Howdy!

[Spencer Bilodeau]

Hiyahowareya?
I am a member of the Burner community in good ole Ontario, Canada. And I have been around Burners for about 14 years or so. But I have not yet gone to BRC. I will, next year (2013), for sure. I look forward to meeting you all! I have heard a LOT about it.
And to anyone who is reading this and who has gone to BM by bicycle, this also is my plan, and I would be grateful to hear any advice you may have to offer on it!

[BoyScoutGirl]

Welcome, Spencer!

There are several threads here on ePlaya about cycling to the event. Bottom line: it's good you have a lot of time to plan and prepare! The search function on this forum can be kind of finicky, so your best bet is to use the query "eplaya" in front of your search term in Google, a la: "eplaya bike to burn".

Good luck!

[Spencer Bilodeau]

Thanks! I will do that!

[Savannah]

Hi Spencer!

This is a great time to start planning for a 2013 Burn, especially if you have big plans like those.

Admittedly, the conventional wisdom on biking to the Burn is: don't. The roads close to the Burn are quite dangerous for cyclists (no shoulder, tired drivers of big rented rigs they're not too familiar with, etc) . . . and if all goes insanely well regardless, there's a strong chance you arrive exhausted in a place that will exhaust you further. Here are two threads about biking to the Burn. You will find more about bikes in the Transportation forum.

biking to the burn/early arrival
http://eplaya.burningman.org/viewtopic.php?t=34418

Biking to the Burn
http://eplaya.burningman.org/viewtopic. ... 86&t=56183

Most people would tell you to get one Burn under your belt before you make it this hard to even get to your first. That said, no one can stop you (unless they mow you over on the way).

Welcome to the board!

[Spencer Bilodeau]

To be honest, this will be one stop on a much bigger trip (3-4 months), much of which will be done by bike. If things go well, I will be traveling with a friend or two by vehicle to get to the Burn, and I will be leaving by bike. That said, part of the goal on my journey is to face challenges. I know it CAN be done, it is just a matter of being smart and prepared to meet the challenges successfully. One step of which is to ask people who have been there and done that for their wisdom, gained through experience. And hopefully I can pass it on to others once I have some of my own to share! My route in will be from the south, as will be my exit. I am in no rush, so I can take the time to be careful, and not burn myself out too much (no pun intended).

[Savannah]

Ah. Arriving by vehicle and departing by bike might be a lot better than the opposite, especially if you stay a day late (if you're picking up MOOP [trash] no one cares you're there a day late). Most people leave on Labor Day or the day before. On Tuesday after the event, traffic is much less. It's certainly kinder to the other drivers to leave at a lower-risk time--no one really wants to hit a bicyclist even if they think you're nuts.

And by biking out, there is no danger of hurting your ability to participate in the event by arriving all tired and jangled.