40 Years on the Road

Tahverlee [00:00:03]:
Welcome to the Bike Life podcast by Warmshowers Foundation, where we will be sharing knowledge, experience, tools, and stories of touring cyclists and hosts from around the world. I'm Tahverlee, the woman behind the scenes at Warmshowers Foundation, the leading platform for cyclists looking for hosts and to connect with a passionate international community. Find out more by visiting us at Warmshowers.org. Now, on to the show.

Jerry Kopack [00:00:40]:
Hello, and welcome to bike life. This is Jerry Kopack. And if you don't recognize my voice yet, I'm the new host taking over for Tahverlee. But don't worry. She's still around as our executive director, but she's focusing her time on making your experiences as hosts and travelers even better. A little bit about me. I've been the finance guy for Warmshowers for about 5 years. And when I'm not building spreadsheets, you'll find me hosting bike travelers at my home in Breckenridge, Colorado, or maybe on my own bike tour someplace else in the world.

Jerry Kopack [00:01:10]:
Today, I'm talking with Jeff Jinnet who at the age of 61 set off for a big old bike tour across the US. But this wasn't his first tour, rather the 40th anniversary of that first tour. Today, he's gonna share some insights about what has changed with bike touring, the gear, and I would guess probably himself. Hey, Jeff. Welcome to bike life.

Jeff Jinnett [00:01:30]:
Hi. Nice to be here with you, Jerry.

Jerry Kopack [00:01:32]:
So I'm a kid from the eighties, and I am really looking forward to nerding out with you today and talking about all things eighties and bikes.

Jeff Jinnett [00:01:40]:
Sounds good.

Jerry Kopack [00:01:41]:
So let's just get into it. Bike touring, as we all know, has really exploded a lot in recent years and for sure since COVID. What was bike touring like back in, say, 1983?

Jeff Jinnett [00:01:54]:
Well, there are a lot of things that were are very different and some things that, you know, have never changed. When I was, young, I was back in the in the actually, right around 1980. I, I was a ski bum for a year, out in Vail before I I went back and went to college. And I met this guy who became a good friend of mine, and he had just completed a coast to coast bicycle tour. And I had never heard anything about that or knew that that even existed, and I became enamored with the thought of of, of doing a tour like that. So a few years later, when I was in college, I decided to just get on my bike and, and head off on a tour, and I really had no idea what I was doing. And, I I didn't go coast to coast, but I rode more miles than coast to coast. I did a big loop around the country, and, I learned a lot along the way.

Jeff Jinnett [00:02:52]:
So, I bought a couple of of, panniers from bike Nashbar and put them on my bike.

Jerry Kopack [00:02:59]:
I remember Nashbar.

Jeff Jinnett [00:03:00]:
Yeah. I remember that. Just trapped all my my gear on, and, I was going to school at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee. So I left Knoxville and just headed west and really didn't know where I was gonna go or where I was gonna end up, and I had some, other maps of the, you know, the Transamerica Trail, and I hope to ride part of that trail, which I did. And, and just kinda learned and, and gained my experience along the way.

Jerry Kopack [00:03:28]:
Wow. So paper maps, obviously, because offline offline GPS was not a thing.

Jeff Jinnett [00:03:35]:
No. Paper maps. I remember, I was about 3 or 4 weeks into in my tour. I was riding through Missouri when I ran into my first, bicycle tour, fellow bicycle tourist. And, I remember he looked at me and he said, what do you do when you get when it rains? I thought, what what do you mean? And then I looked at his bike where everything was, you know, wrapped in plastic and zipped up and tied. I look at my bike, it looked like a like the Beverly Hillbillies, you know, caravan. I hadn't I I hadn't even thought of that, like, that it might rain on me while I was biking. And he so he helped me learn how to pack my gear so it wouldn't get soaking wet, which was good because obviously I did run into some rain later on down the road, and it was little lessons like that that I just kinda learned along the way.

Jeff Jinnett [00:04:25]:
But the the most interesting thing in getting started is is just like I felt when I met my friend in Colorado who had done a bike tour and I didn't know anything about it. In those days, people, especially in the east, as I got farther into the Rockies, you know, there were more cyclists. People just were flabbergasted by the fact that somebody was riding their bike with all this gear across the country. It was, it, I mean, it was comical now, and when I look back on it, the the reactions of people when they would see me, it was such an oddity that, that it was you became part of a kind of a tourist attraction no matter where you went because people would come, I heard I heard about you. You know, let me can I take a picture of you? You know, just things like that that don't happen so much now, but, but it was, it was really great back in those days.

