waypoi nts trave ls with wi lli e ope n road galle ry Adventure CyClist rocky MountAin high:

wayp oi nts 8  trave ls with wi lli e

  ope n r oad galle ry

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Cyclist GO THE DISTANCE. JULY 2011 www.adventurecycling.org $4.95

Rocky Mountain high:

Colorado Calling PLUS:

riding minnesota’s trail network First Look: Co-motion americano Rohloff plus Gates

SHARE THE JOY

GET A CHANCE TO WIN Spread the joy of cycling and get a chance to win cool prizes n For every cyclist you sign up through a gift membersip or who joins through

your referal, you score one entry to win a Drakkar from Rawland Cycles (rawland cycles.com) valued at over $2,500. The winner will be drawn from all eligible members in January of 2011. n Recruit the most new members in 2010 and you’ll win a $500 Adventure Cycling

shopping spree. n Each month we’ll draw a mini-prize winner who will receive gifts from companies Courtesy of rawland cycles

like Old Man Mountain, Detours, Cannondale, and others. n The more new members you sign up, the more chances you have to win!

adventurecycling.org/joy Adventure Cycling Association

Adventure Cycling Corporate Members Adventure Cycling’s business partners play a significant role in the success of our nonprofit organization. Our Corporate Membership Program is designed to spotlight these key supporters. Corporate Members are companies that believe in what we do and wish to provide additional assistance through a TITANIUM

higher level of support. These corporate membership funds go toward special projects and the creation of new programs. To learn more about how your business can become a corporate supporter of Adventure Cycling, go to www.adventurecycling.org/corporate or call (800) 755-2453.

GOLD

SILVER

BRONZE

Gateway Printing Lorain County Visitors Bureau First Interstate Bank

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7:2011contents July 2011 · Volume 38 Number 6 · www.adventurecycling.org A dv e n t u r e

Cyclist is published nine times each year by the Adventure Cycling Association, a nonprofit service organization for recreational bicyclists. Individual membership costs $40 yearly to U.S. addresses and includes a subscription to Adventure Cyclist and discounts on Adventure Cycling maps. The entire contents of Adventure Cyclist are copyrighted by Adventure Cyclist and may not be reproduced in whole or in part without written permission from Adventure Cyclist. All rights reserved.

Our Cover alan wechsler

A cyclist flies along Minnesota’s Gitchi-Gami Trail. Photo by Chuck Haney. (left) Townie bikes adorn the sidewalk in Salida, Colorado.

MISSION

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Colorado’s bike huts  by Nathan Ward Self-guided hut-to-hut mountain-biking is a great way to tour the backcountry.

The mission of Adventure Cycling Association is to inspire people of all ages to travel by bicycle. We help cyclists explore the landscapes and history of America for fitness, fun, and self-discovery.

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Mountain biking across colorado  by Alan Wechsler

CAMPAIGNS

24

minne trails in the land of 10,000 lakes  by Chuck Haney

Want to try some hard-core bikepacking? Give the Colorado trail a try.

If you’re looking for smooth-rolling, no-traffic trails, Minnesota has you covered.

Our strategic plan includes three major campaigns: Creating Bike Routes for America Getting Americans Bicycling Supporting Bicycling Communities

How to Reach Us

To join, change your address, or ask questions about membership, visit us online at www.adventurecycling.org or call (800) 755-2453 or (406) 721-1776

d e pa r t m e n t s

LETTERS

07 companions wanted 08 WAYPOINTS 35 Marketplace/Classifieds 34 USBRS DONORS 39 OPEN ROAD GALLERY

04 LETTER from the Editor 05 LETTERs from the readers 06 LETTER from the DIRECTOR C OLU M NS

with willie / Willie Weir 30 travels Skeeters can ruin a good camping spot

email: [email protected] Subscription Address: Adventure Cycling Association P.O. Box 8308 Missoula, MT 59807 Headquarters: Adventure Cycling Association 150 E. Pine St. Missoula, MT 59802

test / Dan D’Ambrosio 32 road Are we ready for some belt drive?

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Letter from the Editor

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Cyclist

They’re Everywhere

July 2011 volume 38 number 6

We asked for it. Now we’ve got it

www .adventurecycling. org editor

michael deme [email protected] art director

greg siple [email protected] technical editor

john schubert [email protected] F IELD e d i t o r

michael mccoy [email protected] c o n t r i bu t i n g w r i t e r s

dan d'ambrosio  nancy clark willie weir  jan heine patrick o'grady Copy Editor

phyllis picklesimer advertising director

rick bruner 509.493.4930 [email protected]

STA F F e x e cu t i v e d i r e c t o r

jim sayer [email protected] c h i e f o p e r a t i o n s o ff i c e r

sheila snyder, cpa membership & Development

julie huck  amanda lipsey amy corbin  joshua tack thomas bassett media

winona bateman  michael mccoy p ub l i c a t i o n s

michael deme  greg siple derek gallagher intern: heather andrews it d e par tm e nt

john sieber  richard darne matt sheils tours

mo mislivets  paul hansbarger madeline mckiddy routes and mapping

c a r l a m a j e r n i k j e n n i f e r m i l y k o  virginia sullivan kevin mcmanigal casey greene nathan taylor sales and marketing

teri maloughney cyc lo s o u r c e

ted bowman sarah raz o ff i c e m a n a g e r

beth petersen

board of direct ors president

carol york vice president

jennifer garst s e c r e ta ry

andy baur treasurer

andy huppert board members

jason boucher todd copley george mendes jeff miller donna o'neal wally werner

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I’ve been noticing a lot more people riding bicycles than ever before, and a lot of times I don’t like what I see. I was recently asked if I’d like to ride from a friend’s house to a nearby pub to check out a local rock ‘n’ roll band. I immediately said yes, but the next thing I knew we were getting ready to mount some early-era mountain bikes and take off into the darkness without helmets or lights. Nobody else in the group seemed to have a problem with this and, after I hemmed and hawed a bit, jibes started flying around like, “Hey, look, Mr. Adventure Bike Guy is afraid to ride a a couple of miles in the dark.” And, “I guess he can ride across Iceland but he’s afraid to ride down to the pub.” Needless to say, away we went, and it was fun — a lot of fun — but I felt guilty the whole time. The argument I was having with myself is similar to the one that goes on throughout the cycling community where the discussions (and Internet ranting sessions) range from denouncing anything less than perfect compliance to one’s own standards as unacceptable to promulgating the notion that anything goes as long as people are riding bikes. Essentially, it’s a cost-benefit analysis. Is it better to have more people riding less safely or less people riding more safely? For a good example of this, see the discussion following the People for Bikes video Bikes Make Life Better (youtube. com/watch?v=gJcPcRr4QeU). Honestly, I don’t know the answer and I can contradict myself multiple times when discussing this issue. I’ve taken to always wearing a helmet when riding and never ride on sidewalks or

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the wrong way on one-way streets. I don’t ride in pedestrian cross walks and never proceed through a red light because it’s convenient to do so. I think traffic laws and ordinances should be obeyed by cyclists unless there’s an undue burden — like when it’s late and a timed red light won’t recognize a bike and change — but that’s me. Some people say if they’re forced to wear a helmet and act like an automobile they simply won’t ride. They argue that people don’t have to wear a helmet while driving a car or taking a shower and that accidents in a car or shower are more common and more dangerous than cycling accidents, and that’s a vaid argument. But that shouldn’t be construed to mean anything goes. That’s chaos. It seems to me we need to strike a reasonable balance, but I highly doubt we will, or, if we did, that it would make everyone happy. Nothing does. If you become a bit frustrated after thinking about this, do yourself a favor and visit Surly’s blog (surlybikes.com/ blog) and find Skip Bernet’s entry from June 16 titled “Some answers to just about any bike forum post I’ve ever read.” It made me laugh all day. Maybe it’ll do the same for you. Michael Deme Editor, Adventure Cyclist [email protected]

Letters from our Readers Didn’t list them all, where art thou recumbents? Google Maps still evolving

Don’t forget Rodriquez Your list of touring bikes, and specifically tandems, omits one of the very best: The Rogriguez “take apart” tandem from R&E Cycles in Seattle is perfect for overseas as well as continental U.S. touring. We have one and have completed five lengthy overseas trips. The model we have is a “Travel Toucan” which we had equipped with 26-inch wheels so one can mount large tires if the conditions are likely to be unpaved and wide-range grip shifting for easy gear selection in rough conditions. It breaks down via S&S Couplers and packs in two airline-legal cases. It’s an ideal touring tandem bike. It has plenty of rack mounts for panniers and the handling seems to be ideal for bike trails as well as the cobblestones and narrow roads of Europe. Larry Swanson Salt Lake City, Utah Why no recumbents? I wonder if you can help me understand something? Why is it that Adventure Cycling (and other cycling organizations) seem to almost completely ignore recumbent bikes? The recent issue of your magazine has an article on the “top” touring bikes. No mention of any recumbent bikes is made. I rarely, if ever, see articles on recumbent bikes. Is it that non-recum-

bent bikes are sacred cows and cannot be questioned? Is it that recumbent bikes are sub-standard in some way? I’m getting older and have some back/neck issues. I would like to know more about recumbent bikes and it is difficult to find out about them. What’s up? David Miron Lancaster, Pennsylvania Please see the June issue. There will be more to come in the future. -Editor Vote of no confidence After reading the article “Checking Out GPS,” I went to Google Maps and plugged in data just to see how it worked. Entering my city, Sequim, Washington, then my home town, Rockford, Washington, I asked the system to plan a bike route. It did — and rendered me the most bizarre routing I’ve ever seen! First, it has me ride west to Port Angeles, catch the ferry to Victoria, a ferry back to the U.S., then proceeded to route me south and east into the Mt. Baker National Forest, sending me over forest roads that are best traversed by jeep and in some instances closed to the public! Sorry, a vote of no confidence here! Bob Mills Sequim, Washington

Trike section on Crazyguy I loved the trike article, but whoever created the list of alternate bikes needs a little help. For example, Greenspeed is one of the most respected and sought-after touring trikes in the world. Their trikes have circumnavigated Australia and crossed the U.S. on the TransAm. One of the finest builders of trikes, ICE (Inspired Cycling Engineering), is a major player out of England and it wasn’t even listed. The list seemed to concentrate on two-wheeled recumbents (which are great) but really underserved the world of trikes. Your readers should check out the trike section in Crazyguyonabike.com to get a good idea of trike touring. One lady rode from Virginia to Alaska and back, and then rode the Great Divide trail off road! Keith Serxner La Canada, California Your letters are welcome. Due to the volume of mail and email we receive, we cannot print every letter. We may edit letters for length and clarity. If you do not want your comments to be printed in Adventure Cyclist, please state so clearly. Please include your name and address with your correspondence. Email your comments, questions, or letters to editor@ adventurecycling.org or mail to Editor, Adventure Cyclist, P.O. Box 8308, Missoula, MT 59807.

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Letter from the Director

Good Folks Welcoming old and new friends to Missoula and Adventure Cycling

It’s been a while since I mentioned one of the key ingredients in Adventure Cycling’s success: our smart, friendly, and resourceful people. Heading through June, I got some reminders of that, as people came and went

35 years of people, from Dan Burden to Erin Seehof.

