It’s rare that people keep their New Year’s resolutions, but recently retired teacher Dave Evans was determined to keep his.

No sooner did Evans wrap up a 31-year teaching career as a Northwestern Middle School teacher than he was off to Banff, Canada, poised to embark on a two-month bike adventure of a lifetime.

“I wanted to jump start my retirement with something special,” he said. “The conditioning left me in better shape at the end than when I left.”

The trip was a long-held dream, but it began to take shape when Evans turned to Adventure Cycling.

After responding to numerous classified ads to find other like-minded people, Evans committed to a group.

“It started with seven people and then it ended with three,” Evans said.

“The one guy I definitely connected with was David Thompson of Seattle.

“The whole trip was 2,750 miles. Every day was a challenge figuring out the route and riding the route which could be flat, mountainous, rocky or worn out.

“Adventure Cycling made a route from Banff in Canada to the Antelope Wells in New Mexico.

“This is the route we took. It’s basically dirt roads and trails through national forests.”

Evans started riding on July 15.

“We finished right before Labor Day on Aug. 27, but I stayed out there for a while and visited with some friends in Albuquerque and Colorado,” he explained

“I’ve always enjoyed adventure and I knew this would be a really great adventure.

“Traveling by bike is a great way to see the country. You can really experience the vastness of the area and how desolate it is. There were days we would ride and not see a single car.”

“We saw two grizzly bears and two black bears of pretty good size and we saw a lot of antelope especially in the Great Basin in Wyoming.

“It was dry and hot. We got up early and the antelope were running with us, but you always had to be aware of the cows.”

The cyclists were unfazed by wildlife.

“The bigger problem was the cattle that are mostly free-range walking around all over the place. They’re just out there on their own,” he said. “There are bulls, too, and they’re not fenced in. “

The allure of the West attracted people from around the world.

“We saw other people riding the road we were on from north to south,” Evans said. “We saw people from South Africa, Great Britain, Latvia and Brazil.

“The people you meet along the way treat you like celebrities and were super kind.

“When we couldn’t find a camp site, people allowed us to camp at their camp site. People offered us cold water, food, advice. We stayed with a family in Steamboat Springs that gave us breakfast.”

“If you want to see the kindness of strangers, ride your bike across the United States.

“People were great. We really didn’t have a single, bad encounter.”

The trip was not without its challenges.

“There were hours of not seeing anybody,” Evans said. “Water sources were dried up, and convenience stores closed. You always had to have water.

“As the trip went along, you had less and less chance of finding a place to eat or finding a restaurant.

“At the end of the day you pretty much had to find a place to stay. We would figure out day by day where we would end up.”

“The biggest problem was washboard on the road. Washboard is a condition, a rutted road.”

Evans could not have done the trip without the help and support of his wife.

“Marge is used to me doing adventures and she does them, too,” he said. “We rode across Missouri and from Pittsburgh to Washington, D.C.

“We’ve taken canoe trips that lasting one or two weeks. [My two sons] do a lot of different adventures. If they could have, they would have come with me.”

To complete a bike route of this magnitude required a special bicycle and the Salsa Fargo adventure bike he purchased at Freeze Thaw bike at State College was just that.

“My bike did terrific. It’s a half road, half mountain bike, built to ride anywhere, under any conditions,” Evans stated. “The technology chains are on the back. The tires no longer have tubes. There’s a liquid solution if you get a hole. Because the tires use lower air pressure, you don’t lose any speed because of your contact with the road.”

“Disc brakes allow for better braking and the rim does not have two jobs. I only replaced the brake bag in Steamboat Springs.”

Evans knew that the success of an adventure of this caliber depended on advanced planning.

“I started getting things ready a year ahead of time,” he said. “I dehydrated my own food, chicken and beans, chili. Cans are too heavy. You’ve got to be as light as you can be.

“I had a check list of things I would need and nine boxes of supplies that included food, bike care items, vitamin supplements, coffee, and maps.”

Evans had them dropped off or he dropped them off in a bear proof bag along the bike route. He averaged a box per week.

“When you first got your supply box, it was pretty heavy,” he said.

With this adventure behind him, Evans is looking to the future.

“I think with every adventure you come back with something that you learn,” Evans said. “I was capable doing something that I didn’t know I could do.

“There were days when I felt really pretty awful. But the part that was encouraging was by the next morning, I felt fine and was ready to go again.”