a publication of ADVENTURE CYCLING ASSOCIATION

AN EPIC ACT OF

TRANSIENCE10

$6.95 OCT/NOV 2019 Vol.46 No.8 STACK LONG DAYS. CLIMB LIKE A MOUNTAIN GOAT. Saddle, back, neck and wrist pain no longer get a say in your plans. Our patented drive system brings together the best of traditional and recumbent touring bikes so you don’t have to sacrifice performance for comfort. But we should warn you, your cheeks may hurt from smiling.

Adventure Cyclist readers get $100 off the Cruzbike of their choice Use code: ADVENTURE at C ruzbike.com Letter from the Editor online

WHAT YEAR IS IT AGAIN? Revolution, evolution, and the march of progress

PHOTO CONTEST OPEN NOW ➺I recently found myself standing on a quiet main ’Tis the season for submitting street in front of a small-town Montana theater. I’d your best images to the 11th been on the road for a while and small towns can start Annual Travel Photo to look the same, but when I looked up at the marquee Contest. Winning images are published in the May 2020

and saw “Lion King,” for a moment I was sure of EDGERTONADAM neither where I was nor when. Adventure Cyclist, plus these Depending on the level of charity you’re inclined shots appear in our annual to employ, there are either no more ideas left, or we calendar. Send us your best simply evolve the same core idea over and over to at adventurecycling.org/ reintroduce it to new generations. I was certainly thinking about the photcontest now through spectrum of “invention” as I read Bob Marr’s story on page 20 about turn- November 30. of-the-century cycling innovations. Cyclometers, saddles, tires — if we just showed you the text and not the vintage advertisements, you’d be forgiven GRAVEL TO THE RESCUE? for wondering about the turn of which century. changed touring bike Though we didn’t dedicate an entire issue of bike travel history this spec forever when the brand year, we’re still very much committed to these types of stories, in part ended compatibility between thanks to the generosity of the bicycle historian community. It’s a pleasure road and mountain drivetrain working with authors like David Herlihy (June 2019) and Tessa Hulls components. Now the Japanese (May and July 2019), collectors like John Weiss and Lorne Shields, and giant has an entirely new countless archival institutions around the world. If this is the sort of groupset aimed at gravel, GRX. thing that you’d like a deeper dive into, you might enjoy the International Does it deliver for the touring Cycling History Conference and the book of papers they publish each year cyclist? We take our first spin in (shameless plug: designed by Adventure Cycling cofounder Greg Siple). an effort to find out. Read more Speaking of cycling gear, we’ll be getting a regular infusion of new at adventurecycling.org/grxtest. items for our Geared Up department (page 38) from longtime cycling writer Berne Broudy (“Arctic Circle Trail,” Dec. 2016/Jan. 2017) both in print and online. Berne will be reviewing women’s-specific items as well as providing her expert perspective on general products. Be sure to check in on our blog (adventurecycling.org/blog) and subscribe to eDigest (adventurecycling.org/subscribe) to stay up to date on all of our gear, as well as other online-only content. Finally, we’re closing in on a fully planned 2020 volume of Adventure Cyclist, so if you’ve considered sending us a pitch, now’s the time! Visit adventurecycling.org/submit for details. VIDEO ROAD TESTS Don’t forget about our video Alex Strickland Road Tests, courtesy of tester Editor-in-Chief, Adventure Cyclist Patrick O’Grady. This month [email protected] the Masi Speciale Randonneur (page 34) gets the YouTube treatment. See all of O’Grady’s video tests at youtube.com/user/ advcyclingassoc.

ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG/MEMBERS 03 contents VOLUME 46 ∞ NUMBER 8 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG

INNOVATIONS FROM THE CYCLING CRAZE A reminder that when it comes to bikes, sometimes what’s old becomes new again. by Bob Marr 20

OUR COVER: The sunflower fields of central France are merely the kickoff in the 2,900- mile EuroVelo 6 route DEPARTMENTS LETTERS COLUMNS from the Atlantic Ocean to the Black Sea. AN EPIC ACT OF 08 Waypoints 03 LETTER from the 34 Road Test Editor Patrick O’Grady Photo by Steph Ridenour. TRANSIENCE 10 38 Geared Up 05 LETTERS from our Masi Speciale Adventure Cyclist is 42 Holiday Trailblazer Profile ➺ Part 1 of a self- Readers Randonneur America’s only magazine 44 Marketplace/Classifieds dedicated to bicycle travel. supported journey across 06 LETTER from the 50 Companions Wanted It is published nine times Europe on the EuroVelo Director each year by Adventure 51 Open Road Gallery Cycling Association, a 6 route from the Atlantic nonprofit organization to the Black Sea. for recreational cyclists. Individual membership by Alex Crevar costs $45 yearly to U.S. SIZING AT THE MASI SPECIALE RANDONNEUR addresses and includes a 30 subscription to Adventure THE RACE CLOCK EXTREMES Vintage looks belie an updated Cyclist and discounts on ➺ Touring bikes take on touring. Adventure Cycling maps. IS TICKING 26 For more information, visit for the very tall ➺ Wrestling with 34 adventurecycling.org or and small. call 800.755.2453. relentlessly rolling roads by Alex Strickland — and encroaching ego — Adventure Cyclist accepts stories, articles, in the inaugural Arkansas and photographs for High Country Race. COLOR ME publication. Learn more by Ally Mabry at adventurecycling.org/ VELO ORANGE 40 submit. ➺ Classics for the modern rider. by Dan D’Ambrosio

04 ADVENTURE CYCLIST oc tober /nov ember 2019 Letters from our Readers

FINAL MILE FANS

Harry Lyons’s article on his quest The GPS trail maps in the program Just ask a local resident. Many will be for the perfect bike saddle in the are stellar and detailed. This month surprised where that may lead. Aug./Sept. issue (“Hot Battered Bum our planned backpacking route P.S.: Great magazine! Bones”) was laugh-out-loud funny. included a section from Appleton Pass Bill Swearingen | Lincoln, Nebraska Many a cyclist have experienced to Swimming Bear Lake in Olympic similar “events” over the course of a National Park via Cat Basin. This WH(E)EEEEEE long tour, including yours truly. More traverse is in a few climbing books but My wife and I are currently sitting articles like this please. not on any maps, not in AllTrails, nor on an Amtrak train, with our eBikes Art Brown | Winnipeg, Manitoba available on the WA Trails Association aboard, headed from Saint Paul, website. Komoot, however, mapped it Minnesota, to Seattle, Washington. I had just gotten back from a one-week immediately and was a critical tool on We are 4,800 miles into a 6,000 +/- 400-mile tour from Illinois to Kansas our “atmospheric” hike. summerlong eBike tour that started City. After 25 years of touring, it was I have not been a track contributor in Fort Collins, Colorado, on the last the hardest ride I had done. Every day, to Komoot, but after your article, I day of March. I can tell you from I battled headwinds, hills, and heat. By will now begin contributing my Pacific firsthand experience that our assisted the end, I thought that this may be my Northwest routes. bikes have been real game changers last tour. I finished, but the everyday Sally Brennand | Olympia, Washington on this tour. Mountain pass? No big battle put a black cloud over the deal. West Texas wind? I didn’t notice. entirety of my trip. I came home feeling Very interesting article on the Ozarks? So pleasant. This is in spite of defeated from battling everything that Komoot app, and to hear that seven my rig weighing 150 lbs. with gear and mother nature had thrown at me. million folks are using it is amazing. extra batteries. As I went though my mail, the Aug./ Yet this is the first I’ve heard of it. I I was happy to read the article Sept. issue was waiting for me and I spoke to the local bike shop owner “eBikes for Everyone” in the Aug./Sept. read the “Final Mile Anthology.” Each and he was not aware of it either. The magazine. I’ve ridden similar length story spoke to how I felt about this idea of blending Komoot with your tours on traditional touring bikes and last trip. I had forgotten how these maps would be very convenient. A tandems. I think eBikes may be the situations are part of the challenge. rider could review the maps of the answer to so many transportation issues The stories made me reassess what day’s route in the evening then in the near future. As far as bike touring bike travel means to me and why I follow the route on your iPhone. goes, they should be a consideration to do it. I do it for the adventure, riding I eagerly await the arrival of each anyone looking to enjoy long-distance into the unknown, and overcoming issue. The article entitled “Hurt,” (June riding. I hope to see some Nuts & Bolts the obstacles in my way, the feeling of 2019) forces a rider to consider the how-to articles about eBike touring in accomplishment when I am done, and possibility of having your trusty steed future Adventure Cyclist issues. bragging rights for finishing. stolen. I suggest an article on the most Brian Squire | Fort Collins, Colorado Rob Lauzon | Milford, Michigan effective way to secure your bike. Jim Hasty | Milton, Florida Thanks so much for your excellent CRAZY FOR KOMOOT work on the magazine. As I recover Your article on Komoot (Aug./Sept.) Do you know what I call being “ ... on from hip replacement surgery, the was very timely. Two years ago when a desolate stretch of road somewhere CONTINUED ON PAGE 49 planning my first independent bike between an electrical outlet and a WiFi tour, I asked my techie son for a bike signal?” Adventure. And there is less computer with my route loaded. While and less opportunity for it all the time. Your letters are welcome. We may edit letters for I received a Wahoo Elemnt, it was not As a young man, I toured length and clarity. If you do not want your comments loaded. Kids never listen. thousands of miles without the to be printed in Adventure Cyclist, please state so clearly. Include your name and address with your I spent a disturbing amount of time need or perceived benefit of all the correspondence. Email your comments, questions, or figuring out which program to utilize, superfluous gadgetry carried today. letters to [email protected] or mail to Editor, and Komoot was the most user-friendly. Need a “search” question answered? Adventure Cyclist, P.O. Box 8308, Missoula, MT 59807.

ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG/MEMBERS 05 Letter from the Director

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF ALEX STRICKLAND STAFF WRITER DAN MEYER LEAD DESIGNER ALLY MABRY CONTRIBUTING WRITERS WILLIE WEIR PATRICK O’GRADY DAN D’AMBROSIO JUNE SIPLE ELLEE THALHEIMER APRIL CYPHER GAGE POORE COPY EDITOR PHYLLIS PICKLESIMER ART DIRECTOR EMERITUS GREG SIPLE ADVERTISING DIRECTOR RICK BRUNER

AREAS OF FOCUS Provide the premier tools and inspiration for people to travel by bicycle. Expand and integrate bike travel networks for North America. Create the best possible conditions for bicycle travel.

DREAM BIG … MISSION HOW TO REACH US Adventure Cycling Association memberships@ inspires, empowers, and connects adventurecycling.org … and weave that web of inspiration people to travel by bicycle. 406.721.1776 HEADQUARTERS SUBSCRIPTION ADDRESS Adventure Cycling Association Adventure Cycling Association 150 E. Pine St. P.O. Box 8308 Missoula, MT 59802 Missoula, MT 59807 Celebrating on the beautiful Ravenel Bridge before descending into Charleston, South Carolina, after riding south along the Atlantic 1,728 miles from Bar Harbor, Maine. STAFF EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR JIM SAYER ➺As I wind down my last months at and young sons on the White Rim CHIEF OPERATIONS OFFICER SHEILA SNYDER, CPA Adventure Cycling and reflect on 14 Trail in Utah (and made me want MEMBERSHIP JOE BAKER JULIE HUCK GAGE POORE years at the helm, what I keep coming to get down there soon) MIKAYLA DUNBAR back to are the people I meet who • Kecia McCullough, who I met at BRIAN BONHAM DEVELOPMENT ANNETTE STAHELIN dream big, follow through, and inspire the National Bike Summit and is APRIL CYPHER MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS TERI MALOUGHNEY others. Who I especially love are engaging hundreds of women in ALEX STRICKLAND JIM MCTIGHE ordinary people doing extraordinary Black Girls Do Bike (in Rochester, EVA DUNN-FROEBIG

DAN MEYER things, people like: New York) through day rides and LEVI BOUGHN ALLY MABRY bike overnights to spread the joy DANIEL MRGAN JESSICA ZEPHYRS • Mike Henry in Massachusetts, who of cycling JESSICA DIEHL INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY JOHN SIEBER

after doing mostly short trips, kicked • Turner Ratrie of Georgia, who had RICHARD DARNE off retirement riding 4,200 miles dinner at my home in Missoula this DAVID BARTH TOURS KYLE TREBOTICH self-supported on the TransAmerica summer during one of his many MIKE LESSARD EMMA WIMMER LAURIE CHIPPS Trail, raising serious money for trans-America trips (this year’s REBEKAH ZOOK

Alzheimer’s research from East Coast to West, down the ROUTES & MAPPING CARLA MAJERNIK JENNIFER HAMELMAN • Bonnie Gagnon in Minnesota, who Pacific, and back east for his seventh NATHAN TAYLOR MELISSA MOSER

overcame life-threatening health journey on the Southern Tier) JAMIE ROBERTSON AMY WALLY issues, took on her second Great • Olivia Round, an Adventure TRAVEL INITIATIVES VIRGINIA SULLIVAN SAARA SNOW Divide race, and, through sheer Cycling blogger (and part of our LAURA CRAWFORD

grit, rode 2,700+ miles in 27 days excellent new Dynamo Jenny DANIEL HANSBURY CYCLOSOURCE MAX SIEBERT — and through the power of social email newsletter) who is based in MAXTON CAPLANIDES

ADMINISTRATION GEOFF MCMILLION

media brought thousands of us Seattle but helps us travel the globe JAKE FLAHERTY OFFICE MANAGER BETH PETERSEN along with smiles and tears through luminous, humorous, and • Sarah Hunter in Maine, who deeply real stories about women BOARD OF DIRECTORS PRESIDENT JOYCE CASEY told me she was inspired by my finding their way by bicycle VICE PRESIDENT RAMI HADDAD SECRETARY JENNY PARK family’s bike trips to pursue her TREASURER GEORGE MENDES own — and this spring did the I could fill this whole magazine BOARD MEMBERS MIKE DILLON ANDY BAUR most amazing 100-mile, three- with similar stories, and I’ll bet you ANDY HUPPERT day gravel ride with her husband STEVEN SETO CONTINUED ON PAGE 49 MARIA ELENA PRICE NOEL KAGEL