Below, a Missoula bike tour with Dan Burden (center, in shockingly-bright orange – Jim’s on the right). Above, Jim and Amanda, on a borrowed bike, leave the airport headed to downtown Missoula.

stopped in Missoula to join 10 other transportation geeks (including me) to ride around town and look at our gradually-improving bike and walk facilities. I also enjoyed a delicious dinner with Dan and a group of Bikecentennial friends, including Roger and Sharon DeBrito, John Williams and Linda Tracy, Mike Gaithier, and Stuart Crook. New Adventure Cyclists: We are lucky to have such a terrific mix of staff, students, and volunteers in Missoula — all here to serve you, our members, and to advance our mission in support of bike travel. Let me introduce two newcomers: our spirited new tours specialist, Madeline McKiddy (raised in Missoula), and our new development director, Amanda Lipsey. You know Amanda is a true cyclist — she went car-free in Los Angeles for three years! (To stay true to that spirit, I greeted Amanda at Missoula’s airport on bike — and with a

bike for her in my Burley trailer.) Our unsung heroes are the workstudy students, interns, and volunteers who do so much to keep things rolling. Right now, they include Alison Riley (from Vermont, jamming on media and blogs), Heather Andrews (from Portland, working on publications), Tyler Dalton (from eastern Montana, helping with special projects), Erin Seehof (from Minnesota, doing great work on membership), and Steve Parsons (from Upstate New York, a recent grad of Penn State, and a terrific intern in our Tours Department). Along with our veteran staff and volunteers (and at six years of service, I’m inching into that category), they are cranking away on many projects, including tour research, magazines, new routes, the U.S. Bicycle Route System, advocacy in Washington, DC, and the states, new resources like our www.bikeovernights .org site, and a complete overhaul of our website. If you come through Missoula this summer, please stop by and meet these good people who, with your support, bring Adventure Cycling to the world. Jim Sayer Executive Director [email protected]

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GREG SIPLE

through our hometown. Old friends: We had a super visit from one of Adventure Cycling’s founders, Dan Burden, who is now a globally-renowned expert on walkable and livable communities. Dan was on a speaking tour across Montana and

Companions Wanted Providing partners for tours, domestic and abroad, since 1978

Country Lanes and Villages of England I’m a 55- year-old female riding a relaxed two-week camping/self supported tour in the English countryside during the first two weeks of August, and seeking one or two easygoing companions. Costs, based on previous experience, will be under $50 a day. Average daily distance will be 45 to 50 miles or so, leaving plenty of time to stop at places of interest and tea rooms! If interested email [email protected]. Kettle Valley Penticton to Hope, British Columbia. Early 40s family guy exploring the Kettle Valley Railtrail in September over the Labor Day weekend; may have two other buddies joining me, though interested in meeting other cyclists. Ladies welcome too! Route is about 300 kilometers one way. Plan do do approximately 60 kilometers per day, camping all the way. Must have touring experience, be physically fit, etc. and carry own gear and food. Route is one way, so shuttling of vehicles is required. If interested I’ll send you more information (maps, description). Email Ian.Parsons@ shaw.ca. Mayan World Tour In April of 2012, The Mayan World Tour bicycles across Northern Yucatan, Central Yucatan to Chetumal, south through Belize, boat up the New River to Lamanai and return to Orange Walk, boat to Ambergris Caye and Caye Caulker. Bicycling continues to Belize City, the Community Baboon Sanctuary, Belmopan, Blue Hole National Park, Aktun Tunichil Muknal, Georgeville, San Antonio, San Ignacio, and Bullet Tree Falls. In Guatemala we reach Lago Peten Itza, Tikal, and Flores then fly across the jungle canopy to Tulum and bike north through Quintana Roo, and return to Cancun. Local riders from Yucatan and Belize

shall join us on the tour. My 24-day budget is $2,000 including air fares. A pre tour of Cancun’s Laguna Nichupté and Isla Mujeres’ underwater art museum is optional. If interested email [email protected].

interested in a quick fall tour. (Day 8 we break off from the official Western Express route, if you’re planning a cross-country tour, you could continue on to Pueblo and hook up with the TransAmerica Trail.) If interested email quad [email protected].

North America Two weeks of cycling beginning

September 25, leaving from Berkeley, California, and heading to wherever. I’m 63, an avid cyclist, and good for 60 miles a day. Also, I’m willing to drive to an alternative start destination to meet you. If interested email [email protected]. Pacific Coast - Vancouver to San Francisco

Start in early August. See the San Juan Islands and Olympic Peninsula, following the Adventure Cycling’s Pacific Coast Route. Stop at Sea Ranch. Approximately 50 mile days, 25 days, fully loaded, camping in parks, lots of restaurant meals. Arrive in San Francisco by approximately Labor Day. I’m a 65-year-old guy in good shape but new to loaded touring. I might ride it faster but I want to take it all in with many photos and I want to take my time. If interested email [email protected]. Sierra Cascades — North to South September/ October 2011. Minimize Pacific Northwest rain, clear Tioga Pass before it closes, and avoid the worst of the Southern California desert heat. Experienced 56-year-old male cycle tourist seeks companion(s). Early riser, six to eight hours of riding per day. Plan on camping. If interested email [email protected]. Highway 50 Tour September 2-10, 2011, San

Francisco to Salt Lake City. 80 to 100 miles a day. Camping, riding, and generally enjoying the loneliest highway in America. I’m a 37-yearold male looking for touring companions

Northern Tier — West to East I’m a 51-year-old

male, and looking for riding partner(s) to enjoy a moderately-paced, laid-back adventure in the summer of 2012. The thought is to average 65 to 75 miles per day with a rest day every week. Mostly camping with an occasional hotel. Priorities are fun, stress-free cycling, and appreciating all we pass by. Most of the route will be on Adventure Cycling’s Northern Tier, with a bit on the North Lakes, as I live in Michigan. Plans are not set in stone. If interested email [email protected]. Great Parks Sampler 40-year-old mom new to bike touring, looking to try a few days selfcontained near Denver along the Great Parks Route sometime in the last week of July or first week in August. No hills to train on where I come from (Louisiana) so I plan to do fewer miles (about 50 per day) to compensate. Would appreciate some company so my husband won’t worry so much. If interested email velomaman@ yahoo.com.

Adventure Cycling Association assumes, but cannot verify, that the persons above are truthfully representing themselves. Ads are free to Adventure Cycling members. You can see more ads and post new ones at www.adventurecycling.org/mag/comp anions.cfm or send your ad to Adventure Cyclist, P.O. Box 8308, Missoula, MT 59807.

The 2011 reviews are in

Waiting for your ship to come in?

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News you can use from the world of bicycle travel

by Michael McCoy

WayPoints LET’S TALK CYCLING

Frank, a good friend of Adventure Cycling in Denver, wrote to tell us that the European Union and the European Cyclists’ Federation have released the second edition of the European Cycling Lexicon. It was officially launched at the international conference on cycling policy in Copenhagen. “It’s an amazing piece of work and a must-have tool for any international cyclist,” Frank said. “The Lexicon is an illustrated, passport-sized booklet containing key terms for cycling, different types of bikes for different mobility needs, and good cycling infrastructure in 27 languages, including all 23 official European Union languages. The Lexicon is indispensable for anyone who wishes to cycle in any European country. It also raises awareness, both among citizens and at different levels of governance, about the many advantages of cycling and the need for good cycling infrastructure.” The publication is available as a free PDF download at www.eesc.europa.eu/resourc es/docs/bikelexicon_en_web. pdf.

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Fred Squillante / The Columbus Dispatch

(in 27 languages)

TOSRV “Old Timers” assemble for a special portrait on the steps of the Ohio Statehouse before starting the ride.

AMERICA’S BICYCLE TOURING CLASSIC The Tour of the Scioto River Valley celebrates 50 years The first Tour of the Scioto River Valley, or TOSRV, was a father-and-son ride in 1962. The “son” part of the duo was Greg Siple, Adventure Cycling’s co-founder and longtime art director. Greg returned to Ohio this past May to ride TOSRV number 50, along with 2,900 other riders. The tour consists of two days of 105 miles each — from Columbus to Portsmouth on Saturday, and back to Columbus on Sunday. The event is organized by Columbus Outdoor Pursuits. “It was really something for

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me to ride the same roads that I cycled with my dad nearly a half century ago,” Greg said. “It was also great to see that I can still ride back-to-back centuries after so many years.” TOSRV was one of the first mass-participation rides. It helped to spawn dozens of the big cycling events that are so common today, and more: “The success of TOSRV gave us the confidence to dream big, which helped lead to the creation of Adventure Cycling,” Greg said. Greg attributes most of TOSRV’s success to Charlie Pace, a former Adventure

Cycling board member and the organization’s first life member. Charlie served as TOSRV director for most of the years between 1967 and 2011. Now 80, he will be passing along the baton. Greg noted that the riders of today look very sophisticated compared to the cyclists you would spot in the early years clad in blue jeans and tennis shoes. “The Scioto Valley, however, hasn’t changed that much, and still has a rural character,” he said. “I hope TOSRV’s second half century will be as grand as its first.”

WORDS FROM THE WISE

TEAM ALABAMBOO

marc o’brien

Pedaling what they preach Nicole Lavelle contacted Waypoints a few weeks ago to tell us about a crosscountry tour she and three others are taking this summer. The group’s aim is to make it aboard bikes made of bamboo grown in Alabama, from Greensboro to San Francisco. They also have the lofty goal of helping bamboo become to Alabama what the potato is to Idaho; what the orange is to Florida. “The U.S. is the largest importer of bamboo in the world,” the group’s website says; yet we have no domestic, commercially available supply of our own. “Bamboo is a valuable and sustainable alternative for many products, including textiles, wood floors, furniture, and paper products. It is also one of the most efficient carbon-sequestering plants in the world. “We are planning to build

a workshop in Greensboro that will be the future home for building Common Cycles. … We’ve partnered with Marsha Folsom, wife of former Alabama governor Jim Folsom, to develop this ride as one part of a much larger bamboo initiative.” The Alabamboo project, Nicole added, is “an effort to

bring a sustainable agricultural economy to Alabama and a source for domestic bamboo to America. We will also be spreading the word about the powerful effects that design and communication can have on shaping a positive future.” Learn more at www.ride alabamboo.com.

CANOEING WITH THE CREE Doing what with whom, you ask? Although it’s true that Canoeing with the Cree: A 2,250-mile voyage from Minneapolis to Hudson Bay has little to do with bicycling, in my view it has everything to do with what bicycle touring is about: youthful exuberance and the spirit of adventure, nonmotorized travel, and self-discovery in the great outdoors. Or to partly paraphrase Lance Armstrong, “It’s not about the canoe.” The relatively short volume was written in 1935 by a young Arnold Sevareid, who would become better known as Eric Sevareid, a renowned CBS newsman from 1939 to 1977. The tale concerns a four-month-long trip he and his friend, Walter Port, embarked

upon the summer after their graduation from high school. No motor, no radio, no good maps — never mind no satellite phone — but plenty of wind, heat, rapids, waves, storms, mosquitoes, mud, boiled carp, and snapping turtles. And freedom. “I thought about our friends back in the city,” Sevareid writes, “studying and working inside. It was hard to keep from yelling from pure delight.” The trip was made feasible financially when the boys garnered sponsorship from the Minneapolis Star. The dispatches Sevareid mailed in to the newspaper launched

his career as a journalist, which blossomed during World War II when he was one of the elite “Murrow’s Boys” hired by the legendary Edward R. Murrow. I happened across this as an audiobook when I was looking for something to listen to while riding the wind trainer last winter. So it’s not inaccurate to say that it’s one of the best “bicycling” books I’ve ever read. Still in print, you can find Canoeing with the Cree at your favorite bookstore or at shop.mnhs.org.

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OutsideForever.com documents the adventures of Dave Snowberg and Michelle Dodd of Boulder, Colorado. The outings detailed at the site include a ride on the Great Divide Route in 2007; a fourmonth-long Southeast Asia bike tour in 2008; an Alaska sea-kayaking adventure that same year; and a 75-day hike in 2009 along the Hayduke Trail in Utah and Arizona. Dave and Michelle exhibit an upbeat attitude and clarity of vision that makes reading their posts and viewing their photos a pleasure (Michelle is the writer, Dave the photographer). Okay, what we really like is their answer to a self-posed question about the Great Divide, “Is This Ride for You?” “Yes,” writes Michelle. “Please ride this. After experiencing two very different bike tours now, I appreciate the Divide even more than I did while riding it. You will be challenged, you will have a hard time, but you will also experience the glorious, heartopening beauty of mountaintops and wide-open spaces that give your mind space to think. After a certain number of hours or days, the busyness of life back home fades and you are in the present. You can’t help it. It is then that the depth of the color fills you, the sweetness of the pines hits you, the rush of the water passing by reminds you of what really matters. “Some of the roads are so remote that you won’t see vehicles for hours on end, sometimes for an entire day. This is the time you [will] enjoy the difference between this bike tour and others that have been mapped out on paved roads. You can hear the birds singing or squirrels arguing, see the deer watching you as you pass. You’ll sleep soundly in your remote camping spots, often lulled by the sound of rivers or streams swirling endlessly past.” J U LY   2 0 1 1  

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COLORADO’S BIKE

Mountain-Bike Touring in the Backcountry Has Nev

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olden morning washed over the ochre walls of Unaweep Canyon as it has every day for millennia before the age of humans with bicycles. The sun warmed our backs as we spun easily and climbed out of the Unaweep toward the highlands of the Dominguez Plateau. My belly full of platesized pancakes from Judy’s in Fruita, my mind danced with happiness as I set out on a new-style of mountain-bike tour from hut to hut through the backcountry of western Colorado. We topped the climb with a 50-mile view over the Dominguez-Escalante National Conservation Area and followed a twisty road down to a deep river canyon singletrack. We found ourselves rolling along a fun trail through scraggly piñon pines bookcased by sandstone cliffs. Once on the trail, I was reminded how life on a bicycle can quickly change almost any day from ordinary to extraordinary. Just an hour before, we’d pulled up to Single Tracks Bike Shop in Fruita to meet Colorado Backcountry Biker (CBB) owner Kevin Godar. Kevin greeted us with a smile and topographical maps for each day of our planned three-day mountain-bike adventure that he had developed after riding hundreds of miles of back roads and trails.

