Episode 188: Jimmy Vervoort

Bikepacking From Alaska to New York

Jimmy Vervoort set off from Alaska in the middle of winter in 2023 destination New York. Like many bike travellers he has learnt that being adaptable is key to a great adventure. The colds of winter where temperatures got as low as minus 38C left him in agony with frostbitten fingers. While he did get to see the Northern Lights he knew that continuing in those conditions wasn’t going to end well. Once he crossed the border into Canada he changed things up, took a flight to Vancouver and would eventually hook up with the Pacific Coast trail.

While Jimmy’s original plan was to head to New York City, his funds ran out so he again needed to adapt. He flew back to Belgium, got a job in a supermarket where he worked and saved up money for a flight back to the States so he could continue the journey.

This time he was in Louisiana, and the plan was to head to New York via key milestones such as the Arizona Trail and the Colorado Trail. He had some amazing memories from riding through the desert in New Mexico, seeing a mountain lion in the wild and no words can describe what it was like to be face to face with the wonder that is the Grand Canyon.

The idea of hiking the section of hike a bike on the Arizona Trail through the Grand Canyon itself wasn’t appealing, so he skipped out on that. When he crossed over into Colorado he couldn’t get over the immediate change in the landscape. Finally he was also on the Colorado trail but he learnt quickly, that the trail was going to be beyond his capabilities. He left the trail early with a sense of unfinished business, and wants to return back to it again with the hope of riding the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route.

Jimmy says he loves that feeling of being on the bike and realising he is exactly where he needs to be. When asked what the best thing about bikepacking is, he states its the simplicity of condensing life to five needs. Food, Water, Shelter, figuring out where he needs to ride do and lastly dealing with anything that he may need to fix on his bike. It’s all simple and a far cry from day to day life.

Jimmy reached New York, saw the Statue of Liberty and realised the end point of this journey. But this isn’t the end of bike adventures for him and he has plans to ride from Morocco to Belgium, before heading to Mongolia next year! Huge plans. I can’t wait to see where bike travel takes him in the future. You can follow his adventures via his instagram – @Jimmy_Two_Wheels