Thank you for bringing us along on your journey. At least someone finds it fun!

Several years ago I wanted to log at least one ride in January (Colorado). I waited until the 31st. Weather wasn't much warmer this day than any other. I went round and round all of the streets near our house until I had 10 miles on the odometer. A friend, looking at my ridewithgps map, asked if I were on a scavenger hunt!

It's a "Mallet" (2-8-8-2), named for the Swiss engineer who invented the articulation concept.

It's similar to the Big Boy, in that they were both articulated, and some (but perhaps not this one) featured compound steam delivery to the driving wheels. The loco shown here is wearing the name of the Chesapeake and Ohio and dates to sometime between 1924 and 1926.

Big Boys, an extension of the Mallet principles and evolution, were produced exclusively for the Union Pacific Railroad between 1941 and 1944.

Is That one of the "Big Boy" class?

Steve commented: "But what about 'If I'm going to fail in this trip, it's NOT going to be because I took my ability to handle the physical demands for granted'? Our answer to that is a combination of go slow, and desperation. Go slow is what you do if you don't have the stamina to go fast, and desperation is what you use when having gone slow it looks like you are not going to get there. After about three weeks on the road, these techniques result in usually being able to get somewhere!"

That inspired me to tally up the daily mileages in my plan by ten-mile increments (except for the lowest category, which is anything above zero but under 20 miles).

The majority of my planned days are in the 40 to 60 mile range, and I don't expect any drama from them. There are three days in the 70 to 80 mile range and three more that exceed 80; I know a couple of those will be steady uphill slogs for most or all of the day.

And the longest- 88 miles between Kooskia ID and Lochsa Lodge MT- is the "no services next 88 miles" stretch according to the ACA maps and other people's journals. Even more worrisome is that it comes the day after a 76 mile day, getting from Riggins ID to Kooskia. These come at the end of the second week out.

The other worrisome day is from Hamilton MT to Wisdom MT, midway through week 3. It's "only" 74 miles but includes the Chief Joseph Pass. Happily once I'm over the hump it's at least mostly downhill for the final 25 miles.

Finally, there's the 85 miles to get from Virginia City MT to West Yellowstone MT at the end of the third week. It looks like a very long steady climb for about 80 percent of the day.

I'll bet several readers have already done these climbs and I'd be grateful for any reassurances you can offer!

Very similar to you, I ride one of my bikes on an old "dumb" trainer and amuse myself by listening to streaming music. I occasionally think about getting a smart trainer/Zwift combo, but then remind myself that inside riding is only being done as a last resort. I want to be outside as much as possible, so don't want to put any more money into making inside riding more appealing.
I did up my game a bit this year by actually paying for a music subscription on Spotify. Not only does it eliminate ads, it gives much better control over the music selection. Current favorite is a playlist called Classic 60's Rock Anthems.
As to what I "see" (besides the snow in my backyard), are some of the rides that I've done over the previous year. But mostly, I just see the snow...

Some of my newer shirts date to the late 90s. :)

But I think the oldest surviving ones only get back to about 1990. The 80s are truly gone, at least from my t-shirt drawers. Yes, plural.

The "dirty shirt" made me think of one that I still commonly wear. It's from the Sooke (nearby town) Gone to the Dogs 10K. The remarkable thing about this was that you were supposed to run with your dog (we had to carry ours, a big Golden, the last bit) but that the shirt features the date: 1998!

Oh yeah I forgot to mention that as soon as the weather moderates, I too will be off the trainer like a dirty shirt and back on the actual bike with two wheels, that takes me places outside the rec room.

Thanks Steve. I am guessing that, at some point, desperation will in fact become the Strategy of the Day, but hopefully only for THAT day.

We too find the exercise bike "Mind-numbingly, ennui-inducing, I'd-rather-have-a-root-canal, B-O-R-I-N-G" (well written!). Dodie often tries it for a bit, especially after a knee operation, a crash, or something. But just as soon as feasible, we go out on the road, even if just in a 20 km radius from home. And when we can no longer stand that, out come the maps of Europe, or Mexico, Cuba, Hawaii, or something!

But what about "If I'm going to fail in this trip, it's NOT going to be because I took my ability to handle the physical demands for granted"? Our answer to that is a combination of go slow, and desperation. Go slow is what you do if you don't have the stamina to go fast, and desperation is what you use when having gone slow it looks like you are not going to get there. After about three weeks on the road, these techniques result in usually being able to get somewhere!

A variant of this has to do with language. If you forgot or never had French or German or Spanish, you could use the off season with a totally boring language program. Alternatively you can just jump in, and go to the foreign country unprepared. And then if (for example) hungry enough, phrases like "¿Hay algún lugar para encontrar comida cerca de aquí?" can spring to your lips. Or if not (as in this case) there is Google Translate.

What's the equivalent of Google Translate for the slob that did not stick with the trainer bike? "Taxi!"

I am trying hard NOT to take the itinerary as an iron bound, inflexible construct. I want it to be like the Pirate's Code: "More of a guideline than an actual code."

There will be certain touch points, probably, that are less flexible. For instance my rest days at Powell Campground, which I expect will be fully reserved by the time I get there, are likely not going to be easily changed.

I am expecting to be in the Black Hills at the same time as the Sturgis nonsense, so that's another area where having a plan and committed reservations is important.

Other than those, I feel most everything else can float for a while. I do not want the avoidable stress of feeling like I "have to" be someplace in particular on a certain date just because an artificial schedule suggested I could be.

Hi Kelly

For the first three weeks, which is all the farther I have taken it so far, it's about 50/50 between camping and other accommodations.

Look how poor my memory is - you are indeed camping. My question could be refined into asking, "mostly camping?" although it appears the answer is yes, since you have cooking gear.

You are a man after my own heart. We also have a daily itinerary and stick to it. Only a couple of times have we had minor routing adjustments. Going through Navajo Nation in 2020 we had to slow our pace to avoid arriving during the weekend lockdown.

We have routed as much as two months, motel reservations included. Are you camping? I can't tell from the commentary to this point.

I've also heard of a light mount that attaches to the QR skewer of the front wheel. Problem Solvers has such a mount. There is also one that uses a fender eyelet.

You are not the only one with this problem!

Sorry, I can't link anything . . .

Kelly