“After looking around Colorado, I discovered this was the best place to put my dream into action – great trails, geographical variety, and public land agencies that are good to work with,” he told me as we loaded our bags into his truck. Kevin told us all about the area as he drove to the start of the ride. Once there, we just unloaded our bikes, put on our packs, and started pedaling. “I’ll drop your bags at the hut,” said Kevin. “You don’t need to carry a thing.” We were light and free as if we were headed out on a quick ride from home, riding fast on a new trail through a beautiful new place. Ducking under low-hanging Gambel oaks, my front wheel squished through fruity bear scat. Suddenly I was singing, “Hi bear! Hi bear!” Reminded of my place in nature’s hierarchy, my mind freed itself from everyday distractions. Carrying nothing but water and energy bars, I felt ready to ride forever. However, this wasn’t a lengthy tour but a self-guided one that represents a new, potentially more fun way for me to explore on a bike. Before hut-to-hut ski systems began attracting cyclists, there had really been just two ways to backcountry tour with-

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Water crossing. A beaver dam makes a good bridge in a pinch.

out being in a guided and supported tour group. The first was to pull trailers on fire roads, and the second was to embrace the spartan and often masochistic sport of bikepacking. I tried both, and neither did it for me — it’s difficult to pull a loaded trailer over challenging terrain, and I never loved feeling underfed while hiding from the rain in my bivy sack while bikepacking. My personal ideal always included hav-

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ing vehicle support to carry luggage and food between camps, but let’s be honest, nobody ever wants to be the person who has to drive the truck rather than ride. In 2006, CBB solved this problem by offering a self-guided hut tour that is fully supported behind the scenes. It works like this. You show up with your bike and clothes. Kevin hands you highlighted maps with route descriptions

and GPS waypoints, shuttles your luggage, and arranges to pick you up or shuttle your vehicle to the end of the ride. While you enjoy riding unencumbered through the mountains, he stocks your hut with fresh food, ice, drinks, sleeping bags, games, and comfortable mattresses. Your sleeping bag is waiting when you arrive. All you do is enjoy the ride — there’s no need to carry gear, plan logistics, weigh your bags, or leave your heavy book behind. This is as as easy as mountain-bike touring gets. The idea for this new style of hut system came when Kevin worked for the fantastic — but longer and more difficult — San Juan Hut System that runs from Telluride to Moab or Durgango to Moab. He saw people struggling with long days, carrying heavy gear, and eating basic food, and he thought there should be a more enjoyable option for mountain bikers. After 18 months in the San Juans, he set out to make it a reality, and CBB was born. We chose the Deluxe Dominguez Tour that includes two nights in simple huts and one night at the classy Gateway Canyons Resort in the tiny town of Gateway. My companions were Scott Damman and Shawn and Dena Gillis, all mountain bikers, parents, and business owners. This tour was short and simple enough to plan that we could all jump over the usual tour hurdles of time off, spouses, babysitters, and not enough time in a busy life to properly research and plan a trip on our own. Our first day on the trail included 21 miles of dirt roads and singletrack through the 209,610-acre Dominguez-Escalante National Conservation Area southwest of Grand Junction. This slice of Colorado includes thick forest, rough canyons, sandstone bluffs, and 600 million years of geological history. Native Americans lived and hunted in this area long before Europeans arrived. The Utes still consider the Dominguez area the land of their ancestors. If we had had more time, we could have explored some of these Native American grounds but, unfortunately, we were too busy riding bikes to stop. Spinning through scrub oak cloaked in autumn reds, we loudly chatted to alert any bears that might have been munching on berries along the trail. Then the route led us straight into a deep pond. Scott decided to test the depths, hoisted his bike overhead, and promptly sunk in over his waist. The rest of us decided to forgo the

Hut in the hills. It doesn’t get much better than a roof over your head in the backcountry.

shock and squish of a cold wet chamois and tiptoed on bike cleats over a dam woven of beaver-gnawed willows. Then we climbed, debated the route, and pushed our bikes up Smith Point Trail, switchbacking to the higher plateau above. Once on top, we had transitioned from the red desert scrub below to the aspen groves and sagebrush of the high country. “It would have been easy to get lost on

that trail down below,” I mused, “It wasn’t the most defined trail.” Kevin’s route directions weren’t the most descriptive, but we had our GPS and his list of waypoints as a backup. If we’d been using our GPS, there would have been no debate about the faint trail junction below. But, you know, we’re weekend warriors who like to live on the edge. High on the plateau, we spun along a

Junk Strap They pack small, and they’re easy to use. Keep a couple in your bag at all times.

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Nuts & Bolts: Colorado Hut-to-Hut When to go: CBB is open from Memorial Day (around May 30) to the first week of October. The best time is mid-June and mid-September. The temperatures are much higher in mid-summer so you need to start riding earlier. On our trip in mid-September, we experienced cool mornings and evenings, cold nights, and warm days.

8294. American Spirit Shuttle, www.ameri canspiritshuttle.net, (970) 523-7662. Where to stay in Fruita: This hotel gives discounts if riding the CBB hut system and it’s locally owned: Balanced Rock Motel, 126 South Coulson Street, Fruita, Colorado 81521, (970) 858-7333. What to ride: Any mountain bike will do, but full suspension is always the most comfortable. Just make sure it fits you properly. You can rent basic or high-end mountain bikes at Single Tracks Bike Shop www.Single-Tracks. com, (970) 858-3917, in downtown Fruita. Or rent at Over The Edge Sports Fruita, www.otefruita.com, (970) 858-7220.

Getting there: 1. Drive to Fruita, located just outside Grand Junction. 2. Fly into Grand Junction Regional Airport (GJT), www.gjairport.com, and take a taxi or shuttle to Fruita. Sunshine Taxi, (970) 245-

faint road through rolling sage plains. We saw the hut long before we arrived, a small cabin lost amid the huge expanse of nature. We rolled up to the hut, and before anyone even took their helmet off, we cracked open some cold beers. Imagine a backcountry tour with cold beer. Every CBB hut contains a deep cooler of beer and soda, and not just cheap beer, but fine ice-cold microbrews. It’s funny the effect that this has on people. I don’t mean the buzz, just the availability of cold drinks amazes people. Everyone I met who has ridden this hut system talks first and

with navigation. CBB provides waypoints. How to shower: There are no showers on the hut route and all water has to be trucked in, so there isn’t enough for everyone to shower with. I used a spray bottle and a washcloth. How to learn more: Colorado Backcountry Biker also offers a longer, four-day and four-night trip. Colorado BackCountry Biker, www.back countrybiker.com, (970) 858-9005. Gateway Canyons Resort, www.gateway canyons.com, (970) 931-2458.

What to bring: Besides your biking clothes — comfortable clothes for wearing at the huts, sunscreen, sun hat, good book to read, toiletries, camera with extra batteries, and a wash cloth. Bring snacks for the first day. The huts have energy bars and snacks for Days Two and Three. I recommend bringing a GPS unit to help

most about the ice-cold beer, like it’s more important than the food, lack of showers, or even the trail itself. It certainly worked magic on us, and soon everyone traveled to nap land. Rousing ourselves from a tough day of riding, drinking, and napping, we dug into the food cooler for the first time. It was loaded with ground beef, brats, salad, corn on the cob, potatoes, cookies — all the fixings for a great feast on the grill, which we cooked as the moon rose overhead and a glossy herd of horses walked through camp. Kevin calls this the “cowboy hut,” and I

think it’s because he must hire a real cowboy to ride up on a horse as the sun sets. Straddling a tall paint horse, wrapped in chaps and denim beneath a soiled Stetson, Colorado cowboy Austin Massey rode up and welcomed us to his family’s ranch. Austin’s family first arrived in the 1860s with French trappers. They lived with the Utes and stayed to ranch. 150 years later, they still live here and run cattle on land surrounded by the Uncompahgre National Forest. He joined us for dinner and spun a few stories around the campfire beneath a glowing canopy of stars.

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Poland 15.2.2008 16:51:31

We slept satisfied with a great first day. It had been just long and challenging enough to get us started, but not so difficult that fit beginners or intermediate mountain bikers couldn’t do it. This would be a great trip for couples that ride at different levels or even families with older children. The huts sleep six to eight people on bunk beds, so it’s good to be close friends. The second day dawned bright and sunny, our moods heightened by rich French press coffee, fresh fruit, eggs, and bacon. Our worries from the week before melted away as we read the two trail options for the day. The first was 10 miles on a dirt road directly to the next hut. The second was a 28-mile jeep road and singletrack loop. The shorter route would have been perfect if we just wanted to exercise a little and relax the rest of the day. Instead, we chose the longer route, packed our bags, left them for Kevin to pick up, and rode out on the trail under a cloudless sky. The first thing on our map was “Miserable Hill.” We anticipated one of those long mountain climbs that go on forever. Luckily it wasn’t miserable, just challenging enough to get the blood flowing in the legs before we followed a scenic route

Tiny toad. Nathan cups a baby short-horned lizard, which are plentiful in the Southwest.

that wound through the maze of roads and trails that form a spiderweb through nearly all public lands in Colorado. Like cowboys on bikes, we spooked a herd of cows that sprinted away in a heelkicking cloud of dust before dropping into the fun singletrack of the Divide Forks Cutoff. This trail drops in skinny splendor through aspen groves, muddy creeks, up unrideable climbs, over slickrock, and out

on a road again. We pedaled the road to another section of singletrack and repeated this pattern all day long. The highlight was the Corral Forks Trail that descended into a deep canyon on a trail that feels few human feet or bike tires. Small drop-offs made the ride challenging. Ferns grew across the trail in a sea of foliage. Meadow grass grew higher than our handlebars. A red fox watched us pass.

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Tiny trout swam in a tiny stream. Hawks circled overhead. A hidden mud hole covered with grass caught us all off-guard. It was a fabulous section of trail that produced smiles from ear to ear. Toward the end of the day, we found the real miserable hill. Kevin had simply labeled it “no pain, no gain.” We clawed our way up 1.4 miles of sandy, rocky hillside under the hot autumn sun. While grinding up the hill, watching my sweat drip, and staring at the sand in front of my tire, I saw baby horned lizards scurrying all over in the sand. These fascinating lizards have lived with the cultures of this land since humans first arrived, and some species even squirt blood from their eyes. Thanks to a miserable hill, I felt enriched by this lucky sighting. We reached the second hut sun baked and satisfied. The La Sal Mountains stretched across the western sky. Iced drinks soothed our dry throats, and we spent the afternoon napping and reading in the shade of aspen trees. The sun set directly in front of the hut, a luminous crimson fireball dropping behind the peaks while we ate burritos with guacamole around a sparking campfire. Kevin

promised that the beer never runs out, and we put his promise to the test while digging deep into campfire philosophy. With each can we easily solved another of the world’s pressing problems and quickly moved on to the next. We gave out long before the cooler did. I pulled my mattress out to sleep on the porch of the hut. It was heaven to watch

the stars rotate across the sky as we were serenaded by the otherworldly wails of nearby coyotes. When you wake up and there is nothing on your to-do list but “ride 25 miles of great trails, descend 3,000 vertical feet, and spend the night in a luxury hotel,” life is going well. After a leisurely breakfast, we rode out

Dinner done right. Local cowboy Austin Massey regales the group with stories at dinner.

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No hip waders here. Ryan keeps his feet dry and wheels turning while following the winding Arkansas River, a few miles outside of Salida, Colorado – Photo by Kid Bike shown: Fargo

through aspen forests. Again we could choose between an easy road option and a more difficult trail. We live for singletrack so there was really no choice. We rode down Ute Creek, and it was the best trail we’d ridden on the trip. The top section fell steep, loose, and rocky, entirely chewed up by motorcycles. I white-knuckled it through the top and then fell in love with the rest of the trail, eight miles of twisting, swooping singletrack. As we rode gravity down the mountain, the land changed again from alpine to scrub oak to red desert. Ute Creek Trail ended at a road that dropped straight off the plateau, descending 3,000 feet in five miles. It’s not the place to miss a corner, and it pasted big grins on our dusty faces as we raced down into the rock canyons below until the thick sand near the Dolores River slowed us all to a crawl. As the sun baked the lowlands, we pedaled together the last few miles into the beat up town of Gateway. Gateway was founded in 1884 as a gathering place for trappers, miners, and ranchers. Later, uranium mining kept the area alive, and locals claim Gateway uranium was used in

Changing landscape. A singletrack rider descends from alpine meadows to scrub oak.

the first atomic bombs. It’s a non-enviable claim to fame, and the town died when the uranium market went bust. However, the area changed radically again in 1995 when the founder of the Discovery Channel, John S. Hendricks, decided to build a home and a resort here. As we crossed the river, the Gateway Canyons Resort came into view. It’s an

MANTA

attractive resort, conference center, and automobile museum built on the edge of town beneath an escarpment of red cliffs that stretches for miles. The resort has breathed new life into this beautiful corner of Colorado by creating jobs, protecting lands for conservation, and opening a grocery store and post office continued on page 38

Photo: Colin Meagher

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Is a Mountain Bike Trip Acro

o ss Colorado Worth the Risk? Hail, Yeah! We’re at the top of French Pass, a 12,000-foot saddle of tundra and snow in the Colorado Rockies. And a warm morning has suddenly been invaded by black, merciless-looking clouds. A hasty descent, which means cutting short our planned loop, seems like a good idea. Sean, more of an optimist, is opposed to my demand for a retreat. “You know what you are?” says Sean, eyeing the black clouds rolling in from the west.

