The following posts are entries into a journal I kept on my ride on the Pony Express Bikepacking Route from St. Joseph, Missouri to Salt Lake City, Utah. I updated the journal daily from June 1 to July 12, 2021. Sometimes I could only manage a placeholder entry, which I supplemented a few days later in the ride. Together, they represent as closely as possible my daily experiences, supplemented historical observations, descriptions, and narratives gleaned from historians and other writers. My hope is that they give an impression of what riding the trail felt like, as well as the significance of some of the areas I visited.
Daily Journal
Pack ListMay 21, 2021At the risk of exposing myself to public ridicule, […]
St. JoeMay 31, 2021I’ve had a few days now to walk and ride a […]
RoutesMay 31, 2021My friend Kathy remarked that I hadn’t posted my […]
Day 1: What I learned about East KansasJune 1, 2021St. Joseph, MO to Horton KS 52.8 miles/2,300ft […]
Day 2: Horton to SenecaJune 2, 2021Horton, KS to Seneca, KS 43.5 miles/2,330 ft […]
Day 3: The Butt Goes FirstJune 3, 2021Seneca, KS to Marysville, KS 42.4 miles/1,941 ft […]
Day 4, Part 1June 4, 2021Apologies all, but no blog post tonight. Too bad of a […]
Day 4, Part 2: Dark Night of the SoulJune 5, 2021June 4, 2021 Marysville, KS to Rock Creek Station, NE […]
Day 5: Grinding it OutJune 6, 2021June 5, 2021 Rock Creek State Park, NE to Hebron, NE […]
A Couple of ThingsJune 6, 2021I am now in Edgar, Nebraska. While I’m setting […]
Day 6: A Bone in Her TeethJune 7, 2021June 6, 2021 Hebron, NE to Edgar, NE 40 miles/1,447 […]
Day 7: The Little BlueJune 8, 2021Edgar, NE to Prairie Lake State Recreation Area, NE […]
Day 8: The Coast of NebraskaJune 9, 2021I woke at my Prairie Lake site to the sound of birds. […]
Day 9: KearneyJune 9, 2021Today is/was a day off from riding. That means a day […]
Day 10: The Platte River RoadJune 10, 2021Kearney, NE to Lexington, NE 47.6 miles/800 ft […]
Day 11: The 100th MeridianJune 11, 2021June 11, 2021 Lexington, NE to Gothenburg, NE 30.5 […]
Day 12: Lincoln HighwayJune 12, 2021June 12, 2021 Gothenburg, NE to North Platte, NE 46 […]
Day 13: C-StoresJune 13, 2021June 13, 2021 North Platte, NE to Ogllala, NE 63.5 […]
Day 14: JulesburgJune 14, 2021June 14, 2021 Ogallala, NE to Julesburg, CO 37.7 […]
Day 15: TailwindsJune 15, 2021June 15, 2021 Julesburg, CO to Sidney, NE 56.4 miles; […]
Day 16: Sidney and the Bad Old WestJune 16, 2021Taking the day off today, cooling my heels in Sidney, […]
Bonus Post: Rivers and OceansJune 16, 2021It’s too hot to wander around downtown Sidney […]
Day 17: BridgeportJune 17, 2021June 17, 2021 Sidney, NE to Bridgeport, NE 46.6 […]
Day 18: Scottsbluff, Part OneJune 18, 2021Hey everyone. Sorry, but no blog post tonight. At […]
Day 19: Scottsbluff, Part TwoJune 19, 2021June 18, 2021 Bridgeport, NE to Scottsbluff, NE 48 […]
Day 19: Bonus PostJune 20, 2021June 19, 2021 Loop Around Scott’s Bluff National […]
Day 20: What Is It With Nebraska and Wind?June 20, 2021June 20, 2021 Scottsbluff, NE to Torrington, WY 31 […]
Day 21: I Got Nuthin’June 21, 2021June 21, 2021 Torrington, WY to Guernsey, WY 49.5 […]
Day 22: Thank You Sir, May I Have Another?June 22, 2021June 22, 2021 Guernsey, WY to Douglas, WY 66.2 miles/ […]
Day 23: Tyrant King of WyomingJune 23, 2021June 23, 2021 Douglas, WY to Casper, WY 60.4 […]
Day 24: Casper, WYJune 24, 2021I have been putting around Casper, WY, all day. I […]
Day 25: MisfortuneJune 25, 2021I want to tell you a couple of sailing stories that […]
Day 26: WeatherJune 26, 2021Hanging out in Casper, waiting for a break in the […]
Day 27: MailJune 27, 2021All day I’ve been thinking about mail, and […]
Day 27 Bonus Post: Farewell to CasperJune 27, 2021I have started and discarded multiple posts today. It […]
Day 28: Period Rush, Short VersionJune 28, 2021Back in Scottsbluff, I brought up the concept of […]
