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Shane Kramer–former TATR FKT holder!–came out to ride with me for a bit near Wilmington. It was great to spend some time with this guy!

Jordan Sets New Adirondack Trail Ride Record

Editor’s Note: The Adirondack Trail Ride ( TATR) is one of the most grueling, yet least known events in North American cycling. A small group of 21 riders (19 men, 2 women) started the 585-mile course in Northville on September 11, and only ten finished this sixth annual edition of the ride. TATR is a solo, self-supported bikepacking adventure through the entire Adirondack region and includes all the beauty of the area–and all of the challenges. Wild trails, remote dirt roads, and the unpredictable weather combine to make it a daunting yet exciting challenge. In 2020 Daniel Jordan, aka @bonkism, made his second attempt count, establishing a new course record of 3 days, 9 hours, and 54 minutes. This is the story of his victory in his own words. A huge BikeADK congratulations to him on his win, and thanks for his willingness to share his story with us.

I rode in 2018. Why again?

After finishing in 2018 I thought, never again! Some sections crushed me simply because I wasn’t mentally ready. But I grew so much as a rider in 2019 that at the end of the season a bug bit me, and I knew I wanted to take on the Adirondack Trail Ride (TATR) again. I set the goal of finishing a full day faster than my 2018 time.

I had experience with two-night ultras but not yet a three-nighter, so this was a good push out of my comfort zone. I had a great bike for it, and the course is close to home. I couldn’t turn down the opportunity. As my 2020 season continued and I felt strong, I set the FKT goal and began relentlessly to study the past rides of Shane Kramer, Rob Cook, Zach Verhey, and Mikey  (Mikey Intrabartola, race organizer-Ed.)—all of whom had different strategies—and I tried to take the best from their approaches. I really wanted this FKT. During the ride, I was gradually “lapping” my 2018 self until I reached the point where I was a full day ahead. Without a doubt, this was a constant source of mental boosts.

What did I learn the first time?

Some of TATR’s rugged stretches are incomprehensibly long and arduous. You’re following rock gardens through the forest all afternoon with no long climbs to help you feel accomplished, only short punchy ones. I wasn’t mentally prepared for this at all in 2018, and I almost scratched at mile 70. I learned on the fly how to recover from a bike ride with a bike ride.

This year, I was ready for a rematch with the Wilcox Lake Wild Forest. I had two strategies for these sections: study the course in advance and break it into as many chunks as possible to keep focused on intermediate goals, and empty myself of expectations of getting anywhere, surrendering instead to present-mindedness. Just keep moving forward. I used the first strategy closer to the beginning, and the second strategy on day four, after I started to crack. Physically, I gained experience over the summer with the rugged ADK-style backcountry trail on some key scouting rides, including the new 90-mile Over Easy MTB course (would recommend!). This helped me actually have fun.

This year’s challenges

Racing a grand depart is always a dice roll, and this year the odds were in my favor: fine weather, dry trails, low rivers, and the deadfall had been cleared off many sections. The field of riders had good energy as well, and from night one to day three I was going back and forth in the lead with Jeremiah Hawkins. Challenges this year might have been COVID-related, but the only closed down services I came across were in Westport.

I did have a huge COVID-related setback, though. I made the mistake of packing hand sanitizer (new to me this year) in a bag with most of my snacks. It exploded, which I didn’t think was too big a deal, until I tore open a fresh bag of trail mix to discover the alcohol-based hand sanitizer had teleported through the sealed plastic bag (science!). This was a huge bummer because it was the start of night three and I didn’t have nearly enough calories to ride a bike until 5:00 AM. I thought I was done! Here again luck was on my side: I had forgotten about Moriah Center, where I managed to roll in 10 minutes before the general store closed.

What stood out this year?

More than anything else, the things that stood out to me this year were the dot watchers* and the trail magic. This was TATR’s sixth year, and the community aspect was incredible.

The rules of a self-supported bikepacking event are that riders are not allowed to have support crews or food/gear caches of any kind. The rule of thumb is that any resources must be generally available to all riders. General stores, gas stations, campgrounds, even restaurants and hotels are fair game, but having a friend give you snacks is not.

Trail magic is unplanned, unexpected goodness from strangers. On TATR, there are many folks who live near the route who will "dot watch" (follow the riders on the GPS tracking service) and leave snacks for riders with a sign saying "TATR riders trail magic" or something like that. Generally, so long as there's no communication between the riders and the people providing these surprises, it's fine. Also, folks providing trail magic are encouraged to leave their snacks out from the first rider to the last one to keep it as fair as possible. 

When you're deep in a ride, coming across trail magic is such a huge boost! It’s so stoke-building to have a stranger call your name, or want to chat with you about the ride, or offer you a snack, or for shop owners to have Trackleaders pulled up on the computer and to tell you about the next section. They’re just as stoked to share their neighborhood with you as you are to share your race with them, if that makes sense. A special shout-out goes to Nolan in Wanakena, who has a super cool general store turned local history museum (ask him about the microburst). To him, TATR is just one more thing that gives Wanakena its character.

TATR’s organizer Mikey Intrabartola has done a great job providing a consistent event to the bikepacking community as well as liaising with the NYDEC, snowmobile clubs, and other trail users in the Adirondacks to ensure that TATR persists in a sustainable way. Bikepacking ultras are still a young sport in the Northeast, and those of us working to build our own grand departs have Mikey’s leadership to look up to.

* For safety and public access, all riders are strongly encourage to wear GPS trackers that allow fans to follow their progress online.

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Congrats to everyone who participated at this year’s Adirondack Trail Ride in any capacity. Just having the audacity to start the event is an achievement in itself. For more information about TATR:

All photos are by Daniel Jordan.

Jeremiah Macrae-Hawkins stops for a snack in the early morning darkness of day 2, in the forest northwest of Inlet. There’s not much left of this road somewhere near Crane Mountain or Huckleberry Mountain. I stumbled upon some tourers of the TATR route. Cousins! They were on day 7 or so. This is what my rig looked like on the morning of the last day! I feel great about that setup and wouldn't have changed much about it. These folks (I think they are Joa and Janelle) are awesome dot watchers and have put out snacks (apples, etc.) for riders on the long climb over Jay Mountain. Shane Kramer–former TATR FKT holder!–came out to ride with me for a bit near Wilmington. It was great to spend some time with this guy! Leaving the Meacham Lake Campground heading into Debar Mountain Wild Forest. In my opinion this was some of the nicest backwoods trail riding on the whole route. A glamorous shot of this ultra-rider's camp. You lie down next to your bike and eat as much as you can before you fall asleep! A beaver pond somewhere south of Hopkinton.