“No. What am I?” “You,” says Sean, the actuary, “are risk averse.” I think about that as we hop on our mountain bikes and return the way we had come. Risk averse? Me? I mean, I’m in the midst of an off-road mountainbike ride from Denver to Durango along the Colorado Trail (CT). I’m carrying only 15 pounds of gear and traveling solo. That’s prudent behavior? But maybe Sean has a point. A day earlier, I had

Story and photos by Alan Wechsler

called Sean from a service station. It had been pouring rain for hours, and I was still a long bike ride from his place. I asked him to pick me up, and he complied. It had hurt, that surrender to the weather. But the forecast was bleak, and I didn’t want to face thunderstorms high up on the treeless plateau (because I was risk averse?) “Maybe I am,” I think as I chase Sean down the hill. Maybe I’m an adventurer with limits who likes the idea of a gutsy journey, but only one in which safety is only a phone call away. Maybe I need to reevaluate my adventure-cycling ethos. Then the hail starts again, and I think, first, let me get out of this Colorado weather. Once I’ve saved my butt, I can worry about saving my pansy cyclist soul. The Colorado Trail is a 470-mile path that runs from Denver to Durango, meandering across the Rocky Mountains in such a way as to hit seemingly every mountain that’s in between. It was built by a combination of grassroots fortitude and Forest Service expertise in the 1980s and has become one of the nation’s most popular long-distance hiking trails. It has also, more quietly, developed quite the reputation as a world-class mountain-biking route — so much so that more than a dozen cyclists compete in an end-toend race each August. To be sure, it’s not a perfect cycling route. Bikes aren’t allowed on the trail’s half-dozen wilderness areas (sadly, the most scenic portions of the trail), requiring detours on paved or jeep roads. Other sections are so rocky and unpleasant that only a masochist would ride them. Still, that leaves a good portion of the route that is perfect for cycling. And if an intrepid mountain biker doesn’t mind tasting the singletrack in pieces, between swaths of highway, the CT can bridge the gap between cycle tourist and backpacker. But as one CT cycling veteran warned me, “This isn’t a rail-trail.” Besides the weather, the CT requires periods when you climb more than 4,000 feet, sometimes on trails so steep and rocky that even the fittest cyclist must dismount and pursue the dreaded hike-a-bike. You must do this while carrying food for several days, plus camping gear, and keep the bike nimble enough to handle rocks, drop-offs, and other technical diversions. I had dreamed about it for years. And last summer, unemployed and aimless, I realized it was time. After planning my route and getting my 20

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Nuts & Bolts: Colorado Trail Before you go: Get in shape. This might be the hardest tour of your life. Before my trip, I climbed office-building stairs (180 stories in one morning) and cycled centuries and 4,000-foot ascents — and I still got my butt kicked. Equipment: A mountain bike with front suspension, at least, is essential as are racks for modern mountain bikes like those from Old Man Mountain (oldmanmountain.com) and Tubus (tubus.com/en). Gear: Pack light — around 10-15 pounds. I used an 11-ounce silicon tarp for a tent, a one-pound sleeping bag, and fuel tablets instead of a stove. Most bikepackers use custom-made bags from Carousel Desing Works (carouseldesign works.com) or Revelate Designs (revelat edesigns.com). Carry about a gallon of water and enough food for two to three days. Mail packages to yourself along the way for resupplying. Guides: The Colorado Trail, 8th edition lists bike detours in detail. The Colorado Trail Databook is a “Cliff Note version.” A road map of Colorado is also useful, and National Geographic makes detailed maps of all areas you will ride through. See coloradotrail.org. Time: Unless you’re superhuman and have a masochist streak, plan on at least two weeks. Throw in a couple of extra days for resting and enjoying the scenery — and the small towns along the way.

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Where to stay: There are hostels in Denver, Frisco, Leadville, Salida, Lake City, Silverton, and Durango. Otherwise plan to camp or spend more on a hotel. Getting there: If flying into Denver, you can take a bus to downtown for only $10. From downtown you and your bike can take the light rail and an early-morning commuter bus to very close to the trailhead. Oneway flights from Durango back to Denver are $120 or so. Ship your bike home via FedEx’s Durango office for about $75 — you can get a box from a Durango bike store. Highlights: You don’t have to ride the entire trail to enjoy it. The Buffalo Creek area is not far from Denver and is a great day’s destination. More epic day trips can be had between Kenosha Pass and Breckenridge, or from Copper Mountain to Camp Hale. And the wildflower-filled sections south of Silverton must rank as some of the world’s most amazing mountain biking. Bike Shops: Hassle Free Sports, hassle freesports.com. Mountain Bike Specialists, http://mountainbikespecialists.com. Second Gear Bike Shop, (970) 247-4511. * Some cycling sections have changed since this article was written. The 8th edition of the guidebook covers these changes as does coloradotrail.org/bike.html.

gear together, the next step was to ship the bike to Denver (cheaper than taking it on an airplane these days). After some investigation, I FedExed it to a Kinko’s store in Denver, where employees said they could hold it for me. Except when I got there, a sales clerk blandly told me she hadn’t seen any bike. After some prodding and a bit of computer work, she informed me my bike was at the FedEx warehouse about an hour’s drive out of town. And, no, they wouldn’t bring it back. Fortunately, the parents of a friend lived nearby. Though they hadn’t seen me in a decade and barely remembered me, Ken and Faith Alevy drove down to Denver at a moment’s notice, put me up for the night, collected my bike the next day, and brought me to the trailhead. It was an auspicious start. Colorado residents are almost hospitable enough to make up for those incessant hailstorms — but more on those later. The trail begins in Waterton Canyon, a park on the outskirts of the Denver suburb of Littleton, just down the road from Lockheed-Martin’s corporate headquarters and factory. The first seven miles follow a dirt road, and on that sunny track I pass my first backpacker. “I’ll get there before you!” I jokingly yell back. Over the course of this trip, I run into thru-hikers every day, on the trail and in towns, but never see another long-distance cyclist on the trail (although several had passed through a few weeks before, hostel owners later inform me). From the end of that first dirt road, the real trail begins — delicious, switch-backing singletrack, threading its way through a pine forest with views of the Denver foothills. A section of steep rock forces me to dismount and haul the bike up with both hands, cleated shoes slipping on the granite. But the air is clear, the sky blue, the temperature in the mid-70s. I am thrilled to be here. At the top, I run into Denver cyclist Bob Zatorski, who is returning from an afternoon ride. He tells me he bikes this trail 40 to 50 times a year and wishes me luck. “Listen to your body,” he advises. “When it tells you to get off and walk, you get off and walk.” The first night’s camp near the Platte River goes well, except I find I can’t read after dark — moths are attracted to my headlamp and flutter against my face. The second day’s ride brings me through

some of the best cycling in Colorado. After a thousand-foot ascent up a huge burn zone, I find myself cycling through Buffalo Creek, a popular mountain-bike destination. Here the rolling trail brings me past giant boulders and granite formations. If the whole trail is like this, I think, I will be in heaven. An hour later, the hail begins. It hits when I reach a dirt road — the first required detour around a wilderness area. It’s barely noon. Five minutes later, I’m huddling under an overhanging rock, as marble-sized hail pounds the ground. During a lull in the storm, I ride two hours to Bailey, the next town on the route. At that point, the skies turn dark and let loose again. It’s not supposed to be this way. Colorado is the land of sun, isn’t it? 300 days of it a year, they say. Thunderstorms are supposed to hit around 3:00 PM, and last for an hour or so, not all day. Shivering and wet, I surrender and call for help. Sean Brady lives in Summit County and is studying for the last of nine actuarial tests that will allow him to get a highpaying job in the insurance business. He’s a unique soul — a former Summit County bum who doesn’t actually ski (he used to be a bus driver at Keystone Resort). He is an avid lover of titanium bicycles and seems to live entirely on vegetable goulash, wheat germ, peas, fruit-flavored PowerBars, and unshelled macadamia nuts, which he buys in bulk and breaks apart with a giant nutcracker made for this purpose. He shared a house with a man named Larry, who has managed the impossible. In the land of million-dollar mountain views, Larry’s home looks as though it’s from another mountain range — Appalachia. It has a dozen abandoned vehicles in the yard and a view of Interstate 70, just across the road. Inside the garage, a large sign says “Welcome to America — Now Speak English!” The sign carries just a tinge of irony. Larry is married to a Puerto Rican woman. Despite Sean’s unique tastes, he does have one thing going for him that I don’t — he’s not risk averse. He even borrows money on margin to play the stock market. And thunderstorms don’t frighten him. Clearly, I have a lot to learn about adventure cycling. I spend several days enjoying Sean’s company, but eventually it’s time to continue on the trail. A DV E N T U R E C Y C L I S T  

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Indian Creek Trailhead Bailey 10

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treeline, when I pause to look back at the Geoff regales me with stories of life in ridge. a small town. He told me about the sherI think, who’s risk averse now, Sean? iff’s deputy who tasered high-school kids By the time I reach the bottom, the for fun, or the cowboy who was arrested clouds have cleared and the sun is bright. for riding down Main Street naked on his Hours later, I arrive in Leadville, where horse. We walk through the town, comI stay at the home of Sean’s friend, Geoff pletely quiet at 9:00 PM on a Saturday night Guthrie. Leadville, at about 10,500 feet, in July. The next morning, Geoff makes me is the highest occupied town in the U.S. five scrambled eggs (“You’re on the trail,” Like many small towns in the Rockies, it’s he explains) and sends me on my way. a former mining community in the midst of change. Denver Pa s s And, like many small towns here, it’s ch n Se a r l e P Littleton ass going through a huge revival as young Indian Creek a s s P Trailhead Breck people leave bigger cities to take risks of omo Ko k their own — namely, moving to a small Leadville Baily mountain community where jobs are difMt Elbert 14433 ficult to find. Geoff, for instance, manages an outdoor store, riskBuena Vista Crested Butte ing financial insecurity in Mt Princeton 14196 exchange for the chance Gunnison to live in a place where Salida world-class hiking and cycling is right outMt Sneffels 14240 side his front door. Lake City Ci n n a m Ouray In Leadville it also on P Bikepacking The a means living with Telluride only two seasons — Silverton winter and July 4th weekend.

ountains kyM Roc

French Pass or Gerogia Pass 11585 Kenosha Pass 9997

Creekside trail. Buffalo Creek provides the opportunity for cycling and geology lessons.

ss

The next rideable section of the trail climbs from the base of Copper Mountain Ski Resort, up nearly 4,000 feet and over Searle and Kokomo passes. I plan to be on top early, before the inevitable storms move in. It’s not to be. Despite having two different printed route descriptions, it takes me well over an hour to find the trailhead (hint: it’s right next to the American Eagle lift right in the center of the ski village — a fact neither printed guide mentions). The climbing is smooth and scenic, but unrelenting. By the time I reach treeline, I’m reduced to pushing. And, of course, once I hit the first pass at 1:00 PM, the hail returns. Between Searle and Kokomo is a threemile section of lovely, flat riding through alpine meadows. Lovely, that is, except for the freezing precipitation and the everpresent threat of being electrocuted. The weather subsides. The second pass is visible, just a short climb of a few hundred feet. With the top in sight, I’m feeling a little more open to taking risks. Relieved, I begin the final slog to the top. Crack! The lightning strike is close enough to make me jump. There is no shelter. I have to keep going. CR-AAA-CK! The bolt leaves a white trail across my retinas. I’m pushing the bike harder now, exhausted yet fueled by adrenaline, soaking wet and not noticing a bit. At this point, I’m wondering what it will feel like to be struck by lightning. Will I be killed instantly? Or left alive to die slowly, brain smoldering, and eyes exploding like in some bad horror movie? Still pushing, I wait for the inevitable static buildup that lightning survivors talk about. What will my newspaper back home — where I had been a reporter before getting laid off recently — say about my death? Would they quote some expert who will say how stupid I was for being up here in a storm? How I shouldn’t have risked it? Then suddenly I’m on top, and remarkably still alive. I leap on my bike, heading down the other side before I have time to clip into my pedals. I don’t stop until

