Biking in Alaska - Plan C: A Photo Journal

For two weeks at the end of May and beginning of June I traveled to Alaska for a bike trip.

Alan's Fargo and my ECR.

Plan A (to bikepack the Kenai Peninsula) was foiled by lingering snow, so we schemed up a Plan B (bike from the Matanuska Glacier to McCarthy, then cycle to Valdez to catch a ferry to Whittier, then pedal from there back to Anchorage). An unseasonable winter storm ended the biking portion of our trip early, so we made the best of our remaining time with Plan C (staying at a friend's cabin in Willow — thank you, Victor!).

A Photo Journal: A Month Pedaling the Long Way

When you have a whole month to get from Point A to Point B, it clearly makes sense to go the long way, especially when doubling your mileage means quadrupling the gorgeous vistas.

Me and Don, doubling our mileage to quadruple our views.

My buddy, Donald, and I staffed an Adventure Cycling trip together in Whitefish in early July. A month later, we were leading another trip together out of Bellingham. As we both share an interest in hitting the open road (albeit dirt road) on two wheels, and as we both had a month of free time between trips, we decided to cycle together from the ending point of our first trip to the starting point of our next trip -- the long way. 

This is a photo journal of the month we spent pedaling from Whitefish, Montana to Bellingham, Washington...via Jasper, Alberta.

Happy 5th Re-Birthday to Me!

Happy 5th Re-Birthday to Me!

Gee willikers! Has it been five years already? As Gretchen Rubin said, "The days are long, but the years are short." 

Reflections on My Baja Trip

As was alluded to in my last post, Biking the Baja Divide: A Photo Journal, my trip to Baja was less-than-inspiring. In fact, it was so lackluster that I returned to The States a month earlier than expected, having only biked 600 of the route's 1700 miles. As is the case for all my travels, the venture resulted in significant reflections and a handful of lessons learned.

I Prefer Certain Types of Nature 

Walking the beach at Los Frailes.
(Photo: El Mecánico)

The principal reason I travel is to immerse myself in nature. I love being in temperate forests -- majestic trees, babbling creeks, the sounds of forest life. I love being near alpine lakes -- shimmery aquamarine waters and craggy snow-capped peaks. I love being on the shorelines of The Sound -- the rich orange bark of madrona perched high atop the tides.

Biking the Baja Divide: A Photo Journal

At the end of January, I traveled to Mexico to bike the new Baja Divide route. This a photo journal of my trip.

Part I: Biking from Tecate to San Quintin with Ronaldo

I rode the first ~270 miles from Tecate to San Quintin with Ronaldo. We covered this section in just over a week. 

Due to recent heavy rains, the desert in the north was unusually lush.
(Photo: Ron Norton)

Meet Duke Muir

Meet my new bicycle, Duke Muir.

Me & Duke Muir.

The story of how Duke Muir came to be is a fusion of three separate stories: Vowing to Get the Hell Out of Dodge, Applying for Lael's Scholarship, and Choosing the Hayduke.

My Mostest Favoritest Bike Trip: Central Oregon

My most favorite bicycle trip is no longer. No worries, though, it's been replaced by an even more favoriter trip.

Had you asked me two weeks ago to tell you my favorite bicycle trip, I would have answered that my favorite trip was my ride down the Pacific Coast in 2012. The trip had been at the top of my list for a number of reasons: the route included stunning views of the ocean, the ride was jam-packed full of fantastic people and places, and the trip signified a big step for me -- my first, long-distance, solo tour.

But my favorite trip has now been outdone by an even more favoriter trip. The honors now go to a recent ride through Central Oregon. The trip jockeyed its way to the top for a number of reasons: the ride included continuous, spectacular views of forests and mountains, the route consisted primarily of traffic-free roads through the wilderness, and I had an awesome riding buddy with whom I got along super-duper well. Similar to the Pacific Coast ride, this trip also signified a big step for me -- my first foray into off-road touring.

Plus, how could a trip not be the mostest favoritest when the final sunrise looked like this?

The sunrise on the final morning of my mostest favoritest bike trip.
Note that this is an unedited photo --
no colors have been prettified in this photo.

You may recall from my last post, Sampling the Sierra with Adventure Cycling, the mention of a guy named Brian. He was the mechanic on the trip. And, yup, he was the guy who spent a good deal of the trip being sandwich-kissed. Well, Brian asked if I might be interested in joining him on a bicycle ride through Central Oregon in October.