06 ADVENTURE CYCLIST oc tober /nov ember 2019

Bike the Florida Keys with us in 2020! January 11-17 or January 25-31

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ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG/MEMBERS 07 WayPoints COLT FETTERS Still Havana Good Time? ➺ In June, the Trump administration announced that it was “people-to-people” provision to the “support for the Cuban ending the group “people-to-people” provision for authorized people” provision. According to Peter Grubb, founder of travel to Cuba. The “people-to-people” provision was a Cuba Unbound, the new policy hasn’t fundamentally altered subcategory under “educational,” one of the 12 categories their trips. The “support for the Cuban people” provision under which U.S. residents can apply to travel to Cuba and stresses the importance of doing business with individuals the one primarily used by guided tour companies and cruise and private enterprises and keeping as few American lines. It was meant to foster educational exchanges between dollars as possible from finding their way to the Cuban visiting Americans and Cubans. government. To that end, guests on a Cuba Unbound trip What does this mean for Americans who want to visit will stay in casa particulares instead of hotels, eat in privately the Republic of Cuba? Well, you can still apply to visit owned restaurants, and take private transportation. if you have close family members living there, or for Want to do your own thing in Cuba? You can, if you’re religious reasons, or to study abroad, for example. But willing to jump through the many hoops, travel as an what if you want to just lie on the beach and sip a daiquiri? individual to Cuba under the “support for the Cuban Nope. U.S. citizens cannot legally travel to Cuba purely people” provision, but you’ll be on your own for setting up for tourism. Nor, apparently, can you get there on a cruise transportation and homestays. ship, according to the new policy. For more information on visiting Cuba, check out the But you can still get there with guided tourism Treasury Department’s FAQ at treasury.gov/resource-center/ companies, many of which have switched from using the sanctions/Programs/Documents/cuba_faqs_new.pdf. ALASKA BICYCLE TOURS FULLY SUPPORTED TOURS WITH LOCAL GUIDES • SELF-GUIDED TOURS & GEAR RENTALS

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08 ADVENTURE CYCLIST oc tober /nov ember 2019 edited by Dan Meyer

This Month in 12 MONTHS OF Mergers and Acquisitions INSPIRATION ➺ (QBP), the Bloomington, Minnesota–based bicycle supplier, has been on a spending spree. In April, Bicycle Retailer and Industry News (BRAIN) reported that QBP had acquired the intellectual property and remaining inventory of the Bushnell Eccentric Bottom Bracket from Seattle-based R&E Cycles. The Bushnell eccentric, intended for tandems and singlespeeds, is considered a favorite among framebuilders. Bushnell eccentrics will be sold under the Problem Solvers brand. In August, BRAIN reported that QBP had purchased the Barnett Bicycle Institute (BBI) from the National Bicycle Dealers Association for an undisclosed amount. Founded by John Barnett in 1986, BBI is a trade school for bicycle mechanics. Later that same month, QBP purchased Frame Saver, the rustproofing spray for steel bikes originally developed by J.P. Weigle. Frame Saver will be sold under the Problem Solvers brand. It’s not quite 2020 yet, but you can get a Not to be left out, the Robert Axle Project, maker of aftermarket thru-axles, jump-start on the new year with Adventure bought Old Man Mountain Products, which makes racks for mountain bikes. Cycling’s new 2020 Bicycle Travel Calendar. Channing Hammond, who was profiled in the March 2016 issue of Adventure Featuring images selected from our annual Cyclist, started Old Man Mountain in 1996. According to BRAIN, Old Man Bicycle Travel Photo Contest, the 2020 Mountain racks will continue to be sold under the same name. Adventure Cycling Calendar is chock-full of motivation to plan your own bicycle tour in the coming year. Envision yourself descending a Swiss mountain pass or PADDING THE RESULTS pedaling the remote reaches of the globe as each passing month unveils awe-inspiring Ever wonder just how warm your sleeping The American Society for Testing and scenes of two-wheeled exploration. pad is? Some, but not all, manufacturers Materials has devised a standardized test Calendars are available for purchase label their pads with an R-value — or that, hopefully, sleeping pad manufacturers through the Cyclosource store insulation rating — of 1 to 5, with 1 being will adhere to: the Standard Test Method for (adventurecycling.org/store), or we’ll put suitable for warm, summer temps, and Thermal Resistance of Camping Mattresses one in the mail to you for free when you join 5 for below-freezing nights. But even if Using a Guarded Hot Plate Apparatus (or the or renew at the Patron level or higher. manufacturers use the same rating system, STMTRCMUGHPA, if you’re into the whole This is also your chance to have your there’s no guarantee they’ve tested their brevity thing). In essence, the test involves photo in next year’s calendar! The 11th pads to the same specifications, or whether placing a pad between a hot plate and a cold Annual Bicycle Travel Photo Contest is open they’ve tested them at all. A pad with an plate and measuring how much heat passes now through November 30, and we’re looking R-value of 4 could keep you warm and from one to the other. Do the test a few times, for images in four categories: the Adventure toasty on a chilly night, while another calculate an average, and boom, you’ve got Cycling Route Network, Epic, Around pad with the same rating could leave you your R-value. Therm-a-Rest will be the first Camp/Groups, and Parks/Public Lands. shivering in the same weather. What’s a manufacturer to use the new test and rating Learn more and submit your best shots at bicycle camper to do? system for its 2020 sleeping pads. adventurecycling.org/photocontest.

ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG/MEMBERS 09

This is the first installment of a two-part series. The second part, from the Danube to the Black Sea, will appear in the Dec. 2019/Jan. 2020 issue.

had been traveling more than a week along the EuroVelo 6 cycling route, which stretches across 10 countries and connects Europe horizontally from France’s Atlantic coast to Romania’s Black Sea, when I met Gottmund. A tall German in his 60s, he had a beard that hung to his chest and an aging linebacker’s girth that gravity had redistributed to his waistline. He rode into the campsite on a well-used city-turned- touring bike and wore a red rain poncho, which fluttered in the wind and whipped around him like an Iunanchored circus tent. As the late-afternoon French clouds momentarily parted during one of the coldest and wettest Mays in recent European memory, Gottmund came to a stop at the camping plot next to the one my cycling partner and I occupied. He waved hello and then dutifully pitched his tent, which sagged as if missing a weight-bearing pole. After, he bounded over, eating a soggy baguette like a banana. He would be the first on a list of recent retirees we’d meet along the “River Route,” as the EuroVelo 6 (EV6) is sometimes called, because it follows some of Europe’s largest waterways and is dominated and bookended by the Loire and the Danube rivers. Along its course, the trail stitches together France, Switzerland, , , Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria, and Romania. Like my traveling companion and I, the burly German cyclist found himself on this cross-continental trail, which extends almost 2,900 miles, for reasons that went beyond proving he can rotate his legs for weeks on end. To some degree, each of us was looking to shake up a sedentary life with an epic act of transience. “When I retired from the church, I asked my wife to give me a hundred days,” said Gottmund, a pastor whose name, appropriately, means “God’s mouth” in German. Behind us, the Doubs River had recently replaced the Saône, which replaced the Loire, as our backdrop and EuroVelo guide through the heart of France. Within a few days, we would reach the Rhine and Switzerland. “My wife said yes,” Gottmund continued, “so I fixed up my old bicycle and decided this ride was something I needed to do.” The water was high, and there were signs around the riverside campground advising us to leave personal belongings if an evacuation was necessary due to flooding. We all stared at the Doubs, which lapped against the bank separating it from the plots. We drank cans of beer purchased at the nearby marché and savored the moments before another set of storm clouds would drive us into our tents. “Even though we are standing here now, and following the same route, we’re actually riding on our own paths,” said Gottmund, breaking the silence. “In the end, that’s what this is all about. Really, that’s what life is all about — finding your own path.” That simple statement crystalized thoughts I had wrestled with since the start of my ride. My reasons for wanting to ride the EV6 were many. I was, and still am,

story by Alex Crevar ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG/MEMBERSphotos by Thierry Joubert 11 12 ADVENTURE CYCLIST oc tober /nov ember 2019 an aging, wannabe athlete. I am a bicycle enthusiast, both as a means “I was unequipped to know the depth of personal change for travel and for living. I have bikepacking experience — mostly I was about to experience. Still, the simple act of pushing relegated to weeklong trips. I am a tourism advocate, consultant, and critic. And I’ve been a travel journalist pedals, instead of merely thinking about cycling, was a relief.” for more than 20 years. It is that last self-congratulatory title, “travel journalist,” that became the source I also knew my path, the EV6, at the ECF, which sanctions, certifies, of my deepest existential dilemmas, which forms the network’s X-axis, is and approves EuroVelo routes and acts and a fountain of both clarity and one of the most popular. There are as the umbrella for Europe’s national personal befuddlement. several reasons for that popularity, cycling organizations. And I visited What I knew, before starting the but according to EuroVelo’s own my local bike shop, Protea Sport, in ride, was that the EuroVelo network description: “Coasts, rivers, castles, Zagreb, Croatia, to prepare my bike and includes 16 cycling routes. Covering top-class infrastructure, and a nice become more proficient with a wrench. some 55,000 miles, those trails flat topography make this route into “Whatever you do, start slow,” said include 42 countries and touch every every cycle tourists’ dream journey. Luka Kovačević, a mechanic at Protea corner of Europe. This system’s The famous sections along the Loire Sport, while he placed sensors on my genesis can be traced to a meeting, and the Danube rivers are known to ankles, knees, hips, shoulders, elbows, in 1995, among European Cyclists’ cycle tourists around the world, and and wrists. He watched my motion Federation (ECF) members. The first for good reason. In France you’ll taste on a screen as I pedaled in place on a route, the North Sea Cycle Route the best wines after cycling through stand. He looked for deficiencies and (today the EV12), opened in 2001. the vineyards, in Vienna you’ll visit oddities in my stroke and adjusted The newest itinerary, the EuroVelo the most stunning museums, and in my bike’s fit accordingly. “The biggest 19, was added in March 2019 and Serbia you’ll experience the warmth mistake people make on long tours is runs through France, Belgium, and of the people.” acting like it’s a race. Build up slowly. the Netherlands. And in the 25 years My journey, however, began weeks Your body won’t be used to this much since its inception, the network has before I jumped on a saddle in France. weight. Ride yourself into shape and spread across the continent like a I emailed tourism offices and EuroVelo enjoy the scenery.” human-powered highway grid that country representatives from across Our ride began on a brisk spring runs in a parallel universe to the the EV6 in search of advice about morning in the town of Saint- automobile version appearing on campgrounds, B&Bs, GPX tracks, and Brevin-les-Pins, on a peninsular

most maps. sites of interest. I spoke with people spit of land tucked under France’s WALLY AMY MAP:

ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG/MEMBERS 13 Brittany region and shaped by the confluence of the Loire River and the Atlantic Ocean. With views of nearby shipyards, we started our pursuit to cycle what seemed like, at the time, an almost incomprehensible distance. Chilly winds swirled off the coast as I accustomed myself to the heft of my gravel bike (loaded with panniers up front, a seatbag, a framebag, and a handlebar pack holding a tent). I was unequipped to know the depth of personal change I was about to experience. Still, the simple act of pushing pedals, instead of merely thinking about cycling, was a relief. EuroVelo 6’s opening salvo follows the Loire River on a 500-mile corridor that doubles as the La Loire à Vélo route. Almost immediately, I learned that being prepared for a ride into the unknown is smart — being over-prepared, however, can be debilitating. For instance, I knew about this section’s towns and cities: Nantes, Angers, Tours, Orléans, and Nevers. I knew we could expect a mixture of route types: 60 percent being “shared” or on cycle lanes, and around 40 percent bike-only paths of asphalt, concrete, and hard-packed gravel. But I’d also tried to map out as much of the trail as possible. I notated confusing junctions and places we would stop for potential lunches, sightseeing, and overnight stays. Within one day (literally the first day), it was clear that overthinking wasn’t just illogical or unnecessary — it was untenable. As we rode along levees, over ancient bridges, past castles, and through vineyards, the route’s signs were so omnipresent that my assortment of phone apps (including Ride with GPS, Bikemap, and Google Maps) were largely unneeded. Most importantly, there were too many variables to bother trying to control the ride. Rain, minor injuries, mechanical difficulties, knee pain, flat tires, road closures, path flooding, the very French hours of operation, and, yes, wrong turns all presented themselves as one of two options: 1) a continual source of stress, or 2) a reality to sync with. “You have to make a decision early,” Thierry Joubert, my cycling companion and the trip’s photographer, said on our third morning. No stranger to the

14 ADVENTURE CYCLIST oc tober /nov ember 2019 rhythm of adventure tours, for the past 20 years Thierry has run cycling and hiking trips through his Bosnia and Herzegovina–based company Green Visions. “You either give into the route or not. The path has plenty of services, cafés, and places to stay. The weather and mishaps are part of the ride. The question is whether you, as a rider, can give up control, or every little thing becomes an obstacle.” Within a couple of days, our routine started to take shape. We cooked coffee in the morning before disassembling the tent and packing the bikes with our sleeping bags, air mattresses, food, and drying clothing. (In the early weeks, before summer, I carried two jerseys, two bibs, a cycling jacket, rain pants and coat, winter cap, full gloves, leg and arm warmers, a puffy jacket, and post- ride pants and a shirt.) We would then ride for an hour or so before spotting a boulangerie to load up on bread and croissants. Most businesses shuttered by 1:30 pm, so for lunch we’d find a bench in a quiet center square. Between the universal setup of church, Hotel de Ville (town hall), shops, and café, we slathered baguettes with whatever we had that acted like a spread: cheese, pâté, mayonnaise. Afternoon bonks were solved by gorging on bananas, chocolate, and peanuts. At this point, we were able to make a fair guess about where our legs could take us and Googled campsites in that area. Generally, we covered between 60 and 70 miles, depending on weather and what the route gave us. The day ended with a glass of beer, unfurling our tent, hanging wet gear, and eating pasta of one shape or another. The main reason to relinquish control to the route lies in the logic of listening to the region itself. The Loire Valley has been strategically important since the Romans. It’s safe to say this swath of historic land is more astute at offering up its riches than all the preride research I could gather. No website or magazine article, for instance, could tell me how it truly feels to roll my bicycle through the riverside town of Ancenis — our first overnight along the ride — to buy fruit and drink coffee in the morning market, dew still clinging to kiosks. Try as it might, no

ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG/MEMBERS 15 guide book could accurately describe the “The EuroVelo is a tool to get people, and politicians, to think. flooding the stained-glass windows and playing tricks on the medieval cathedral’s intricate façade in the Gallic The great aspect of cycling is that people do new things. city of Tours. Words couldn’t relate the taste of an ice-cold beer in Amboise, which buzzes with cafés and shops, as They meet people and learn about each other.” perspiration steamed from my jersey. No blogger could instill me with the pride felt perfecting the art of packing my rig cupolas rose from crenulated walls, region in a different way, at your own every morning: a Tetris-like puzzle that salmon-colored in the late afternoon. pace, and favors a softer way of traveling. combines utility and self-reliance. Nor In the foreground, fishermen moored You can take your time, stress less, and could they create that sense of belonging wooden, single-masted fûtreau boats. have more meetings between cyclists. when men and women working the Behind them, ancient stone arch More and more tourists want to travel river’s canal locks and tending the bridges and their rippling reflections like this these days. Plus, when you nearby fields shouted “bonne route” and traversed the river and acted as the cycle, you feel less guilty about drinking “bon courage” as we whirred past. No tableau’s rule-of-thirds synapse. a glass of wine and eating a good meal in top-10, best-of list could pedal for me Though regularly occurring along the the evening.” across this region’s 175-mile stretch of route, each scene stopped me. My gut By the time we cycled through the protected UNESCO cultural landscape. (or fear) told me I was constantly on rolling hills and famous Sauvignon Blanc I had to create my own path in real the verge of missing something I may vineyards surrounding the village of time to witness the succession of one never experience again. Sancerre, France, and then made the chateau estate after another — like “Traveling by bike gives a sense of turn toward the southern portion of the the ones in Blois and Sully-sur-Loire freedom,” said Julie Percher, Cycling Alsace region — changing rivers along built by centuries of French royalty Promotion Officer with the Loire Valley the way to the Saône, Doubs, Ill, and the — that appeared as silhouettes in the Tourism Bureau. “The EuroVelo and Canal du Rhône — my philosophy about distance. Then towers, turrets, and Loire à Vélo allow you to discover the tourism had begun to shift. With hours

16 ADVENTURE CYCLIST oc tober /nov ember 2019 NUTS & BOLTS EuroVelo 6

CAN’T-MISS STOPS Tours, France: Built from the 13th and 16th centuries, the Cathédrale Saint-Gatien is a Flamboyant Gothic masterpiece complete with gargoyles and exquisite stained-glass windows. tours-tourisme.fr

Blois, France: Construction of the Royal Château de Blois — the residence of seven French kings and 10 queens — took place between the 13th and 17th centuries. en.chateaudeblois.fr

Sancerre, France: Out of nowhere, hills brimming with the vineyards of Sancerre, famous for Sauvignon Blanc white wine, will appear as you ride between Orléans and Nevers. tourisme-sancerre.com in the saddle every day, my thoughts turned while making selfies easier for tourists who to the detrimental global effect of travel- flitter between cruise stops long enough to Basel, Switzerland: inspired transport, and cycling’s potential as buy a trinket, use the toilet, and raise prices. Loaded with museums, a mitigating salve for the growing number I did, though, over and over again. fantastic restaurants, bridges of tourists using more and more resources Without hyperbole, cycle tourism, and spanning the Rhine, and a in the name of personal discovery. As we specifically the EuroVelo 6, changed my storybook Old Town, this approached the three-country point of life. Cycling as a way to travel — earning Swiss city is great place to France, Germany, and Switzerland in Basel, one’s miles through self-locomotion, visiting spend an extra day. 12 days into the journey, and then began villages, and patronizing local businesses myswitzerland.com/en/ riding along the Rhine River, my feeling — allowed me to seek solutions rather than destinations/basel about my role in, and contribution to, the be blind to problems. At the very least, it travel industry had also made a sea change. provided a momentary release from my Rhine Falls, Switzerland: Like many, I’ve traveled with a sense of existential meltdown. The largest waterfall in Europe entitlement for as long as I can remember. Luckily, I’m not alone in this evaluation. — complete with restaurants, Unlike most, I’ve made a living from Cycle tourism’s popularity is soaring and, gift shops, and viewing tourism all of my adult life. As a journalist, as I pedaled, it became clear that EV6 stations — is a must-stop I have covered new and emerging locales communities had bought into the concept. before making the turn onto for newspapers and magazines. I have also From the Atlantic to the Danube, the trail was the Danube. selfishly written about places swarming a string of festivals, campsites, bistros, bike rheinfall.ch with tourists — or about to be — all for shops, and village centers that understood a paycheck. Along the way, my articles local and visiting bicyclists’ value. That have added to overtourism. Full stop. I infrastructure, paired with polite motorists didn’t consciously set out to help ruin who often pulled onto the grass to allow the environment. I didn’t try to exploit room for bikes through tight passages, made any country, city, or coastline. I wasn’t the ride, if not easy, relatively hassle-free. conspiring to make a cup of coffee too Statistics and reports also bear out cycle expensive for locals in “exotic” destinations tourism’s popularity. Revenue from European

ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG/MEMBERS 17 bicycle travel, for instance, represents We took a day off to rest and explore NUTS & BOLTS approximately €50 billion annually. Yearly Basel. Straddling the Rhine, Switzerland’s double-digit-percentage increases in cyclist third biggest metropolis was built on EuroVelo 6 populations are common around the world. Celtic foundations dating back more than EuroVelo reports a nearly 30 percent 21 centuries. We crisscrossed bridges that CAMPSITES WORTH A VISIT increase in new visitors to its website connect the mural-covered City Hall in All have pitch sites for tents, from 2017 to 2018, and almost 5.5 million the bustling Marktplatz to museums, the all welcome , and all pageviews. The dramatic rise of eBike sales well-heeled boutiques to everyday beer have showers. — with predictions of 150 million more units gardens, and cafés to the spires of city’s sold in Europe alone during the next decade calling-card red-sandstone cathedral, the Camping La Poterie, Mosnes, France — has enabled a new demographic to leave Basler Münster. on the Loire River the keys at home. A well-documented Leaving town — and as the eclectic camping-la-poterie-37.com/en/ growth in travelers seeking “adventure” collection of Romanesque, Gothic, vacations rooted in unique experiences and Renaissance, and Modern architecture Camping Touristique de Gien, fueled by self-reliance and authenticity has faded behind us — Thierry and I were Gien, France begun to drive the marketplace. noticeably stronger. The EuroVelo 6 had on the Loire River “The EuroVelo is a tool to get people, ridden us into shape, both physically and camping-gien.com/en/ and politicians, to think,” said Jens Erik mentally. With our changing endurance Larsen, the founder of EuroVelo. Larsen and mindsets, so too had the EV6’s Camping Du Pasquier, Dole, France served as chair of the first working group, landscape morphed. The route hugged on the Doubs River back in 1995, that established the route the Swiss-German border through woods camping-le-pasquier.com/en/ network. “It is also a good tool to get and opened to reveal villages before people to cycle in different ways. The dipping back into dense stands of trees Camping de l’Ill, Mulhouse, France great aspect of cycling is that people and then, suddenly, fields of sunflowers. on the Ill River do new things. They meet people and We became buoys: bicycle helmets camping-mulhouse.com/en/ learn about each other. Cycle tourism is bobbing above and below the surface of a increasing — but it is important to know hopeful yellow sea. Camping Schaffhausen, that the EuroVelo’s purpose is not just to Just before Lake Constance, we Feuerthalen, Switzerland have people cycling in the villages and stopped at the Rhine Falls, the largest on the Rhine scenic areas. It is also meant to be used waterfall in Europe. Mist filled the air camping-schaffhausen.ch/index.html for commuting and is a reason why the from the mighty river, which made a hard routes go through cities.” dogleg left here on its way north while

18 ADVENTURE CYCLIST oc tober /nov ember 2019 NUTS & BOLTS Gear BIKE Specialized Sequoia Elite: SRAM Apex 38T crank combined with a SunRace 11-speed, 11–42T cassette

Specialized Airnet helmet with ANGi crash sensor

Specialized Stix Elite tailight and Flux 900 headlight

CAMPING From Big Agnes: • Copper Spur UL3 Bikepack tent slamming rocks at 75 feet per second. If Alberta, Canada, her book, With You By • Battle Mountain 2 Switzerland was our transition between the Bike, tells the story of her and her husband’s Footprint ground cloth Loire-dominated landscape of the west and ride around the world. “Locals, who you’d • Flume UL 30 (long) the stages that would deliver us east to the never see by car, suddenly stop you for a sleeping bag Black Sea, this was the gateway. conversation or invite you in. I personally • Insulated AXL Air pad We continued to Schaffhausen for our last love escaping the noise of a busy road and • AXL Air Pillow night before the Danube. At the campsite, large cities. I love strolling through small I met Katrina Rosen, who was cycling villages, ones I wouldn’t have noticed in a LUGGAGE with her husband, six-year-old son, and vehicle, but mostly I love what is in between From Ortlieb: parents. During this journey, I met plenty of those small villages.” • Gravel-packs (front) couples and individuals, like myself, with an As we drank coffee with the sunrise and • Handlebar-pack (9L) assortment of personal agendas. The future then packed up our bikes the next morning, • Frame-pack of cycle tourism seemed somehow most it felt like the beginning of a completely • Seatpack (16.5L) validated when I met families, who were different odyssey. We rode into Germany’s • Accessory-pack determined to see Europe at human speed — Black Forest to find the source of the • Cockpit-pack embracing the challenge of pulling a trailer Danube River. In doing so, we crossed an for the kids, hauling big tents, and packing invisible threshold and signed on with a Tubus racks kitchen equipment. new guide. That guide would lead us to new “Cycling immerses the rider into the cultures and levels of self-exploration. land,” Rosen told me after washing her family’s dishes at the campsite’s communal Alex Crevar is a journalist based in Zagreb, Croatia. See sink. An outdoor guide and author from more of his work at alexcrevar.com.

ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG/MEMBERS 19 INNOVA- TIONS COURTESY BOB MARR (2) FROM THE CYCLING CRZE

THE NATIONAL CYCLE ARCHIVE, MODERN RECORDS CENTRE, UNIVERSITY OF WARWICK, ENGLAND (2) story by Bob Marr

n December 23, 1876, an article aficionados of the day know where this up riding. The traditionalists on their Oin the Isle of Man Weekly Times would lead! We know, of course, that “ordinary” or penny farthing high advertised a variety of novelty races the , the configuration of wheelers were literally and figuratively to be held at the local skating rink. which has not changed appreciably up left in the dust as women, seniors, and Among the events was a one-mile race to the present day, would trigger the nonathletes took up the sport. The 1876 of “the new patent ‘safety’ bicycle v. bicycle craze of the late 1800s during race was an inauspicious start though, ordinary bicycle.” Little did the cycling which millions of people would take as the high wheeler won the race by

20 ADVENTURE CYCLIST oc tober /nov ember 2019 several yards. However, improvements interchangeable so that a change of in design over the next several years, gears while out riding would “ … require such as pneumatic tires, assured the a very few minutes … without calling in safety bicycle’s place in history. An an expert Bicycle repairer.” Belt drives article in the New York Times in January were also on the mind of inventors such 1896 declared, “The making of bicycles as C. D. Rice, who patented his in 1890, has almost reached the pinnacle of although it did not catch on. perfection.” Every company wanted a Speaking of climbs, apparently there piece of the action. In what seems to was as little enthusiasm for climbing me to be one of the least convincing in 1897 as there is now. Consider such bicycle ads ever, the National Sewing products as the Cyclers’ Hygienic Machine Company gushed, “We always Inhaler, which advertised “makes hill made good sewing machines! Why climbing easy,” and the Brown & Wales shouldn’t we make good wheels!” As more and more people joined the craze, the free market responded by offering not only thousands of different makes and models of “wheels,” as bikes were known, but also a plethora of accessories to make riding faster, safer, and more enjoyable. Sound familiar? The current resurgence of interest in cycling, particularly and bikepacking, has created a vast market for gadgets and accessories that is being filled even as you read this. Considering that the basic design of the bicycle has not changed, it isn’t surprising that many of the same issues that are being addressed now were in the forefront 130 years ago. For instance, take gearing. Everyone wants to be able to go faster on the flats and have more power on the climbs. In the late 1890s, most bikes were singlespeeds, but a few inventors were offering mechanisms to provide two gears, one for climbing and one THE NATIONAL CYCLE ARCHIVE, MODERN RECORDS CENTRE, UNIVERSITY OF WARWICK, ENGLAND (2) for cruising — “The last mile easy as chain, “the only real roller chain … Safety was on people’s minds as well. the first with the Hub Two Speed Gear makes hill climbing easy.” At the First The bicycle was the fastest conveyance … makes hill climbing easy.” Like the Annual Cycle Show in in 1895, available aside from the locomotive, modern-day Rohloff, these internal two companies unveiled an invention and it was sharing the roads, some in hubs enabled gear changes without that truly would make hill climbing very poor condition, with wagons and the use of a derailer, which, of course, easy: bicycles equipped with an engine horses. The most basic safety device on had not yet been invented. A simple to turn the rear wheel, powered by any bicycle is the braking system. Today lever on either the handlebars or gasoline, kerosene, or crude oil. No we have progressed from various sorts down tube allowed for instantaneous doubt hard-core wheelmen met this of rim braking systems to disc braking. gear changing. Other manufacturers innovation with as much enthusiasm as However, in the 1890s, many people designed their chainrings to be easily the eBike has received today. simply pressed their foot against the

ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG/MEMBERS 21 front wheel to brake. The editor of the League of American Wheelmen Bulletin said in 1897 that if a wheelman refuses to use a manufactured braking device, “the rider usually has his foot with him, and at the time it is needed for braking purposes he really has no other use for it … we say use the foot for a brake, by all means.” To facilitate this, one could order the Peerless Foot-Rest (60 cents, postpaid), which was a foot peg attached to the down tube that acted as a pivot so that the sole of the shoe would contact the tire while being held back by the heel. Many of the more sophisticated braking systems on offer at that time were nothing more than a hand-applied plunger that pressed COURTESY BOB MARR (2) the top of the tire, although the 1897 Chicago trade show featured brakes required by law in many jurisdictions. lamps were advertised, the weight of operated by compressed air, brakes Lamps were also commonly required the battery would have made them engaged by twisting the handlebar, and by law and came in myriad styles. Most unpopular. The main feature touted by a number of coaster brakes that relied showed a white light toward the front, all manufacturers was the ability of the on backpedaling. As a kid, my bikes had red to the rear, and had two side lights lamp to stay lit. Some of the comments coaster brakes, and I still sometimes as well. “A ball of fire is the Fire Ball … posted in various publications noted that instinctively backpedal. endorsed by the bicycle police of New having a lamp blow out while riding was Warning devices were an important York,” boasted one ad from 1897. Ads a major complaint. You can hear echoes accessory for riders, and although I have for lamps such as these gave the front of this same issue today in discussions of found no references to horns of any light distance between 40 and 100 feet, dynamo hubs and cache batteries. kind in the 1890s, bells were made in a depending on the model, and most of As mentioned earlier, solid tires gave huge variety of sizes and styles and were them burned kerosene. Although electric way fairly early to pneumatic tires. By

