Reconnecting With the Road: An overnight trip of biking isn't complete without Speedy Blaze
There's nothing like a good road trip to get you back in touch with yourself. I hadn't biked this far in a long time and decided to hit the road once more before getting back to the grind.
The trip was from Traverse City, my hometown, back to Belleville, where I live now. I had been isolating very seriously since the 26th of March when the first stay at home order was issued, and balked at the idea of going back to work without having anything to spark my return with purpose. It was very convenient that a friend of mine bought a car in my area and needed it driven up!
So I packed up my bicycle (complete with waterproof panniers filled with clothes, nutrition bars, a blanket, a sleeping bag, my hammock and my new Speedy Spark fire starters!)
I had resolved not to stop at any camping sites to keep to the social distancing protocols, and instead found some great state land along the way! I can't believe I hadn't done this before. The open air was refreshing and EMPOWERING.
After 8-odd hours of biking, I would set up camp and relax in my hammock while my Speedy Spark fire starters held pace with my day and lit my little fires in an instant! What a relief to have a cozy fire to light my journaling at the end of the day. I recorded all the thoughts and self reflection that flowed through me while I bicycled until my legs felt like jello and my heart swelled with delight!
The Speedy Sparks were an idea my friend gave me - especially with all the rain lately, I wasn't positive a fire would always be easy to start, and these little guys - they saved my butt on a couple occasions where most of the easy to hammock areas in the state parks were flooded!
Thanks to them and my trusty Eno hammock, I woke up dry and happy every morning!
After the most isolated ride of my life, I finally made it home on day 4! It was exciting to see my roommate and our cats and to celebrate, we burned our cardboard recycling and he got to try out one of my little Speedy Sparks! We talked of adventures past and yet to come and I vowed to never bike-pack again without these!
This blog was taken from Mari Atari's blog "bikingwithmari"