Jerry Kopack [00:05:15]:
Did anyone ask you, like, why why are you doing this? Since you know that you could you could take a bus if you wanna get somewhere, like, why are you riding a bike?

Jeff Jinnett [00:05:23]:
All the time. You know, like, there was, like, like, poor guy, you know. This is the only way you have to travel.

Jerry Kopack [00:05:29]:
Like, no. No. I'm choosing this.

Jeff Jinnett [00:05:32]:
I'm sorry?

Jerry Kopack [00:05:33]:
It's like, no. No. I'm choosing this.

Jeff Jinnett [00:05:34]:
I'm choosing this. This is this is something that I really wanna do.

Jerry Kopack [00:05:37]:
Yeah. So what was your route? Take me, take me through it loosely.

Jeff Jinnett [00:05:43]:
So when I I I rode, west from, from Tennessee, and I rode up and I got on the Transamerica Trail up in Missouri and rode that trail through Kansas and through, into Colorado. And in in in Pueblo, I went north up through the the Rockies, and then I rode all all the way up through the Rockies until I came to Glacier, National Park, and I crossed into Canada. And then I rode I went back east, and I rode east across Canada over towards the Dakotas. And one of my goals is that I had heard about this ride in Iowa from people that I've met in Colorado, and they're like, you know, you've gotta go to the RAGBRAI. Yeah. What is that? And they said it's this amazing ride of thousands of cyclists, and it it just I got so intrigued that I actually planned my ride so that I could join, the the RAGBRAI in, in Western Iowa, and that was in 1983. And sure enough, I met up with thousands of other cyclists, and I rode rode the RAGBRAI, as a, you know, unregistered rider because I just joined along with all my panniers and everything else and rode along with that group and from from, you know, Western, Iowa to Eastern Iowa. Yeah.

Jeff Jinnett [00:07:02]:
And then I finished the route the ride, I I just kinda meandered back through Indiana and down into Kentucky and and back to Tennessee. I was gone about 9 weeks and just rode back to my house. And, so I did this for that just rode through some amazing parts of the country and and made this giant loop in back home.

Jerry Kopack [00:07:24]:
So I think it's hilarious that you jumped into Rag Bri. So friends of mine call that doing it a bandit race where you kind of just yeah. You didn't really register, but you're taking part of it. So very funny that you were one of the original early bandits of the eighties. Yeah.

Jeff Jinnett [00:07:40]:
Well, in those days, at least at that ride, they had these, like, orange plastic discs with a little chain on it, and I guess that showed that you were a rider. And on my first day, you know, people started talking to me, and I told them that I didn't even know this ride existed. I'm just happen to be here, and somebody said here, take this and clip it to your bike, and you'll be okay. And so,

Jerry Kopack [00:08:01]:
so that got you into the food tents and nothing else. Right?

Jeff Jinnett [00:08:04]:
The the barbecues and the campgrounds, and, what a what an amazing experience that was. So

Jerry Kopack [00:08:10]:
And then going up through and into Canada, obviously, border crossings weren't a big thing. So there was no passport. It's just like, hey. Just roll on through. Welcome. Here's Canada. Welcome back to the US. No big deal.

Jeff Jinnett [00:08:22]:
Right. Yeah. Going up and going out. And and and, you know, I'd never been to Canada, so it was very exotic for me to ride across the the farmlands of Alberta and I rode all the way over to Winnipeg and then and then went south from there.

Jerry Kopack [00:08:35]:
So after this big trip, what do you what do you think you brought home with you?

Jeff Jinnett [00:08:39]:
Well, number 1, it just really cultivated a love for travel. Yeah. And, and I absolutely had a fantastic time on the bike trip. I ended up doing 2 more, shorter tours while I was in school, both of them with my sister who became my, you know, my my bicycling travel buddy.

Jerry Kopack [00:08:57]:
Oh, very cool.

Jeff Jinnett [00:08:58]:
She was to Tennessee where she was going to school also. So we did that one summer, which is great to do with her together. And then, a few years later in 1987, we did a tour of the all the New England states. And that's right when she graduated from college. And and then, you know, and then life took over. And, we ended up, you know, starting to work and got married and having kids and blah blah blah and mortgages. And, you know, I did ride the rockies a few times and and, you know, stayed on the bike, not doing tours, but just riding for fitness until a couple years ago when I thought, you know, I've always always wanted to do a coast to coast tour and how appropriate that it's approaching the 40th anniversary of my first tour. And I have a little more flexibility in work right now, so I might be able to do it, and I just decided to put it on the calendar.