22 ADVENTURE CYCLIST oc tober /nov ember 2019 1897 the most prevalent tire was the was basically a saddle single-tube tire, the tubeless tire of the with an inflatable day. Unlike our tubeless tires, these rubber bag with the tires were a lot like a large-diameter saddle clamped to the garden hose that was cemented to the seatpost. It looks like wooden rim of the wheel. Fixing a it would provide little puncture could be a real challenge, and support and if ruptured repairing a rip often required a trip to would be disastrous for a shop for repair or replacement of the the rider. The National tire. Manufacturers were said to prefer Ball Bearing Saddle is these tires since replacing them was just plain odd. It was profitable for dealers; one ad offered a marketed to female pair for $10. Considering that a high- riders with the line, quality bicycle went for $100, this was “The pressure is where a high cost for something that might it should be — not need replacing relatively often. on tender parts.” It Needless to say, many companies THE NATIONAL CYCLE ARCHIVE, MODERN RECORDS CENTRE, UNIVERSITY OF WARWICK, ENGLAND (2) advertised various solutions to the problem of tire failure, and publications like the Bulletin printed numerous how- CO-MOTION • ALL-CITY • • MASI • SPECIALIZED • SURLY to articles on repairing flats. The first line of defense was a tire such as “The Boice tire … a single-tube pneumatic tire that is absolutely puncture proof.” If that didn’t do the trick, there were preventatives like Plugine: “Plugine prevents punctures. You can ride over tacks.” Or “Puncturoid mends punctures while you ride … one dollar per can for NEW ENGLAND’S two tires.” Still got a flat? There were plenty of repair kits available, such as TANDEM & TOURING “Leaguekit, the puncture doctor … cures large punctures with plugs, small ones HEADQUARTERS with cement,” or the Lightning Repair It’s pretty simple—here at Wheelworks we like to ride what Tool, which “can be carried in vest we sell. Since 1977, we have been carrying the top Touring & pocket … repair punctures permanently Tandem brands & products. Our knowledgeable staff has decades in 30 seconds.” Sometimes you just had of experience. We look forward to providing you with product to walk home. recommendations, as well as riding and traveling tips. Comfort was certainly a Shop online today at wheelworks.com consideration for the wheelmen (and women) of the 1890s. Century rides and all-day outings could become painful COME VISIT US AT ONE OF OUR THREE CONVENIENT LOCATIONS: Ace Wheelworks Belmont Wheelworks Wheelworks Too trials without the proper equipment. 145 Elm Street 480 Trapelo Rd 22 Church St Saddles exhibited some very weird Somervile, MA, 02144 Belmont, MA, 02478 Belmont, MA, 02478 design features in the quest for easy 617-776-2100 617-489-3577 617-484-9247 riding. The Wilmot Pneumatic Cushion WHEELWORKS.COM

ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG/MEMBERS 23 tire, and the happy result is that you can the tire and could be connected and make yourself fit any kind of a saddle.” disconnected at will. If you feel conspicuous walking into There were no GoPro cameras back a store with bike shorts on, imagine in 1897, but the Bicycle Kodak was “so how you would feel wearing those! light as to add no perceptible weight Adjustable handlebars were another new to the wheel,” a doubtful claim. With advance in riding comfort, enabling the cases made specially for attaching rider to adopt a more upright position to a bike frame, these cameras made if desired. Ventilated handlebars and the visual recording of bicycle trips grips made of leather, rubber, or cork possible for everyone. If, instead of a provided hand relief on long rides. camera, you wanted to take the baby Specialty bicycle shoes were marketed along, several manufacturers made for use with or without toe clips. They carriers that attached to the front had “plenty of toe room, very flexible handlebars, although the Boston Post shank, with corrugated leather sole, low in 1896 declared, “Those weak-minded heel, cool, easy, and dust proof.” people who put an infant child into a Of course, how can a cyclist brag of little chair on a cycle front may choose “century runs” and yearly totals without from 30 devices in which to imperil a good cyclometer? There were many the youngster’s life.” One of the most on the market, the simplest keeping forward-looking devices at the New a running total of miles ridden, but York Cycle Show of 1896 was a bike some, including the Seth Thomas Trip trainer pretty much like those of today COURTESY BOB MARR BOB COURTESY Cyclometer, could record total season — a stand with the rear wheel on a mileage as well as individual trips. wheel that ran a register so that “the consisted of two separate cushions, on All were mounted to the forks and cyclist mounts and pedals away as many springs, that supported the sit bones operated by means of a star gear that miles as he cares to.” and swiveled in all directions. I cannot was turned by a metal piece mounted As long as people ride bicycles, imagine how a person would sit on to a spoke. Speed was another matter. whether professionally or for pleasure, it without falling off. Other saddles A rather curious device advertised inventors and entrepreneurs will were more conventional. The Christy in 1896, the speed bell, operated by continue to bring helpful, questionable, Anatomical Saddle and the Mesinger centrifugal force and would ring a small and downright useless accessories to the Rattan Saddle were two that were bell when the speed set by the rider was marketplace. As I researched this article, designed to take pressure off the pubic reached. The bell would continue to it struck me that a wheelman of 1896 area while retaining the form of a ring with each revolution of the wheel would feel right at home chatting with normal wide saddle. Further comfort so long as that speed was maintained, the cyclists of today. They could take could be gained with suspension allowing a wheelman to keep his set great pleasure in discussing the relative seatposts like the Brooks Spring Seat pace. By 1897 the New York Standard merits of all the fancy gadgets we have Post, $3 C.O.D. Bike shorts with chamois Watch Company was offering their at our disposal. In short, it seems that had not yet been envisioned, but you “tachometer or speed indicator,” which everything old is new again. could get, according to the Hartford registered the speed of the wheel in City Telegram of July 1897, a pair of mph on a dial, with no annoying bell. Bob Marr lives with his wife and cats in a cabin in the pneumatic breeches so that “you can It was mounted on a fork and was woods of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. He keeps busy blow the seat up with a tube, just like a driven by a rubber wheel that contacted in retirement by writing and traveling.

24 ADVENTURE CYCLIST oc tober /nov ember 2019 TO THE END OF THE EARTH

THE SOUTH AMERICAN EPIC

CARTAGENA TO USHUAIA JULY 5—DEC. 18, 2020 13,405 KM tda.bike/southamerica

ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG/MEMBERS 25 STORY BY ALLY MABRY PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY DANIEL MRGAN

26 ADVENTURE CYCLIST oc tober /nov ember 2019 Imy backlay six inches on from themy pavement side, of a and for women. I was also just curious to see if I desolate highway, at 2:30 am in The Middle of could actually finish the route in one push. Only Nowhere, Arkansas. I forced my eyes shut as I one person ever had at that point, after all. tried to talk myself into relaxing, but my eyes A month before the official race, Red Bull– wouldn’t stay closed. Instead, I looked up at the sponsored, Hall of Famer Rebecca blurry stars and saw a staccato glow of lightning Rusch became the first person to complete the to the west — the direction I was headed for entire race route, setting a Fastest Known Time the next couple of days. I heard Luke’s snores (FKT) of eight days, three hours, and 33 minutes, coming from the other side of the road and defying absolutely heinous weather conditions asked myself, How the hell did I get here? to boot. When folks asked how long I expected it Everything else was silent. Jeremy, lying would take me, I told them I’d be thrilled to cross down a few feet away from me, shifted his body the finish line in 11 days, but that I’d budgeted on the sloped, rocky highway shoulder and said, for 14 just in case. I’d also add that I wasn’t above “I just saw lightning, we should probably get hitchhiking if things got really dark. up and start moving.” I stood my stiffened body I’ll admit that I am a strong cyclist (at least up and brushed the dirt off my backside, taking for someone whose gag reflex engages at the note that lying on the cold ground for half an word “training”), but ultra-endurance bike races hour effectively sucked all the warmth I had left had always just been something I was on the from my body and I didn’t feel any more rested other end of — the dot-stalking end. I set out to than I did before. Jeremy let out three enormous compete in this race with the following goals, howls into the still darkness and I wondered in order: have fun, make friends, be able to tell if he snapped. The three of us mounted our a great story, find new limits, finish the race, mud-caked bikes, gritted our teeth, and lied to come home in one piece. ourselves that the next six miles to the nearest For the first five days of the race, I was campground would all be downhill. surprised to find myself meeting my goals. I was having so much fun, waking up every morning The feeling a rush of excitement to get back on I AM NOT A “BIKE RACER.” boundless joy I experience while riding a the bike and slowly chip away at the daunting bicycle is derived purely from feeling the wind 1,031 miles. I made sure to establish myself as a on my face, smelling the trees, and watching Trustworthy Fun Person to other racers as soon lakes and cows and wildflowers zoom by as as the Grand Départ took off. My bicycle was my head swivels endlessly. I try to absorb performing beautifully with no mechanicals and every aspect of the environment around me. impressive multiday comfort. I sang out loud to My friends might tell you that I “race” my the music in my earbuds through my big, toothy bike because I’m nearly always at the front grin. My helmeted shadow would catch my of the pack — but what probably reads as an attention and I’d get choked up because I was annoyingly competitive nature is usually just finally the dot that my loved ones were stalking. my excitement for being on a bike coupled with The icing on the cake was that I’d been well-seasoned legs. logging so many miles every day that I was Knowing that I’ve only competed in a total actually on track with Rebecca Rusch’s ride. I of nine bicycle races* in my entire cycling had camped near every place she’d stayed for career, you might be as shocked as my parents the first 600 miles and I was the leading woman were to learn that my 10th race would be a in the race. Looking back, I’m convinced that 1,031-mile jaunt on both paved and gravel even with intentions to just “ride the ride,” it is roads with grades reaching a staggering nearly impossible to prevent at least a dash of 22 percent, totaling around 84,000 feet of ego from creeping in at some point — let alone elevation gain. entirely consume you. On June 8, 2019, I lined up next to 17 men and Over a gas station dinner on the fifth one woman to start the inaugural Arkansas High night with the duo I’d been unintentionally Country Race. leapfrogging the whole race, Luke Hall and Part of me felt like it was important to be an Jeremy Ordaz, it was decided that with 362 miles ambassador for both Adventure Cycling, since left in the race, we would try to beat the FKT. I the race follows the majority of our newest route, would set a new women’s record as an amateur

*One 25-mile road race in Austin, Texas, in 2016; one mountain bike race on a motorized dirt bike track in Austin in 2017, affectionately known as Dirt Derby (I wore Chacos); one 206-mile gravel race in 2018, known by most masochists as the Dirty Kanza 200; six small-town Missoula, Montana, cyclocross races in 2018 (so small that all fields, male and female, raced on the same course at the exact same time) — I claimed the lowest podium step at one Missoula CX race once because there were only three women in my age category.

ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG/MEMBERS 27 racer on my five-year-old purple steel bike (machine-human Mike Dicken was about a day away from setting the men’s record with an astonishing six days, 10 hours, and five minutes). We headed back out into the dark gravel abyss to put another 40 miles behind us before sleeping. As we steered toward derelict farmland, my legs immediately turned to lead and I watched Jeremy and Luke’s taillights disappear up a hill ahead of me. I was now completely alone, save for a handful of stars and cows. After hours of delirious pep talking, I hobbled through the doors of our agreed-upon destination: a delightfully whimsical one-room schoolhouse that we knew In my 49-mile journey of self-and- I really broke. When I approached was going to be left open for us to access everything-loathing that finally led me the base of the climb, I looked up and their drinking water. It was 1:30 am and to Luke and Jeremy at a café in Jasper, could see the road winding all the way we were 30 miles behind Rebecca’s pace. I began to feel a storm of conflict up a steep mountain. Succumbing to I woke the next morning brewing deep inside myself. My once overwhelming dread and a biting throb determined to make up the mileage, in strong, booming internal voice that in my Achilles, I sat down for a five- denial that my body was now revolting. said have fun, make friends, ride your minute break in a vacant driveway to In the past, I’d always been able to own ride! was competing with the now regain physical and emotional strength. push through low points and keep stronger, louder internal voice that I started to unzip my framebag for going, so I slathered on sunscreen, shouted YOU COULD REALLY BE a snack when I felt tears mix with the downed a cup of cold instant coffee, SOMEONE! YOU COULD SET A NEW sweat on my cheeks. I had never been and chased after Jeremy. On the sixth RECORD! YOUR DOT STALKERS driven to anything but happy tears day of the race, every single mile hurt. WILL BE SO PROUD! before while riding a bicycle, but this As the café hostess time was different. The two Allys inside seated us in the darkest me were pulling against each other so corner of the room, far violently that I began to sob, unable away from other guests to muster the energy to do anything Through tears, I told him (who had probably but turn off my taillight. I pulled out I wasn’t hurt physically showered in the last six my phone to check Trackleaders for — just emotionally — and days, unlike us), I voiced Jeremy and Luke’s dots. I barely had my doubts to my new a bar of service and couldn’t get the he blessed my heart as he friends. “Guys, what website to refresh. I called my mom, drove back up the mountain. if we just let go of this even though I knew she’d say all the goal? We’re not having wrong things like, “Oh honey, just get a fun anymore.” Luke hotel room and call it quits! Take care Between miles 711 and 760, I and Jeremy, who had been grumbling of your body!” Maybe that’s what a spent a lot of time hating myself for about the heat, immediately rejected my small part of me wanted. I lost service. attempting this dumb race. I hated doubts and fist bumped to signify that The call didn’t go through. Arkansas for its relentless hills and they still wanted to beat Rebecca Rusch’s Feeling utterly hopeless, with washed out gravel “roads.” I hated time and that they were about to leave thoughts of pulling the ripcord bubbling the South for its wretched humidity. me in the dust (or so I interpreted.) We up for the first time, I saw two bars of I hated Luke and Jeremy for being left the café and, after a 30-minute late service illuminate on my phone. I called able to climb hills faster than me (and afternoon ditch nap in the grass, we my friend Katie Visco who, at the time, I hated their fancy carbon bikes.) I pushed onward. It was 43 miles to our was preparing to run 2,112 miles straight hated the horsefly that caused me to next planned stop, Witt Springs. across the whole continent of Australia. wreck and bend my derailer hanger I’d really been lagging behind them That’s right — on her feet. I figured she because I was angrily swatting it while for about 12 miles after Jasper, but it might be able to imagine what I was slowly chugging uphill. I hated my wasn’t until I saw a squiggle of eight going through at that moment. She bike. I hated everything. upward switchbacks on my GPS that answered my call with an enthusiastic DEWAYNE HOLLOWAY, MONTGOMERY COUNTY NEWS

