Sweltered by the Sun, Buoyed by the Beach
I slipped out of the over-hyped grandiose of Granada in the early morning light, climbed a mellow grade out of town, and was flying along the Guatemalan countryside. Traffic intensified when I joined back up with the Pan-American, but never became a nuisance. A few hot hours later I swung west towards the Pacific coast. […]
One Week: Guatemala to Nicaragua
Guatemala: I have become somewhat unexpectedly adept at starting out on a bike. Four different times I have pushed the first pedal down, swayed with the foreignness of the loaded panniers, and aimed my bike south. One would think I would be good at it, yet each time posses new challenges, and puts me on […]
A Return to the Road
Four months is either a blip of time or an eternity. I experienced both in Xela. When I rode away on Monday I was leaving behind another transitional destination on my trip, a simple pause along my path. Yet, it was also enough time to develop real and lasting relationships that I am saddened to […]
Maps Paint Poor Pictures
What could be described as an adventurous looking line across Guatemala on our maps has turned out to be a full blown leg-burning, bike-pushing, cross-section of this diverse country. Starting near sea level in Rio Dulce and finding ourselves now at 8,000 ft in Xela we were anticipating some of the hard work that would […]
Guatemala – Chapter 1
Guatemala is seeping under the skin like Malaria into the veins. Dirt roads weave together villages and farms; cattle graze and turkey present. At once nowhere, with a simple path proving a link to isolated settlements, at other times, a well trod highway. In the rural and troubled northern province, Peten, where a welcome should […]
Snapshots of Mexico
Welcome to dirt road riding, Mexican style Welcome to dirt road riding, Mexican style View at Picasa Mexico will slowly drift into the attic of my memories when we enter Guatemala in a few days time. It has been a month of cycling, sitting, and seeing; and, although my visit was limited primarily to […]
Sights of the Yucatan
Big road riding towards Campeche View at Picasa I have managed to stay upright all week. This even with some attempts by the Yucatan to offer up toppling sights, nauseating smells, and boring roads. My Yucatan checklist has been fulfilled. I went for a few swims in the Caribbean (courtesy of Cancun and Playa […]
Ready, Set, Restart!
Ready, Set, Go! View at Picasa For all intents and purposes, I am considering today (Wed, Nov. 16) the beginning of my new trip south. I have been off the bike, more or less, since January. Both the stint on the Great Divide this summer, as well as the month just finished in Cuba, […]
Cuba:
Cuba View at Picasa Traveling in Cuba is much like approaching a pinata; you are blindfolded and disorientated, expecting magic to pour from within. The stick is precarious to grasp for the sweat on your hands, but you begin swatting hopelessly at the air. This pinata sees your futile efforts, for you are constantly […]
High Time in the Rockies
Ashton, Idaho departure Ashton, Idaho departure View at Picasa Journal Entry at camp at the end of Day 1, July 18: I have been off the bike for nearly 5 months, and it was with all that trepidation that I took to the road again. I stopped out of loneliness and intimidation, used the […]
California Dreaming
My sustained absence from the website over the last few weeks is due solely because I have been having a damn good time. I can’t pull myself from the good weather and good company to sit in front of a computer for any length of time. And, owing to such good fortunes, California is slowly […]
Swimming Through Cali!
The wetness is so pervasive and the fog so penetrating that I can’t see where water stops and air begins. It is like riding through a pound-cake, and after 72 miles and almost 5,000 ft of climbing yesterday my legs certainly agree. I am considering turning west and riding to Hawaii. At this point I […]
Beginning Anew
A deep-seated relaxation has overtaken me in just a few hours of the rainy Seattle weekend. For the first time since the start of the trip I feel at ease, completely able to let go of the complexities of the past few months. I am in the house of good friends and can just be, […]
Connections
During preparations for this trip I would commonly come across accounts of all the people that would take in cyclists, feed and wash them, and send them on down the road with a plethora of connections. I wondered if it was just the nature of certain people to be taken in, and how that would […]
Smithers to Banff (Day 52 – 70)
I have finally managed to compile some images from our eastward journey from Smithers, British Columbia to Banff, Alberta. Thanks for everyone’s patience as I pedal on down the road and neglect to regularly update the website. We are currently in Canmore until tomorrow afternoon when we will get a ride back up the road […]
Once in a Lifetime!
When a once in a lifetime opportunity presents itself, take it! Can I describe my upcoming detour a deviation from the deviation? Traveling east along the Yellowhead puts us so touchably close to the heart of the Canadian Rockies at Jasper, that to pass on the opportunity to bike the Icefields Parkway would be foolish. […]
Route Deviation
Four uneventful days from Smithers to Prince George has found us happily in the home of Carol and Wayne. Over a delicious meal and some lively conversation (local paleontology exploits, foreign travel, politics), Nathan and I have been persuaded/encouraged to deviate our southward route to Vancouver. As such, we will add a few days travel […]
Stories
What of the bear encounters? It wasn’t until our 5th day down the Cassiar Hwy that we encountered our first of many bears. I didn’t even see it when we rode by, but Nathan, the diligent, is always on the look-out and spotted a black bear in the bushes on the side of the road. […]
The Challenge Rewarded
If my trip down the Dalton Hwy in Northern Alaska was a rude, painful, and challenging awakening, then my trip down the Cassiar Hwy in British Columbia has been my reward. I was exposed to how challenging the road can be while pedaling south form the Arctic Ocean. How it will call the shots, and […]
Why?
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A Biking Vacation
I am catching up on a bit of news, and the usual tedium of digital life, while sitting outside a small general store in the sunshine across from the estuary at the end of the Portland Canal in Stewart, BC. Nathan and I are still traveling together, and this serves as our vacation from the […]
Whitehorse, Yukon
The rain began as soon as we had picked a spot to pitch out tents. We were in a hurry, as it was closing in on night darkness and we had made the inevitable mistake of assuming that after passing countless camp-sites we could move on a few more miles and easily find more. In […]
Haines Junction (Two days more to Whitehorse)
Somehow the pedals keep on turning (I am not sure how or who is turning them, ’cause at times it doesn’t feel like me). We have picked up the pace to make it to Whitehorse before winter, and it is taking a toll on the body. It is nice to know that we are strong […]
A Change of Weather & Countries
We must have complained a little to hard about the heat, because mother nature turned around and is dishing out some cold and rainy weather for us to deal with. Today will be the third day of 40 degree temps and rain or drizzle. We have been fortunate to only be wet and misserable while […]