Adventure Cyclist Cycling.Org MAY 2011 $4.95 SHARE the JOY GET a CHANCE to WIN Spread the Joy of Cycling and Get a Chance to Win Cool Prizes

Waypoints 8 Geared Up 38 Open road gallery 47

Adventure Cyclist cycling.org MAY 2011 $4.95 SHARE THE JOY GET A CHANCE TO WIN Spread the joy of cycling and get a chance to win cool prizes

n For every cyclist you sign up through a gift membersip or who joins through your referral, you score one entry to win a Novara Verita (rei.com/ product/807242) valued at over $1,100. The winner will be drawn from all eligible members in January of 2012.

n Recruit the most new members in 2011, and you’ll win a $500 Adventure Cycling shopping spree.

n Each month we’ll draw a mini-prize winner who will receive gifts from companies like Old Man Mountain, Cascade Designs, Showers Pass, and others.

n The more new members you sign up, the more chances you have to win!

Adventure Cycling Association adventurecycling.org/joy

Adventure Cycling Corporate Members

Adventure Cycling’s business partners play a significant level of support. These corporate membership funds go toward greg siple role in the success of our nonprofit organization. Our Corporate special projects and the creation of new programs. To learn more Membership Program is designed to spotlight these key support- about how your business can become a corporate supporter of ers. Corporate Members are companies that believe in what we Adventure Cycling, go to www.adventurecycling.org/corporate or do and wish to provide additional assistance through a higher call (800) 755-2453.

TITANIUM GOLD

SILVER BRONZE

Esri Gateway Printing Lorain County Visitors Bureau First Interstate Bank BikeQuest Bicycle Touring Co.

2 ADVENTURE CYCLIST MAY 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG ADVENTURE CYCLIST MAY 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG 3 5:2011 contents May 2011 · Volume 38 Number 4 · www.adventurecycling.org

Adventure Cyclist is published nine times each year by the Adventure Cycling Association, a nonprofit service organization for recreational bicyclists. Individual membership costs $40 yearly to U.S. addresses and includes a subscription to Adventure Cyclist and discounts on Adventure Cycling maps. The entire contents of Adventure Cyclist are copyrighted by Adventure Cyclist and may not be reproduced in whole or in part without written permission from Adventure Cyclist. All rights reserved. Our Cover George B. Thayer poses for the camera during an 1886 bicycle adventure. Photo from the collection of John Weiss. (left) John Likins in the waning light of the midnight sun, on the North

greg siple Klondike Highway. The bicycling buffalo soldiers by Dan D’Ambrosio MISSION 10 The 25th Infantry Division rides from Missoula to St. Louis — a rugged ride by rugged men. The mission of Adventure Cycling Association is to inspire people of all ages to travel by bicycle. We help A lot of good it would do by Eric Butterman cyclists explore the landscapes and 18 Gripped by the bicycling craze of the late 19th century, cyclists push for better roads. history of America for fitness, fun, and self-discovery.

sweating the yukon by June Siple CAMPAIGNS 22 The early stages of Hemistour were formative times for the founders of Adventure Cycling. Our strategic plan includes three major campaigns: Creating Bike Routes for America A VICTORIAN ALBUM photos selected by Adventure Cyclist staff Getting Americans Bicycling 30 Looking back at cycling’s past reveals differences as well as similarities. Supporting Bicycling Communities How to Reach Us To join, change your address, or ask questions about membership, visit us departments LETTERS online at www.adventurecycling.org or call (800) 755-2453 or (406) 721-1776

companions wanted LETTER from the Editor email: 07 04 [email protected] WAYPOINTS LETTERs from the readers Subscription Address: 08 05 Adventure Cycling Association P.O. Box 8308 34 FINAL MILE 06 LETTER from the DIRECTOR Missoula, MT 59807 Headquarters: 38 GEARED UP COLUMNS Adventure Cycling Association 150 E. Pine St. 41 SCENES FROM THE SADDLE 36 road test / Patrick O’Grady Missoula, MT 59802 The Raleigh Port Townsend 42 Marketplace/Classifieds 47 OPEN ROAD GALLERY

2 ADVENTURE CYCLIST MAY 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG ADVENTURE CYCLIST MAY 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG 3 Adventure Letter from the Editor Cyclist Bicycling’s grand past May 2011 volume 38 number 4 A glimpse back reveals a connection to the present www.adventurecycling.org

editor michael deme mdeme@ adventurecycling.org art director greg siple There have been many interesting comments gsiple@ adventurecycling.org technical editor made about history through the ages. Here are john schubert schubley@ aol.com a couple of my favorites: “History is filled with FIELD editor michael mccoy the sound of silken slippers going downstairs and wooden mmccoy@ adventurecycling.org contributing writers shoes coming up.” — Voltaire. “To look back upon history dan d'ambrosio nancy clark willie weir jan heine is inevitably to distort it.” early photographs that Copy Editor — Norman Pearson. a quite a variety of phyllis picklesimer advertising director In the information- people were involved rick bruner everywhere age, you can in its past. When I look 509.493.4930 advertising@ adventurecycling.org read quote after quote on at the many photos we subject after subject. While came across while mak- STAFF doing this on the subject ing the selections for executive director jim sayer of history, it struck me this issue, I’m amazed at jsayer@ adventurecycling.org that the vast majority of the way people dressed chief operations officer sheila snyder, cpa the quotations come from when bicycling — men membership & Development a time when photographs in jackets and ties and julie huck amy corbin thomas bassett joshua tack didn’t yet exist, which women in what looks to media helps explain why many quotes paint his- be their Sunday best. It seems riding a winona bateman michael mccoy tory, for the most part, as bunk. Since there bicycle was something to be quite proud publications michael deme greg siple are no photos of Caesar and his legions of. derek gallagher crossing the Rubicon, we have to take The more we dig into cycling’s past, it department john sieber richard darne someone’s word that it happened followed the more we realize we’re only scratch- matt sheils by reports from a series of someone elses. ing the surface. In this issue, you’ll read tours mo mislivets But this isn’t the case with the his- about the 25th Infantry Division Bicycle paul hansbarger tory of bicycling as the capture of images Corps who rode basic safety bikes from routes and mapping carla majernik jennifer milyko began before the bicycle’s invention. Missoula, Montana, to St. Louis, Missouri virginia sullivan kevin mcmanigal Or did it? There are sketches of two- in 1897. Because we’re located in Missoula, casey greene nathan taylor sales and marketing wheeled machines from the late 15th we were lucky enough to have access to teri maloughney century; perhaps one was even built and the excellent Historical Museum at Fort cyclosource ted bowman sarah raz ridden. It’s generally accepted that the Missoula, where the 25th was stationed, office manager Draisine (or Laufsmaschine) was the first as well as the archives at the University beth petersen two-wheeler that was actually used for of Montana, where certain photos were board of directors a practical purpose. It was invented by being archived for the first time. You’ll also president German Karl von Drais, who used his read about the Good Roads Movement, carol york feet to push it along through the royal which began in the 1870s and moved vice president jennifer garst gardens where he was a forester of sorts. America toward better byways, and which secretary So it seems the history of bicycling spawned the creation of the League of andy baur treasurer does suffer from the same shortcoming American Wheelmen. We also decided to andy huppert as other histories — we still need to take include some images in a brief photo essay board members plenty of people at their word and then format because we found them fascinating. jason boucher todd copley george mendes jeff miller suffer through someone like me summa- We’re hoping you will too. donna o'neal wally werner rizing a previous summarization. Regardless of whether anything Michael Deme related to bicycles is considered his- [email protected] torically significant, we can see in these Editor, Adventure Cyclist

4 ADVENTURE CYCLIST MAY 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG ADVENTURE CYCLIST MAY 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG 5 Letters from our Readers

Bike overnight joy, braking (mis)information Bear populations are fine, advertorial creep?

Try a bike overnight to ease off the front brake and hit the a look so we could have a discussion. We After a long absence, I renewed my mem- back harder to avoid wheel flop, which both agreed that it was more of an adver- bership with Adventure Cycling, just throws the rider off the front. Hard brak- tisement about the Price family and their read the March issue of the magazine ing down mountain passes requires brak- business than a bicycling article about and discovered your bikeovernights.org ing with both wheels, again front brake Sardinia. We learned very little about through Jill Homer’s column. Gosh, what first, otherwise, brakes will fade danger- Sardinia. Gregg Bleakney was given a a fantastic idea, and the Bike Overnights ously if only the front is used. 10-page spread for a story he was prob- blog (bikeovernights.org) is so fresh and Bob Deaton ably contracted to write by the Prices. I fun to read. I recently started camping Missoula, Montana doubt that any other magazine would and have done short overnight trips. I have printed it without a substantial never thought of doing the same on a Thriving bears payment. I see that Bleakney’s photo is bike. Count me as one of those folks who Geoff Kirsch’s trip on Prince of Wales used in their advertisement. Is this really thought bike touring was synonymous (POW) Island in the March issue was where you want to take this magazine? with epic, week-long trips. I can’t wait to wonderful, however, I take exception The piece on Hungary was good and I try a bike overnight. Thank you for the to one of the statements in the Nuts & thought the story about Prince of Wales inspiration and the great resources on Bolts section. Concerning black bears, the was excellent. If tour operators are your blog. author writes, “Hunting has ravaged the involved, keep that information, along Anita Tyler island’s ursine population.” That’s just not with when to go, for an insert or the end Edgewood, Maryland true. POW has some of the highest black- of the article. bear populations in all of Alaska and is a Calvin Shank Dangerous advice very popular destination for black-bear Port Angeles, Washington Jan Heine’s article on braking is inac- viewing tours. All bear hunting is highly curate to the point of being dangerous to regulated and carefully managed. The cyclists. He recommends only using the black bear population on POW is just fine front brake when possible, assuming that and not “ravaged.” braking by both wheels is unnecessary Jim Shurts Your letters are welcome. Due to the volume of mail and that the rear wheel will skid because Madison, Wisconsin and email we receive, we cannot print every letter. there is no weight on it when braking. We may edit letters for length and clarity. If you do The front brake needs to be engaged first, Conspiracy theory not want your comments to be printed in Adventure Cyclist, please state so clearly. Please include your then the rear brake. The rider can stand As usual, I was excited to see the March name and address with your correspondence. Email on the pedals and shift weight to the rear issue of Adventure Cyclist. The article “A your comments, questions, or letters to editor@ wheel to keep it from skidding. When Pearl in the Mediterranean” caught my adventurecycling.org or mail to Editor, Adventure coming to a complete stop, it is necessary eye. After reading it, I had my wife take Cyclist, P.O. Box 8308, Missoula, MT 59807.