28 ADVENTURE CYCLIST oc tober /nov ember 2019 SPEED RECORD NOT REQUIRED cheer, and I blubbered into the receiver, I just want to ride my bike,” I told myself. I THE NEW ARKANSAS HIGH “Katie, I need a pep talk.” became more kind to my body, bargaining COUNTRY ROUTE (ARHCR) launched earlier this year much I rattled off a list of all the things that that as long as I went another couple ... faster than we expected. had begun creating anxiety for me. “I knew of miles, I could camp anywhere that First, Rebecca Rusch went to it was going to be challenging, but I never looked nice. I started singing along to the Natural State to lay down wanted to push myself beyond the limit the music in my earbuds again. a Fastest Known Time (FKT) on the new route, only to be of enjoying the experience. A day ago I Four long hours later at Mile 796, absolutely hammered by rain started thinking that the women’s record illuminated only by my headlamp, I and flood conditions. felt attainable, and it’s been downhill from walked my bike into the Witt Springs A few weeks later, the there. The guys I’ve been riding with seem Community Center. It was 1:00 am. Arkansas High Country Race rolled out of the Clinton to still feel strong and I don’t think I can Jeremy heard the clack of my cleats on Presidential Library parking keep up with them anymore. It’s getting the gym floor and stood up from a cot, lot with a field that included dark and I still have 30 miles to go before walking over with a big hug that told the man behind the route, I sleep.” And then I got really pathetic: “I me he was happy I’d made it safely. He Chuck Campbell, as well as our magazine designer, Ally. haven’t had any fun today.” pointed me to a distant glowing doorway, MICHAEL ROYS The Queen of Pain’s time At that same moment, a man in a where I would find tables full of packaged didn’t last long, and a new red pickup truck pulled over to tell me foods, fruit, turkey sandwiches, and FKT of six days, 10 hours, five he’d passed me earlier on his way up the cookies. I stood basking in the glory of minutes was set by Mike Dicken. Ally won the women’s category mountain, saw me crying, and was worried all the calories I was about to consume, and Chuck finished in eight days sick about me. He asked what direction completely in awe of Witt Springs, and then slept for two. All the I was going and if I wanted a ride to the population 152. while, ARHCR maps were flying top. Maybe this is my chance to scratch the At that point, I was in absolutely no off the shelves (physical and digital) at Adventure Cycling race and hitchhike to a hotel! Through tears, hurry. The ever ticking race clock no HQ, and our van-supported tour I told him I wasn’t hurt physically — just longer captivated my thoughts. While the of a chunk of the route was emotionally — and he blessed my heart as guys slept (and snored) in the next room, filling. It’s a safe bet that none he drove back up the mountain. I stayed awake for two hours showering of those map buyers or tour participants plans to knock out Katie’s soothing voice returned to my and eating potato chips. I washed all of a thousand miles in less than a ear, “Ally, it sounds like you lost sight of your my clothes in the sink and hung them up week, and heaven knows no one goal and you’ve put this really big pressure to dry. I texted Katie that her words had else here at Adventure Cyclist on yourself. Maybe you want to give powered me through the remaining 30 would consider it. But while racing on yourself the gift of taking that pressure off.” miles right to a heavenly oasis. I smiled as Adventure Cycling routes will Half an hour after I’d flung my bike I slipped into my sleeping bag liner, proud never be our focus, this June to the ground, I stood back up ready to that I’d pulled myself out of a dark hole (which also featured the starts tackle the climb that had sent me into an and back into high spirits. I felt a jolt of of the Tour Divide Race and the TransAm Race) provided some emotional downward spiral. I let go of the excitement to get back on my bike in the serious inspiration courtesy of goal of finishing in under eight days, three morning and keep riding the remaining 235 the folks for whom capital-A hours, and 33 minutes. I planned to tell miles — on my own terms. Adventure is defined by finding Luke and Jeremy to go on without me, and the limits of endurance and then pedaling right on by. Ally Mabry is the Lead Designer of Adventure Cyclist. I would ride my own ride again. If you’re interested in riding When I crested the mountain, I stopped She finished the Arkansas High Country Race in eight days, the ARHCR at a more human to look down at the speck of a driveway 15 hours, nine minutes on a Surly Straggler and became pace, check out our maps the first amateur woman to complete the entire route. Her from where I’d come. I realized I’d left at adventurecycling.org/ parents were waiting at the finish line with margaritas, arhcr and our two 2020 van- that heartbroken, ego-driven version of watermelon, and burritos. She keeps saying she’ll never do supported tours on the route at myself at the bottom. “I’m not a bike racer, a race like this again even though no one believes her. adventurecycling.org/tours. HEATHER SMITH (2) HEATHER

ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG/MEMBERS 29 BY ALEX STRICKLAND | PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY ALLY MABRY

sizing at the extremes

The call came in to Adventure Cycling’s front office:

“I need a small touring bike.”

No problem, there’s the 42cm, 26-inch–wheeled Long Haul Trucker …

“No, no, it needs to be smaller than that,” the caller said. “I really need a step-through.”

Oh, that’s gonna be a little tougher.

30 ADVENTURE CYCLIST oc tober /nov ember 2019 MODERN SIZING in proportion to the size offered, compact geometry offers simultaneously more and Full disclosure: I’m basically bicycle sample fewer options — standover is no longer the size. As a 5’11” guy, I can usually buy a 56cm sole determination of size, but it also demands road or “Large” mountain bike and be perfectly a look at other measurements to correctly happy with minimal adjustment. Put me on determine fit. Mountain bikes, with their more a 54 or 58? Not a problem, I can make that extreme modern frame shapes (especially work too. That’s in part thanks to modern on fully suspended models), likewise can no “compact” sizing, which came about with the longer rely on seat tube measurements to widespread adoption of sloping top tubes and accurately convey size. The 2019 Touring Bike standardized sizing into the most common five Buyers Guide goes into great depth on frame or six sizes in the center of the bell curve. With geometry and fit and is worth a long look at front and rear triangles that grow or shrink adventurecycling.org/2019geo.

THE TALL AND THE SMALL touring-adjacent) bikes suitable for those on the more extreme ends of the We get a lot of calls for bike buying sizing spectrum. advice, and while most are centered Of course every body is different, so on price point and gear range, the list these sizing assumptions are just that, of production (non-custom) touring but for those below about 5’4” and above bike options for the very small is, well, 6’4”, these bikes could offer a jumping- shorter than most standover heights. off point in your search. As always — and As a result of a few of these recent perhaps especially in these sizes — conversations, we decided to pull you’d be well-served to find a dealer in together a roundup of touring (and your area who can coordinate a test ride.

ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG/MEMBERS 31 SMALL TOURING BIKES through, frame is perhaps the most obvious solution for very short legs, but options are Standover height — the distance from few. Now-defunct Terry Bicycles offered the ground to the top tube just in front models with a 700c rear wheel and 24-inch of the saddle — is most often the limiting front wheel to help manage standover, factor when it comes to bike sizing in the an effective solution but not without extremes. While reach and riding position compromises. Today, more extreme tube can be adjusted considerably with changes shaping, especially on aluminum bikes, can to seatposts, stem, and bars, if you can’t offer lower standover, but still there are comfortably straddle a bike when stopped, limitations. Note: mixte and very small frame you have a problem. This is doubly true sizes are frequently marketed as women’s- for loaded touring, when the extra weight specific bikes. Focus on fit rather than the demands sure footing. A mixte, or step- marketing copy’s targeted gender!

RIVENDELL remains one of the relatively few manufacturers of mixte bikes for touring, and offers sizing down to 45cm and 50cm on many models, which the brand says are suitable to riders down to five feet tall. The Cheviot, Clem L, and Clem Smith Jr. are some of the With an extreme sloping top tube, MARIN’S GESTALT X best options, and can be had variously in frame-only or line offers some of the lowest standover height in the complete versions. As with all Rivendells, these frames industry for a “traditional” double-diamond bike. Equipped all use steel tubes, ornate lugs, and — despite their classic for gravel riding and light touring, this aluminum dropbar aesthetics — put function before form with a full range of model gets down to a nearly 560mm standover on the mounts and braze-ons. Pricing from $1,600 for completes. smallest 50cm size. As configured, this bike’s gearing probably isn’t low enough for extended riding with any sort of load, but it offers an interesting starting point. SOMA FABRICATIONS only offers framesets, so those Completes from $1,250. who don’t want to piece together a bike should skip it. But if you’re up for the challenges and rewards of spec’ing your own ride (possibly with the help of your local shop), the /TERN/BROMPTON/ETC. brand’s mixte-style Buena Vista models in rim and disc Perhaps you’ve never considered a folding bike because brake configurations make interesting options for a true you don’t need to travel with your ride or slip it under touring step-through. Soma frames use Tange Prestige a desk or in a closet for storage. But folders offer some steel tubing, sliding dropouts, and all manner of mounts. built-in advantages for shorter riders including what’s Sizing from 42cm, frameset costs $550. effectively a mixte-style frame and a very modular cockpit designed to suit a variety of riders. Reach could be an issue, and compromises inherent in folding bikes — tiny KTM is perhaps better known as a brand, but wheels and poor rollover, gearing options, cost, etc. — their bicycle line has been steadily expanding availability remain, but a folder could open new doors (like airline in the U.S. They’ve announced a 2020 model called the overhead bins!). X-Strada Glory, which is marketed as a women’s gravel bike, but appears suitable for light touring and offers an alloy frame in a step-through configuration. U.S. pricing hadn’t been set at press time, but should be around $1,700 for the complete with Shimano’s new GRX gravel groupset.

32 ADVENTURE CYCLIST oc tober /nov ember 2019 LARGE TOURING BIKES additional considerations from tubing choice to wheel size. Custom builders could likewise A long seatpost and tower of stem spacers tackle the sizing concerns unique to those a tall bike do not make, at least not as far pushing seven feet. as we’re concerned. It may seem somewhat And like small bikes, gender marketing simpler to expand a too-small bike than to shouldn’t sway your decision — six-foot–tall contract a too-large one, but while extending women are unlikely to find many “women’s” components can gain extra length on both bikes offering a good fit — but rather a focus planes of fit, the compromises of such a on key metrics like standover, top tube strategy affect handling, performance, and length, reach, and stack should all factor into comfort. There are options out there for your decision. the very tall — and the very (like, NBA) tall, where immense frame measurements require

A stalwart of the touring world, TREK’S 520 goes all the Though it lacks traditional rack mounts, the Rohloff- way to a size 63cm, which should cover riders up to about optional ALL-ROAD FROM DIRTYSIXER might be the 6’6”, though the brand’s more dirt road–focused 920 only best option for the truly tall (Shaq rides one!). Featuring extends to a 61cm, and Trek suggests a top rider height 36in. wheels, extra-long crank arms, and a wide-range of 6’3”. The 520’s upright geometry, 700c wheels with cassette or Rohloff internal gear hub, DirtySixer claims clearance for wide tires, and 230mm head tube — double sizing up to 5XL, all the way to 7’4” riders. You might the smallest 48cm size’s head tube length — combine need to order a custom framebag for that main triangle, to make for a solid choice for taller riders seeking a but with that much space, you won’t miss panniers! From traditional steed. $1,680 complete. $5,800 with a derailer drivetrain, $7,100 with a Rohloff.

Another mainstay, the SURLY LONG HAUL/DISC No question about this brand name either, CLYDESDALE TRUCKER offers a huge range of sizes from 42cm to BIKES offers sizing up to 4XL (7’ rider height) in their 64cm (62cm in rim brake configuration), changing titanium frames. The Draft model rides on 700c wheels wheel sizes from 26in. to 700c about halfway through and also features a max rider weight of 450 lbs. Because the range. While the Trucker’s max head tube length of a higher bottom bracket for extra-long cranks, stack doesn’t quite reach the Trek’s (it tops out at 226mm), and reach numbers may not be exactly comparable to that should still help prevent the need for a massive other bikes on 700c wheels, and the geometry and tubing spacer stack. A 64cm size should cover riders well choices are all made with longer (and possibly heavier) into the mid-six–foot range. $1,350 for the Long Haul riders in mind. Not convinced? These are designed by Trucker, $1,550 for the Disc Trucker. Lennard Zinn, the famed technical guru who knows a bit about the needs of taller riders — he’s 6’6” himself.

ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG/MEMBERS 33 Road Test

MASI SPECIALE TEST BIKE MEASUREMENTS SPECIFICATIONS RANDONNEUR • Stack: 603mm • Frame: Double-butted Columbus Price: $1,470 • Reach: 393mm Cromor chromoly main triangle Sizes available: 49cm, 51cm, • Head tube length: 163mm with house-brand chromoly tubing 53cm, 56cm, 58cm, 60cm elsewhere, rack and fender mounts, • Head tube angle: 73° Size tested: 56cm three sets of bottle mounts, pump peg, • Seat tube length: 560mm chain hanger Weight: 29.7 lbs. (center to top) (without pedals) • Fork: Chromoly unicrown with • Seat tube angle: 73° curved blades, rack and • Top tube: 577mm (effective) fender mounts • Chainstays: 430mm • Handlebar: Brev. M Compact • Bottom bracket drop: 70mm Adventure Bend, 440mm • Bottom bracket height: 275mm • Stem: Brev. M, 110mm, 31.8mm • Fork Offset: 65mm • Brake/Shift levers: Shimano Tiagra 4700 MASI SPECIALE • Wheelbase: 1030mm • Front Derailer: Shimano 105 7000 • Standover height: 826mm • Rear Derailer: Shimano Tiagra 4700 • Brakes: Promax DSK-300R RANDONNEUR mechanical discs

BY PATRICK O’GRADY

➺Masi’s Speciale Randonneur is a citizen of the world. Its first name is Italian; its last name, French. Born in Asia to American parents, it would be the perfect fit for the ethnically fluid Dave Stohler, assuming he’s long since worn out his 1978 Masi Gran Criterium and given up racing for touring. The Speciale Randonneur is not a racing bike, designed for breaking away. Nor is it a full-on touring bike, meant for staying away. Masi’s website casts the Speciale Randonneur as “a sport- touring, all-road bike.” And given its rando’ roots, product manager Kellen LeBlanc says, it plays best with a front rack and bag, plus maybe a small framebag or seatbag “if you need more room for stuff.” This light-duty rig has been in and out of the Masi line for a decade now, and like the rest of cycling fashion, it’s changed with the times. For instance, the Speciale Randonneur had 700c wheels until 2017, when WTB released its 650b x 47mm Horizons, and that’s what you’ll find on its tubeless-ready rims today. Those fatties look big enough to support a relaxing float in a flooded limestone quarry. Even with heavy, sealant-filled inner tubes, they bobbed pleasantly over New Mexico’s roads when pumped to 40–50 psi. They’re best kept to pavement and hardpack in

34 ADVENTURE CYCLIST oc tober /nov ember 2019 • Rotors: Promax, 160mm GEARING RANGE • Crankset: Praxis Works Alba M24, 48 32 48/32T, 175mm 11 116.5 77.7 • Cassette: Shimano HG500, 13 98.6 65.7 10spd, 11–34T 15 85.4 57.0 • Chain: KMC X10, 10spd 17 75.4 50.3 • Bottom bracket: Praxis Works M24, 19 67.4 45.0 68mm, threaded 21 61.0 40.7 • Seatpost: Brev. M, 27.2mm 23 55.7 37.1 • Saddle: Masi Classic Rivet my corner of the Chihuahuan Desert 26 49.3 32.9 • Headset: Token 1 1/8in. external cup though — without rain to tamp it 30 42.7 28.5 • Hubs: Joy-Tech, 135 x 9mm rear, down, the soft stuff here is a little 37.7 25.1 100 x 9mm front, QR 34 too much so for their minimalist • Rims: Brev. M by Alex, 32h, herringbone tread. tubeless ready Contact: Masi Bicycles, 1230 Avenida The chromoly frameset, which • Tires: WTB Horizon, 650b x 47mm, Chelsea, Vista, CA 92081, 800.289.4276, tubeless ready masibikes.com; [email protected] uses Columbus Cromor in the main • Fenders: Steel, full coverage triangle and house-brand tubes elsewhere, sports an antique pewter finish, along with three sets of bottle bosses, rack and fender mounts, and a chain hanger and pump peg. What sets everything rolling on this $1,470 mid-range model is a bit of this and that: 10-speed Shimano Tiagra STI levers and rear derailer; 105 front derailer; 11–34T Shimano HG500 cassette; and a Praxis Works Alba M24 crankset/bottom bracket combo with 48/32T chainrings. This was my first experience with Praxis, and I’m always curious to see how the new guy fits in. LeBlanc described the shifting as “spot on,” and he was, well, spot on. These disparate bits got along like old school pals. And the gearing, with a low end of 32x34 (25.1 gear inches), is well suited to pretty much everything save an extended slog through the mountains lugging heavy weight. Speaking of which, LeBlanc was also on the money when he described the best setup for the Speciale Randonneur. Just because the mounts were there, I threw on a Tubus Cargo Classic rack and an Arkel TailRider trunk, but the load rode too high for comfort, especially when climbing out of the saddle. Next I tried a Tubus Logo Evo and hung Arkel B-40 panniers on the lower rails, which shifted the weight down and farther back. But even then, given the bike’s comparatively short chainstays,

35 You could shed a little weight by losing the buffed steel fenders. They look great with the bike’s pewter tubes, but the front one can reflect the midday sun into your eyes. And while it steers I’D CALL THE SPECIALE RANDONNEUR FAIRLY PRICED FOR WHAT clear of the toes and an under-the- down-tube water bottle, it wants all four YOU GET, BUT IF YOU’D LIKE TO SHOP AROUND A BIT, YOU DON’T eyelets at the fork dropouts. Also, like a similar setup on the the EVEN HAVE TO LEAVE YOUR FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD MASI Jamis Aurora Elite (Road Test, April 2019), the rear fender clattered over DEALER. THEIR ADVENTURE-CYCLING BENCH IS A DEEP ONE. every little imperfection in the road. The mechanics at Sport Systems in Albuquerque mentioned this when I large bags might nip the heels of rando-bag-and-rack combo, coupled picked up the bike, and one suggested anyone wearing shoes bigger than my with frame- and seatbags, may be your that a strategically placed slice of size 42 Sidis. best bet for that weekend getaway inner tube might quell the racket. “It’s not ideal,” as LeBlanc observed. from your day job at the A&P. That worked, until it didn’t, and then I felt better about a pair of lightly And whether you’re logging a brief medieval interlude with the loaded Arkel B-26 bags hung up kilometers in the country or just pliers finally shook the rattle out of front on a Tubus Ergo low-rider. rolling around campus, the Speciale my roll for good. After adding two Revelate bags Randonneur makes the trip worth Stem, handlebar, seatpost, and (Egress Pocket on the handlebar, taking. Sure, at nearly 30 pounds rims are all Brev. M (house-label) Pika underneath the saddle), before adding pedals, it’s no components. Alex gets second billing on and distributing a minimalist featherweight, but it’s surprisingly the hoops, which are laced to sealed- cargo of about a dozen pounds, light on its feet for a big fella. It’s fun bearing hubs from Joy-Tech. the Speciale Randonneur and I to throw around corners at speed, and I was very comfortable on the managed nicely. Some sort of actual rock solid on swooping descents. 440mm bar, with its broad, flat top

36 ADVENTURE CYCLIST oc tober /nov ember 2019 and shallow, lightly flared drops. ADVENTURE CYCLING You’ll find plenty of room to park bags, bells, and whistles. But the CORPORATE MEMBERS 110mm stem felt overlong on my Adventure Cycling’s business partners play a significant role in the success of our 56cm review model. And I’m not a nonprofit organization. Our Corporate Membership Program is designed to spotlight fan of textured saddles like the Masi these key supporters. Corporate Members are companies that believe in what we do Classic Rivet, which is also a little and wish to provide additional assistance through a higher level of support. These wider than I like. Still, these are corporate membership funds go toward special projects and the creation of new peccadilloes, easily swapped out for programs. To learn more about how your business can become a corporate supporter of Adventure Cycling, go to adventurecycling.org/corporate or call 800.755.2453. a better fit if need be. Don’t change those tires, though. Seriously, they’re right up there with TITANIUM closing your Twitter account: jarring annoyances you’ve come to accept as part of your daily routine are suddenly right off your radar. I’d call the Speciale Randonneur fairly priced for what you get, but if you’d like to shop around a bit, you don’t even have to leave your friendly neighborhood Masi dealer. Their adventure-cycling bench is a deep one. GOLD For another $430 you can step up to the Speciale Randonneur Elite, which rolls with Shimano 105, TRP Spyre-C dual-piston mechanical discs, thru-axles, a lighter set of aluminum fenders, and a dynamo headlight. It has that nice Praxis Works crank and those WTB tires, too. And then there’s the Giramondo (Road Test, May 2017), which can be had in two versions: a $1,350, 650b-wheeled, dropbar off- roader aimed at the go-anywhere bikepacker, and a 700c tourer that LeBlanc described as “an expedition bike … designed for more of the rack/ pannier crowd.” That model features a Deore triple setup, plus Tubus racks front and rear, for the low, low price of just $1,400. I wouldn’t mind laying hands on SILVER either of those bad boys myself. With the money I’d save, I could feel good Alphagraphics Mirrycle Corporation about adding a fitted cotton “Cutters” Altor Locks Noble Invention Bike Touring T-shirt to my tab. Astral Cycling/Rolf Prima Showers Pass I’m not taping my shoes to the Ciclismo Classico Stan’s No Tubes pedals though. Or shaving my legs. Jones Bicycles TiGr Lock

Patrick O’Grady is a contributing writer for Adventure Cyclist. BRONZE Ace the Himalaya Mirman, Markovits & Landau, P.C. Arkel Ridgeland Tourism Commission Clifford Law Offices Rocky Mountain Print Solutions Cycle Greater Yellowstone Spinlister.com Erie Canal Bike Tours TDA Global Cycling Lavent Law Zavodnick/Zavodnick & Lasky

ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG/MEMBERS 37 by Alex Strickland and Berne Broudy GEARED UP

enviolo Trekking Hub, €269 Rare is the touring cyclist wish list that doesn’t include a Rohloff, but so too is the rare wallet that can handle the impact. So for those who want the convenience of an internal gear hub (IGH) but lack the budget for a Rohloff, enviolo (neé NuVinci) offers an intriguing option. The brand’s continuously variable transmission–style hub lacks pre-defined steps, so there are infinite gradations within the hub’s 380 percent range. For the extremely cadence sensitive, this is a perfect solution, as you can always fine tune your RPM with a spin of the twist shifter. But is 380 percent enough (as compared to Rohloff’s 618 percent range across 14 speeds)? Maybe. I geared my test bike on the low end of the spectrum with 46x28 rings from Gates running a belt drive. That meant 23.8 gear inches at the low end and 90.3 at max attack — fine for touring with up to a moderate load, but quickly exhausted during unloaded riding on flat ground. A wider-range hub could use a more aggressive ring combo to gain some top end without sacrificing loaded ability. Shimano’s Alfine 11 running the same tooth counts would range from 25.1 to 102.4 gear inches, though Shimano is quick to tell you that its Alfine line isn’t built for long-distance, loaded touring. A quick look at enviolo’s website makes it clear that the brand sees their hubs best-used with eBikes, which makes a great deal of sense. For loaded touring without a battery–operated tailwind, the enviolo could offer a low-cost, but limited, option. –AS

Reebok Puremove Bra, $60 I wear a 38D or 36DD bra, and I’ve had a hard time finding a sports bra for cycling that wasn’t either too constrictive for a full day of riding or too loose to be supportive on bumpy roads. This one strikes the perfect balance because it’s designed with a kind of gel in the cups that, like the material in some mountain bike knee pads, gets firmer instantly with impact. You don’t feel the change, you just feel supported instead of jostled and jounced when you hit washboard, potholes, and gravel. And I needed to wash this bra a lot less than others I’ve worn — it doesn’t get stinky and it dries fast. Any woman with a medium or larger cup size should try this bra. –BB

38 ADVENTURE CYCLIST oc tober /nov ember 2019 Smith Session Helmet, $160 Helmets aren’t easy to write about because without a lab on hand, the only real way to test them is ... well, let’s just say we can’t handle the turnover. Smith’s mountain-style Session sports all the safety features the brand offers, including a MIPS liner and chunks of “Koroyd” material for impact absorption. I’ve reviewed a couple of Smith helmets in the past in part because they’re one of the few brands that fit my giant head, but also because I’ve found them comfortable, good looking, and reasonably well priced (though the proliferation of technologies like MIPS in lower-priced lids has improved greatly). Though some find helmets with Koroyd or Bontrager’s somewhat similar “Wavecell” matrixes a bit warm, my experience was that the Session vented fine and the ratcheting fit adjustment kept everything stable. When looking up from a more aggressive riding position, the dial did hit a funny spot at the base of my skull, but I was able to move the whole system up to a higher mounting setting to fix the problem. Would I recommend Smith helmets over another brand? That’s hard to say because fit is so personal. But the brand has earned four- and five-star ratings from the Virginia Tech’s helmet testing lab for other models (the Session hasn’t been tested), which is notoriously tough. But here’s the bottom line: last year I crashed hard in a Smith helmet and sustained a concussion alongside some broken bones. Would another brand have prevented the head injury? Impossible to say, but for what it’s worth, I bought another Smith to replace it. –AS

Velo Orange Porteur Front Rack, $165 It’s hard to beat the utility of a great front rack (or basket). Give me a big platform, a few bungee cords or netting, and I can head to the corner store or the corner of the map. After spending some time riding with the Pizza Rack from Specialized (see online later this month), I was excited to bolt the shiny Porteur from Velo Orange on my daily driver. This rack attaches predictably to pretty much anything with mounts, and the removable rail bolts in easily. I’d be fine with the rail being welded on, but for those looking for a clear deck, it’s a nice option. The Porteur is classic in its looks and construction thanks to stainless steel tubing that should be capable of taking a true beating. The polished finish looks great and is so far holding up flawlessly, though I’ll be watching it closely once winter riding season arrives. There’s a 25 lb. limit unless you add on some Surly Rack Adaptors to reinforce things at the mid-fork braze-ons, which ups the weight limit to 40 lbs. A little ingenuity can get panniers clipped to the inner deck rails, but I’d pop a porteur-style bag on this thing and never look back. –AS

ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG/MEMBERS 39 STORY BY DAN D’AMBROSIO PHOTO BY JARED ABELL

ou’re bound to find something And in a sense, that’s what Velo Plus, the name of the pass must appear on the Velo Orange website that Orange is all about — classic European on a summit or directional sign. Y reinforces the special allure of cycling, and the products that Your 100 passes can be of any height cycling, especially as it exists in Europe represent that era. (more on this later), but for every 100 and even the Far East. “We have a wide selection of both passes you claim, at least five of them Here’s one example: Velo Orange handlebars and fenders, with pretty must soar to at least 2,000 meters, or offers five framesets, one with the much any desired position on the 6,500 feet. The club is based on the intriguing name of Pass Hunter. The bike,” said Igor Shteynbuk, co-owner honor system. frame, which was sold out at the of Velo Orange. “Upright for city riding “We rely on the sportsmanship of time of this writing, is painted a very or drop handlebars for long distance, cyclotourists, who like bicycling and appealing orange — appropriately and fenders to cover any wheel and being in the mountain strictly for enough — and features a lugged fork, tire size in silver and black to match their own personal enjoyment,” the disc brake tabs, internal cable routing, any aesthetic. It’s what we’re best rules explain. and a metal . known for.” Who can argue with that? And who There is one simple decal, The Pass Hunter is named after a would have the temerity to cheat? “VeloORANGE” on the down tube. vertically inclined pastime, popular There are several more rules, Otherwise the frame, made of 4130 mostly in France and Japan, of including that the club never “creates” double-butted chromoly steel, is left “collecting” passes on your bike. The a pass, and asks its members to refrain to glory in nothing but its orangeness. description of the Pass Hunter includes from doing so as well. It relies on It has a classic appeal that serves as a a link to the “rules” page of a French officially recognized passes, such as those counterpart to the graphics and shapes pass-hunting club called Les Club Des found in the Catalogue des Cols de France. that have been ushered into the bicycle Cent Cols, or the Club of 100 Passes. Shteynbuk maintains a long-running world in the era of carbon fiber — Rule Number 1 is that to join the blog on the company website. The beautiful in their own right, but certainly club, you must have bicycled across at entry for the Pass Hunter explains not harking back to the classic era of least 100 mountain passes. Makes sense. that living in the flat, coastal city of European cycling when Campagnolo Rule Number 2: A pass is only a pass Annapolis, Maryland, where Velo was the gold standard and French riders if it is called a pass, locally or regionally, Orange is based, would not appear to still won the Le Tour. and if it shows up as a pass on a map. make the area “ripe for pass hunting.”

