I woke up at dawn, on the ground in a sleeping bag, the warm down surrounding me like a fluffy cloud, the trees reaching for the sky above, the first rays of sun glinting through the branches. The evening before had seen the thrill of flying through the darkness on a bike, the peacefulness of …
I recently came across the following as a draft of a post that I originally wrote 3 years ago, when biking with any regularity was new to me, and I was a total rookie on two wheels. To someone who had ridden geared bikes all her life, the concept of a singlespeed was a little odd. …
Greenwood Furnace State Park is 7 miles from our house. The park offers a network of trails which were originally designed for cross-country skiing (though most of them seem terrible for that activity), but have more lately fallen victim to neglect, as skiers are few and far between and there was never much of a push …
Wednesday's weather couldn't have been more perfect. Sunny, 70 degrees, in November? I'll take it! I couldn't have asked for a better day to ride for 8 hours. We set off on the tandem to ride 100 miles. When we mapped it at the end, apparently it was only 97 miles, but we also did …
In three weeks, Evan and I plan to ride our tandem from our house to his parents house for Thanksgiving. It's about 200 miles away. We are going to do it in one shot. It's a tradition for him, riding down for the holidays. For the past couple of years I've been envious, but this is …
Evan bought me a new bike. Ok, actually it's an old bike, but it's new to me. It's a Schwinn High Sierra from the 80s that he picked up for $50 from some guy who walked into the shop looking to sell. While it's not going to set any speed records or take me down …
Why ride a bike when you can carry it? Sometimes while exploring we find trails we can't ride. But we keep going, because that's what exploration is about. I'm becoming a lot more adept at carrying my bike. I figured out a new technique today---grab the chainstay instead of the top tube. My arm is …
Evan and I have Wednesdays off together now. This means long bike rides. We finally got another set of hubs for the Powderkeg tandem. Hopefully, the new Chris Kings will solve the issues we've been having with the rear hub getting torn apart by the amount of force that we put on that bike. We've gone through …
It was dreary and drizzly all day. Chilly, too. One of those days that reminds you that fall is not all crisp and clear and sunny. Sometimes it is wet and bone-chilling. I originally planned to ride home from work. But the day was colder than anticipated. And I didn't know it was supposed to …
Fall is just about here. My favorite season, for so many reasons---the crisp air and clear skies, warm days and cool nights, the turning of the leaves, and, probably most importantly, the end of the busiest season for those of us in the business of outdoor recreation. Fall means I get to go on adventures …
helena kotala 