It had been hanging from the rafters of our garage for more than 16 weeks and was now covered in dust and dressed in cobwebs. If an inanimate object could feel loneliness and despair, it would have been this 2012 Specialized Roubaix road bike my wife had purchased for me as a surprise gift the … Continue reading From Cobwebs and Dust
Bar Harbor, Camden and Rockland Ah, Maine, you're beautiful even when it rains. The steady rhythm of pitter-patter, pitter-patter echoes from the gravel filled water puddle directly below a crack in the old wooden gutters hanging from the porch of the charming 150-year-old Camden Harbour Inn, our temporary home for two nights this week. I … Continue reading Coastal Maine and Acadia National Park Cycling Tour
Two young Apache boys, neither more than twelve years old, made continuous looping patterns around our small group of explorers. They watched our every move, casting curious glances in our direction while attempting to avoid eye contact. We were deep inside Apache indian territory, more than a week removed from our Southern California departure point. … Continue reading TransAmerica Bike Tour — Week Two
It’s late evening on Day 2 of my two-month, 3,000-mile bike tour across the Southern Tier of the United States. I sit on an uncomfortable bench In the dull, white-yellow glow of a rusted outdoor light fixture attached to the side of one of the tired buildings located on the grounds of the Jacumba Hot … Continue reading TransAmerica Bike Tour — Week One
Follow me and ten other cyclists this fall as we make our way across the Southern Tier of the United States. Our cross-country tour will begin in Southern California and take us across mountains, deserts, the expanse of Texas and continue through three states in the deep south before we finally reach our goal where … Continue reading My Great TransAmerica Bike Tour
There are moments, as you ride in the quiet shadows of the massive rock formations of Prescott, Arizona's Peavine Rail Trail, when it feels like you’ve got the whole world to yourself. It’s just you and all that granite, formed into boulders that were here long before the railroads were built, and the army post … Continue reading Bikes, Boulders, Rocks and Rails
Lewis, my almost four-year-old grandson, slowly pulled his shiny green STRIDER beginner bicycle to the side of the paved path, wiped sweat from his eyes with his left hand, raised his other hand to block the afternoon sun from his gaze and asked, “Grandpa, can we do this again tomorrow?” I turned my handlebars and … Continue reading 50,000 Miles of Memories
The news out of Wuhan had been a distant whisper for weeks, but the deadly virus emerging from this Chinese city was now closing in and roaring through the streets of our cities and towns and down the dusty roads of rural America. It was bringing sickness and death nearly everywhere it appeared and leaving … Continue reading Saved by My Bicycle in a Coronavirus World
The first light of day peeks through the gap of the curtains in my hotel room. I shuffle over from the bed to catch an initial glimpse of what lies below. From my seventh floor perspective, it could’ve been any vast body of water and any beach in any city. But it wasn’t. It was … Continue reading Cycling the French Riviera
The rapid-fire clang! clang! that rang out as my bicycle’s two wheels impacted the steel plate covering the expansion joint at the near end of the bike path bridge gave me fair warning it was time to feather my brakes. But I was too slow to respond. Two hours later, on that furnace-hot June Arizona … Continue reading Crashing and the Aftermath
Solvang and Santa Barbara, CA September 13, 2018 Distance: 23.4 miles Elevation: 715 feet Moving Time: 3 hours 6 minutes Conditions: Start — Sunny, 65 degrees F. End — Sunny and 75 degrees Today's Takeaway: We became tourists today. I re-introduced myself to my wife, Diane, today. I've been so consumed planning my ride down the central … Continue reading Pacific Coast Bike Tour — Day 6 — Solvang and Santa Barbara, California
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