After two short days of pleasant trail riding (and only a little more rain), I wind up in my next town, Buena Vista. Exhausted and dehydrated, I splurge for an overpriced motel room. I also have a sudden need to see a doctor. Though I had been risking life and limb on the trail for a week, my injury stemmed from something far more mundane. It seems I managed to bop myself in the eye with a saliva-covered chew toy while playing tug with Geoff’s dog Banjo. At least I have a chance to regain some of the 10 pounds I’ve already lost. For lunch I stop and help myself to four pints of soda at the “free drink refills” restaurant. I chase my dehydration with two more pints of water and slosh out into the hot Colorado afternoon. Dinner is at a restaurant called Quincy’s where there’s only one item on the menu — sirloin (or prime rib on the weekends). A nine-ounce cut with salad, potato, bread, and pint of Fat Tire Ale runs me $13. I’m enjoying these small mountain towns so I skip another section of trail and mosey down to Salida. The vibe here is even more welcoming. Artists have invaded the town and filled the streets with craft shops and galleries. There’s a metal cow on a rooftop and an alligator on a brick wall. One shop wall is completely covered by old kayaks. The local taverns are full of young people, and everyone rides around on onespeed townie bikes. At the center of town, locals have just opened a man-made kayaking course (They had the grand opening when I was there, with a man sitting in the bow of a raft holding scissors to cut a ribbon strung across the river.) I even find a shop to replace my biking shoes, which had split apart from all that walking over rocks in the rain. There’s a great hostel here too, filled with backpackers taking a break from the Colorado Trail. It’s a chance to trade stories, get some trail tips, and generally relax. The weather seems to be improving too, so when I leave Salida, I think I’ve left all risks behind me. The next stretch of trail begins with the Monarch Crest. It’s a famous section of mountain-biking trail that takes riders over miles of treeless ridge. Just to start things off on the right track, I decide to pass on the 4,000-foot ascent and pay $20 for a trail shuttle. I join a handful of day-riders who will follow the

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Minne Trails in the Land of 10,000 Lakes Story and photos by Chuck Haney

Freshly-fallen autumn leaves of early October tatter under spinning wheels in motion as I click along, lost in “time trial” mode on a smooth, flat, and mostly empty section of bike trail in northern Minnesota. My train of thought is clear, and I am focused on pleasantly racking up the miles on a warm, sunny, and windy afternoon somewhere between Moose Lake and Duluth on the Willard Munger State Trail. Minnesota is known as the Land of 10,000 Lakes, but for cyclists seeking great

that the trail opened, the economic light bulb went off and soon the small towns along the trail embraced it. At least that’s the way Dennis Suave, owner of Twin Ports Cyclery in Duluth, tells it. The Munger Trail basically breaks down into a northern section of 15 miles from West Duluth to Carlton and a southern section from Carlton to the trail’s terminus in Hinckley. I hooked up with local college student Jason Hedlund, who is a member of the University of Minnesota Duluth

Minnesota’s North Shore. Palisade Head on Lake Superior in the golden light of evening.

scenery, solitude, and lack of vehicles, it could well become known as the land of many bike trails. If you look at a map of the state with all of the bike trails included, it resembles the cracks spreading across my Montana windshield after one too many gravel-road excursions. Squiggly marks are etched across all of its regions. The Willard Munger Trail is one of the oldest paved bike trails in the country. It was established in the early 1970s, and the trail officially opened for use in 1989. The trail’s 63 miles of pavement were at one time the longest stretch of paved bike trail in the U.S. It was named for a local state legislator, Willard Munger, who had a long and distinguished career in which he championed many environmental causes and pushed for abandoned railways to be converted into multiple-use trails. Like many rail-trail projects, locals first met the Munger Trail with skepticism and mistrust, thinking there would be increased crime. But, once the small general store in Finlayson ran out of candy bars by noon on the first weekend 26

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cycling team, for a ride from West Duluth to Carlton. We began with a pleasant and gradual climb out of Duluth through stands of aspen and birch tinted with the bright yellow and gold of autumn in sections followed by dark greens of white, red, and jack pine trees. As we ascended on the former St. Paul and Duluth Railroad line, we rode through deep cuts in the rocks where you could just imagine a steam locomotive chugging by with its column of robust steam billowing skyward and a shrill whistle echoing through the canyon. There are occasional scenic glimpses through breaks in the trees eastward to Lake Superior harbor and the St. Louis River near Ely’s Peak. We encountered people walking on the trail and taking in the views near Jay Cooke State Park where a bridge crosses a gorge in the St. Louis River and a series of rapids churn and froth below. Too soon it was time to turn around and head back to Duluth. It was a quick spin on the return trip as the gradual descent made for easy pedaling. The autumn air cooled quickly

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near sunset, replacing the warmth of a splendid cloudless day. The southern section of the Munger Trail from Carlton to Hinckley traverses more open country interspersed with small lakes and bogs. The occasional dairy farm and small town add character to this trail segment. The area was at one time heavily wooded, predominantly with white pine. In the late 1800s, there were huge logging operations, and towns such as Hinckley thrived because they boasted a large timber mill. In September 1894, after an extremely hot and dry summer, several small fires ignited by cinders from passing locomotives combined and grew into a massive firestorm. The ensuing wall of flames burned over 300,000 acres and killed well over 400 people, destroying six towns in four short hours. Approximately 300 people survived by crouching in 18 inches of mud in nearby Skunk Lake, and over 100 survived by hiding in the town’s gravel pit. Three trains also came in, plucking up panicked residents and helping many more survive the fiery onslaught. And this was just the beginning of fire history in this area. Another even larger fire struck just 24 years later. This inferno was also caused by hot and dry conditions, lots of dried-out slash from timber operations, and sparks from passing locomotives. The 1918 Cloquet Fire was the biggest natural disaster in Minnesota history with 453 lives lost and 52,000 people injured or displaced. 38 communities were destroyed, and over 250,000 acres were charred. Again the railroad played a part in rescuing some of the survivors as conductors stoked the boilers to gain as much speed as possible with the flames licking at the cars as the train raced out of harm’s way. After the catastrophes, the area transformed from logging to farming as the charred soil was rich in nutrients. In the town of Moose Lake, I read a small memorial of the 1918 tragedy, and as I pedaled back along the very same rail bed, I couldn’t stop thinking about locomotives racing perilously against a wall of flames and the heroic efforts of those who went in to try and save as many people as possible. The irony of the tragedies also struck me. After all, trains started the fires, and it was those same trains that came to the rescue. Next up, I traveled north of the main hub of the Duluth region to sample the Gitchi Gami State Trail. When completed it will run 86 miles from Two Harbors and Grand Marais while paralleling Highway 61 and hugging the scenic shores of its namesake,

Among the brilliant colors of autumn. A cyclist enjoys an afternoon ride on Minnesota’s Munger Trail.

Lake Superior. The term Gitchi Gami, translated from Ojibwa, means Big Sea Water and was made famous in “Hiawatha,” the 1855 Henry Wadsworth Longfellow poem. Starting from the parking lot at Gooseberry Falls State Park where trail pavement was first laid down in 2000, I pedaled north toward Beaver Bay, a distance of 14 miles. The Munger Trail runs straight and lacks any serious hills because it follows an old rail line. The Gitchi Gami, however,

bobs and weaves as it follows the rugged shoreline and Lake Superior’s expanse of blue water. My favorite section was near Split Rock Lighthouse where rolling hills and curves glided past the peeling white trunks of birch trees and fantastic views of the lighthouse opened up. Built in 1910, the lighthouse just celebrated its centennial and was recently refurbished. Its location atop a craggy, (split) rock is the iconic image of the north shore of Minnesota, and taking the

tour through the interpretive visitor center is well worth the time. The following day, I rode an out-andback along a 10-mile section of the GitchiGami that has been recently paved from Tofte to Lutsen with local Bill Blank. He told me that 13 years had elapsed from the trail’s inception until the pavement we were pedaling on was put down in 2010. The trail is being put in gradually as work is being done on Highway 61, so it will be

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MINNESOTA

BICYCLE

Spring and summer are pleasant with many wildflowers in the prairies and forest. My favorite time to visit Minnesota is autumn when the hardwood trees explode in vibrant hues. Late September is best for the reds of maple trees followed closely by the gold and yellow of birch and aspen in early October. Precautions: These trails are non-motorized but multiple-use so expect to see people on foot especially near trailheads and small towns. Trails cross many intersections so use caution as the users are expected to stop and yield to crossing automobile traffic. Resources: Minnesota Department of Natural Resources: www.dnr.state.mn.us/ state_trails Paul Bunyan Trail: www.paulbunyantrail.com Mesabi Trail: www.mesabitrail.com Willard Munger Trail: www.munger-trail.com Gitchi Gami Trail: www.ggta.org Minnesota Trails: mntrails.com Duluth information: visitduluth.com, (800) 438-5884

some time before the entire trail is completed. For now, the option is to ride the highway and then veer off and ride the completed trail sections. If you’re interested in a longer ride, Blank suggests riding north of the town of Grand Marais on wide-shouldered Highway 61 all the way to the Canadian border, a distance of 41 miles. Near the small burg of Tofte, we rode past several open meadows that revealed 1,516-foot-high Carlton Peak, one of the most prominent peaks in the nearby Sawtooth Mountains. The reds of the maple trees had already fallen off in the higher elevations, but it was still tempting to ditch the bike and hike up the mountain summit along the popular Superior Hiking Trail. Interest in cycling is definitely gaining momentum along the North Shore. There are plans to build a new 10-mile singletrack mountain-bike trail near Tofte in 2011, and there is the annual organized Gitchi-Gami Trail Ride each August. Exciting plans are in the works to connect the Munger Trail with the Gitchi Gami by a series of trails and existing routes through Duluth. Several hours inland from Duluth is the town of Grand Rapids with a population of around 8,000. It was named for the 28

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Minnesota Tourism: www. exploreminnesota.com, (888) 868-7476. Be sure to request all of their great cycling publications and brochures including Explore Minnesota Biking Guide. The Minnesota Department of Transportation is planning to produce a new statewide bicycling map in 2011 so check www. dot.state.mn.us/bike/ maps.html Bike shops: Twin Ports Cyclery, twinportscyclery. com, (218) 624-4008. The Ski Hut, theskihut.com, (218) 724-8525.

10,000 LAKES

Hot Dish

ARROWHEAD 135

INTER NATI ONA L FALLS

NORTHERN TIER

MESABI

BEMI DJI

HEARTLAND

ELY

EVEL ETH GRAN D RAPI DS

HIBB ING

PAUL BUNYON

DULUTH MUNGER

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CENTRAL LAKES

HINC KLEY

GRAN D MAR AIS

PAUL BABE &

GITCHI GAMI

TWO HARB ORS

WALK ER

SURF BEAVER

WOBEGON

SALSA SURLY

GLACIAL LAKES

TWIN CITIES

DULUTH PACK

LUCY LINE SAKATAH SINGING HILLS CASEY JONES

DOUGLAS

ROCHESTER

Organized rides: www.tourofsaints.com/ bike.tours

rapids in the Mississippi River, which runs through town. The rapids, however, are now under water thanks to a paper-mill dam. Grand Rapids is your typical small Midwestern town with its county courthouse and well-laid-out streets, and it has always struck me as a division point where

Hey Babe! In Northern Minnesota, you will meet Paul Bunyan’s faithful blue companion.

the eastern forests begin to dwindle and transition into the grasslands of the Great Plains. It is home to the western trailhead of the Mesabi Trail, another paved gem that when completed will travel all the way from the Mississippi River in Grand

ROOT RIVER

STAR TRAILS

FISH ANGLE

Websites: www.bikeduluth.com, www. veloduluth.com

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Boundary Waters

Doncha Know!

