mullerb’s musings
neglected posts of trips, adventures and toys
In 2005, I started playing around with Blogger, an ancient Google property that’s still running, if much neglected, and published my first post. I never intended to reach an audience beyond myself. As a whole, it’s pretty boring and inane: mostly a log of my workout rides before Strava, with the occasional note on a new toy, whether a bike, a kayak, or whatever. When I built out a Sprinter van, I did what many builders did and posted about it. I probably got five hits. :-)
I still don’t expect much of an audience for this site. But if you’re into bikepacking and touring, I have a decent collection of well-researched routes. If you’re a first responder, there’s an app I made to help you assess a situation and generate a SOAP note.
Bikepacking Trips for Mortals
Bikepacking.com and Bikeroots.org are awesome. They are inspirational and incredibly useful resources. I’ve spent countless hours perusing their maps and route descriptions. But most of their routes are pretty stout and call for some serious dedication. For mere mortals looking for a handful of more attainable adventures, I present the bikepacking routes that my wife and I have tackled over the past several years. Most are less than a week in length, have easy resupplies, and don’t call for an Everesting of elevation gain.
Bike Tours and World Travel
2020 is the year we first packed up both of our bikes into boxes and flew overseas. That was an awesome adventure, cycling the Carretera Austral in Chile and Argentina. It was the first of many long rides taken.
Wilderness 1st Responder App
In June 2026, I took a hybrid Wilderness First Responder course with NOLS at CU Boulder: 30 hours of online content plus 5 days of hands-on training. Given how much time I spend in the backcountry, far from easy help, it was a valuable refresher.
The course centers on the NOLS Patient Assessment System (PAS), a step-by-step process for evaluating an injured person. It starts with assessing the scene, moves through assessments of the patient’s physical, mental, and medical history, and ends with a S.O.A.P. report for search and rescue.
In class, we worked from handwritten notes. Since I rarely get to practice these skills, I built a phone app with claude.ai to walk me through the PAS and capture patient data as I go.
Using the app
- Follow the prompts through scene size-up, patient assessments, and the S.O.A.P. report
- Record findings as you go instead of scribbling in a notebook
- On iPhone, open the link in Safari and follow the prompt to add it to your Home Screen. It then works like a standalone app.
Anyone is welcome to use it.
Important: This app is not a substitute for training and practice. It’s an aid for recalling the process and details. Take a course, practice regularly, and know the PAS well enough to use it without a screen.
The Old Blogger
My old blog still lives, I just don’t post to it very much. The posts go all the way back to 2005 but are mostly just a log of workout rides and cursory overviews of trips. Pretty much nothing to see here. Use the labels to find things like the Sprinter build.