Originally Posted by Big Pine
Thanks for the responses, everyone!

Originally Posted by Steve C
I cannot imagine a couple of people in their seventies who aren't in very good shape managing to climb or descend that White Mountain with a mountain bike. They might be able to do the first 5 miles where the road isn't as bad, but that final climb....
Good point.

I guess we have two choices when we get off the bikes at mile 5. Option 1 would be to lock the wheels of the bikes to each other, leave them a few feet off the trail, and unlock them on the way back down. Option 2 would be to attach our daypacks to the bikes and walk/push them to the summit. I'll probably go with option 2 if they're still feeling good at that point.

Prior to attempting this you should (at a minimum) take your parents out for a local "day ride" on your bicycles of choice. Pick a route that includes some surfaces and slopes similar to what you might expect on White Mountain. Verify that they are comfortable doing this. The consequences of a fall while on White Mountain would not be good. Over the course of the last 20 years I've ridden thousands of miles on road bikes (including the Mammoth Grand Fondo - Piccolo: 42 MILES - 2015 and 2017), but due to shoulder issues (right shoulder replaced in 2013) I finally had to abandon this pursuit. This year, I tried mountain biking (riding position is different enough that I thought it would not bother my shoulder) - full suspension, and loved it. However, with mountain bikes, if you ride long enough, you will crash. It's the nature of the beast. My crash occurred under very modest circumstances. 10 mph, transitioning from the trail to a grass field (the trail was under construction), and the front tire lost traction in the grass over hard pack. Two broken ribs and a mild concussion later I decided the risk of injury overshadowed the joy of the ride.

Last edited by John Sims; 08/31/20 10:41 AM. Reason: spelling