When I talk about my solo trips, this is the most common question that comes up: Aren’t you afraid to go alone? The backcountry holds a number of perils, many of which can catch the imagination and, with it, run rampant. This is evident in our literature and film: how many protagonists have stepped off …
24 August, 2022 (continued) Under the cloud-cobbled sky, a blazing corridor of fireweed lined the road in its winding descent towards the East Fork River and the marshy lowlands beyond. A long view of the Polychrome Mountain opened before me as I slowly crested Sable Pass, the high point of my ride. Reenergized by beauty …
24 August, 2022 Sometimes, life goes as planned; other times, there’s a landslide. Shortly after Liv’s offer to sponsor a ride along the length of the 92-mile Denali Park Road and back, a slow-motion landslide near mile 45 prompted a several-year shutdown to allow the design and construction of a bridge bypassing the chronically unstable …
16 August, 2022 With a frost-slick bike, a pack full of snacks, and fully-charged dog, I left the cabin with the early sunrise. The brush along the gravel roadsides held a muted glitter of dew under the dully dappled sky, and the woods were silent as we made our way into the hills towards the …
15 August, 2022 My first bike-packing experience was a low-key dirt road foray into Wrangell-St. Elias National Park in McCarthy, Alaska. The journey, although brief, was instructive in the laws of physics, the impetus for a “real” cyclist’s use of panniers, and the reasons why it is a foolish idea to tether an adolescent cattle …
July 2022 My reacquaintance with the joy of bike riding began with a call from a dear friend I had hitherto never met. Mike and I had begun our friendship as pen pals when I was in vet school, bonding over a shared love of the outdoors and enjoying over a decade of adventure stories, …