Tw ineb al OR B u st !

l

casey greene

Nuts & Bolts: Minne Trails

TRAILS

Camping: Minnesota is blessed with an abundance of state parks, which make great places to camp while cycling the trails. Check out www.dnr.state.mn.us/state_parks/reserva tions.html

Rapids to the Boundary Waters area in Ely. It will cover some 132 miles, connecting 25 communities along the route. By 2010, 115 miles were already paved and completed. The Mesabi Trail gets its name from Native American lore, which tells of a spirit that once held the area in the icy grip of the great North American glacier. I hooked up with local rider Scott Hall, director of a local morning radio show, and proceeded east out of Grand Rapids on ultrasmooth pavement. Riding with Hall quickly became a lesson in northern Minnesota history as he rattled off facts and stories about how iron-ore mining had shaped the region. Settlers had come in from many northern European countries in the early 1900s. Iron-ore mining once ruled this region, and the evidence is all around us in the small towns we cycle through. There’s Taconite, a former company town named for the low-grade iron ore that was mined after the higher-grade ores were depleted, and the numerous quarries from open pit mines that are now filled in as deep lakes with their distinctive rust-colored cliffs. One of the towns the Mesabi runs through is Hibbing, the hometown of such notables as musician Bob Dylan and former

sports stars Roger Maris and Kevin McHale. Author Vincent Bugliosi, the prosecutor in the infamous Charles Manson murder cases, also hails from this city of 17,000. In Eveleth you can visit the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame. One of the beauties of this trail is that there is a small town located every five to 10 miles so there are ample opportunities to have lunch, ice cream, or just check out small-town America in the Iron Range of Minnesota. The fables of the Minnesota mythical lumberjack Paul Bunyan and his blue ox Babe run tall in these northwoods, so it is no surprise that one of the state’s largest trail systems bears his name. Remember Sourdough Sam, the camp cook? He made flapjacks on a griddle so big it had to be greased by skaters with slabs of bacon tied to their feet. On the ex-Burlington Northern Railroad line, there are now 110 miles of continuous pavement on the Paul Bunyan Trail from Brainerd to Bemidji. This narrow strip of pavement passes by the shores of 21 lakes (just part of Paul Bunyan’s work) and traverses a wide range of terrain ranging in character from flat and open to hilly and forested. The Paul Bunyan intersects with another fantastic trail, the 49-mile-long Heartland Trail in Walker. My initial experience with paved trails came while visiting the headwaters of the Mississippi River at Itasca State Park near Bemidji back in the early 1990s. What a concept, I thought at the time, as I glided through the pine forest in the early morning with the park, the woods, and a little stretch of smooth pavement all to myself. You are probably getting the picture. Minnesota is one progressive state when it comes to building bicycle trails. Having an avid cyclist in Congress didn’t hurt. Former congressman Jim Oberstar was instrumental in securing funding to pave the many miles of trails. This is just a rough estimate, but when I added up all the mileage in the Explore Minnesota Biking Guide, I counted over 750 miles, and that number is growing every year. And there are many rail-trails in the southern part of the state as well along with wonderful secondary highways and county roads. Add in the vibrant cycling communities in the Twin Cities and Duluth and Minnesota is a “must ride” on any cyclist’s wish list. Chuck Haney is a longtime writer and photographer for Adventure Cycling Association and Adventure Cyclist. More about Chuck can be found at chuckhaney.com.

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Travels with Willie

the swarm If only Alfred Hitchcock had been a touring cyclist by Willie Weir

It was the quintessentially perfect ending destination for a touring cyclist — a crystal-clear mountain lake. Timpanogas Lake to be more specific, elevation 5,300 feet. Located off the summit of an

Possibly too perfect. Like the beginning of a horror film, which always open with some impossibly happy family or scene with a lilting soundtrack. You know it’s going to quickly go sour. I swatted at a mosquito on my hand. Then one buzzed my ear. You can count on having mosquitoes at a mountain lake, but this was late afternoon and we were in the bright sun. “We can’t camp here,” I said. “If there are lots of mosquitoes out now, imagine what it will be like at dusk.” Thomas agreed, and as much as we hated to leave the idyllic location, we pedaled back up the road to higher ground. But first we filtered a five-liter bag of water. We found a flat spot under some trees at the crest of a hill. The site was bumpy and uncomfortable, but there was a breeze. We got down to the business of setting up camp. The panniers came off the bikes. The ground tarp was laid out on the flattest patch of bumpy ground. I worked on setting up the tent. Thomas got out the stove to cook dinner. The site was far from mosquito free — the forest calm intermittently interrupted by our slaps, swats, and cursing I crossed over to pick up the rain fly and accidentally kicked over our water bag, which wasn’t tightly closed. All five liters spilled out and disappeared under a blanket of pine needles. And as 30

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Murphy’s Law would have it, all of our water bottles were empty. Damn. I grabbed the bag and headed back toward the lake. It wasn’t far to the water’s edge. A half mile at most. It was still a half an hour before sunset, but the thick stand of Douglas-firs had already cast deep shadows. I walked briskly. There appeared to be no mosquitoes at all — until I glanced behind me and an errant shaft of orange/ yellow light illuminated a cloud of what had to be two hundred mosquitoes trailing me. It looked like one of those dark clouds of cartoon bees chasing Yogi Bear and Boo Boo. I laughed — but it was a nervous laugh. Kneeling down by the water’s edge, I

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tossed the hose of the water filter out like a fishing bobber and began to pump. I looked down. 20 mosquitoes had lit on my hands alone. I swatted again and again. I gave up pumping. This was crazy. I’d be a mass of bites before I pumped enough water. I recalled seeing one of those big campsite water pumps. I jogged down the path. The orange light of sunset had begun to turn to the cold blue of dusk. I saw the silhouette of the big metal pump. I opened the bag and hung the strap across the top of the spigot. I couldn’t see my hand. It was completely covered with mosquitoes. I feverishly cranked on the handle. Water came gushing out and filled the bag in seconds. Mission accomplished, and I knelt down to close and secure the seal. It was only then that I heard the sound. It had been masked by the sound of my boots crunching through gravel, the swooshing of my jacket, the loud squeaks of the pump.

GREG SIPLE

unpaved road in the Willamette National Forest in Oregon. Blue skies, warm sun, and no wind. Not a ripple on the lake. And to top it off, my buddy Thomas and I had it all to ourselves. Dozens of campsites available but not a single camper. It was perfect.

But now … now I heard a loud hum that felt as if the earth itself was screaming. A horde, no, a hurricane of mosquitoes. I’m not squeamish. I don’t freak out at spiders or scurrying cockroaches. I remember watching Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds when I was a kid. It was laughable. Why would anyone be afraid of birds? Even as Tippi Hedren ran down the streets of Bodega Bay in terror, with gulls (or were they crows?) bombarding her, I remember thinking, “Really? This is a scary film? Give me a break!” But now I was about to live my own Hitchcockian horror film. The mosquitoes descended on me in a frenzied cloud of hungry, buzzing fury. They went for my eyes. My nostrils. A thick stream flew into my ears like swallows into a chimney. I ran. Not with an efficient gate, but an arm-flailing, body-twitching completely panicked freak-out run that would make Alfred Hitchcock break into a wide grin. But only 50 yards into my run, I sucked in a mosquito. I coughed and instinctively gasped for air — and two more entered my windpipe.

Gagging, I doubled over and dropped to my knees. I violently coughed and spat out two of the carcasses and wiped the other off my tongue with the back of my hand. I screamed. My arms waved above my head. From a distance, someone might have thought I was on fire. That inner voice that speaks to you in these situations yelled, “Willie!! If you don’t calm down they are going to find your body next to this quiet little mountain lake and your friends and relatives are going to have to explain that you died from mosquitoinduced asphyxiation.” I put my forehead on the ground, covered my head with my jacket and began to slow my breathing. The whine of the mosquitoes was maddening. Horrifying. “Remember. Mosquitoes are smaller than seagulls or crows. It’s only a 10 minute walk up that hill. They can’t possibly suck you dry. Now get up and walk, don’t run.” I followed the advice of that inner voice and slowly got to my feet. I walked with a determined, yet controlled pace while I spit and blew off dive-bombing

mosquitoes. The sound was crazy. It was as if my head were a hive of bees. Walk. Blow. Spit. Repeat. When I walked into camp, the swarm had lessened, but I had still brought 500 mosquitoes with me. I secured the water bag and Thomas and I jogged out to the middle of the road where we spent the next 20 minutes killing mosquitoes on each other. Five and 10 at a swat. We ate dinner in the relative safety of our tent. The low whining drone of millions of mosquitoes below us at the lake provided the music for our meal. The morning brought sun, birdcalls, and that peaceful feeling one has in the forest. We packed up our tent and our panniers and began our descent out of the mountains. I looked back at the turn off for the lake. It was so calm and serene. Just like that final shot of so many a horror film. Willie Weir is the author of Travels with Willie and Spokesongs, and is a well-known commentator on KUOW in Seattle, Washington.

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Road Test

Americano Rohloff + Gates It’s still early in the game, but belt-drive technology is coming by Dan D’Ambrosio

Co-Motion’s Oregon-built Americano is a pack mule of a bicycle, built for the long haul, your ambassador to the world, as its name suggests. “It’s incredibly durable, intended to carry the very heavy loads that a self-supported tourer would need,” said Ben Moore, Co-Motion’s marketing director. Handmade with large-diameter Reynolds 725 tubes and Co-Motion’s taper gauge fork with a beefy tandem steerer (Co-Motion made its reputation first for its tandems, hence the name of the company), Moore said the bike also features 145-mm spacing for a dishless rear wheel, “providing a much stronger ability to carry weight from the start.” “One of the reasons a lot of people really like the bike is that it rides really well unloaded, but it’s also designed to ride great with a bunch of weight on it as well,” Moore said. “A touring bike like the Americano is set apart from other bikes with rack brazeons in the way it feels nimble going around a corner under braking with panniers on.” The Americano I rode on the back roads of Vermont, called the Americano Rohloff, is also at the vanguard of nothing short of a revolution in touring bikes, with a drivetrain comprised of the Rohloff SpeedHub, a 14-speed internally geared, German-built hub, powered by a Gates Carbon Drive belt and pulleys. The polyurethane belt has a nylon running surface on its 11-mm teeth — deeper than the 8-mm teeth used on standard industrial belts — and is reinforced with a carbon cord that absolutely will not stretch, meaning the belt basi32

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cally never needs to be adjusted. Neither does it require lubrication. According to Gates, “If the system gets dirty, just hose it off.” The Rohloff’s gearing is ideal, running from a low of 17.11 inches to a high of 90 inches, with perfect steps in between: 19.38, 22.1, 25.1, 28.5, 32.39, 36.8, 41.8, 47.5, 54.1, 61.4, 69.6, and 79.28. And, remember, each of these gears is available instantly with a simple twist of the gear changer mounted on the bar end. Here’s what British cyclist James Bowthorpe had to say to Adventure Journal, an online magazine, after his 174-day, 18,000-mile ride around the world ending in September 2009, with a Rohloff hub and Gates belt drive on a Santos Travelmaster bike: “I didn’t have to lubricate it or do any maintenance. I didn’t alter the tension on the belt for the

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whole 18,000 miles.” Bear in mind that Gates first developed the material in this belt for Harley Davidson, which required it to last for at least 70,000 miles on its motorcycles. Frank Scurlock, global business development manager for Gates Corporation, said the belt Gates makes for Harley exceeds their requirement of 70,000 miles of use, and while he was reluctant to make any specific mileage claims concerning how long the bike belt would last, I’ll leave it to your imagination given the performance of the motorcycle belt. “A belt will last roughly twice as long as a chain, primarily because the belt does not stretch,” Scurlock said. Scurlock said the biggest downfall of a chain is that it has so many moving parts. “With your first pedal stroke, that chain is starting to elongate,” he said. “The maintenance you do, or don’t do, affects the life of a chain, which decreases substantially faster than a belt. A belt is not stretching, and there are no moving parts.” Bowthorpe had high praise for the Rohloff hub as well, saying he only had to change the oil twice as recommended by the manufacturer. Founded in 1986, Rohloff began by making chains that were quickly accepted on the Tour de France, rocketing the company to fame and resulting in a partnership with Campagnolo that lasted from 1989 to 1993. In 1994, Rohloff split with Campagnolo and two years later, in 1996, introduced the SpeedHub, designed to replace the traditional 27-speed chain and derailleur drivetrain. Today, Rohloff sells about 20,000 SpeedHubs annually around the world, and the conventional wisdom is that there has never been a failure of one of these hubs, which are

literally handmade. (Check out Rohloff on YouTube for videos on how these things are made.) Following his nearly six-month journey through every condition imaginable, Bowthorpe is a believer in the belt-driven Rohloff. “Hub gearing makes sense for people who don’t want to spend hours on maintenance, and the belt drive is a logical step because chains are designed for derailleurs,” he told Adventure Journal. “I reckon belts are the future. Anything that makes cycling easier and simpler is a great innovation.” Now for the bad news. A Rohloff SpeedHub will set you back about $1,400. The Gates belt and pulley system isn’t as shocking — at around $325. But here’s what the complete system does to the price of a bike. An Americano with a standard drivetrain retails for $3,615. An Americano Rohloff with Gates belt drive, a classic trim package consisting of a Brooks B17 saddle, leather bar tape, and metal headtube badge, which is the bike I rode, retails for $5,810, the most expensive bike I’ve ever swung a leg over. Part of what you pay for on a bike like this one is performance, in this case game-changing performance, given the combination of the Rohloff hub and Gates belt drive. But part of what you pay for are pure aesthetics —downright, unadulterated beauty. The guys at SkiRack, the Burlington bike shop that put the bike together for me, noticed. They were wowed by this metallic black beauty, and when I picked it up, raved about the “silent” belt drive. The Americano, sitting in a rack among the workaday mass-production bikes one finds in any good bike shop, was truly like a gem surrounded by gravel. As John Schubert, the esteemed technical editor of Adventure Cyclist, wrote in his review of the Americano in the January 2001 issue: “It’s the welds that catch your eyes first. Underneath the gleaming blue paint, the Co-Motion Americano’s welds are like none other I’ve ever seen. Forsaking the ‘row of BBs’ look of most expert welds, Co-Motion’s