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4 ADVENTURE CYCLIST MAY 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG ADVENTURE CYCLIST MAY 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG 5 Letter from the Director Making History The U.S. Bicycle Route System comes to life — from the grassroots to Las Vegas

This issue of Adventure Cyclist is devoted to bike history, looking backwards through time to some stirring two-wheeled stories. But equally exciting is this month’s news that the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) is considering for approval the first new interstate U.S. bicycle routes in almost 30 years. As I write this, AASHTO (made up of leaders from all of America’s state departments of transportation, or DOTs) is evaluating applications for U.S. Route of the booming adventure travel market). 30 states plus Washington, 20 (running east-west across Michigan) Third, the routes are being developed DC, are now working to and U.S. Route 1 (along the coast of New in active partnership with DOTs and local Hampshire and Maine). AASHTO is also advocacy groups. While in Michigan for implement U.S. Bicycle reviewing the realignment of U.S. Route 1 March’s state bike summit, I met with Routes. along the coast of Virginia and U.S. Route many key players working with Adventure 76 following our TransAmerica Trail (these Cycling to make Route 20 (and eventually routes were designated at the start of the U.S. Route 35) happen. The partnerships 1980s, during the last flash of interest in an and buy-in from communities will give American cycle route system). In fact, by this movement — for the largest official the time you read this, AASHTO may have cycling network on earth — an unstop- approved these routes and realignments at pable momentum. their spring meeting in Las Vegas, Nevada. Fourth and perhaps most important, There are four reasons why these these official routes will mean (as they approvals will be so important. First, they have in every other country that has mark the start of a wave of new U.S. routes. national cycle systems) even better vis- Since the adoption of a national corridor ibility, travel options, and support for plan for the U.S. Bicycle Route System bicyclists. Plans are already in the works (USBRS) in October 2008, 30 states plus for how to sign, develop, and publicize the District of Columbia have begun work the new U.S. routes and you can feel the Jim with Gregory Johnson, the Chief to implement interstate, interurban bike enthusiasm. Operations Officer of Michigan’s routes. Given tight state budgets, this is an None of this could have happened with- Department of Transportation, at the extraordinary number — and the states out the backing of Adventure Cycling’s Michigan Bike Summit. Mr. Johnson is a are from all parts of the country, rural and members and donors, who — along with supporter of cycling and new bike routes urban, from Alaska to Florida. You can see supporters like Bikes Belong, the SRAM and facilities. the latest updates on state-by-state progress Cycling Fund, the Education Foundation through a cool new web-based map (www. of America, and the Lazar and Surdna adventurecycling.org/usbrs) developed Foundations — have made possible more with the help of staffers John Sieber, Ginny than five years of staff work to create a Sullivan, and Casey Greene. historic new chapter in the history of Second, the routes have the strong buy- bicycling in America. Thank you — and in of local communities. In Michigan and I look forward to delivering more reports Maine, volunteers such as Scott Anderson, of new national bike routes springing up Kerry Irons, and Tony Barrett, and DOT throughout the U.S. staff contacted dozens of communities, all of which are eager to welcome thousands Jim Sayer of cyclists (and of course, their spending Executive Director — bicycle tourism is a growing segment [email protected]

6 ADVENTURE CYCLIST MAY 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG ADVENTURE CYCLIST MAY 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG 7 Companions Wanted

Providing partners for tours, domestic and abroad, since 1978

Massachusetts to Washington Summer of 2011. people willing to do 100 to 150 miles a day. My slow, enjoy the scenery, and capture the beauty I’m a happily married 54-year-old male and trip is from Richmond, Virginia, to Grants Pass, in photos. I’m a 42-year-old female who has father of two teen daughters who needs a break Oregon. I’m heading west on July 20 and plan to toured in various places overseas. Come join in from college tuition bills. I would like to ride the be self-supported. Hopefully the ride will take the fun! Email me at [email protected]. Northern Tier route. I’m an experienced road 30 to 40 days. Send me a note if you’re inter- biker, but this would be my first major distance ested at [email protected]. Great Divide — North to South Come join our ride and it has been on my bucket list for many group of seven experienced cyclotourists at the years. I think I’m capable of 70 to 90 miles per Northern Tier Anacortez, Washington, to east. Canadian border, July 8, to Ride the Divide. day with a loaded bike. I prefer to mostly camp 65-year-old female looking for riders of any age. Two of us are riding only the Montana por- and I’m very flexible with schedule. I think I won’t hold your age against you (wink). Riding tion but two of us are starting a week earlier in most people would say I’m easy to get along 30 to 50 miles a day in good/fair weather, prob- Banff. We may break into smaller groups down with. If interested email [email protected]. ably more as I acclimate. Planning to start the the road according to speed. For more informa- first week of June. Flexible with date, speed, tion, email Nancy at [email protected]. Cross Country Summer 2011. West to east or and stops. I’m not out to burn up the road on east to west, doesn’t matter to me. Planning on my first trip. Mostly staying in motels/hostels/ Ride Wyoming Ride the Oregon Trail through the Northern Tier with a little modification. 50 BBs. Ride together or a part. Would love to share Wyoming. We will began the ride at Torrington, days. Camping as much as possible, hotels on ideas. You can email me at [email protected]. and finish at Cokeville, Wyoming. This 400-mile rest days. 18-year-old male looking for laid-back ride will start June 6 and be completed by June men or women of any age. If interested email Peace Corps Ride to the 50th Celebration 12 or 13. This is a small group of five to 10 rid- [email protected]. Plan to begin a self-contained ride from my ers. It will be fully supported by a pickup truck home in Hood River, Oregon, Friday, July or two that will serve as SAG wagons. Riders Cross Country Summer 2011. 18-year-old female 1, arriving September 20 for the Peace Corps must be experienced and able to ride 50 to 60 with one cross-country bike trip under my belt 50th Anniversary Celebration in Washington, miles while climbing up to 3,000 feet of eleva- hoping to repeat that incredible experience on DC. I’ll follow the Lewis & Clark route to the tion per day. If interested call Dallas at (605) a different route (probably more northern) this TransAm through Yellowstone, the Tetons, and 721-1427 or email [email protected]. summer. My plan is to leave around June 25, the Rockies, to Virginia. Currently unfamiliar take about seven weeks, and average around 80 with Virginia connection to DC. All Returned miles per day, with occasional buffer days. Self- Peace Corps Volunteers and future Peace Corps supported; averaging 12 MPH. Looking for other Volunteers welcome to join the ride anywhere on riders between the ages of 17 and 25 with expe- the trail. If interested email [email protected]. Adventure Cycling Association assumes, but can- rience to accompany me for all or part of the not verify, that the persons above are truthfully trip. If interested email [email protected]. Indian Himalayas August 2011. I’ll be riding representing themselves. Ads are free to Adventure Manali-Leh in the Indian Himalayas Aug 13 Cycling members. You can see more ads and post new ones at www.adventurecycling.org/mag/comp Virginia to Oregon 46-year-old male would like through September 2. Great trip over some very anions.cfm or send your ad to Adventure Cyclist, to share the draft with any affable person or high passes in a beautiful part of the world. I go P.O. Box 8308, Missoula, MT 59807.