Day 28, Period Rush: ContinuedJune 29, 2021June 28, 2021 Casper, WY to Independence Rock, WY 57.8 […]
Day 29: Handcart AnabasisJune 29, 2021June 29, 2021 Independence Rock, WY to Jeffrey City, […]
Day 30, Part 1: Jeffrey CityJune 30, 2021Yesterday’s post left off with me checking into […]
Day 30, Part 2: Sweetwater StationJune 30, 2021I apologize, but I seem to be getting a half-to a […]
Day 31: Placeholder PostJuly 1, 2021Just a note to say no post tonight. I still need to […]
Day 32: Expect Nothing (Placeholder)July 2, 2021So, Expect Nothing is the title of the post I plan to […]
Day 33: UntitledJuly 3, 2021Please bear with me one more day. I promise to start […]
Day 30, Part 3: The Actual RideJuly 4, 2021June 30, 2021 Jeffrey City, WY to Sweetwater Station, […]
Day 31: Sufficient Unto the DayJuly 5, 2021I am currently in Evanston, WY, on my first layover […]
Day 32: Expect NothingJuly 6, 2021Still in Evanston, WY, before my final push over the […]
Day 33: Simpson’s HollowJuly 6, 2021July 3, 2021 Farson, WY to Granger, WY 52.4 […]
Day 34: Independence DayJuly 7, 2021I am currently in Coalville, Utah, having made it out […]
Day 38: All DoneJuly 8, 2021Just a note to say I made it to Salt Lake City […]
Day 35: Graded Roads and Early Check-inJuly 9, 2021I’m in Salt Lake City, waiting for a train back […]
Day 36: For Pete’s SakeJuly 10, 2021My day off in Evanston did not turn out as I planned, […]
Day 37: Up One Creek and Down AnotherJuly 10, 2021July 7, 2021 Evanston, WY to Coalville, UT 48 […]
Day 38: The City of the SaintsJuly 11, 2021July 8, 2021 Coalville, UT to Salt Lake City, UT 57.9 […]
Ride Follow-Up: Buddhists and Post OfficesJuly 16, 2021It’s been a week now since I rolled down […]
Ride StatsJuly 29, 2021A few people have asked me about certain ride stats: […]
TwoDot Books Is Publishing My Pony Express Bikepacking NarrativeNovember 30, 2021I’m happy to announce that TwoDot Books will be […]
On the Pony Express TrailSeptember 27, 2022On the Pony Express Trail, an account of my […]
Pony Express Bikepacking GuideFebruary 24, 2023Bikepacking Roots is publishing Jan Bennett’s […]
Pre-Order On the Pony Express TrailApril 8, 2023On the Pony Express Trail is set to be published on […]
Bikepacking the Pony Express Video SeriesApril 25, 2023I’ve produced a series of videos for the […]- Bikepacking the Pony Express – Episode 1May 2, 2023The first episode of Bikepacking the Pony Express is […]
- Bikepacking the Pony Express – Episode 2May 9, 2023Episode 2 of Bikepacking the Pony Express is up. The […]
Bikepacking the Pony Express – Episode 3May 16, 2023Episode 3 of Bikepacking the Pony Express is up. The […]
Bikepacking the Pony Express – Episode 4May 23, 2023Episode 4 of Bikepacking the Pony Express is up. The […]
Bikepacking the Pony Express – Episode 5May 30, 2023Episode 5 of Bikepacking the Pony Express is up. This […]
Bikepacking the Pony Express – Episode 6June 6, 2023Episode 6 of Bikepacking the Pony Express is up. This […]
Publication Day!June 12, 2023On the Pony Express Trail is here! The book published […]- Bikepacking the Pony Express – Episode 7June 13, 2023Episode 7 of Bikepacking the Pony Express is up. This […]
Bikepacking the Pony Express – Episode 8June 20, 2023Episode 8 of Bikepacking the Pony Express is up. This […]
Bikepacking the Pony Express – Episode 9June 27, 2023Episode 9, the last installment of Bikepacking the […]
Myths of the Pony ExpressSeptember 1, 2023In August 2023 I spoke at the Oregon-California Trails […]
Nuggets of TruthOctober 8, 2023I recently published an article in the Overland […]
Video—Writing the WestJanuary 9, 2024Writing the West is a video series that features […]
Pony Express Reading at Stories on StageFebruary 2, 2024Stories on Stage Davis will feature a reading from On […]
“Uncle Sam’s Backbone” at Stories on Stage DavisFebruary 28, 2024Larry Lew performed “Uncle Sam’s […]