Specifications: Americano Plus Price: $5,810 Sizes available: 46cm, 50cm, 52cm, 54cm, 56cm, 58cm, 60cm, 62cm. Custom sizing for an additional $300. Size tested: 56cm Weight: About 27 pounds TEST BIKE MEASUREMENTS Seat tube: 53cm (20.9 inches) Top tube: 54.5cm (21.5 inches) Head tube angle: 72 degrees Seat tube angle: 73.5 degrees Chainstays: 45cm (17.7 inches) Bottom bracket height: 26.4cm (10.4 inches) Wheelbase: 103cm (40.6 inches) Standover height: 79.1cm (31.1 inches) Frame and fork: Large diameter Reynolds 725 tubes. Co-Motion taper gauge fork with CNC tandem steerer. Chris King Inset Internal headset. Rims: Velocity Dyad Hubs: DT540/Rohloff hubs

are as smooth as silk. It’s a flawlessly executed detail, and the welds look that good without any finish work.” I fully agree, and only need to change “gleaming blue paint” to “shimmering black paint.” Now, as to that silent belt drive. It’s not, except in gears 8 through 14. When I was in gears 7 on down to 1, which was most of the time, given the extreme grades Vermont likes to throw at cyclists in exchange for its picture-perfect rural countryside with sugar houses and dairy farms, red barns, black and white cows, and plenty of Massey Ferguson tractors, the Rohloff made a slight grinding noise that I found disconcerting, given the price tag of this hub. I should note that the sound had nothing to do with performance. The hub performed flawlessly any time, anywhere, in any circumstance. With the Rohloff, you can literally shift while standing still. You can shift from gear 14 to gear 1 in the middle of a climb up a 12 percent grade without missing a beat. You can always, always, be in the gear you want to be in, and if you’re not, you can get there right now, without a prob-

Tires: Vittoria Randonneur Pro 700 x 35 Crankset: Race Face Deus XC (44t) Shifters: Rohloff Twist Shifter Brake levers: Avid Brakes: Avid BB7 disk brakes, with 160mm rotors Pedals: Your choice Seatpost: Kalloy Uno Seraph 29.8 x 30mm, black Stem: FSA OS150 Headset: Chris King Inset Internal Handlebar: FSA Omega Saddle: Selle Italia Nekkar Flow (Brooks B17 on test bike with classic trim package.) Drivetrain: Rohloff SpeedHub with Gates belt drive Gearing in inches: 17.11, 19.38, 22.1, 25.1, 28.5, 32.39, 36.8, 41.8, 47.5, 54.1, 61.4, 69.6, 79.28, 90 Contact: Co-Motion Cycles Inc., 4765 Pacific Ave., Eugene, OR 97402; (866) 2826336; www.co-motion.com.

lem, whether you’re climbing, descending, or going nowhere. Still, a grinding noise? Moore confirmed that he had heard the same complaint from others using the Rohloff, but said it’s something people quickly get used to. “One of the things the belt does is make you so much more aware of other noises you never heard before,” said Scurlock. “A chain has vibration, and it’s noisy, so it covers up other niggles with the bike.” Co-Motion designed the rear dropouts on the Americano Rohloff specifically to accommodate the internally geared hub and belt drive, dropping the wheel down vertically rather than sliding it out horizontally as conventional bikes do. To remove the rear wheel, you first have to loosen the set screw on the cable housing for the Rohloff hub and take the outer housing off, letting it hang out of the way on the dual cables that shift the gears up and down. Then you undo the quick release and drop the wheel down like any other bike. To put the wheel back on, you sim-

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U.S. Bicycle Route System

thank you! 2011 Fundraiser

I

n May 2011, we launched our 2nd annual U.S. Bicycle Route System social media fundraising campaign — “Build It. Bike It. Be a Part of It.” With the help of hundreds of supporters and donors, we were able to exceed our goal of $30,000, raising over $32,000 for the project. Many thanks to the organizations and individuals that helped us to reach our goal!

Special thanks to AASHTO (Amer ican Association of St ate Highway and Tr ansportation Offici als) for their $5,000 gift!

Bike Organizations Supporters

Business Sponsors $1,000

$500

Razoo BikeQuest Touring BikeFlights

ply slide it back up into the dropouts and replace the outer cable housing onto the inner housing, which remains attached to the wheel. There’s a nut in the outer housing that fits into a receiver in the inner housing, and you may have to jiggle things a bit to get it to slide back in. The great thing about this shifting system, however, is that all the indexing takes place inside the hub and has nothing to do with these cables or this housJ U LY   2 0 1 1  

For more information about the U.S. Bicycle Route System, an emerging national network of bicycle routes that span multiple states and are of national and regional significance, please visit our site at www.adven turecycling.org/usbrs.

Bicycle Advocacy of Central Arkansas Bicycle Alliance of Washington Bike Utah Bike Walk Tennessee New Mexico Touring Society South Dakota Bicycle Coalition Virginia Bicycle Federation

Ortlieb Salsa Red Arrow Group

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Bicycle Touring Pro BikingBis.com Car Free American Cycling for Beginners CyclingW3R EcoVelo Jill Outside Path Less Pedaled

State Sponsors

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Web Supporters

2nd Street Bike Stop Cafe Alliance for Biking and Walking Bicycle Vibe BikeABQ Bike Works Bishop’s Bicycles Century Cycles Gainesville Cycling Club Georgia Bikes! Greater Eugene Area Riders JCS Cycles Knickerbikers Palmetto Cycling Coalition Preston Bicycle Repair Store Velo Tri-City Cyclists Wheel Werks Bikes

ing, so you literally can’t screw things up. Co-Motion has designed the dropout so that the simple act of replacing the wheel also ensures that the belt is properly tensioned. Easy as pie. Moore recommended you take an extra belt along with you on tour in the highly unlikely event that you break a belt. The spare belt will cost you about $60. The Americano Rohloff frame splits on the drive side where the seat stay meets the top of the dropout. You remove a small set screw with an allen key and pull the frame

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apart to get the new belt into the triangle. The chances of you ever having to perform this operation, by the way, are about as remote as the chance I will ever have the money to buy this bike. If you have $6,000 sitting around, run to the phone and order this baby now. Dan D’Ambrosio is a staff writer covering business for the Burlington Free Press in Burlington, Vermont.

marketplace

Marketplace ads start at $195 per issue. For rate information, please please contact Rick Bruner. Phone/fax: (509) 493-4930, Email: [email protected].

www.StoneColdOutdoor.com WORLD FAMOUS

Beer pannier Carry cold H2O, wine, food & fun. $ 99 +SH Insulated.

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Shorts & Jerseys Sizes X-Small to 5X www.aerotechdesigns.com

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marketplace continued

classifiedads Rate: $115 for the first 30 words, $2 for each additional word. For more information, please contact Rick Bruner at phone/fax: (509) 493-4930, email: [email protected].

Bicycle Touring Gear

Events

Quality Panniers, Racks, & Bicycle Touring Gear at Great Prices! See Ortlieb, Tubus, Lone Peak, and More! Questions? Call Wayne Toll Free at (800) 747-0588, Email us at: [email protected], or visit us at www.TheTouringStore.com.

– Georgia BikeFest, October 14-16, 2011, Columbus, GA. Spring Tune-Up, Madison, GA. April 20-22, 2012. Great fun for families and groups. Various mileage options. 770498-5153, [email protected], www.brag.org.

TheTouringStore.com — Buy Expedition

— The largest selection of Bike Bags & Bike Racks - by Ortlieb, Vaude, Lone Peak, Tubus, Old Man Mountain & More! BikeTrailerShop.com — The largest selection of Bike Cargo Trailers — by BOB, Burley, Extrawheel, Wandertec & More! 1-800-717-2596.

BikeBagShop.com

CYCLOCAMPING.COM — SAVE on Bicycle Touring Gear & Camping Equipment. 50+ Top Quality Brands - Ranked in the TOP 1% at ResellerRatings.com - FAST Shipping + FREE Shipping on orders >$120 - Enjoy our Forum, Daily Articles and our Experts Corner at www.cyclocamping.com.

Bike Shops

RECUMBENTS, TANDEMS, TRIKES — Rans, Easy Racer, Sun, Cycle Genius, Bacchetta Recumbents - KHS, Schwinn, Raleigh Tandems - Greenspeed, HP VeloTechnik Trikes - Electra Touring. Jay’s Pedal Power, 512 E. Girard Ave., Philadelphia, PA 19125; (215) 425-5111, Toll-free (888) 777-JAYS, Visit our website at: www.jayspedalpower.com.



— Eugene, Oregon’s Urban Cycling Outfitters. Gear, guidance and enthusiasm to support your life-biking. Basil, Ortlieb, Tubus, Detours, Showers Pass, Ibex and Endura plus loads of fenders, lights, reflectives, tools and Brooks saddles. Xtracycles! 2705 Willamette St., 541.484.5410, [email protected].

ARRIVING BY BIKE

BIG DISCOUNTS

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TANDEMS EAST — Road, Mountain and Travel Tandems. Over 60 in stock. Wheel building, child conversions, repairs, parts catalog, test rides. Back-stocking Conti and Schwalbe touring tires. 86 Gwynwood Dr, Pittsgrove, NJ 08318. Phone: (856) 451-5104, Fax: (856) 4538626. Email: [email protected] or visit our website at: www.tandemseast.com.

Business Opportunities

SELL YOUR BUSINESS — Sell your compa-

ny. Start our extended cycle tour now. M&A firm can sell your large company (>100 employees). Call confidentially: Tom Edens (713) 988-8000, www.marionfinancial.com.

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BICYCLE RIDE ACROSS GEORGIA (BRAG)

2011 CYCLE NORTH CAROLINA FALL RIDE

— 13th Annual “Mountains to the Coast” (October 1 – October 8) – Begins in Elkin, NC and ends on the Coast of NC in Corolla. Cycle 425 plus miles while experiencing the North Carolina countryside on scenic back roads amidst beautiful fall colors. Explore quaint towns, visit famous State Parks, Historic Sites, wineries, and more. Fully supported with SAG Support and rest stops. Various registration options available. [email protected], www.ncsports.org. BIKE THE FLORIDA KEYS — The ulti-

mate Bicycle Vacation. Bike the entire key system, down and back. Fully-supported including breakfasts and most dinners. Beautiful sunsets. Swim with the dolphins. Snorkel. Dive. The Seven Mile Bridge just might be the most beautiful seven miles you will ever bike. November 5–12, 2011. Details from BubbasPamperedPedalers.com or BikerBubba@ aol.com.

September Escapade TRIRI — September 11-16, 2011. Scenic, historic tour of southern Indiana with inn or camping overnights at Indiana State Parks, two layover days, and ten catered meals. Contact: 812333-8176; [email protected]; or www.triri.org. Russian Heritage of North Dakota

— including fantastic churches and unique cemeteries as you breathe deeply the cleanest air in America. August 6-13, 389 mile loop, 1-800-799-4242. CANDISC Tour ’11 Box 515 Garrison, North Dakota 58540-0515. [email protected] www.parkrec.nd.gov click on Recreation then click on Activities.

International Tours

FREEWHEELING ADVENTURES. GUIDED & SELF-GUIDED — Small groups since 1987.

Flexible, positive service. Famous and unusual rides in Canada, Iceland, Europe, Israel, Central America. Go your own pace. Choose hills and distances or flat and relaxed. 800672-0775; www.freewheeling.ca; bicycle@ freewheeling.ca.