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6 ADVENTURE CYCLIST MAY 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG ADVENTURE CYCLIST MAY 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG 7 News you can use from the world of bicycle travel by Michael McCoy WayPoints

ride history Penn Trails is offering bike tours to commemorate the sesquicentennial of the American Civil War. The rides feature stops at a variety of cultural and historic sites and the offerings are as follows: n Stuart’s Raid Into Pennsylvania Bike Tour, June 16-19 — A guided three-day tour is a unique blend of recreation and history which follows the route of Confederate General Jeb Stuart’s southern cavalry on their hard-riding, controversial raid into central Pennsylvania during the 1863 aa ron te a sd le Gettysburg Campaign. Riders head up the rough stuff on the Canadian Great Divide. n South Mountain and the Fight at Monterey Pass, July EMBRACING A WILD FLATHEAD 1-3 — The South Mountain region of Pennsylvania and The tables turn and the route follows the race Maryland experienced numer- The Canada section of The change increases the Casey Brennan, Southern ous military engagements, Adventure Cycling’s Great Great Divide Canada route’s Rockies program manager most famously the Battle Divide Mountain Bike Route length by 39 miles (the original for Wildsight, an organization of Gettysburg. now encompasses 114 miles routing south of Sparwood has working to maintain biodiver- n The Abolitionist Movement of wild-country riding through been retained as an alternate). sity and healthy human com- & Underground Railroad in British Columbia’s Flathead Tour Divide race organizer and munities in Canada’s Columbia South Central Pennsylvania, and Wigwam river valleys. “The repeat winner Matthew Lee origi- and Rocky Mountains ecore- May 27-30 — Three days of Flathead is the last major val- nally proposed and researched gions. The goal of the Flathead riding, over approximately 70 ley in southern Canada to be the route change, piecing togeth- Wild campaign is to extend miles, as we journey through completely uninhabited,” said er dirt roads and game trails to Waterton Lakes National the northern end of the Blue routes and mapping director bring the Canadian leg of the Park into the southern third of Ridge Mountains. Carla Majernik. “The new rout- race through the Flathead Valley. British Columbia’s Flathead n March to Destiny, June ing fits perfectly with the spirit “Tour Divide racers are truly watershed and establish a for- 24-26 — Visit the John Brown of the rest of the routeb — champions for the Great Divide mal wildlife management area House in Chambersburg, then challenging and remote.” Route and for bicycle travel,” Lee to provide connectivity north travel from Chambersburg to Majernik explained that said. “Their hope is to inspire oth- to Banff National Park. “These Shippensburg on Saturday C o u rtesy f H a rris cyclery the new routing begins in ers to ride part, or all of it, at their are important and spectacular morning, arriving for the after- Sparwood, British Columbia, own pace and experience the trans-boundary watersheds noon and evening of historical and heads southeast through jaw-dropping natural beauty this that will provide travelers with events and reenactments. the Canadian Rockies into route has to offer.” an unparalleled wilderness For more information about the Upper Flathead Valley, “The Wildsight and the experience.” these rides, visit www.civilwar before looping northwest to Flathead Wild campaign team For more information, visit biketours.com or call (717) the Wigwam River and back are excited about the re-route www.tourdivide.org, www.flat 486-4455. south toward the U.S. border. of the Great Divide,” said head.ca, and www.wildsight.ca.

8 ADVENTURE CYCLIST MAY 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG ADVENTURE CYCLIST MAY 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG 9 BE A PART OF IT MALAYSIAN Join a campaign to spur the development of U.S. bicycle routes FINDS Adventure Cycling member- ADVENTURE ship and marketing assistant IN THE U.S. Amy Corbin reports that during Most Americans tend to think the month of May — National that other countries are more Bike Month — we’ll again be exotic and offer a greater degree promoting the campaign Build of adventure than our own, and It. Bike It. Be A Part Of It. The it’s no doubt partially true. campaign is a fundraiser for So Waypoints was a the U.S. Bicycle Route System bit surprised to run across (USBRS) and “will help lever- an online story in The Star age funds for continued sup- (“Malaysia’s most widely read port of state efforts to select English-language daily”) about B ILL HA RRISON and designate routes for the a man from Nibong Tebal — USBRS,” Amy says. “This national and local non-profits, org/beapartofit. situated in Seberang Perai on year we are also partnering volunteers, U.S. Congress, In other news, Amy reports the mainland side of Penang, with seven states (Arkansas, and AASHTO (American that the Annual Membership Malaysia (if that helps any). New Mexico, South Dakota, Association of State Highway Survey, which was live on “After ‘conquering’ parts Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, and and Transportation Officials) the Internet for the month of of the United States on a Washington) that are currently to grow the vision into reality. February, attracted more than solo cycling tour,” the piece in the implementation phase. To date, 30 states are actively 4,000 responding members. begins, “grandfather David These states will receive a per- working to implement U.S. As in years past, results from Munusamy Reddie now feels centage of the dollars raised Bike Routes. the survey will provide us with like a full-fledged professional through their state’s efforts.” This year’s Build It. Bike It. valuable program feedback bicycle tourist. The 59-year The USBRS is a long-range Be A Part Of It campaign has and help to inform our stra- old retired Tenaga Nasional project similar to national and also garnered support from tegic plans while aiding us in Berhad technician … said international cycling systems several cycling-related busi- setting priorities for projects. his 130-day cycling trip cov- evolving in Europe and else- nesses, and core supporters You can see a summary of this ering 4,220 miles (6,800 where in the world. Adventure have signed up to raise funds. year’s results at www.adven kilometers) through 15 states Cycling is now working with To learn more or to donate, turecycling.org/membership/ was both challenging and aa ron te a sd le dozens of state agencies, visit www.adventurecycling. annualsurvey.cfm. exciting.” In fact, Reddie told reporter Derrick Vinesh that none of his previous bicycle trips to Europe, China, India, SHELDON’S SITE LIVES ON! Indonesia, or Southeast Asia Keeping one of the great bicycle websites flourishing was as adventurous as his solo ride across the U.S., Many longtime Adventure resume of bicycling-related which took place from August Cyclist readers will fondly accomplishments, includ- 30, 2010, to January 8, 2011. recall Sheldon Brown’s ing long affiliations with both Among Reddie’s trials: a “Mechanical Advantage” col- Adventure Cycling and the pack of coyotes circling and umn that ran in the magazine League of American Bicyclists, pawing at his tent while he from 1997 through 2007. authoring The Complete Book was camped at a rest area Sadly, we lost Sheldon in of Bicycle Commuting and in Texas (“I shivered in fear,” 2008 — but, thanks to his Bicycling Street Smarts, and he told Vinesh, “but remained widow, Harriet Fell, and his co-authoring the oft-revised calm and prayed before dozing friend and associate, John S. Sutherland’s Handbook for off from exhaustion”); surviving Allen, Sheldon’s incredibly Bicycle Mechanics (“the a mini-tornado in Arkansas; info-packed website survives bicycle industry’s parts inter- and a frightening brush with an and thrives. changeability bible”). adult alligator in Louisiana. Fell is a professor of com- These brief introductions Reddie spent most nights puter science at Northeastern scarcely scratch the surface of in the woods, under bridges, University in Boston where her Allen’s and Fell’s qualifications. at rest areas, in church com- C o u rtesy f H a rris cyclery research focuses on design- Suffice it to say that they are pounds, or in the occasional Sheldon Brown ing and developing software the man and woman for the motel. But he also told The to aid people with disabilities. and 40 minutes. job of ensuring that Sheldon’s Star that he met many caring She’s also an avid cyclist who, Webmaster Allen is an site (http://sheldonbrown. and loving families and indi- among other things, in 1975 MIT-trained electrical engineer com) maintains its integrity and viduals who opened up their completed the 1,200-kilometer who sees to updating the devoted following. homes, offered warm meals, (745-mile) Paris-Brest-Paris content on Sheldon’s site. and gave him free transporta- brevet, in a time of 88 hours He boasts an ultra-impressive tion to nearby destinations.

8 ADVENTURE CYCLIST MAY 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG ADVENTURE CYCLIST MAY 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG 9 BUFFALO SOLDIERS - 1 The Bicycling Buffalo Soldiers

n 1974, a young black woman in April 1968, Doss, strug- New Jersey named Miriam Martin gling to contain rioting decided to head west to Montana. in the black community in Martin had been recruited to Chicago and dealing with his join the African-American Studies own grief over King’s death, had program at the University of taken a rare vacation to Missoula, Montana, established in 1968 by Professor where a friend had a ministry. UlyssesI Doss. The program at UM was only A few public lectures led to an invita- the third like it in the U.S. at the time, tion to teach in the humanities program and the first to be established outside of at the University of Montana, and 25 to California. years later in 1993, Doss retired from UM, attend Doss himself had been involved in the leaving behind the legacy of his African the civil rights movement of the 1960s, work- American Studies program. University ing with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to “Here I was, a little girl from a small of Montana,” Martin integrate residential neighborhoods in the neighborhood, black, and from a close-knit recalled. Chicago area. After King’s assassination in community, and I ventured out to Missoula But that wasn’t all Martin did. “I don’t know. I was so crazy and adventurous that I went on a 1,900-mile bicycle trip as well,” Martin said. The trip Martin went on with seven other students in the African-American Studies program began in Missoula and ended in St. Louis, retracing the route of the remarkable journey taken by 20 black soldiers of the 25th Infantry Bicycle Corps, led by James A. Moss, a white lieutenant, and accompanied by assistant surgeon J.M. Kennedy, also white. The Buffalo Soldiers, as the black infan- trymen were known, left Fort Missoula at 5:30 AM on June 14, 1897, riding donated Spalding bicycles. They arrived in St. Louis 34 days later on July 24 to a grand recep- tion in Forest Park, equivalent in that city to New York’s Central Park. The Buffalo Soldiers had averaged nearly 56 miles per um t010069 a rc h i v es nd speci l collections, u nicersity o f m ont n isso Outside Missoula. The Buffalo Soldiers of the 25th Infantry Division in bicycle formation. day over the most primitive roads imagin- BUFFALO SOLDIERS - 1 The Bicycling Buffalo Soldiers by Dan D’Ambrosio

