Everglades - alligators, bikes, and boats

So there I was...

Every trip seems to come to fruition while randomly talking in the kitchen or sitting around killing time. At least the most memorable ones. That is a good description on how this trip came to exist. It was a really simple and fluid transition from "that would be cool" to "how can this be more......awesome?" Those trips where you look on satellite images to find a route or set unrealistic goals and hope all goes as planned.

So there I was sitting in the kitchen with my friend, Joey, talking about trips that could be done over the holidays. Usually I would be skiing this time of year, but did not have that option this year. In the process of thinking about things to do, the Everglades came up. Not having been down there and being on my bucket list of places to go, it was settled. A visit to the Everglades would be in a couple of months. At some point in the conversation, or another conversation, the discussion turned from a simple kayaking trip to self supported round trip of the everglades. Remember, how can this be more...awesome? Well there it is. The trip was no longer a simple trip to the north end of the everglades to kayak for a few days. This just turned into something a little bit harder and abnormal.

Lets me be honest, I have not done a ton of sea kayaking. Sometimes it is not about having a ton of experience. Most of the time it falls on being able to make decisions, navigate, plan, and in general be able to suffer. Not having an in-depth background in sea kayaking did not worry me, I have had plenty of experience on the water rafting and paddling on rivers, the logistical nightmare was more worrying.

You might be wondering how this was going to be a self supported round trip of the everglades? Typically you would pay a shuttle to get from one end of the everglades to the other. I decided to take this out and bike the 130 miles instead.

Planning for this trip was pretty easy. Downloaded the topo and marine maps for the area and began to pinpoint a general path. The hard part? In the Everglades you can only get permits for campsites 24 hours before you take off. So the planned route is basically a dream route with a couple fall back plans for the inevitable full campsite. A basic rundown on the planned trip goes something like this:

Day 1: Drive to Everglades city - drop boat and gear. Drive to Flamingo Bay Visitor Center
Day 2: Leave car at Flamingo, get camping permits, begin bike to Everglades City.
Day 3: Begin paddle from Everglades City to camp 1
Day4: Camp 1 to camp 2
Day 5: Camp 2 to camp 3
Day 6: Camp 3 to camp 4
Day 7: Camp 4 to Flamingo Bay Visitor Center, drive to Everglades City, and then home

Simple right?! Nothing too complex. Yes, this was a logistical nightmare. Simple in design but complicated in execution. The biking portion was long but would not be too hard due to the nearly 0 feet of elevation gain. Paddling was planned as somewhere around 75 miles. Being a solo trip, there is nothing to do each day besides getting from point A to point B.

Let the adventures begin!

Soma Wolverine - Final thoughts

Lets go a little deeper and round up the information on the Soma Wolverine.

Boston for size.

I built this bike up with the purpose of a do it all road/touring bike. The list of parts for this bike will be at the bottom. Have had the chance to get a few decent rides on this bike. With rain and straight up getting bored of the local dirt trails I have been riding for almost 7 years(damn I have been here that long?), this weekend I got to spend some time riding around. The riding was awesome and I can officially say I love this bike.

Dirt search.

When you read that this frame can fit 700x45 tires and fenders, one would think that it would be a tight fit. That is not really the case. Found a set of WTB NineLine 2.0 tires at work that were unclaimed. Decided I would try and put them on this bike but thought they would rub the frame to some extent. Wrong, there is plenty of room. 29x2.0 tires only made this bike a bit more fun to ride. Road biking has always made me a little bored. Some attention problems and staring at a road makes my mind go crazy. So hitting some trails and connector paths is a relief from the pavement. The skinny tires, by skinny I mean 35c tires, got switched out for the 2" tires and may only go back on every now and then. Within the whole of the bicycle industry I think we can all agree that bigger tires are better. All categories are running bigger tires; BMX, road, cyclocross, mountain bikes, tandems, recumbent, and even fat bikes. Soma, you have done a great job with this frame. The versatility to do whatever you want on this goes above and beyond. There are so many ways this could get built up and it all comes down to the users needs.

First ride this weekend was about 2.5 hours long and who knows how many miles. No Garmins were used. Ever. I stand by that fairly firmly, unless I need direction in the back-country. Took a mixture of road and various park trails, access roads, and gravel paths. Got a little lost and had a great time.

How is the bike? It is stable and smooth. At higher speeds, the stability is great. Not twitchy or a confidence killer. Disc brakes are awesome on all bikes. Less of a hassle, stronger braking, and they work great when wet and muddy. Makes riding with drop bars on rough trail a whole lot easier. Only set back was purchasing the TRP brakes. They are nice, yes. But the pads rattle a whole lot within the brake calipers. Gets a little annoying and makes you feel like something is falling apart. Only downside I have seen is not having through mounts for mid mounts on the fork. Limits the racks that you can put up front, but not a deal breaker at all. 

On the trail, it is almost like riding a mountain bike. Had a few short sections of trail that were used to cut back and head home. Handles well on the rough and does not feel completely out of place riding on trail. 

At the end of the weekend I had been on the bike for ~5 hours. I know that I am officially a weird bike nerd who thoroughly enjoys having ridiculous bikes. It is awesome. Being on a bike should not be painful. If you do not enjoy it, do not do it. I do not like being on a road bike, which is why this is now far from a road bike. That is just me personally. If you get this frame, which I fully encourage, make it your own. Get out there. And ride.

Parts list:

Frame: 54cm Soma Wolverine

Wheels: XT hubs with DT TK450 Rims

Tires (currently): WTB NineLine2.0

Shifty Bits: Sram Apex 10spd

R Derail: Sram Rival

F Derail: Sram Rival 22 with chain keeper

Chain: KMC 10spd

Cassette: Sram PC something something

Crank: Sram Apex

Brakes: TRP Spyre

Headset: Cane Creek 110

Handlebars: Salsa Cowbell 42cm

H-bar tape: ESI!

Stem: need to change

Seatpost: super long cheap-o Kalloy

Saddle: Brooks Team Pro

H2O Cages: King Cage (the best)

Ride more. Care less.