fixes on her bike. Everyone was very encouraging of her continuing on, Bee’s one contingency was if her tire was flat the next morning she’s out...

We woke up at 6am to leave the campsite by 7am. A couple of us look in disbelief at Bee’s flat tire… Laura broke the news by telling Bee to just sleep in…”IS MY TIRE FLAT?” was yelled from inside of Bee's tent. We all ate some food, I got some footage, and we chatted about the rain that we got in the night and how those who cowboy camped jumped into other people’s tents to get out from the cold wet rain.

Day two was simple, more of a waiting game for the group. We followed the group for a few miles, but then took a different route to meet them in Placerville. A very quaint town of 28 people, where I met 5 of the 28 while waiting in the middle of town with my camera ready for the group to come around the corner at my moment… any moment…any moment? It ended up taking the group 6 hours to get through the notoriously challenging Mordor. A section of trail that is a part of the Smoke 'n' Fire route. Lauren and I got slightly worried, so we put the drone in the air to see if we could see anyone. No one was around. We sat in the car for 30 seconds wondering what to do. And out of the corner of our eyes we see the first bikepacker zipping through town. We flew out of the car, forgetting to even shut the doors, so we wouldn’t miss the shot of them rolling into town. We got the shot of them rolling in, got some shots of them recharging on snacks after the cruel climb of Mordor, then we rolled out and planned to meet them back in the parking lot where we all started.

Back at the parking lot, everyone said a quick and tired goodbye.

Until next time,

Mya

Equipment Used

Cameras: FX3, GoPro 9, Insta360 One X

Bike: Surly Troll