able, sometimes resorting to bumping over UM and studying about the 25th Infantry’s helping teachers incorporate technology in railroad tracks through soaring mountains historic feat, we were so proud to learn their classrooms in the public school sys- lashed by rain, over the alkali deserts of about the African-Americans who were tem in Orange, New Jersey. the Badlands, and into the furnace-like there before us,” Martin said. “Although “You can’t stop, that’s what I got from heat of the Midwest in summer. they were the first, we still felt like pio- that experience out there,” Martin said. The entire enterprise was pushed on the neers, especially in reenacting this experie- The Buffalo Soldiers also inspired Mike reluctant army brass by Lieutenant Moss, ment. We felt we had a purpose. We were Higgins, a middle-school history teacher who was required to pull it off without coming from all parts of the country, learn- in tiny Deaver, Wyoming, about 40 miles expending any army money. Moss made it ing about our connection with Montana. north of Cody. Higgins admitted the happen because he wanted to demonstrate We were pioneers, just like they were.” ride of the 25th has become something the superiority of bicycles to horses for Martin, who had no previous cycling of an obsession for him. His interest in transporting soldiers. Luckily for Moss, experience, said the most difficult part of the Buffalo Soldiers began with a two- Major General Nelson A. Miles, a titanic the journey of about 30 days was getting page story from the children’s magazine figure from both the Civil War and the adjusted to her bike saddle, a familiar com- Highlights. His brother, a “bicycle-tour Indian Wars, shared his fascination with plaint among novice cyclists. She said the kind of guy,” had sent it to him more than the potential of the bicycle as ride of nearly 40 years ago helped shape a decade before. a military vehicle, the woman she is today. Higgins’s brother died of cancer in 1997. and he “I could have said I wanted to go home “Somehow that story was linked in some and would have been taken to the next kind of crazy way to my brother,” Higgins town or city and provided transportation said. “I just started thinking about it.” there,” Martin said. “But my mindset He began to research the topic. Higgins was that this was something we brought his skills as a history teacher to had to do and that I had to his growing interest in the epic ride of the do for myself. I wasn’t 25th, looking for primary source materials going to quit. and piecing together the details of their There was no route, poring through dozens of contem- turning porary newspaper articles and letters left inter- back. behind by Moss and others. (You can find vened at the fruits of Higgins’s research at www. key moments bicyclecorps.blogspot.com.) to keep Moss’s dream “I thought that, I need to do the trip alive. to try to understand it more,” In the end, however, the army let Higgins said. “I spent five years the experiment fizzle, declining to autho- researching it. I had binders full rize Moss to organize another test of the The only of stuff.” bicycle’s effectiveness by mounting a ride option was to keep going.” In 2009, Higgins decided to follow in from Fort Missoula to San Francisco after Martin still remembers the remarkable the Buffalo Soldiers’ wheel tracks. the success of the ride to St. Louis. The western skies and the “gorgeous moun- “I was going self-contained, and I didn’t army brass coolly replied that everything tains.” When she returned home to New really have a plan,” Higgins said. “I didn’t that needed to be known about using bicy- Jersey after graduating from the University know how I was going to get back when I cles in the military was already known and of Montana and started working, she got to St. Louis. A daughter was going to there was no need for further investigation. decided she wasn’t happy with her job and pick me up, and that fell apart. I decided Or, as they understood reading between went back to get her teaching certification, to just go for it.” the lines, there was no future for a bicycle- later adding a master’s degree in technol- Higgins’s 73-year-old mother, a his- um t010069 a rc h i v es nd speci l collections, u nicersity o f m ont n isso mounted infantry. ogy and computers. tory buff herself, offered to drive sag, but “When we were students out there at Today she is a technology coordinator, Higgins turned her down. BUFFALO SOLDIERS - 2 um t010458 a rc h i v es nd speci l collections, u nicersity o f m ont n isso The 25th Infantry Division Bicycle Corps makes camp. A scene any self-contained cyclotourist would recognize.

“I said, ‘Mom, I’m 48, people bicycle the railroad tracks for miles. It was 11:00 stopped to rethink what he was doing. tour all the time,’” Higgins said. at night, and I thought I was going to get “I thought, ‘This is not working,’” But things did not go well. Leaving arrested or be hit by a train.” Higgins said. Missoula in June, Higgins was hit with On one side of Higgins was a river, on He abandoned the ride. snow. the other an electric fence to keep animals “I was really upset that I quit,” Higgins “I was ready to get wet, but not for from getting on the tracks. Emerging from said. “I was depressed because I had freezing temperatures,” he said. the canyon into the pitch black night, thought about this for years and years. My South of Townsend, Montana, Higgins Higgins kept walking with his bike on the mother saved my butt.” knew the Bicycle Corps had gone through railroad track, an experience the Corps In 2010, enter Mom, now 74 years old a canyon that today’s highway skirts. shared more than once. and still willing to drive sag. “So I went into that canyon,” Higgins By the time he got to Bozeman a few “When I succeeded in my attempt, my said. “It was about 7:00 PM. To make a days later, Higgins said he was “practi- mom came with me,” Higgins said. “It long story short, I ended up walking on cally hypothermic,” and in Livingston, he worked out really well.” With his mother driving his truck, Higgins rode out of Missoula on May 27 and finished in St. Louis 28 days later on THE WHOLE STORY June 24. Because his mother came along, Iron Riders, by George Niels Sorensen, he was able to do the research he wanted details the story of the 25th Infantry to do along the route. In Missouri, for Bicycle Corps. It is by far the best account example, Higgins wanted to visit the state of the early-era bicycling activities that archives in Columbia, so he was able to this group of hardy Buffalo Soldiers jump in the truck and drive there, then undertook. It also digs into the evolution get back to the route the next day to con- of the bicycle itself which, at the time, was tinue his ride. He wouldn’t have had that thought of as an “instrument of democ- kind of flexibility if he had been riding racy.” self-contained. If you’d like to purchase a copy, contact He also got to spend precious time with Pictorial Histories Publishing Co., 713 his mother. South 3rd West, Missoula, MT, 59801. “My mom is 74,” he said. “How much Email: [email protected], Web: www. more time will I have with her? That was pictorialhistoriespublishing.com, Phone: providential, and it gave us a lot of time (406) 549-8488. together.” Arriving in Forest Park, Higgins was

12 ADVENTURE CYCLIST MAY 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG ADVENTURE CYCLIST MAY 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG 13 BUFFALO SOLDIERS - 2

moved to see two black women sitting in chairs and talking. He had seen a photograph from the archives of a St. Louis newspaper of two Buffalo Soldiers sitting in chairs and visiting with each other at the end of their long ride, and they were occupying the same spot. “That was poetic,” Higgins said. “To @TQ @^[XXµYJGGNGFVQWTKPI/6$ me there are so many connections in this 4WPHTQPVCPFTGCTTCEMUFKUEDTCMGU world and this life.” CPFHGPFGTUCVVJGUCOGVKOG Higgins tried to trace what had hap- 4QJNQHHTGCF[ pened to as many of the Buffalo Soldiers #EEGRVUOOVTCXGNHQTM U (and, to the white soldiers who led them, &QGUOQTGVJGP[QWTE CV Moss and Kennedy,) as he could. Kennedy went on to become an Assistant Surgeon General for the U.S. federal government. Higgins was able to find Kennedy’s living descendants and they sent him an account that either Kennedy or one of his children had written about his life. It included an account of the Bicycle Corps. Other stories were tragic. Seargeant Mingo Sanders, a highly-decorated soldier um t010458 a rc h i v es nd speci l collections, u nicersity o f m ont n isso who served in the Spanish-American War in Cuba and the Phillipines in many ways was the glue that held the Bicycle Corps together. He was sent to Brownsville, UWTN[DKMGUEQO Texas, in 1906, along with a contingent of Schwalbe_Adventure_May10.ai 1 2/16/2011 1:14:06 PM Buffalo Soldiers, in spite of warnings from white officers that sending black soldiers to Texas was asking for trouble. “The army didn’t listen and sent these guys down to Brownsville,” Higgins said. The journey is “Two week later, that town got shot up and everybody blamed the black guys.” Despite their protestations of inno- the objective. cence, proof that their weapons had not Not the end. been fired, and an absence of eyewitnesses, the black soldiers were thrown out of the The perfectly coordinated rubber compound provides speed, durability and grip. Tread army. They were not dishonorably dis- C and side wall doubly protected. Roads

charged, but discharged without honor, aM become uplifting and drift easily by. little-used administrative device employed Trails are sublime in their ruggedness. Y DUREME is the most versatile by President Theodore Roosevelt to drum Marathon in the high tech the Buffalo Soldiers out of the army with-CM Evolution series.

out a public hearing. MY

“Sanders was months away from retir- CY ing,” Higgins said. “They took his pension and everything. It was a really sad inci- CMY dent. He had diabetes and died tragically K after they amputated his legs.” Sanders appealled to Roosevelt before he died, asking for reinstatement in the army. He explained that his savings were gone and his wife was sick, but his request fell on deaf ears, according to an account in Iron Riders, George Niels Sorensen’s book about the 25th. Moss, the leader and visionary, made a www.schwalbetires.com fortune writing books on subjects such as

12 ADVENTURE CYCLIST MAY 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG ADVENTURE CYCLIST MAY 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG 13 BUFFALO SOLDIERS - 3

flag etiquette, said Higgins, retiring from the army to enjoy his money. Yet he too died tragically. He was killed in a traffic accident in New York City in 1941 at the age of 68. Sorensen’s book is the definitive account available of the 25th’s epic ride. Interest in the bicycle as a military vehicle peaked toward the end of the 19th century, on the heels of a social revolution centered on the bicycle that spawned everything from six-day races in New York attended by thousands of people to popular songs like “A Bicycle Built for Two.” As might be expected, European mili- taries were ahead of their American coun- terparts in terms of using bikes. But Moss and his benefactor, General Miles, were determined to close that gap. Moss’s original letter formally requesting permission to organize a bicycle corps was dated April 13, 1896.