Jerry Kopack [00:10:03]:
Okay. So was your goal then to sort of retrace your steps or just to blow out into something completely different?

Jeff Jinnett [00:10:09]:
Yeah. I I really didn't retrace my steps because my goal was to go coast to coast, and I wanted to ride through Colorado, which is one of my one of my favorite states, and I wanted to ride through Tennessee where I had grown up, which is one of my favorite states. So I sort of plan my route to, go through those 2 states. And then be because I wanted to avoid the heat, I left in September a little bit later, so I had to be careful about, you know, how far north I went. And, so it I picked out a route from San Francisco, up to the Lake Tahoe area, across Nevada and Utah into sort of Southwest Colorado and rode Southwest Colorado across to Kansas and then Kansas across Missouri, dropped down into through a little bit of Kentucky to to kind of middle Tennessee. And, originally, I was gonna ride across the Smoky Mountains and go over to, South Carolina, but this cold street came in and the temperature in the Smokies was drip dropping into the twenties. This was, late October, early November. So instead, I went down through Chattanooga to Atlanta, and I went I finished up at Tybee Island near Savannah, Georgia, which was a great I'm glad I did that.

Jeff Jinnett [00:11:23]:
It was I'd never been to that at Pardot Georgia, and it was amazing. So it was great.

Jerry Kopack [00:11:27]:
Okay. So didn't make it through Breckenridge, though?

Jeff Jinnett [00:11:32]:
I didn't, I did not come through Breckenridge.

Jerry Kopack [00:11:34]:
Okay.

Jeff Jinnett [00:11:35]:
Breckenridge is one of my favorite places, and in fact, I am a season pass ski holder. He's he's just a ski pass holder at Breckenridge. So, I do like Breckenridge a lot.

Jerry Kopack [00:11:46]:
Okay. So how is this trip different besides the fact that your route was different? Like, I'm guessing maybe not the same bike?

Jeff Jinnett [00:11:55]:
No. Well, not the same bike. I rode a an old Fuji touring bike back in the eighties, which ended up being a great bike. But this time, I I was riding a a a Kona Sutra Yeah. Disc brakes and all the braze ons and all the all the bells and whistles and really a nice bike. But, you know, the the the differences and I've been thinking about this a lot on my tour and since then about kind of what what made the tour different. And then when you just talk about in terms of equipment, you know, the the bike I rode the first time was comfortable and so was this one, but you know what's different is the tires.

Jerry Kopack [00:12:32]:
Okay.

Jeff Jinnett [00:12:32]:
Like in the eighties, I had flat tires nonstop. And, you know, hey, giving them a plug, you know, Schwalbe Marathon Touring tires, thumbs up. Because I had I had 2 flats in the entire trip and both of them were severe ones like running over a roofing nail or something. It wasn't just a thorn or anything like that. It was Yeah. So very, very few problems, but, you know, of course, the biggest difference is technology.

Jerry Kopack [00:13:00]:
Yeah.

Jeff Jinnett [00:13:01]:
You know touring in the eighties was lonely because in order to talk to anybody at home or for anybody to know where I was I had to find us, a pay phone and make a collect call because you know I didn't have a lot of money and hope somebody would answer, accept the call, and then tell them where I was and and talk. And, I I reread my journals from that trip before I did my latest one, and there was a lot of sort of pining, like, missing everybody and missing my girlfriend and missing my family and just being lonely. And, now with with the, the ability to connect so many different ways, I I really didn't have that issue at all. You know, of course, I had a GPS for navigation and a cell phone, which there aren't that many areas in the country where you're at a cell phone reach for that long. I mean, there were some places in Utah a day or 2, and and that was pretty wild. I I carried a a tablet. I wrote a blog every day. I uploaded it.

Jeff Jinnett [00:13:59]:
I had, an amazing number of people jumped on my journey and and joined me. You know, I'm a I have a restaurant, so I had a big map at the restaurant and, my staff would put pins in where I was every day. And so the customers could come in and see that. And by the end of the tour, had almost 2,000 people, reading my blog every day to just to see where I was. So I felt and they were writing me comments, and we were communicating. So communication and staying in touch, just became so easy, And, I was recording short videos for my family no matter where I was on my phone and then texting it out to them, and I I felt like I was so connected, which, you know, in in a way, you think, well, you're trying to get away from it all, and I was, but it was awesome because, you know, I have, grown kids now and grandkids and, you know, friends, and everybody wanted to sort of know that I was okay, and they did. It was great.

Jerry Kopack [00:14:57]:
So every every generation kinda has this this backward looking thing, like, oh, things were better in my day, in my generation. So I'm just curious. Like, you're talking about these great upgrades with technology and GPS. Upgrade or downgrade? What do you think?

