Hardcore vs. Stupidity

I am one of those nerdy outdoors types who tends to refer to himself as being "hardcore". I can't remember when it caught on, but am pretty sure that it was Jack Black in The School of Rock, "well you're not hardcore, unless you live hardcore - and the legend of the rent was way hardcore!" - like I said, nerdy, but I still love referring to myself this way. Isn't that what going out into the outdoors is all about anyway? Hiking to the middle of nowhere to "live off the land" (eating freeze dried food) and sleeping under the stars (in a down bag rated to negative 20) IS hardcore in my opinion, but that's just me.

Take this story though...
A dad decides that it would be a great adventure to put his four kids on a five-person bicycle and go on a 7,000 mile ride from Kentucky to Alaska. Sounds like an awe-inspiring thing for a dad to do with teenagers, probably not a 7, a 5, and a 3 year old...



I am not quite a father, but will be in a few short months. There are certain thoughts which leave me feeling a little apprehensive, and road trips are one of them. I have been in a car with a screaming child before and can only imagine what it will be like to attempt a 13 hour road-trip to my favorite vacation spot, so it is beyond me to think about this father attempting such a feat with three kids under the age of 8, one even as young as three. How does he even get on/off the bike? I am picturing this guy putting the bike on it's stand, getting all of his kids situated, and then ,one by one, his kids start screaming and he is never able to actually make it to the front of the bike to even start the journey. It is beyond me...

You can follow them on their journey HERE. Looks like there is actually a lot more to their trip than I thought when reading the original link. Averaging more than 25 miles a day? Pretty impressive