As Sorensen wrote, Moss said he want- derek g a ll h er ed to make a number of experiments dur- Almost the real thing. A current display at the Historical Museum at Fort Missoula. ing the coming summer and fall using the Unfortunately, none of the original Spalding bikes are in existence today. bicycle as a practical machine for military purposes. desirous of organizing at this post a great interest in the subject as treated in “With this end in view, I am very detachment of cycle infantry. I have taken this country and abroad, and am especial-

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inzerat_Top_bicycle.indd 1 15.2.2008 16:51:31 14 ADVENTURE CYCLIST MAY 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG ADVENTURE CYCLIST MAY 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG 15 BUFFALO SOLDIERS - 3

ly anxious to give the matter a thorough test in the mountainous country here- about, where no experiments have ever The real art of the bicycle is for each to have its purpose. been made. The main roads and prairie trails are fine for bicycles and I am very anxious to test the practicability of the bicycle in going over some of our mountain trails,” wrote Moss. The perfect marriage between humanity and machinery. He may have been a bit on the optimis- tic side concerning just how “fine” the roads and prairie trails were for cycling. After a series of group rides covering 15 to 40 miles a day, Moss and his bicycle corps were ready for their first major outing — to Lake McDonald near St. Ignatius, north of Missoula. Seven riders made the trip to Lake McDonald, including Moss, their packed bicycles weighing on average 76.2 pounds. Moss himself, who kept meticulous records, only weighed 135 pounds, and the average weight of the riders was 155.7 derek g a ll h er pounds. The list of rations for the trip included 35 pounds of flour, 20 pounds of bacon, and three pounds of lard. All told, provisions totaled 120 pounds to be split among the seven men. American Made. Oregon Made. Handmade. The group left Fort Missoula at 6:20 AM on August 6, 1896, reaching Missoula in www.co-motion.com 25 minutes. (Today, of course, the city of Missoula surrounds the old fort.) In town the soldiers took to the sidewalks because the streets were so muddy. Over a six-mile stretch about 12 miles out of Missoula, they were forced to dismount at least 20 times to navigate around swampy mud pits and fallen trees, Sorensen wrote. Still the men covered 51 miles that first day, reaching Mission Creek a half- mile above St. Ignatius Mission at 7:30 PM. The next day, the riders continued to be plagued by gumbo mud and punc- tures, at one point stopping the entire party while 12 loose tires were cemented back on the wooden rims that the bikes used. Although the men walked rather than rode their bikes much of the way, Moss wrote an official report hailing their efforts and requested permission for a ride to Yellowstone, the nation’s first national park, established in 1872. For the ride to Yellowstone, there would be nine riders, including Moss, again riding bikes weighing an average of nearly 80 pounds. The ride to Yellowstone began on August 15 at 6:05 in the morning. Once again, thick mud, headwinds, and dusty tracks awaited the intrepid riders. On the way back from Yellowstone,

14 ADVENTURE CYCLIST MAY 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG ADVENTURE CYCLIST MAY 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG 15 BUFFALO SOLDIERS - 4

which was already beginning to see more and more cyclists, the bicycle corps had a remarkable encounter. Outside of Bozeman, two of the riders collided, shattering the wooden rim of one of the front wheels. “The rider carried his damaged bicycle the rest of the way into camp, and the men were trying to figure out a way to improvise a repair when a bicycle tramp appeared,” wrote Sorensen. “The tramp explained that he had been riding around the West, covering Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, Nevada, and other states. Always in search of work, he saw the broken bicycle as an opportunity. Claiming to be an excellent bicycle mechanic, he offered, for three

um t013387 dollars, to ride the six miles into Bozeman, locate a new rim, and have the cycle fixed by six o’clock the next morning. The soldiers agreed, and Wandering Willie disappeared into the night.” What Willie went through to collect his three dollars was remarkable. He found the only bike shop in Bozeman closed but tracked down the owner at a “political meeting” and had the new rim by 9:00 that night. Then he rented a room and worked until 4:00 in the morning to reat- tach the tire and rim to the wheel, getting it back to the soldiers’ camp by his 6:00 AM deadline. If Wandering Willie were alive today, his signature would undoubtedly be in the register at Adventure Cycling headquarters in Missoula, like the signatures

um t013385 of thousands of his spiritual descendants. The Yellowstone group made it back to Fort Missoula on September 18, 16 days after they left, covering 790 miles in 126 hours of riding at an average speed of 6.25 MPH, according to the meticulous records of Lt. Moss. After Yellowstone Moss felt his men were ready for the ride to St. Louis, settling once and for all the wisdom of creating a bicycle corps for every army garrison in the country, as General Miles had proposed in testimony before the House Committee on Military Affairs in December 1896. Of course, that didn’t happen, or as Sorensen put it, “As usual, there was much talk and no action.” But that wasn’t the fault of Moss, who provided as much evidence as anyone um t013386 a rc h i v es nd speci l collections, u ni ersity o f m ont n isso could of the efficacy of bicycles as mili- Newly-discovered action photos. These three remarkable images were recently donated tary vehicles. As Mike Higgins wrote to to the University of Montana archives from a family collection linked to E. H. Boos, the Adventure Cycling art director and co- newspaper reporter for The Missoulian who accompanied the the Bicycle Corps for part of founder Greg Siple, who photographed their Missoula-to-St. Louis ride. Higgins on his own ride to St. Louis,

16 ADVENTURE CYCLIST MAY 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG ADVENTURE CYCLIST MAY 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG 17 BUFFALO SOLDIERS - 4

Moss’s inability to convince the army to adopt the bicycle was anything but a fail- ure. Higgins noted that Moss had referred to the trip to St. Louis as “the very poetry of cycling.” “I am happy that Lieutenant Moss’s dream of introducing bicycles into the army died,” wrote Higgins. “Bicycles are such elegant and wonderful machines. They possess the possibility to transform people in a way no other machine I can think of does. During my trip, I felt my senses enlivened, my body strengthened, and my mind freed in ways that, while not unexpected, surprised me. “Perhaps something like that happened to the Bicycle Corps surgeon Kennedy, the only member of the trip who didn’t vol- unteer. He even protested when he found out he didn’t have a choice about going, but by the time the Corps was closing in on St. Louis, he told a reporter that he would do it all again. I’m glad he felt that way. It raises my hopes that he and The evolution of bicycle safety. the men I’ve come to admire experienced Superﬂash Turbo as I did some of the poetry Moss talked about,” he said. BETTER BICYCLE PRODUCTS FOR A BETTER WORLD planetbike.com Dan D’Ambrosio is a staff writer covering business for the Burlington Free Press in Burlington, Vermont.

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16 ADVENTURE CYCLIST MAY 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG ADVENTURE CYCLIST MAY 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG 17 GOOD ROADS MOVEMENT - 1 A Lot of Good It Would Do

The Good Roads Movement paved the way for the system of travel we’ve come to know

by Eric Butterman

hen many of us think of away. You just went down the highway as As legend has it, he saw his first bicycle at biking today, it’s a sport cars passed. You felt you could do it safely.” the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia and a passion, but near- Unfortunately, we don’t always feel that and proceeded to buy up patents to the ing the end of the 19th way today. point that he received $10 for practically Wcentury it was very different — a revolu- But where did this movement really every bike sold in the U.S. No one could tion. As the horse was just starting to find begin so that a young Braun could reap question that his self-interest was involved competition from the automobile, for many its benefits in the first place? The man he but with the amount he invested in trying the bicycle was a way of getting out to the might have to thank is Albert Pope, a Civil to get roads funded — tens of thousands of country, to areas they never considered War captain. Helping to create the League dollars, no small amount at the time — you visiting. Part of the problem was the lack of American Wheelmen, he was a manu- also couldn’t question that a deep part of of roads on which to pedal in the first facturer of bicycles and later automobiles his motivation was to benefit society. “Say place. The Good Roads Movement began through his Pope Manufacturing Company. as a means to pave roads, to give an option to those who wanted two wheels to lead them to where they wanted to go. Few people are alive today who remember this period. One person who is alive is a famous bicyclist in his own area — 90-year- old Wisconsinite Ed Braun, who logged more than 1,000 miles last year. “By the time of the Depression, you could get on your bike and go many places,” he recalled. “I remember as a kid biking to my friend’s place in Lake Geneva, maybe 40 miles GOOD ROADS MOVEMENT - 1 P H OTOS : C ycling Ph otogr a p h ollection o f LORNE S IELDS , Th orn ill, ON Ca n d Synchronized Cycling. Symmetry aside, the road these cyclists were about to ride on was best suited to horse travel.