Jeff Jinnett [00:15:12]:
Well, I think as far as safety and convenience, definitely an upgrade. As far as having to be resourceful, definitely a downgrade. I mean, back in the eighties when you toured, I mean, you were stopping at country stores and pulling out a map and saying, how should I go? You know, what's this road like? What's that road like? And, you know, you you had a lot more surprises along the way. A lot of them good, sometimes it's not so good. So I think that, that, you know, you could certainly spin that either way, depending on how you look at it. I I actually think it was the good thing, and I think it's a good thing that, that the technology is there. You know, when you're looking for a campground or need to find services for a bike shop, I mean, you know, or you just at the click of a button, you can find all this stuff. And, you know, I was on the, you know, adventure cycling maps and using their resources, and Warmshowers, of course, was a big part of of, my trip.

Jeff Jinnett [00:16:09]:
I had some great experiences with Warmshowers along the way. My only regret is I didn't have more of them, you know, And, you know, I I learned about Warmshowers from another friend of mine who, who has done a lot of bicycle touring, and I would read his blogs and say, what is what is Warmshowers? And, I called him before the trip and and talked to him about that, and I was able to stay at 3 hosts along the way. And those 3 nights were some of my most memorable and great experiences from my entire trip, and they each taught me something about being a Warmshowers host, which I am now, and, and and prepared me for that as well. It was it was wonderful.

Jerry Kopack [00:16:47]:
Well, do you have any, any kind of feel good stories from any of those experiences?

Jeff Jinnett [00:16:52]:
I I do. And and, you know, my it's my first night on the road. Well, as was, I stayed with a warm shower's host, when in Davis, California. I stayed with this couple, Kathy and John, who I I called, as I, as I, left San Francisco and and started heading east, and these people were amazing. So they they told me a couple of things when I was, looking to come to their place. 1st, they said, well, just so you know, we do have other guests staying at our house, so we won't be able to give you a bedroom, but we have, like, this spare office, and we can put a bed in there. And I'm like, oh, that's fine. And the next thing they said, and also we're hosting a dinner party that night, which is fine, you can just come to the dinner party.

Jeff Jinnett [00:17:37]:
And I thought, wow, okay, that sounds great. And so I went and I met their friends and stayed. It was it was an amazing experience, and and I learned, you know, just because you got other things going on in your life doesn't mean you can't host a cyclist. And the people after I spent a couple hours with them when the guests arrived for their party, they somehow thought that that John and Kathy and I were old friends because that's how we felt after only being together for an hour or 2. And, just a a great experience and, I left just rejuvenated the next day just really excited even more so about my trip. And a few days later, I I contacted, Dan in in Lake Tahoe as I was riding up there, and and we made arrangements for me to stay with him. But I severely underestimated the climb from Davis, California up to Lake Tahoe. That is some serious climbing, especially for a guy who just started his tour, and I was struggling.

Jeff Jinnett [00:18:35]:
So it took me an extra day to get to, to Dan's place, and, he was like, hey, you know, no problem. Just get here when you get here. I've actually got to go, pick up my wife at the airport that night, but you can just hang out at my house. And, he just opened his home to me, and we, met up. We went out and had dinner, and then he said, you know, I've I've gotta take off. I'll be back late tonight. Just enjoy my home, and, I'll see you in the morning. And I thought, man, that's amazing, you know, that I thought would I have done that for someone? Now I hope that I will, but it was, just taught me that, you know, cyclists have a trust, that they share and, we had a great experience.

Jeff Jinnett [00:19:16]:
And the next guy I stayed with was in Buhler, Kansas, with with Garth. And and that day actually went fat farther than I thought I was gonna go. I had a great tailwind and I was speeding along in the town I was gonna stay, and I decided to just keep going. And when I got to, to Buhler, I saw that there was a host, and I'm like, oh, man. I I feel bad calling a guy, like, at the last minute. But I thought, well, what's what's there to lose? And I called him, and he said, I'm glad you called. My wife's out of town this weekend. Love to host you.

Jeff Jinnett [00:19:45]:
Just sit tight. I'll be over to pick you up right now. Because I was in town. And we had an amazing experience. What an interesting guy, an amazing guy, a cyclist and, you know, it was just fun. And so each one of those experiences, you know, just taught me how how you can be a great host. And, soon after I got back from my trip, I hosted a couple from Germany here in my home. And I my goal was to

Jerry Kopack [00:20:15]:
Didn't interrupt you. Do you remember what their names were?