40 ADVENTURE CYCLIST oc tober /nov ember 2019 However, as it turned out, there “As those sources dried up, we started “We’re always going to keep that end was a pass just outside of town. remanufacturing these products,” said of the business,” he said. “Bike boom Shteynbuk includes a photo of his Shteynbuk, who today owns Velo Orange bikes from the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s hunter green Kogswell bike, outfitted with his wife, Adrian Nelson. are plentiful, and there’s lots of interest with Velo Orange’s classic silver Igor and Adrian joined the company in restoring them for commuters.” fenders and handlebars. about seven years ago. Igor had been Velo Orange sources its new The Kogswell is leaned against a working in a shop in Washington, DC, components in Taiwan, as well as its post with the sign, “ARNOLD PASS, that did a lot of restoration work on framesets. The company plans to offer ELEV. 141 FT.” The sign further vintage bicycles and would regularly more complete bikes in the future. notes that this spot is the highest order components from Velo Orange. “Right now we sell frames and forks,” point on the B&A Trail, a 13-mile He wanted to leave behind the bike Igor said. “For most people, that’s trail from Boulters Way in Annapolis shop life and move into production, perfectly fine. They can choose any to Dorsey Road in Glen Burnie, which made Velo Orange the perfect components they want or already have, Maryland, named after the Baltimore change of pace. but we’ve had a lot of people asking for & Annapolis Railroad. Velo Orange’s original customers complete bikes.” “Only 99 more to go,” writes were primarily people who were Velo Orange just began offering Shteynbuk. “I think I’ll head over to the doing restorations of older bikes. Not completes this fall, building them in Shenandoah Mountains in a few weeks any longer. Taiwan, outfitted primarily with Velo and try a pass or two.” “Since Adrian and I took the reins, Orange components. we’ve focused on more modern The company is starting with two elo Orange was founded in components with a timeless flair,” Igor models: the Polyvalent, a dropbar bike Annapolis in 2006 by Chris said. “A lot of silver. Very comfortable designed for touring and long-distance V Kulczycki. The company got handlebar positions, elegant fenders, riding, plus another simpler model with its start importing hard-to-find and racks that lend themselves nicely to a single front chainring and flat bars; components and accessories like boring modern bikes.” and the Piolet, an off-road touring bike handlebars, stems, and cranksets. The That said, Igor plans to hang on to with Shimano components and Velo ethos was decidedly European, and Velo Orange’s traditional customers Orange wheels. specifically French and English. as well. CONTINUED ON PAGE 48

ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG/MEMBERS 41 Holiday Trailblazer by April Cypher

Anne and Ben Cowan

Hooked on touring — and not slowing at 70

➺ IF YOU NEED PROOF THAT are you going?” “Where did you start?” COUPLES WHO PLAY TOGETHER Then they whisper, “Can I ask you a STAY TOGETHER, look no further personal question? How old are you?” than Anne and Ben Cowan. In Chouteau, Montana, they stopped “We’re two sort of retired people long enough to chat with a barley farmer who have always loved the outdoors,” working on his irrigation system. said Anne. “I say ‘sort of’ because we “He was the sort of guy that you are busier than ever with all kinds would want to be related to, live next of pursuits, including — for Ben — door to, or be marooned with,” said brewing beer, judging beer, and keeping Ben. To their mutual delight, they bees. I volunteer at the hospital and discovered the farmer’s son lived a make quilts.” mere 30 miles from them in Tennessee. And the Cowans ride their bikes. For the Cowans, that’s what riding is They ride their bikes a lot. about — the people they meet. CAPLANIDES MAXTON When they signed up for a bike tour “Anyone can go to a country and in Ireland in 2004 to celebrate their rent a car. To cycle in a country we 30th anniversary, their previous cycling have not been to before, to experience “TO CYCLE IN A experience was limited to a little the generosity of the people, the mountain biking when their three sons sights, sounds, and smells, as well as COUNTRY WE HAVE were Boy Scouts. the culture, is adventuresome for us,” “I bought a road bike the day we Anne said. NOT BEEN TO BEFORE, returned!” said Anne. Two years In their 15 years of bike travel, later, she declared she was ready to they’ve amassed an extensive résumé TO EXPERIENCE THE ride across the country. She joined of far-flung locales like Sri Lanka, WomanTours on the Southern Tier the Spain, Japan, and Chile. But for all their GENEROSITY OF next summer. overseas riding, they still love traveling “I lived vicariously the entire ride,” the U.S. THE PEOPLE, THE said Ben, who then worked as an “The Adventure Cycling maps oncologist and medical director of a are worth their weight in gold. It SIGHTS, SOUNDS, AND hospice center. “When she suggested tells you where to turn and that the that I consider it myself, it was easy to next convenience store is only open SMELLS, AS WELL say yes!” Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and After Ben’s 2010 self-supported Sunday,” said Ben. AS THE CULTURE, IS Southern Tier ride, they combined But the Cowans’ connection to forces for the Northern Tier in 2013. Adventure Cycling goes much deeper ADVENTURESOME Upon finishing the route at the Atlantic than just maps. They have consistently Ocean, then turned south and rode donated to the organization for over 10 FOR US.” another 300 miles. years, recently as Holiday Trailblazers. Strangers consistently ask them the “Our dollars invested in a strong same questions on the road: “Where bicycle advocacy organization allow us

42 ADVENTURE CYCLIST oc tober /nov ember 2019 Holiday to see cycling infrastructure improve and expand. The more cycling becomes a part of people’s leisure Trailblazers time, as well as commuting, the healthier the general The Holiday Trailblazers are a leading group of generous population becomes. The more cyclists there are, the Adventure Cycling members who pool their donations safer it becomes for all of us,” they said. for Adventure Cycling’s year-end fundraising campaign, Now, at age 70, the Cowans are tackling their which directly supports our mission, advocacy efforts, third and, Anne claims, final cross-country ride: the and programs. The match fund is used to catalyze TransAmerica Trail. additional donations from members, who have the “The only living thing we saw in Rand, Wyoming, opportunity to double the impact of their support by was a mangy coyote,” said Ben. “Wyoming in July is participating. Adventure Cycling’s year-end fundraising surprisingly green. We rode along the North Platte campaign kicks off in November and will run through River where nesting waterfowl were making noise December 31. Thanks to the generosity of the Holiday all morning. It’s a stunning place to be.” Trailblazers and all the donors who make it possible for They think they’ll finish around Labor Day. more people to experience the magic of bike travel! “It’s all dependent on the weather and wind,” said Ben. “That’s the point of a trip like this, not to have a Please visit adventurecycling.org/holidaycampaign schedule.” to support Adventure Cycling’s mission and to take advantage of the matching funds. Would you like to April Cypher is Adventure Cycling’s Development Coordinator. She be a Holiday Trailblazer? Please call April Cypher at recently participated in the Idaho Family Fun Tour where she learned 406.532.2760. that it takes a village to get a child to ride between snack stops.

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An accomplishment of planned itineraries allow you to savor the cycling. vacations worldwide (including bike/barge and a lifetime. 45 days total, 40 riding days, 5 rest Browse our tours: carolinatailwinds.com 888- trekking too), guided and self-guided, for all days, average 74 miles per day, All meals, hotels, 251-3206 levels of abilities. Exclusive and custom tours also 2 guides. Maximum number of guests is 11. We available. Share the passion! okcycletours.com do not accept trikes on this tour. Prices start at or call 1-888-621-6818. $13,100 for shared rooms. Visit our webpage: cycleoflifeadventures.com Call us directly for the best details: 303-945-9886

46 ADVENTURE CYCLIST oc tober /nov ember 2019 RATE: $115 for the first 30 words, $2 for each additional word. For more information, please contact Rick Bruner.Phone: 541.490.8262, email: [email protected].

september 28, 2019 WISCONSIN BACKROADS HOTEL TOURS WOMEN ONLY BIKE TOURS For all ages and Fully supported affordable 5-7 day bicycling abilities. 60 different trips every year from 3 vacations. $755-$855 includes HOTELS w/indoor days to 2 months long. Fully supported, inn- pools-whirlpools, buffet dinners, food stops, & to-inn, bike path and road tours. Bike & Barge, emergency support. Quiet, scenic, all paved back Cross-Country, Europe, Africa & more. Bicycle bikeyourparkday.org roads. NORTHWOODS, DOOR COUNTY, Spring workshops, wine tasting & yoga. Contact us for Green, New Glarus, & more. Celebrating our 35th free catalog. 800-247-1444. womantours.com season. pedalacrosswisconsin.com 847-707- 6888, 847-309-4740, [email protected] FLORIDA KEYS HOTEL TRIP Fully supported, outstanding hotel accommodations, DoubleTree WARM CYCLING DESTINATIONS Try a warm by Hilton & Holiday Inn Express. Dec 8-14, getaway! Jan 19-Florida Keys and Everglades 2019. Marathon to Key West & back. Stunning National Park| Jan 26-Florida, St. Augustine |Feb beach scenery, great meals, 3 layover days in 2- British Virgin Islands | Feb 23- Death Valley Key West w/supported optional bike ride! Only National Park | Mar 1 & 6 Arizona- Saguaro $1145.00 floridakeysbikeride.com, 847-309- National Park |Mar 13 &20 Texas Hill Country |Apr 4740 (Ken) [email protected] 11- New Orleans. AC Members enjoy our corporate discount. Ask about E-bike friendly tours. Call CYCLE OF LIFE ADVENTURES Try one of our 303-945-9886 or See our website for a complete list new 2020 tours. New Orleans | St. Augustine of tours. cycleoflifeadventures.com Florida | Texas Grand FUNDO |Maine- “The Bold Coast” from Acadia National Park to HELPING MAKE GOOD RIDERS BETTER Canada | GAP and C&O | Maryland’s Eastern SINCE 1981 Join Transcontinental Record Shore | Epic Appalachians- a 25 day challenge Holders Lon Haldeman & Susan Notorangelo from Maine to NC. Ask about E-bike Friendly for your cycling adventures. Offering tours from tours. Visit our website: cycleoflifeadventures. seven day training camps to coast to coast tours. com or call 303-945-9886 Guided tours of Route 66, Ghana Africa and across Peru. Full support, motels, gear shuttle BIG DREAM BIKE TOURS Ride your bike and most meals. Most tours have over 80% of from Southern California­­­­­­ to Boston. Custom cue returning PAC Tour riders. See our website for sheets, nice hotels, great meals, mechanic. new tours and other regional adventures. PAC Fully supported with daily Feed Zones, bag Tour pactour.com 262-736-2453 delivery and SAG. bigdreambiketours.com 844-379-2453. VACATION BICYCLING Treat yourself to a fun, beautiful and unforgettable 7-day bicycle tour! CYCLE AMERICA® Enjoy a Fully Supported The Florida Keys & Key West $1599; “Downhill” Cycling Vacation this Summer. Ride Seattle to Colorado $1599; Alaska $1699; Jackson Hole Boston on an epic Coast-to-Coast tour or explore $1599; Charleston & Savannah $1599; Bryce & America’s treasures on our series of National Zion, Utah $1599; Acadia, Maine $1599; Maui, Park trips. First-Rate Support, Great Routes and Hawaii $1699; and Arizona Sonoran Desert $1599. Good Friends! Let Us Help You Plan Your Next Come join us! Trips are fully supported including Fun and Affordable Adventure. 800-245-3263. hotels, food & SAG. Celebrating our 11th year cycleamerica.com Anniversary. 706-363-0341 or 800-490-2173 vacationbicycling.com THE GREAT ALLEGHENY PASSAGE AND C&O CANAL 335 of flat out gorgeous trail...Pittsburgh LASSEN NATIONAL PARK SERVICE PARK NATIONAL LASSEN SOCKEYE CYCLE CO. Alaska Bicycle Tours, to DC...custom or group tours...16 years’ Rentals, Sales, Service. Established in 1988, we experience...B&Bs, inn’s, hotels, excellent meals, specialize in guided bicycle tours of Alaska’s luggage shuttle, shuttle of people, gear and bikes, Southeast panhandle and remote areas of Canada’s vehicle shuttle, great attractions and sightseeing REGISTER Northwest British Columbia and the Yukon along the way...call Trail Gail at 301-722-4887 or Territory. Whether you take a day tour or one of 240-727-7039 or mountainsidebiketours.us YOUR RIDE our extended trips, our experienced guide staff will “You Pedal, We Pamper” escort you on an unforgettable adventure through TODAY! the northern wilderness. POB 829, 24 Portage St. Haines, AK 99827-0829, TF 877-292-4154, 907-766- 2869, Fax 907-766-2851, 381 Fifth Ave. Skagway, AK (May - Sept) 907-983-2851. cyclealaska.com BIKE YOUR PARK DAY september 28, 2019 bikeyourparkday.org

ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG/MEMBERS 47 CONTINUED FROM PAGE 41 D’AMBROSIO: VELO ORANGE Completes start just north of $2,000 bicycle shops, with two distributors in or even decades. When it gets worn for a nicely outfitted touring setup. the U.S., two in the UK, and others in you can simply brush on a fresh coat. One of Igor’s blog posts from last France, Switzerland, Denmark, Japan, As for appearance, well look at the July, about attending the Anjou Velo and Thailand. photos and judge Vintage Festival in Saumur, France, “The direction for yourself. really encapsulates the Velo Orange we’re currently going Even well ethos. As Igor writes, “The Anjou Velo in is serving us really “WE’RE EVEN worn shellaced Vintage event is not just a ride. It well,” Igor said. “Last tape has that isn’t even a vintage flea market. It’s a year was our best special beauty celebration of all things vintage, fun, year ever, and we’re IN WITH THE or patina that’s refined, and rough around the edges. on course for an even only evident Folks don their finest vintage-inspired better year this year.” LOWRIDER in natural attire, give their moustaches a twirl, Velo Orange’s materials.” have a bottle of Rosé mixed with fresh- customers are not That’s right. cut flowers on a Porteur Rack, and ride necessarily as vintage BICYCLE CROWD. Shellac is a natural a metric centry with a few thousand as their products. material, the new friends.” Igor said that at trade THEY LOVE OUR crusty secretion “I did the 62k ride,” Igor said. “That shows he talks to of the lac beetle one gives you a little bit of everything. customers ranging in STUFF. IT’S SILVER that lives in the Small villages, countryside, and age from their early forests of Assam several stops to get a snack and water. 20s to their 70s. and Thailand, Some have Rosé champagne or wine. “We’re even in with AND SHINY.” according to People have fun with it. There’s the lowrider bicycle the Velo Orange always music playing.” crowd,” Igor said. website. Many of the bikes at the festival “They love our stuff. It’s silver and shiny.” Who knew? Igor’s story of shellac and were outfitted with Velo Orange The Velo Orange website also cotton tape is an ideal one for summing components, much to Igor’s delight. includes more than a dozen articles on up the surprises Velo Orange has in store Velo Orange has seven employees, a variety of topics, including a guide for cyclists. plus Igor and Adrian. to shellac and bar tape. In the article, “We look toward the past for “We do all the engineering in-house,” Igor points out that many of the great inspiration, and we’re always looking Igor said. “Everybody there in some French bike builders used cotton toward the future for new products,” capacity rides bikes. Most of us have tape coated in shellac. The effect is Igor said. pretty extensive touring backgrounds. mezmerizing. We can all draw from experience and “Today cork tape is the norm,” he Dan D’Ambrosio is a contributing writer for we all have a say in products that get writes. “While cork tape does provide Adventure Cyclist. developed.” better cushioning, it is fragile and The company sells online directly to needs to be replaced at least once a consumers, and also sells wholesale to year. Shellaced tape lasts for years,

48 ADVENTURE CYCLIST oc tober /nov ember 2019 CONTINUED FROM PAGE 05 READER LETTERS stories provide great incentive to get GOODBYE, BRUCE Adventure Cyclist is starting to look on with the exercises. I was especially I was sad to read the Aug./Sept. down your nose at recumbent users. happy to see the article by Dan 2019 issue of the passing of Bruce One that I have found in certain D’Ambrosio, “eBikes for Everyone.” Gordon. When I was 70, I rode across circles of traditional bike users. When my hip started to cause a lot of America on a Marin, and liked the I also noticed Terratrike is no pain a couple of years ago, I purchased long-distance traveling so well that longer a corporate sponsor. What a Riese & Müller Charger GX. It I went shopping for a really good gives? Maybe it’s time I start came with two batteries and a Rohloff touring bike. My wife and I drove to reconsidering my renewal. 14-speed hub. My range on a full charge Petaluma, California, to meet with Guy Lovelace | Gaylord, Michigan in eco mode is better than 100 miles. Bruce and ordered two Rock ’n Road It has allowed me to keep reasonably bicycles for ourselves. This was an Editor’s note: We did indeed do away with fit during the period when riding my experience in itself. I told Bruce that, the themed issue around nondiamond regular bike was pretty uncomfortable. because of my age, I needed flat bars bikes after many years of requests from Even though I have been mostly in place of dropbars and was told that recumbent, folder, and tandem riders to confined to day rides, I noticed that I he did not build bikes with flat bars, spread that content throughout the year. have already put over 5,000 miles on and I stated I guess you will not be the bike. Coincidently, I first became a building my bike. member after my first hip replacement Well, Bruce did build our bikes, 12 years ago when I purchased the with his panniers, and we became maps for the Northern Tier route. A friends. Those bikes have done the friend and I completed the route in the Rhine route, the North Sea route, summer of 2009, less than two years west coast of Ireland, Bordeaux to after my operation. the Camargue, Venice to Slovenia David Lang | Mulmur, Ontario and Croatia, and many trips around CONTINUED FROM PAGE 06 the Netherlands and France. (I am SAYER: DREAM BIG There was a significant omission from lucky to be able to store these bikes the article on electric bikes and too in the Netherlands.) I have owned could too. On my summer trip down the much emphasis on boutique brands and many high-end bikes, but none of Atlantic from Maine to South Carolina, commuting. The omission was the large them have performed and continue to I met hundreds of people — men, market of people like me who wish perform as well as Bruce’s bikes. Over women, young, old, of all backgrounds, to continue riding as they age. In the the years, we visited Bruce now and creeds, and political stripes — who past few years, I have seen people drop then, and I am sorry I shall no longer inspired me or took inspiration from out of tours because of age or health- be able to do so. I am now 80, and this my quest to ride the perimeter of the related issues. I have come to view summer we shall again be riding in U.S. (“maybe I could do that too?!?”). In electric bikes as the solution for many the Netherlands on our Rock ’n Road the end, we were all humans seeking of these issues. Bruce Gordon bikes, and we shall be fulfillment, connection, and adventure. Two years ago on an Adventure thinking about Bruce. The web of inspiration is as Cycling tour, I rode with a man in Frank Schipper | Santa Barbara, California widespread, dense, and wonderful as his late 60s who I knew from other we want to make it. So I urge you to rides. He was riding surprisingly RECUMBENT ISSUE(S) help weave it — to ride, share, aspire, well. At the end of the ride, we talked As an Adventure Cyclist reader for and open your heart to the beauty about riding and he revealed that his several years and a recumbent and variety this world has to offer. For abilities had been augmented by an enthusiast (Terratrike), I always me, that means cycling from Maine to electric assist. His bike was very trim. looked forward to your July Missoula next year — the last segment of The battery and Bosch motor were issue, which traditionally was the my ride around the perimeter of the U.S. stealthily integrated into the frame. recumbent issue. I greatly enjoyed — and then riding as long as I can, locally He also revealed that he’d had several seeing what was new in the world of and globally, to experience and share open-heart surgeries to repair valves recumbents, and the opportunities landscapes, cuisines, communities, but and arteries. The electric bike was the for where and how to use them. Last above all, friendship with people along means to keep him active and enjoying year’s issue was weak at the very least the way. I hope this rolling adventure a sport that he loves. (only one article), and now this year will include many of you, as we dream I am 73 years old myself, and while nothing! big and inspire greatly. not ready for an electric bike, I am There was an article awhile happy there is an option to keep me in back about (March 2019), Jim Sayer the saddle much longer. hardly what I believe does justice to Executive Director Ed Wojtaszek | Chelmsford, Massachusetts recumbents. I’m beginning to feel [email protected]

ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG/MEMBERS 49 Companions Wanted Providing partners for tours, domestic and abroad, since 1978

MODIFIED TRANSAM 2020 Modified TransAm OHIO TO ERIE TRAIL Planning a 326-mile 2020 TRANSAM VAN I’ve settled on a route and east to west, June depart, self-contained. ride from Cincinnati through Columbus to timetable patterned after Adventure Cycling’s TransAm to Missoula, Great Parks North to Cleveland on the Ohio to Erie Trail, November “TransAm Express Westward” — 79 days, 67 Jasper, then on to Vancouver, ending back in 2019. All but about 20 miles is off-road. I riding and 12 resting. Belying the word “Express,” Missoula via the Northern Tier. My name is plan to wild camp and hopefully find a few the average riding day is only about 60 miles. The Joe, I’m 63, and this will be my sixth crossing. Warmshowers hosts along the way. The route ride starts in Williamsburg, Virginia, and ends in Seeking 1–2 companions. follows the Tow Path through Cuyahoga Valley , Oregon. I’m looking for 2 riders to join [email protected] National Park north of Botzum, Ohio. Seeking me. I have a high-roof Transit cargo van, and a like-minded cyclist(s) to join me for all or part nonriding friend as the dedicated van driver for LONDON TO MADRID I am a 52-year-old male of the adventure. The start date is flexible. the whole trip, from the Pacific Northwest, where from Santa Monica, California. Experienced [email protected] I live, to Virginia and back. We’ll be camping cyclist, looking for travel riders for a self- most nights, hopefully in organized campgrounds supported ride across western Europe, UK- SOUTHERN TIER 2020 I am a 58-year-old male with showers, etc. I’m looking at mid-May France-Spain. The ride starts in London through looking for riders to join me. Starting in early through July, but I’m very flexible on those dates. the Bordeaux region in France and ends in June in Venice, California, and finishing by July [email protected] Madrid, may continue to Portugal. Total miles 23 in Charleston, South Carolina. Finishing on 1,027. Looking to ride about 40 to 50 miles a day my 60th birthday. Mainly camping, but a hotel TRANSAM 2020 65-year-old male looking for with one or two rest days. The whole ride may once a week would be good. travel companion(s) for a self-supported, cross- take about 2 to 3 weeks or so. Trip date: October [email protected] country tour on the TransAmerica Trail next 22, 2019. Accommodation: B&B-type or motels. summer. Departure date is flexible, but targeting [email protected] EASTBOUND EBIKE TOUR Seeking a few early to mid-May. Direction is flexible. Looking to eBikers to help plot and (hopefully) join me on stay in hotels/motels as much as possible, but will TRANSAM WESTWARD 2020 TransAm east a 2020 cross-country ride, west to east, starting carry a tent/sleeping bag to camp when necessary/ to west ride leaving early May. Mostly camping at Mavericks Beach, Pillar Point, California, and desired. No cooking gear. Will eat in restaurants/ — open to motels, side trips, and exploring finishing somewhere east of Washington, DC, gas stations, etc., whenever possible. Plan on along the way. Biggest ball of twine in Kansas, (on the Atlantic Ocean). I personally want to ride averaging 50–70 miles per day, but will stretch anyone? Roughly 60 miles per day with rest through Yosemite National Park, so a post–Labor if the feeling is right. Rest days every 7–10 days, days. Married, mid-40s gay man looking for a Day start should allow for Tioga Pass (9,944 ft) as needed/desired. Willing to take up to 90 days. few riding companions for all or parts of the trip to be open — with less car and RV traffic. As for [email protected] who are interested in something between a solo the rest of the route, I am open to suggestions. ride and tour group. [email protected] [email protected] KANSAS TO SEATTLE 2020 I am a 63-year- GDMBR JULY 2020 I would like to get about old male hoping to make the trip from Wichita, three or more people to do the Great Divide Kansas, to Seattle, Washington, in 2020 and route north to south starting in July 2020. Start would like to find a rider or two to share the date is flexible depending on snow. Pace is not experience. I plan to follow the TransAm from super fast, have a layover day every 6–7 days. I Newton, Kansas, to Missoula, then the Lewis & Adventure Cycling Association assumes, but am a 65-year-old married woman. It would be Clark Trail through Portland to the Pacific Coast. cannot verify, that the persons above are truthfully good to meet fellow bikers before starting. Will As for lodging, I was thinking more camping representing themselves. Ads are free to Adventure be self-supported and camping. My husband may or Warmshowers than hotels, but I am flexible. Cycling members. You can see more ads and post meet us and bring cold beer every few weeks. Departure date is flexible, but I would prefer to them at adventurecycling.org/adventure-cyclist/ [email protected] leave before July. companions-wanted or send them to Adventure [email protected] Cyclist, P.O. Box 8308, Missoula, MT 59807.

MEMBERSHIP 1 HAS ITS Benefits of Adventure 31 PRIVILEGES S 3 C Cycling Membership Bicycle Routoute

• Your membership supports safer bike J SECTION 1 Y Bar Har bor, ME to Wind sor LockLocks,s, CTCT O 439 Mi les A SECTI ON 1 I SECTION 3 travel and new bicycle routes Bar Harboorr CrescentSumas, City WA, CA to toMt. San Rainier Francisco,er N.P N.PP. CA N D 447 Miles Windsoorr LocLockLockss 412 Miles T O Sumas SECTION 3 Vancouver Crescent Cit y, CA to Sa n Franci sco, CA Mt. Rainier 412 Mile s Crescent City Vancouver Key West San Francisco • 9 issues of Adventure Cyclist magazine Route Map and Guide Servicrviceses foforr CyclistCCyyccclisistts Tecate Bi-Directional Waterproooofof PPaPaperappeerr Imperial Beach Crescent City

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No. 5185

Music for Free

PHOTOGRAPH BY MAXTON CAPLANIDES STORY BY GAGE POORE

➺ FILMMAKER KEENAN DESPLANQUES AND MUSICIAN AND POET BEN WEAVER stopped by Adventure Cycling headquarters on June 16, 2018, while on a tour of the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route from Banff, Alberta, to Antelope Wells, New Mexico, celebrating the route’s 20th year with a series of 16 free performances. The tour and the resulting documentary are called Music for Free. The two self-supported riders carried the guitar, banjo, and film equipment necessary to make the project possible. Weaver described the trip as an effort to “honor the people in the communities along the way who have supported the route and its riders. We all have more in common than we do different.” Having completed the tour, Weaver wrote, “Inside each of us there is a place that is inherently in tune with water and dirt, the storms and the wind, and traveling by bicycle brings us into endless moments of transformation initiated by our growing proximity to this inner sense of wildness and relationship to all living things. Music for Free was proof that true community cannot exist without difference and diversity, and that in the end we are all like the ecosystems we live among, made strong through complexity and unified through diversity.” “The Music for Free tour was a life-changing experience for me,” wrote DesPlanques. “Being on a filmmaking trip, I was constantly overwhelmed by the beauty of this route to the point where I wanted to film everything but was constricted by our strict schedule. The people we met and interviewed for the film were incredible as well. We conducted almost 20 candid conversations with strangers as part of our film, and every person was so sincere and generous with their time. This was the trip of a lifetime, and I feel so very fortunate to have been brought along.” You can check out everything Ben Weaver and the Music for Free documentary at benweaver.net. See more portraits at From Adventure Cycling’s National Portrait Collection. © 2019 Adventure Cycling Association. adventurecycling.org/gspg

ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG/MEMBERS 51 Non-profit Adventure Cycling Association U.S. POSTAGE P.O. Box 8308 PAID Missoula, Montana 59807-8308 Adventure Cycling Association

America’s Bicycle Travel Experts maps tours gear resources Questions?· 800.755.2453· · www.adventurecycling.org

Adventure Cycling 2020 Tours You r 2020 Adventure Awaits The name in bicycle travel is only getting better! Here are some changes coming to Adventure Cycling Guided Tours for 2020: Is your riding buddy not a member of Adventure Cycling? We’re offering a free one-year membership for tour participants new to our organization! Expanded eBike tours! We continue to welcome eBikes on select fully supported events. New for 2020, we’re expanding that to many inn-to-inn tours! New tours! There’s never a shortage of new places to see with Adventure Cycling. Epic tours geared towards 18–35 year olds — cross the country on the TransAm or roll the whole Great Divide.

Details and registration at: adventurecycling.org/tours Questions? Call 800.611.8687