Pope today and few people will under- prediction which documented his belief Living up to the subjects mentioned stand his impact or even know the name,” in the struggle: “It now remains largely wasn’t an easy task, but there’s no question says Eric Jaffe, author of The King’s Best with the representative men of the country Pope was on the ball in seeing bicycling as Highway, about the Boston Post Road route. whether or not the matter shall be agi- more than a fad or just a pressing matter of “But he was a visionary who clearly saw a tated so as to give the people a clear and the moment. need this country had. People weren’t leav- full understanding of this most momen- ing the cities, they weren’t venturing out tous subject. When the importance of it The Wheelmen Unite in the way they wanted to. This changed It was the League of American Wheelmen all that.” But then he weighs Pope’s vision who got together in Rhode Island to become against his business practices, which With the Good Roads a national group to protect rights of cyclists offered him a strong advantage. Says Jaffe, that ended up making the difference (Pope, “He had a great marketing sense and was again, was crucial to its birth). “It started a capitalist at heart, but that doesn’t mean Movement clearly having with making sure carriage drivers weren’t he was a bad person. He bought all patents able to whip us off the road with impu- in the community, yes, and some would affected the U.S. for the nity,” said Andy Clarke, president of the say he was denying fair competition. But League of American Bicyclists. “They were you could also say it was good foresight. better, we wonder when fighting for a place in the system. They He wasn’t using money to go across the had influence and power with more than globe in lavish manners. Instead, he spent the next great bicycle 100,000 members back when the popula- it on civic-minded efforts. If you want to tion was only a small portion of what it is know what he was about, take a huge fire now. They built all sorts of infrastructure, that damaged part of one of his buildings. movement will come. and when roads were opened they became The first thing he cared about was not the events unto themselves. The Wheelmen product merchandise but whether some of is once realized, I venture to predict that were passionate and self-righteous. If you his Civil War memorabilia from his soldier it will become one of the leading issues were a cyclist and not a member, they felt days had been lost forever.” of the time, far transcending in practical you were in the wrong. It was a philosophy As published in his address, The importance the tariff, silver coinage, or as much as a group of people with a similar Movement for Better Roads, Pope made a Republican or Democratic rule.” interest.” GOOD ROADS MOVEMENT - 2

One of the major oppositions to getting good roads in various states was, in fact, sometimes rural residents themselves. According to a 1966 issue of the Wisconsin Good Roads Movement Results Magazine of History, “The major cause for Wisconsin’s poor road conditions was the City roads led to the country, causing these areas to be utilized and enjoyed fact that the framers of the state constitu- more. This occurred despite opposition from residents of rural areas. tion had inserted a clause that prohibited state appropriations or loans for transporta- Part of the impetus of our modern transportation grid was to allow automobiles tion and internal improvement projects. All to travel the length of the U.S. through the highway system. This influence may responsibility for financing and maintain- have helped lead to the controversy questioning who started the Good Roads ing roads had been delegated to local gov- Movement. ernments, which in turn was contracted to local residents through the supply of There was a real, albeit temporary, respect for bicyclists as a powerful group labor and materials in lieu of tax payments. and visionaries for the good of society. Albert Pope, a bicycle and later car man- Bound to the tradition of building and ufacturer, led the way by appealing to society’s moral obligations to expand. caring for their own roads, rural residents were reluctant to give up their accustomed highway-improvement practices in favor of a system that required payment of road weaker roads, and they organized related organizations into the history books. taxes in money. Acceptance of the state- speeches. aid-to-roads principle, therefore, came The movement slowly gained steam, The Car Wasn’t Quick Enough slowly because of rural opposition and the state by state. Soon people found their Many say there’s controversy, though, widespread belief that the railroads would way out into the country on their bicycles insisting that the automobile industry continue to provide the bulk of the state’s and used them as a means of companion- was the true starter of the Good Roads transportation needs.” ship and health, instead of focusing solely Movement. Clarke said that you only have But, according to the Wisconsin on the vehicles commercial prospects — to look at a timeline and rhetoric to prove Historical Society, the Wheelmen in this which may, in fact, be the reason the bicy- this wrong. “The movement began before state — 2,300 members strong in 1897 — cle community doesn’t always get credit. the Ford Model T even rolled off the assem- helped lead the charge to changing roads. They weren’t after recognition, like other bly line,” Clarke assessed. “Even then, it They held cycling events to talk about groups whose self-promotion helped many took a while to get its footing. This was

20 ADVENTURE CYCLIST MAY 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG ADVENTURE CYCLIST MAY 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG 21 GOOD ROADS MOVEMENT - 2

a movement of bicyclists for the common just that problem, “Your legislature should occupy a piece of those lanes that drivers good. We owe the interstate highway sys- enact a law, compelling the use of broad enjoy. Clarke believes that the bicycle can’t tem to the car industry, but not this.” tires, from three to six inches in width, use the first movement to help the present Jaffe concurs. “The Federal Highway on all wagons built to carry heavy loads. one, however you’d define it. “There’s no Administration at that time started on the These broad tires would serve as rollers to question that we started this thing,” he roads in February of 1893, and we don’t compact the road instead of cutting it up said, “but no one is going to give us back get the modern gas engine until September and destroying it, as is now the case with the road because of that argument. The of 1893,” Jaffe says. “You can’t have more narrow tires,” he said. Good Roads Movement came about for the proof than that. It’s also documented that good of society, not for the cyclist. We need Pope had to focus the quarrels in Congress, More Movements Needed to concentrate on how the bicycle helps the dealing with the back-and-forth nature of With the Good Roads Movement clearly environment, improves social relations, and lobbying. Their first offering of $10,000 having affected the U.S. for the better, we keeps people healthy. It’s great to remember couldn’t even build three miles of road so it wonder when the next great bicycle move- the past, but you have to live in the present was a slow improvement.” ment will come. Many agree that bicyclists if you’re going to move forward.” Another way you can tell the Good have lost much of the road to automobiles, It works for Braun, who has only dis- Roads Movement didn’t start with the car is strange when you consider that the two- covered the power of the bicycle recently. through the roads themselves, according to wheeler may have made so much possible “When I was a kid, I was proud I was able Jaffe. “Many roads from this time weren’t for four-wheel vehicles. It hasn’t stopped to own a bike,” he said. “Now it allows me built with the automotive industry in mind organizations like the San Francisco Bicycle to be with friends, to stay in shape — I at all,” Jaffe said. “While a bike would have Coalition. You’ll find them putting together have a real purpose throughout the day. I no problem going over these paths, you’d events through their Good Roads cam- never would have thought as a kid in the see dust come up when the cars would paign, spotting streets eligible for repaving Depression that I’d be on a bicycle as much speed through. What people didn’t realize and potholes to report on their monthly as I am now.” Pope, on the other hand, until later was that the dust wasn’t from the Good Roads Ride. might have had a different prediction. tires — it was the road itself being torn up. Nevertheless, an occasional passionate The kind of weight we’re talking about was group is not quite the same as a national Eric Butterman is a writer based in North Texas who just too much to handle for the long haul.” movement that changed the country. You has contributed to Men’s Journal and the Sporting News. You can reach him at [email protected]. In fact, in The Movement For Better Roads, would think that bicyclists, with their his- Pope stated an automotive solution for tory of road expansion, would be able to

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20 ADVENTURE CYCLIST MAY 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG ADVENTURE CYCLIST MAY 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG 21 HEMISTOUR

Greg and June Siple start a gravel-road descent on the

D A N BU RDEN Robert Campbell Highway. HEMISTOUR

Hemistour Expedition, 1972 Sweating the Yukon A pestering squadron of mosqui- toes, black flies, and deer flies easily matched our pace as we trudged up a steep grade toward the Yukon border. They buzzed around exposed arms, legs, and faces to attack any unguard- ed skin. My rear derailleur cable had slipped, forcing me to walk to avoid more insult to my strained knee. To keep me company, Dan hiked along more than a mile, and we swatted at insects with little effect. With every hour closer to noon, we lost bug repel- lant in the sweat caused by the mounting heat and

by June J. Siple HEMISTOUR - 2

our progress was hampered, and a lack of

roadside creek water made quick, cooling Anchorage face rinses impossible. We could have emp- Dawson City Hemistour tied our bottles on ourselves to cool off, Watson Lake but that would have wasted scarce drink- New Hazelton ing water. Florence Calgary With no low gears to battle the ascent Missoula to 4,515 feet, higher by 429 feet than our San Francisco tallest pass in Alaska, I’d been killing time on foot and pushing my bike until Greg, El Paso my husband and bearer of the group tool La Paz Durango kit, could catch up. I tried riding again once the slope softened and I found it easier on the lesser grade. Lys passed me, perspiring Salina Cruz and red-faced like the rest of us, but gamely

pushing on, and Dan dropped in behind Cartagena C A SEY GREENE her. Once Greg arrived, he and I tightened Panama City the cable with the bike lying in loose gravel Hemistour, Quito the first bicycle just off the dusty road. Ahead of the pack expedition to travel the as usual, our fifth rider, John Likins, was Western Hemisphere from north to Lima at the quasi-town of Boundary, Alaska, south, logged 18,272 miles from Anchorage, already enjoying a breeze with his tundra La Paz Alaska, to Ushuaia, Argentina. Between June 16, 1972, and view above the tree line, and writing a let- Santa Cruz February 25, 1975, 29 cyclists rode varying distances. The ter to his girlfriend. core group of riders consisted of Dan and Lys Burden (8,628 Having already ridden nearly 700 miles miles to Salina Cruz, Mexico) and Greg and June Siple (18,272