Jeff Jinnett [00:20:19]:
Yeah. Lottie and and Luca.

Jerry Kopack [00:20:21]:
Okay. Just curious because I had hosted a a a German couple who had traveled through the US. And I know it's a long shot, but I thought maybe it's the same people because I know that they were going similar routes.

Jeff Jinnett [00:20:32]:
Yeah. They had been cycling around the world. Yeah. They had been on the road for a year and a half and, had I mean, it made me feel like a wimp after after talking to them because they had gone everywhere. But great great Warmshowers experiences. So

Tahverlee [00:20:49]:
Today's episode is brought to you by bike flights dot com, the leading bicycle shipping service and bike box supplier for cyclists. You'll enjoy low costs, excellent service, and on time delivery with every shipment, And you get preferred handling for your high value bikes, wheels, and gear. As a brand built around a love for the outdoors, they are committed to reducing environmental impact, and every bike flight shipment is carbon neutral. Join the nearly 1,000,000 cyclists who have used bike flights to ship their bikes, wheels, and gear with confidence since 2009, and see how easy it is to book, manage, and track all of your shipments. Visit bikeflights.comforward/warmshowers today for more information and to book your shipment. Now back to the show.

Jeff Jinnett [00:21:36]:
You know, that wasn't, of course, a thing back in the eighties, but I will tell you that, I did meet people along the road back then that just invited me to stay at their home.

Jerry Kopack [00:21:47]:
Yeah.

Jeff Jinnett [00:21:48]:
And one couple I remember was in, it was in Dallas City, Iowa, which right on the banks of the Mississippi, I was in a convenience store trying to figure out where I could camp in that town. And, you know, the clerk was not, you know, didn't really have any good information for me, but there was a lady there that was checking out that was listening. And when I walked out of the store, she approached me and she said, did I hear you right that you've been riding your bike for almost 2 months around the country? And I said, yes, ma'am. And I said, you have got to come to my house to meet my husband. He is going to think this is the greatest thing ever. So I said, okay. And she just lived down the street and we went in and talked and, her husband had recently retired. He was a railroad engineer, and we just clicked.

Jeff Jinnett [00:22:31]:
And next thing I know, I was a guest of theirs in their home, and we we stayed friends for over 20 years until they passed away. And actually, after I was married and had a young daughter, I went back and visited them at their home and it was just incredible, you know, it's that friendship that we that we made, in those few moments.

Jerry Kopack [00:22:52]:
And so think about those experiences that were facilitated, that were allowed because you're on a bike.

Jeff Jinnett [00:23:00]:
Oh, yeah.

Jerry Kopack [00:23:01]:
Think about how it would be different if you were in a car, a train, a bus, an airplane, like

Jeff Jinnett [00:23:06]:
Oh.

Jerry Kopack [00:23:07]:
Not just the places you've seen, but more so the people that you've met along the way. Absolutely.

Jeff Jinnett [00:23:12]:
You know,

Jerry Kopack [00:23:12]:
we all know that we can get on a plane in Albuquerque and end up in Knoxville or whatever the airports are. But look at those stories that you miss along the way. And so traveling by bike just gives you the opportunity

Jeff Jinnett [00:23:25]:
to make

Jerry Kopack [00:23:25]:
so many connections.

Jeff Jinnett [00:23:27]:
It's absolutely the best. And and I made, friends, on this last trip that, you know, that we're I'm still in contact with. You know?

Jerry Kopack [00:23:36]:
I love that. So so I'm curious. Your if what would your 61 year old self say to your 21 year old self about traveling, about touring?

Jeff Jinnett [00:23:49]:
Well, number 1, when I was 21 years old, I was obsessed with how many miles I could ride in a day. And I've my 61 year old self is, like, hey, it's really not about the miles you put in, it's about the quality of the miles and experiencing things along the way. So I took things, on a more relaxed pace. I didn't stress out if I didn't hit my goal for the day. I, you know, took time to smell the roses, if you will, and if I came to a cool place. And I forgot where I had heard this quote, but it's a great one. It's, never pass up a good campsite.

Jerry Kopack [00:24:25]:
I took my own home.

Jeff Jinnett [00:24:27]:
So when I came across a beautiful place or a great place, I'm like, well, I was hoping to do a few more miles, but, you know, this place looks awesome. I'm gonna stay here. So I would tell myself, you know, don't it's it's not about the miles. Also in, in in, in 1983, I didn't travel with a stove. I was eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. I

Jerry Kopack [00:24:46]:
Gas station food?