EUROPE — 200 ROUTES IN 30 COUNTRIES

— Bike Tours Direct - Guided and self-guided tours with European bike tour companies. Weekly and daily departures. Tours from $600. From familiar - Loire Valley, Provence, Danube, Tuscany, Bavaria, Ireland - to exotic - Croatia, Greece, Turkey, Slovenia, Adriatic island-hopping. 877-462-2423 www.bike toursdirect.com. [email protected]. TOPBICYCLE TOURS IN CENTRAL EUROPE — 7 to 10-day self-guided and

guided cycling vacations. We are a specialist for bike tours in Central Europe since 1996. We concentrate only on the countries where we live: Czech Republic, Slovakia, Austria, Hungary, Germany, and Poland. Visit and ride between the beautiful cities of Vienna, Prague, Budapest, Krakow, Salzburg, Dresden, and Passau. Carefully planned self-guided tours. Small guided groups with local knowledgeable guides. We can customize our tours according to your wishes. Quality bike rental available. www.topbicycle.com. info@top bicycle.com. PEDAL AND SEA ADVENTURES — We’re a personable travel company offering creative cycling and multi-sport adventures in many of the world’s best places, including Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, P.E.I., Costa Rica, Croatia, Italy, Greece, Norway, and Ireland. Guided and self-guided. Van-supported. Friendly guides. Charming inns. Custom groups anytime. Over 70% return clientele since 2005! Toll Free Phone: 877-777-5699. Please email us at dana@pedalandseaadventures. com or visit our website: www.pedalandsea adventures.com. BIKE ITALY WITH SICICLANDO! Discover

Undiscovered Italy with us! Several confirmed 2011 tours to choose from: Bike Tuscany Maremma with departure dates on September 11, September 19, or October 4. Consider cycling the Amalfi Coast September 25. Enjoy the Apulia Easy Biking Tour set for September 18. Join us for Umbria Easy Bike Tour departing October 8. www. SICICLANDO.com or call 1-800-881-0484..

North American Tours

TIMBERLINE ADVENTURES — Fully sup-

ported bicycling & hiking adventure vacations with an organization whose sole focus for 26 years is extraordinary adventure throughout western U.S. & Canada. Website: www.timbertours.com Email: timber@earth net.net Phone: 800-417-2453.

CROSSROADS CYCLING ADVENTURES

— Celebrating 15 years of excellence! Come ride with Tracy Leiner - owner, cyclist and tour director. Tracy travels with every group, everyday managing daily logistics, driving support vans and pedaling with her cyclists. Small groups, personal attention, superior accommodations and meals. Extensive pre-trip support including training plan and telephone consultations. Rider reference list available. (800) 971-2453 www.crossroadscycling.com.

AMERICA BY BICYCLE, INC. — Your full

Cycle Canada! — Affordable Supported

Coast 2 Coast — Hassle free closely following Southern Tier averaging 63 miles per day. Fully supported including freshly- prepared great-tasting meals, and a mechanic. You dip your rear wheel into the Pacific and your front wheel into the Atlantic, I will do everything in between. March 8 – April 30, 2012. BubbasPamperedPedalers.com or [email protected].

Bike GapCo — June 24-30. 2012. Finally a

CAROLINA TAILWINDS BICYCLE VACATIONS — Easy, flat terrain tours

RIDE TWO STATES-TWO COUNTRIES — Bike the International Selkirk Loop, North America’s only two-nation Scenic Byway through Washington, Idaho, Canada. Pick your pace for 280 miles of incredible selfsupported riding! www.selkirkloop.org.

service bicycle touring leader. Chose from 38 tours ranging from 5 to 52 days. Let us take you on your dream ride — Coast to Coast! abbike.com. 888-797-7057 FREE CATALOG.

Tours Quebec, Ontario, Nova Scotia’s Cabot Trail From the organizers of Tour du Canada Call 800-214-7798 or visit www.CycleCanada. com Discovering Canada by bike since 1988. bicycle tour connecting the Great Allegheny Passage (GAP) and the C&O Canal Towpath (Co). Ride safely on off-road bike paths, void of motorized traffic, from Pittsburgh to D.C. while passing through some of the most spectacular scenery you will ever see from a bicycle. Details for this fully supported tour can be found at BikeGapCo.com.

include: South Carolina’s Lowcountry, North Carolina’s Outer Banks, and Maryland’s Eastern Shore.  More challenging, mountainous tours include: Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley and North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains.  All tours include intimate group size, cozy ALASKA BICYCLE TOURS — with country inns, and outstanding cuisine. www. Sockeye Cycle, since 1988. Offering guided carolinatailwinds.com; 888-251-3206. trips throughout our breathtaking region. Experience the beauty of Alaska and the Charleston — Charleston looks even Yukon with local guides and gourmet cuimore enchanting from a bicyclists point of sine. 877-292-4154 www.cyclealaska.com. view.” Fodor’s writer. 3 and 6 day all inclusive  tours. Ride past plantations, tour coast- HISTORICAL TRAILS CYCLING — OREGON al islands and surrounding quaint towns. TRAIL TOUR 2012 — Ride through the Custom biking, kayaking, epicurean tours history of Ruts, Wagons, Forts, Cowboys for groups. www.charlestonbicycletours.com. and Indians on Americas Mother Road. 1-800-408-1830. Fully supported, affordable, camping tour. Friendly experienced staff and delicious Vacation Bicycling — “After taking more meals. 402-499-0874, Website: www.histor than 90 bicycle tours, Vacation Bicycling is icaltrailscycling.com. one of our top 10 experiences!” We provide beautiful 7-day tours from $1099, includ- DAKOTA BIKE TOURS — Fully supported ing hotels, food & SAG through Martha’s inn to inn, on road tours showcasing iconic Vineyard/Cape Cod, NC Outer Banks, Maui, features such as Mt. Rushmore, Crazy Horse Arizona’s Sonoran Desert, Florida Keys and Memorial, Badlands National Park, Devils Canada’s Prince Edward Island. Come join us! Tower Monument, and the Heart of the 800-490-2173 www.VacationBicycling.com. Colorado Rockies. www.dakotabiketours. com; 605-359-5672. WOMEN ONLY BIKE TOURS — For all ages and abilities.  Fully supported, inn-to- ESCAPADES BIKE TOURS — Easy to inn, bike path & road tours.  Cross-country, Intermediate tours across the USA. You will National Parks, Europe & more. Bicycle work- stay in unique lodgings and dine on scrumpshops, wine tasting, yoga.  Call for free cata- tious meals. Experienced staff and fully log. 800-247-1444, www.womantours.com. supported tours. Visit us for more details: Escapadesbiketours.com 877-880-bike. CYCLE AMERICA’s NATIONAL PARKS — Visit North America’s majestic treasures on RIDE WITH ADVENTURE CYCLING — our fully-supported series of National Park Whether it’s the the culture and history Tours. Cycle through a painted Southwest discovered in our Freedom Flyer tour from wilderness, ride the Canadian Rockies, or bike Philly to D.C., the forests and fauna of an undulating Pacific Coast. Good friends, Michigan in our Great Lakes Relaxed tour great routes and first-rate support! Let us or the incredible panoramic views of our help you plan your next fun and affordable Oregon Coastal Odyssey, our Adventure cycling adventure. 800-245-3263. www. Cycling Fully-Supported tours will show you CycleAmerica.com. www.CycleAmerica.com. affordable, supported, bicycling bliss from coast to coast. www.adventurecycling.org/ ALL RIDES ARE NOT CREATED EQUAL — tours (800) 755-2453. Challenge yourself riding 400+ miles and climbing 30,000’ through the Scenic Byways and National Parks of the West. 714-267-4591 www.cyclingescapes.com.

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for the town. Without the resort, most visitors probably wouldn’t take the time to stop and enjoy this stunning desert valley. We pedaled up and checked into giant rooms with huge plush beds. The rooms were bigger than the whole hut the night before. We showered off three days of trail dirt, visited the unique museum that showcases an incredible collection of rare American cars, and went out to dinner. The next morning, we snuck in one more ride on a short sweet singletrack above the resort. Kevin shuttled our vehicle from Fruita to the resort, so we just loaded bikes

and suitcases and drove off. It doesn’t get much easier than this — simple logistics, cool places to stay, great trails, a beer cooler, and a drumroll finish punctuated by a cannonball into the resort’s cool blue pool. Nathan Ward is a regular contributor and has covered many exotic locales around the globe for Adventure Cyclist. More can be learned about his writing and photography at nathanward.com.

route back down to the valley. The driver takes one look at my loaded bike and says, to no one in particular, “Where are we going?” The trail lives up to its reputation. it’s fun, scenic, and warm in the morning sun. Unfortunately, it’s followed by 12 miles of the nastiest, bumpiest trail I’ve experienced thus far. I’m riding so slowly over the rocks and roots that I’m not going much faster than a walk. And then, when I finally come to a stop for the night, I’m in for a bigger surprise — it seems my three-day supply of food is gone. Unbelievably, at some point during all that bumping, a vital zipper on my panniers had opened. My bagels, cheese, sausage — all had been lost miles back. Stunned, I sit down and contemplate my options. Keep going anyway? I had a few oatmeal packets and some noodles but I’d never have the energy for the long days ahead. Retrace my steps? That would take hours! And what if I went through all that trouble, only to find the squirrels and bears had gotten to it first? Give up? In my pessimism, the thought is tempting. I could ride back down to Salida, rent a car, do some day-rides … And then Sean’s voice comes into my head and I realize I no longer want to be risk averse. I do the Buddhist thing and choose the middle path. I take a chance, change my route, and leave the mountains to the west so I can resupply in the cowboy town of Gunnison. In doing this, I skip even more of the Colorado Trail — so much so that

Affordable...Supported...Bliss

I begin to ask myself if it was fair to say I was on the trail at all. But if you’re adaptable to change, change works out. My detour to Gunnison gives me the chance to have a huge chicken dinner (free salad bar!) at the Ol’ Miner Steakhouse. That night, I camp at nearby Blue Mesa Reservoir, the state’s largest lake, where the sunset is perfect and the stars are so bright I can almost read without a headlamp. The next day brings me to Lake City, an amazing village surrounded by cliffs on all sides. On the way, I run into the first bicycle tourist I’d seen on this trip, a lovely young lady from Phoenix named Brack, who left late in the morning after recovering from a night of drinking. I camp at another lake that night — the majestic San Cristobal — and get up at dawn for the highest climb of the trip — a 4,000-foot ascent on jeep trails to 12,600-foot-high Cinnamon Pass. It takes five hours, pedaling switchback after endless switchback. But I ride the whole way, at the end stopping every 100 feet to rest. Eventually, I reach the top. I shout. I laugh. I throw my fist into the rarified air. The air is still, and the sky is blue. Surrounding me is tundra and yearround snowfields and the tops of 14,000foot peaks. There’s no sound but the occasional chirp of marmots and my own breathing. It’s worth it all, I think. For moments like this, it’s worth any risk. Alan Wechsler is a freelance writer who lives in New York’s Capital Region. He is an avid traveler, photographer, and cyclist who has toured throughout the U.S., along with the UK, Ireland, India, Pakistan, and Cambodia. He is currently planning a bike tour of “any place that doesn’t have hail.”

adventurecycling.org/tours

n Oregon Coastal Odyssey n Great Lakes Relaxed n Sierra Sampler

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CURTIS CORLEW

n Freedom Flyer (Philly to DC)

Open Road Gallery

the honeymooners

CATHY SEARLES

by Sarah Raz Photograph by Greg Siple

Emily and David Lafferty rode through Missoula in September of 2010, their white tandem gleaming with more than just the possibility of speed and fun. The couple was celebrating their honeymoon by riding from Colorado to Oregon, and the bike shone with the promise of joy and exploration to come. “Our honeymoon was wonderful,” said Emily. “I had never seen the American West. The Rocky Mountains, Yellowstone, the Tetons, buffalo, elk, and so much more. It had moments of great difficulty, but we rode on together, conquering each mountain pass and whatever else Mother Nature threw at us. It ended much too quickly but we both know that we’re lifetime riders and we’ll be back out on the open road as soon and as often as we can.” This tandem-riding team is not the most likely couple you’ll ever meet. Pulled together by their love of riding, they grew up in different worlds. David was raised in a upper-income family in Pennsylvania and graduated from MIT. Emily grew up in rural New Hampshire and dropped out of high school, eventually enrolling in a state university. Both Emily and David loved to ride though, and spent their young adult years exploring the world around them on two wheels. Emily moved to Boston after college and was sold a pair of pedals by a handsome young man wearing a MIT cycling cap who had biked 20 miles to deliver them to her. The rest is history. Emily continues, “The bicycle has been a vehicle for our relationship: guiding us through life. We met because of cycling, got married before a 12-hour bicycle race, and honeymooned through the Rocky Mountains. Aside from milestones, our daily routines are heavily reliant on bicycles: it’s our transportation to work, means of exercise, and how we get together with friends. We hope to continue to tour, seeing the world from our open-air, human-powered vehicle that we love so much.” From Adventure Cycling’s National Bicycle Touring Portrait Collection. © 2011 Adventure Cycling Association.

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