in Alaska, we would do the same in the Cordoba miles to Ushuaia). Originated in 1966 as “Project 66” by Dan Yukon in 16 to 17 days, logging 50 to 60 and dubbed “Hemistour” by Greg in 1968, the ride garnered miles per day on all-gravel roads. But our financial support from sponsors, cyclists, family, and friends to promote American Youth Hostels, Inc. and bicycle touring. To main preoccupation, besides riding and D A N BU RDEN Hemistour read more about Hemistour, check out National Geographic, eating, bothered us in camp. The potential Route Ushuaia May 1973, and National Geographic World, February 1976. Travel by for bear attacks lay on our minds. Although Plane, Train, or Boat we hoisted food stores up into the trees at night, Yukon spruce seemed to be shorter ground, making our food stores even more tatious road continued to toss in a little and more slender than trees in Alaska enticing to bears. During the day, air horns downhill, then slam in an offsetting climb. campsites. Under our food burden, they hung on our handlebar bags so we could We expected to find John waiting for sometimes bent over to almost touch the warn each other or summon aid. Many lunch, but he had gone ahead, tempted folks, especially Alaskans, were surprised by the unseen proximity of Dawson City. at our lack of a handgun arsenal for protec- Descending sharply for nine to 10 miles tion. Not yet invented, bear spray, wouldn’t on freshly graded, loose gravel, I braked be on the shelves for another 14 years. lightly and often on the precipitous slope But we were also concerned about to avoid losing control. A spill would have moose. Often we had to kick moose scat inflicted abrasions taking a week or two out of the way to make room for our tents. to heal, not worth the thrill of a headlong Unpredictably large animals six to seven descent. My hands started going numb feet tall at the shoulder, with males weigh- and ached from keeping a tight grip on the ing 800 to 1,500 pounds, they might have drop bars to maintain control plus the near- stepped on our 3.75-pound nylon tent as constant braking to slow my speed. Greg we slept. My logbook writing often kept and I stopped several times to let the rims me up until everyone else had nodded off, cool and so I could shake out my hands to and as the lightest sleeper to boot, I would relieve the tingling and pain. Lys and I had awaken at least once a “night,” with the already been struck by stinging wheel- midnight sun providing night-long twi- flung gravel that day from Clinton Creek light. I listened carefully to every sound Asbestos trucks, so we pulled over for each on my last tentative visit to the edge of the rushing knot of traffic disgorged from the woods, including soothing bird murmur- ferry below. Finally we reached the Yukon ings from the nest, but moose also call to River, flowing fast toward the Bering Sea in

each other, one chirp at a time, like sonar. Alaska, and we could see Dawson, popula- D A N BU RDEN In the tundra environment on Top of tion 700, just across the roiling water. Remote burial. Yukon Order of Pioneers the World Highway, we rode steadily the Lys’s great grandfather, Fred W. Dewey, a wooden tombstone near Dawson City. next day to get to Dawson City. The flir- 26-year-old printer by trade in Jamestown,

24 ADVENTURE CYCLIST MAY 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG ADVENTURE CYCLIST MAY 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG 25 HEMISTOUR - 2

New York, traveled to the Yukon in 1898 among thousands of other gold-hungry hopefuls. He and his claim partner were discouraged by constant setbacks, including harsh conditions and the washout of the entire winter’s worth of digging. After a year of sluice mining in the Dawson City area, he abandoned his claim without realizing any success. Strapped for money but back home, the six-foot, five- inch red-haired Dewey repaid friends who grubstaked him with adventurous stories. Wilks, his former partner, then struck gold. With the gold rush on her mind, Lys cycled out of town with me for a bracing bath in the icy cold Klondike River. We found a spot out of sight alongside gold rush tailings that hemmed in the river. Perhaps her great-grandfather had sluiced for gold in that very spot, shivering and hungry for a square meal. Had he reached his 100th birthday, he could have received postcards from his 25-year-old raven-haired bicycling descendant, who arrived in Dawson City 74 years after Dewey left the Yukon. Around 10:00 PM, rested, repacked, and ready after our last evening in Dawson, we headed south 13 miles to camp. With

D A N BU RDEN only 14,000 residents in 1972 — but larger than California in square miles — Yukon Rough and tumble. June cranks up a grade on the Robert Campbell Highway. Territory presented a scattering of settle- ments that were tiny fractions of their gold as we pedaled along the relatively dry, knee hurt less, and we were able to stay rush era size, along the North Klondike heat-singed land between the MacKenzie together more while maintaining a good Highway. We came across these little towns Mountains to the northeast and Pacific pace. 50 pounds lighter than Dan and nine a day or two apart in bicycle-travel time. Coast Ranges to the southwest. Although inches shorter, Greg’s physique and level The Dempster Highway, a new road under we did get rained on from time to time, who of stamina came much closer to mine, and construction near Dawson City, would would think we would ride into such gritty his quirky sense of humor made him an extend north to Inuvik in the Northwest summer heat so far north? Life in the Yukon ideal riding companion. Talking constantly Territories. But it wouldn’t open for another progressed to a devil-may-care, laid-back on the road, we made conversations last five years, and most bridges were just blue- lifestyle, and we jumped into frigid lakes for days. A subject could be thoroughly print drawings — otherwise we might have or streams at will to bathe on hot Yukon explored without the least boredom, espe- been tempted to ride to the Arctic Circle. afternoons. Dan, our most fearless open- cially with a tailwind, when a day’s travel Hot mid-day temperatures of 80 to 90 air bather, recklessly took the plunge time turned to delight in our cycling lifestyle. degrees soon forced us into mid-day siestas, after time. On headwind days, the chitchat made the with more riding in cooler evening hours, As Greg and I gained strength, my bum miles fly much faster than they did with a D A N BU RDEN

24 ADVENTURE CYCLIST MAY 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG ADVENTURE CYCLIST MAY 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG 25 HEMISTOUR - 3 D A N BU RDEN D A N BU RDEN Northern exposure. Lys Burden books it on the North Klondike Highway.

head-down grind. I sang Girl Scout camp changes might occur once a week, we emergency room until Watson Lake near songs to lighten the way on long downhills could “sweep up” a broken-down bike or the boundary with British Columbia. or when riding solo. injured rider and patch things up, barring Back in the States, most people follow- While I carried the beefy first-aid major breakdowns like a pretzeled rim or ing the news of our ride probably thought kit, Greg hauled the heavy, well-stocked broken bones. Motorists might be a source we were masochists to ride on gravel. Why tool kit advised by Braxton Bike Shop in of help in a pinch, but we had to be as suffer needlessly? It just wasn’t done — Missoula, Montana, our home base. Unless self-sufficient as possible and not rely on few cyclists in 1972 would consider riding someone rode off-route, practically impos- passersby. No bike shops existed along our gravel for even 10 minutes, let alone 1,500 sible in this north country where route route in the Yukon, and there would be no miles. In Ohio, where Greg and I met in 1965 through the Columbus Council of the American Youth Hostels (AYH), we rode on recreational day trips, rallies, and local weekend group events, all increasingly common by the late 1960s. The popularity of races preceded recreational rides, but all were on pavement with the exception of cyclo-cross events. Even so, cyclo-cross riders competed on road bikes. Extended tours of a week or more, always on paved roads, were rare in our area. Lightweight road-bike wheels of that era (27 x 1.25 inches) were simply not up to the wear and tear of extended back-road travel. So we had wheels custom-built for Hemistour by the Braxton Bike Shop, specifically to avoid problems on gravel roads. Fred DeLong, our technical advisor

in Pennsylvania, suggested using the same D A N BU RDEN size rims as three-speed bicycle wheels. He

pointed out that world-wide distribution GREG SIPLE Slurry bombing. Hot and dry Yukon summers make fighting forest fires a way of life. of three-speed bikes exported for decades

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from England would ensure a supply of tires in any country. Sam Braxton added Campagnolo Nuovo Tipo high-flange hubs to reduce wheel flection, and with sons Bart and Dalt strung them with Robergel 0WYSB]cà 280-millimeter spokes. Sam personally rode the prototype wheels on Montana gravel W\3c`]^S roads until he was satisfied with the reli- ability of the design. Virtually trouble-free, @S^`SaS\bW\U3c`]^SO\ those wheels proved their worth daily. PWYSb]c`Q][Ô\WSa We five had little experience on gravel =dS` `]cbSaW\!Q]c\b`WSa beforehand, but as we became more fit, we ;O\geSSYZgROWZgRSÔ`bc`Sa came to prefer gravel in many respects. Like 1cab][b]càOdOWZOPZS canoeists navigating a river, we learned to read a road, and to work out our course. Such skills became second nature, and biking was itself more interesting than cruis- ing along on trouble-free, smooth pavement. Motor vehicles came past us more slowly on gravel, making it safer, in that respect, than pavement. We could even hear a bike rider coming from behind by

D A N BU RDEN the progressively louder crunch of gravel, and freshly pumped-up bicycle tires might For the kettle. Experimenting with edible pop a piece of gravel 15 feet away with a wild plants to supplement dehydrated foods tight “pong” sound. at dinner time, Lys gathers a fistful of “straw-