Jeff Jinnett [00:24:48]:
Yes. This time, I I made myself coffee and a good breakfast every morning. I, took advantage of of restaurants along the way. I made sure I had a hot meal at night. I took care of my my nutrition, a lot better and electrolytes.

Jerry Kopack [00:25:07]:
No. They were not a

Jeff Jinnett [00:25:08]:
thing back in the eighties. They're a thing now. Those are they're awesome for quenching your thirst and for keeping your body hydrated. I can't say enough, thank you to those companies.

Jerry Kopack [00:25:19]:
When was Gatorade launched? Do you know?

Jeff Jinnett [00:25:21]:
It wasn't around in 1983 or if it was, I didn't know about it because, you know you know those days you're on the road and you cannot quench your thirst Yeah.

Jerry Kopack [00:25:28]:
Of course.

Jeff Jinnett [00:25:29]:
Drinking and drinking and drinking and it's just won't you know, this time I had had Scratch Labs and Liquid IVs and, you know, Gatorade and, I'm I'm so old. So I I keep those in my bottle. So that was it was really really nice and to go along with that ice. Back in the eighties, it wasn't easy to get ice unless you bought a bag of ice. These days every gas station and every fast food place has those really beautiful ice dispensers. Yeah. And you go in and you go, hey, do you mind if I get some ice? I'm on this bike too, and they're like, no, fill up all your bottles. And I got spoiled, you know, I was I was drinking cold drinks, you know, most all the time.

Jeff Jinnett [00:26:07]:
So, I remember those days of lukewarm water in my in my bottle, you know, and, having to choke it down. I was very spoiled on this trip.

Jerry Kopack [00:26:17]:
Probably a lot of Snickers bars though then and and maybe even now?

Jeff Jinnett [00:26:21]:
Well, I'm a I'm a trail mix guy.

Jerry Kopack [00:26:23]:
Okay.

Jeff Jinnett [00:26:24]:
So I would stop You're gonna help me. Buy all my favorite stuff and mix these big bags of trail mix and that fueled me a lot Okay. A lot of it. And when, you know, one of the best things about being on a bike tour is you eat all the ice cream you want and still lose weight. So, you know, I never passed an ice cream shop by, but I didn't stop in either.

Jerry Kopack [00:26:42]:
And I and I love the the fact that you brought up ice cream because we talked about this offline. There's this quote that I love that I kind of live by. It's by Ben and Jerry's, the the founder Ben Cohen. And he simply said, if it's not fun, why do it? Mhmm. And so it kinda goes into this mentality of what I like to think of as type 1, type 2, and type 3 fun. So type 1 fun is maybe some of us know is that I'm having a good time now. Let's keep going. I would do this again.

Jerry Kopack [00:27:09]:
Type 2 fun is, like, this is pretty awful. I can't wait for it to be over. But somehow a month, 2 months, 3 months later, you somehow look back with fond recollections saying, hey. Remember that time we did that thing? That was amazing. We should do that again. Type 3 fun is I never wanna do this ever again. So as with any long bike tour like you did, you probably had various

Jeff Jinnett [00:27:33]:
Yes.

Jerry Kopack [00:27:33]:
Phases of type 1, type 2, and I don't know, maybe some type 3 fun? Did you

Jeff Jinnett [00:27:38]:
Well, I I I think type 2 and type 3 can sometimes blend together because

Jerry Kopack [00:27:42]:
Okay.

Jeff Jinnett [00:27:43]:
Let me tell you, riding your bike across the Mississippi River is a harrowing experience.

Jerry Kopack [00:27:49]:
Yeah.

Jeff Jinnett [00:27:50]:
That was the most frightening moment of the entire trip because the bridge, there's no shoulder except these big metal grates, and there's tons of traffic. And so when I got there, I probably stood there just looking at it, like, for, like, 20 minutes, like, how am I gonna do this? And then finally, I just decided, I guess you just go, and you wait for a gap, and you just go, and then you hold up the traffic, and everybody's mad at you, and and you're riding as fast as you can, and you get to the end and the adrenaline surge to your body, you're just tingling all over, and you think I could have died right then. And then later on, it's like you wouldn't believe this experience I had on this bridge, you know, becomes a sort of a type 2, type 3 thing. Like, maybe I'll take the ferry across next time or something, but, but I made it. So it was great, you know.

Jerry Kopack [00:28:42]:
Any of any other, like, dark times on either this trip or maybe, like, the your first trip?

