Life Cycle: Parkersburg native gaining ground as a bikepacker
Joe Wharton, a Parkersburg native, is the son of Betty and Fred Shreve of Parkersburg. An avid bikepacker at the age of 58, he is a 1982 graduate of Parkersburg High School. (Photo Provided)
Joe Wharton lifts his bicycle during a bikepacking event. (Photo Provided)
Joe Wharton, a Parkersburg native, is the son of Betty and Fred Shreve of Parkersburg. An avid bikepacker at the age of 58, he is a 1982 graduate of Parkersburg High School. (Photo Provided)
A developed section of the Spanish, a 520 mile bikepacking event. (Photo Provided)
Bikepacker Joe Wharton, a Parkersburg native who lives in Florida, deals with swamps in bikepacking routes in Florida. (Photo Provided)
Joe Wharton, a Parkersburg native, is the son of Betty and Fred Shreve of Parkersburg. An avid bikepacker at the age of 58, he is a 1982 graduate of Parkersburg High School. (Photo Provided)
Joe Wharton lifts his bicycle during a bikepacking event. (Photo Provided)
Joe Wharton, a Parkersburg native, is the son of Betty and Fred Shreve of Parkersburg. An avid bikepacker at the age of 58, he is a 1982 graduate of Parkersburg High School. (Photo Provided)
A developed section of the Spanish, a 520 mile bikepacking event. (Photo Provided)
Bikepacker Joe Wharton, a Parkersburg native who lives in Florida, deals with swamps in bikepacking routes in Florida. (Photo Provided)
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PARKERSBURG -- A Parkersburg native is making a name for himself in the field of bikepacking.
Joe Wharton, who lives in the Terra Verde, Fla., area is 58 years old and participates in competitions without regard to age or gender. Women compete with men, he said.
"Everybody is equal," Wharton said.
Bikepacking combines hiking and backpacking with mountain biking. The participant carries everything they need for the journey, which can be over hundreds of miles.
Wharton earlier this year competed in the 520-mile Spanish from Fort Desoto Park northward to St. Augustine, Fla.
He won the event.
"It took me 63 hours to do that," Wharton said.
Wharton has been involved in bikepacking for four to five years. Part of the lure was the physical and mental conditioning required, he said. Going 40 hours without sleeping or stopping wouldn't be unusual, Wharton said.
"I think it's having the ability to prove to yourself that you can go beyond what you think you can do," Wharton said.
A bikepacker can't approach a race like a sprint at full speed for a short distance, Wharton said. The bikepacker has to pace themselves because of the great distances and rough terrain, he said.
The RockStar Challenge in Virginia near the West Virginia border is 270 miles long and the altitude is 5,000 feet in some places, he said.
"It's a tough one," Wharton said. "You can't go full out in that. You won't last."
Racers can be tracked online during events, he said.
"We all have a tracker on us and can be seen at trackleaders.com," Wharton said.
Wharton is the son of Betty and Fred Shreve of Parkersburg. His wife, Darlene Sky, a realtor, is not a bikepacker, but assists him.
"She supports me," he said.
Wharton is a 1982 graduate of Parkersburg High School.
Wharton has lived in Florida for about 14 years. He describes himself as a handyman and buys and sells personal watercraft such as Jet Ski.
Jess Mancini can be reached at jmancini@newsandsentinel.com