Jeff Jinnett [00:28:48]:
Well, you know, the and and this is something I, you know, have to remember because, you know, I talked about how difficult the climb was going up towards Lake Tahoe. Yeah. And, you know, it was my first few days on the trip. And so, you know, I was it was hot and I was drinking a lot and I wasn't eating. And I actually reached a point where I almost I'm just almost fell off my bike. Oh. And, I was so I started getting woozy and, and, some people actually pulled over and said, hey, man, are you okay? And, I was I was only a few miles from my, my camping area, and they said, let's put your bike in the in the truck and let's let's take you to your campsite because you don't seem like you're doing too good. And I realized I hadn't eaten all day, and, I just bonked.

Jeff Jinnett [00:29:34]:
So that was the lesson like, hey, you gotta take care of your nutrition. And I and I and I learned from that experience. But I was thinking if if the whole trip's like this, I don't know if I can make it, you know, so I was got a little bit frightened, and then then I recovered, and I and I did well. And, the other experiences where I need to talk to the people who build roads in Utah because these 14% grades, like, that shouldn't be allowed. Riding your bike up a 14% grade is awful, and there were some climbs where I had to push my bike up the the hill. I I could not physically ride my bike, and, I thought, you know, give me those 7% Colorado roads all day long, but no 14% grades. So

Jerry Kopack [00:30:20]:
We've got a couple of those around here, but they're they're not that frequent. They're they're more of sort of like the, the off the beaten path roads.

Jeff Jinnett [00:30:28]:
Well, I know. When I got to Colorado, everybody talked to me how tough Monarch Pass was gonna be. Yeah. You know, it was the it was the killer and it was nothing. After 2 of those 14% grades, it was like a 25 mile climb, but it was graded so nicely that, I just I just went right up at my own pace, but no problems.

Jerry Kopack [00:30:48]:
So you were still were you still using paper maps or were you using kinda like an offline GPS, Google Maps, or something on your phone?

Jeff Jinnett [00:30:55]:
Yeah. I was using a a con at that point, I was using a combination of, of my GPS and Google Maps. And then, and I still got local intel. There's nothing like local intel, you know, to talk to people about the rides. And especially, you know, in Colorado, there's so many cyclists and, and resources. So I I cobbled together once I got, I took the Western express route from San Francisco to, to pretty much to Pueblo. So I was, you know, I was on that and I took, some detours every now and then when people gave me a nice road to ride on or had some, some good ideas, but I used the Adventure Biking Association's maps. Good.

Jeff Jinnett [00:31:32]:
And I had the GPS program from San Francisco to Pueblo. Once I got to Pueblo, you know, it's it it there's not that many ways to ride across Kansas and Missouri, so I I figured that out by myself. And then I was kinda on my own through Kentucky, Tennessee, and Georgia because there weren't really any maps, but, you know, I was able to figure it out easily. So worked out well.

Jerry Kopack [00:31:54]:
Do you, do you have any new trips planned, or are you just gonna kinda keep it local?

Jeff Jinnett [00:32:00]:
Well, I'm I'm really hoping that next year I can do the Continental Divide Trail from, you know, either Mexico to Canada or Canada to Mexico. I've become sort of enamored with that trail, and, one, because it goes through some of my favorite parts of the country. I know it's a very challenging, ride, but also there's no or very little traffic on that ride because you ride on mostly off road and if and if, you know, if I another thing I can contrast between, you know, traveling in the eighties and now there's a lot of big cars on the road RVs and big trucks. And, and even in the most remote beautiful places, there's just a lot of traffic. And, you know, as you know, the, the roads still are not really designed for bicycle travel in most parts, though, you put those darn rumble strips right on the shoulder. Yeah. So you can't really ride on it. And, you know, these RVs, which are everywhere, you see them coming in your mirror and you're like, no.

Jeff Jinnett [00:33:02]:
Please don't hit me with your mirror. And although drivers were for the most part very courteous and, gave me plenty of room, I thought, you know, if I could do a tour and not have a lot of traffic and noise, I think that would be really fun. So, I think my next tour will be a gravel or off road type tour. Hopefully, will be the continental, divide trail. If not that, some other, off road trail, and that'll be that'll be next year.

Jerry Kopack [00:33:29]:
Well, as you know, that route comes right through my front yard. Not quite literally, but darn near close to literally to my front yard. So I'll expect you to, reach out to me for, for a warm shower stay because we got you covered.

Jeff Jinnett [00:33:42]:
Will. I definitely will.

Jerry Kopack [00:33:44]:
I know the traffic is supposed to be very minimal. I've never done that route. The one thing you will have to worry about is I'm told, is that there are bears up in Montana. So just be wary of that.

Jeff Jinnett [00:33:54]:
Yep. That's the part that scares me. Bears and water.

Jerry Kopack [00:33:58]:
And water?

Jeff Jinnett [00:33:59]:
I don't I won't have ice machines everywhere on the continental

Jerry Kopack [00:34:04]:
Water filter. There'll be plenty of streams.

Jeff Jinnett [00:34:06]:
Yeah.

Jerry Kopack [00:34:06]:
Until you start getting down towards, like, the southern part of Colorado and then in New Mexico, then things dry up a little bit, especially depending on the time of year that it's in.

Jeff Jinnett [00:34:14]:
And I think I'd like to hook up with some other cyclists to do that trip and not do it by myself because you're in remote areas and, you know, in in case there are any malfunctions or health issues or whatever, it'd be nice to be with some other people. So Yeah. Maybe cross that bridge.

Jerry Kopack [00:34:29]:
Maybe a different bike too?

Jeff Jinnett [00:34:30]:
Oh, yeah. Yeah. I definitely will do it on a on a adventure gravel bike. I'm actually training on the, on on, Ryan Van Duzer's bike right now, the the the priority, adventure bike, which is a nice bike, and I'm having a lot of fun with that bike. Just training right now.

Jerry Kopack [00:34:47]:
Ryan's a good guy. He's a friend of mine from Boulder. So Yeah. He's done a lot of really cool adventures.

Jeff Jinnett [00:34:52]:
I like his videos. So they're they're good. So He

Jerry Kopack [00:34:55]:
he is a sharp guy.

Jeff Jinnett [00:34:56]:
Coming up. In the meantime, I'm riding for for health and riding for fun and riding around Albuquerque where I live in New Mexico and, you know, enjoying myself and back to work and, you know, life's, you know, gets back to normal really quickly.

Jerry Kopack [00:35:11]:
And thinking about Ben and Jerry's, if it's not fun, why do it. Right?

Jeff Jinnett [00:35:15]:
And, you know, I did go to the Ben and Jerry's factory up in Vermont when I did my tour, and I ate a lot of Ben and Jerry's ice cream. So it was it was delicious.

Jerry Kopack [00:35:23]:
And you probably earned every scoop on that journey.

Jeff Jinnett [00:35:25]:
Yeah. Oh, for sure. For sure.

Jerry Kopack [00:35:28]:
So Cool. I have so much enjoyed talking to you today, Jeff. And is there anyone who's curious about what you're up to, how to connect with you? Is there any way that they can, find out what you're up to? Like, maybe check out that map that you had posted?

Jeff Jinnett [00:35:40]:
Yeah. So I'll, I'll give you the information that that link links people to my, my blog, from the trip last year. It's got my contact information there. If anybody's coming through the Albuquerque area and, and needs a warm shower's place to stay, I'm a host and would happy to host you. And, you know, any other resources I can I can give, I'd be be more than happy to?

Jerry Kopack [00:36:02]:
Awesome. And if you have, the sort of the the verbal of that blog, go ahead and give it to us, and we'll also put the actual link in our liner notes.

Jeff Jinnett [00:36:10]:
It's, jjctc2023. Yeah. I mean, now I can't remember what it is.

Jerry Kopack [00:36:20]:
Hey. Don't worry. We'll we'll have a link for it.

Jeff Jinnett [00:36:23]:
I'm a I'm a I'm a, I'm having, you know, one of those. So

Jerry Kopack [00:36:27]:
Yeah. It's okay. We'll link it in.

Jeff Jinnett [00:36:29]:
Just say, I have a website, and, and I'll give that to you. You can link it below. Sorry about that.

Jerry Kopack [00:36:34]:
No. All good. I am so glad I got a chance to talk to you. It sounds like you've been doing things right for a lot of years, and you're still going. So I love hearing stories like this.

Jeff Jinnett [00:36:45]:
Good. Thanks, Jerry. It's great to talk to you.

Jerry Kopack [00:36:47]:
So thank you everyone for tuning in and listening to my conversation. If you enjoyed our show, give us a like, a share on your social channels, or maybe just tell your friends. These stories hopefully will inspire you to set off on your own bicycle journey and maybe make the world feel a little bit smaller, 1 pedal stroke at a time. My name is Jerry Kopack, and until next time, keep riding.

Tahverlee [00:37:10]:
Thank you for joining us, and we hope you enjoyed the show as much as we enjoyed making it. Wherever you are listening, please leave us a rating and a review, as it helps us reach more cyclists and hosts around the world. Visit us at Warmshowers.org to become a part of our community, or on Instagram at Warmshowers_org. If you would like to be a guest on the show or submit a question, please make sure to email us at podcast at Warmshowers.org.