D A N BU RDEN At mail stops every seven to 10 days, berry spinach.” we hungrily scooped up food boxes we had shipped to ourselves from Montana. After load of 22 pounds of edibles in one pannier, repacking my Touring Cyclist pannier with 12 pounds in the opposing clothing pan- a new batch of food, I typically hauled a full nier, nine pounds for the handlebar bag, and eight pounds worth of two sleeping bags with built-in foam pads. On a full- load day, I would carry about 50 pounds on my 35-pound Peugeot PX-10 (including `SZOf its racks, flag, and full water bottle). When adding a one-gallon water cube to my load in dry sections or on short stints to camp, I carried as much as 60 pounds. So I pedaled 65 to 95 pounds of bike and baggage down the road every day. Weight distribution was gender neutral, with close-to-equal loads for all. And, if you had a flat, you fixed it yourself — equality of the open road. We regulated our day primarily by mile- Sf^Z]`S age, stopping to camp when we’d logged a predetermined number of miles so we wouldn’t overdo it. The midnight sun could trick us into riding too far and getting overtired, because 7:00 PM looked just like 10:00 PM. I crawled out of the tent one night but quickly retreated in surprise. It was dark out there, and it startled me! I named the place “Too Dark Camp” in my =\SeSSYb]c`aT`][$# journal. Nighttime hours would increase as &%%"$ " ! we continued cycling south and as summer W\T].PWYSb]c`aRW`SQbQ][

D A N BU RDEN days shortened. Ready to roll. A librarian by trade, John Initially I caught flak in Alaska for PWYSb]c`aRW`SQbQ][

GREG SIPLE Likins rode with Hemistour from Anchorage, being too slow. Because of my bad knee Alaska, to Jasper, Alberta. and sub-par fitness level, I was constantly

26 ADVENTURE CYCLIST MAY 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG ADVENTURE CYCLIST MAY 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG 27 HEMISTOUR - 4

and painfully riding solo behind everyone, in the midst of a great adventure, John was including Greg. By the Yukon, however, a lone bachelor who had to camp at night the tables had turned, and John turned into with two misfit married couples and longed the object of biker gossip for being in front for his girlfriend. It was not surprising that all the time. A librarian from Massachusetts he wanted to create some distance during who started with us in Anchorage, John the day. had legs like a Clydesdale. He took the We were often at loggerheads with the lead at will, occasionally riding with Dan Burdens. Married only two years, we found for short stints, but easily churning for- ourselves virtually and unwittingly wedded ward again, kicking up a mini–dust rooster again — to Hemistour. Greg and I had lost tail. We all stood in awe of his strength, most of our independence, power to make although most of our future companions decisions, and influence over our life on the would also outride us. He packed his bike road, but the four of us were incapable of neatly, British style, set off by black socks working out disagreements. As a result, our and full fenders — his “kit” all perched fractured core group never rode together precisely on rear and front carriers with except for photographs, and I began to lose scarcely a wrinkle. As we requested of all hope that we could ever get along. our companions, John had prepared care- Along the Robert Campbell Highway fully, paying the Braxton shop to custom- where we headed east near Carmacks, we build Hemistour’s 26 x 1 and 3/8 inch rode into an isolated world, which at first

(650B) gravel-hardy wheels, and taking our made the core group’s friction even more D A N BU RDEN other suggestions to heart. painful. But “the Campbell,” as we called But by the end of the long, dusty, grav- it, had a calming, centering, almost soothing effect on morale. For 362 miles, we did not see a single permanent building. It was like being out to sea, no ports of comfort except our camp evenings in cozy Warmlite tents, reading Klondike! from our library on wheels. Mileposts became buoys, and quavery heat waves rose along the horizon like salt-water waves tossing easy-weather whitecaps. The wind could either fill our sails to push us along or punish us with a nor’easter. At lunch stops, our crew would reckon distant weather. Days of thinking and dreaming, riding and eating, blended one into the other. The mere handful of vehicles passing us per day on the Campbell became objects of interest rather than dread. Socializing with locals often took place in the middle of the road where a pickup driver would stop and turn off the engine, elbow hanging out the window. Whether he handed out welcome snacks or drinks, or delivered a joke, his settling dust plume would drift off the road to add to already dusty vegetation just off

the shoulder. Even big rigs found time to GREG SIPLE Pure water. As Hemistour’s primary photog- stop, which helped satisfy my hunger for rapher through Mexico, Dan Burden took on human contact beyond our group. daily, less glamorous chores as well. Yukon roads consisted of a madden- ing variety of gravel surfaces, good and eled Yukon “highways,” John’s curly dark bad, and the Campbell, although it had hair had evolved from a neat Boston trim been open to traffic only four years, was job to wild locks with the tips bleach- no exception. Road graders leveled gravel ing out. His packs had accumulated dust roads by scraping the bumps and ridges and, total neatness aside at last, an occa- down into the potholes, causing hidden sional display of freshly laundered drying wells of deep gravel that can flounder a underwear festooned his north-country cyclist. To spot a grader working on the rig. Probably just flying high from being horizon meant misery ahead, with loose

28 ADVENTURE CYCLIST MAY 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG ADVENTURE CYCLIST MAY 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG 29 HEMISTOUR - 4

happened to match the wheel base of our bicycles. In that case, we stood on our pedals and let the bikes roller-coaster along, like Kentucky Derby jockeys standing in their stirrups at the end of a race. Washboarding, which could rattle your amalgam fillings loose, occurred at points of motorized accel- eration or braking, often on one side of the road at a time. With light traffic, we could sometimes switch sides to avoid them. In our gravel-road reverie, we lived in the moment. Fit and more content, our troubles seemed less able to keep pace. But at Watson Lake we would have to start riding the dreaded gravel ALCAN Highway southeast. Realizing that we’d face a huge increase in traffic, and dust, billowing dust — hallmarks of the road — brought on a strong sense of loss and nostalgia for our little Yukon byways. Coming to the end of

D A N BU RDEN the Yukon at Watson Lake felt like the end Luxury accommodations. At an old barbershop/gospel hall as guests of the Denning family. of a world we would never know again.

gravel everywhere, and our daily goal of 50 allowed choice and a precise path through June Siple was the first woman to bicycle from Alaska to 60 miles took much longer to complete. the maze. to Argentina (Hemistour Expedition, 1972-1975), and is one of four Adventure Cycling co-founders. Currently, But a neglected road, which we greatly pre- However, we disliked washboarding, she is working on energy-conservation projects at home ferred, had well-worn ruts we could follow, the hard-packed series of wave-like gravel to reduce the Siple carbon footprint. potholes we could weave around, and often deposits from motorized use, and a feature had hard-packed smoother dirt strips to of poorly maintained roads. Even so, they ride for short distances. Our bicycling pace could be fun if the troughs between waves Photo: Paul Adams GREG SIPLE

28 ADVENTURE CYCLIST MAY 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG ADVENTURE CYCLIST MAY 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG 29 A VICTORIAN ALBUM

30 ADVENTURE CYCLIST MAY 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG ADVENTURE CYCLIST MAY 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG 31 A VICTORIAN ALBUM

Cycling Photograph Collection of LORNE SHIELDS, Thornhill, ON, Canada.

30 ADVENTURE CYCLIST MAY 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG ADVENTURE CYCLIST MAY 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG 31 PRE V IO U S P A GE ND LE F T RIG H OTOS : C ycling Ph otogr a p h ollection o f LORNE IELDS , Th orn ill, ON Ca n d

ortunately, the advancement of photography paralleled the advances in bicycle technology. For that reason, there is Fa wonderful record of the those early years of the sport. But the young art of photography had its limitations and long exposure times meant that subjects had to be still. Accordingly, photographs of moving cyclists from the 1880s and 1890s are rare. The formal, carefully-planned portrait was the rule of the day and the subjects wore their best cycling duds for their big moment before the camera. And though they generally take on the somber expression that was considered proper for a portrait, we can still sense the pride in their fine machines and the satisfaction of a day

on the road with their companions. ROSS CO U NTY H ISTORIC A L SOCIETY

32 ADVENTURE CYCLIST MAY 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG ADVENTURE CYCLIST MAY 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG 33 ROSS CO U NTY H ISTORIC A L SOCIETY

32 ADVENTURE CYCLIST MAY 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG ADVENTURE CYCLIST MAY 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG 33 FINAL MILE

The Final Mile to the end of the WORLD Cycling to the fringes of human settlement by Phililp Arnold

Outside the Glasgow Airport in southern Scotland I quickly assemble my cycle — first the front tire and pedals, then my panniers, bivy, and sleeping bag. It is colder than I expected. The thick gray clouds appear on the brink of a late spring rain that will swirl in the increasing winds. It is early in the morning. I’m tired, apprehensive, and several hundred miles from the end of the world, my destination. I pull my bike under me

and begin pedaling in the only direction the headwinds that funnel through the that matters, north. narrow passes of the deep-cut valleys. To Almost 2,500 years ago, a Greek mari- give a life to this unrelenting adversary, I ner named Pytheas sailed out of the bear down on my pedals as if propelling Mediterranean, took a sharp right, and jour- my bike straight for the heart of the drag- neyed into what was then simply known as on whose breath blows down from the the Outer Ocean. He followed rumors north hinterlands of the north like a gauntlet. to a mysterious island called Ultima Thule. Glycogen can only get you so far up the Skirting Arctic waters, Pytheas not only road. I didn’t need better carbs, I needed discovered Ultima Thule but encountered better metaphors. an impassable ocean where the land and At Thurso, a small port town that lies sky and sea congealed into “something like along the northern rim of the Scottish the element that held the universe togeth- mainland, I take the first ferry available er.” In a region uncharted and unmapped, and sail across the Pentland Firth to the Pytheas claimed to have reached the end of Orkney Islands. The Orkneys are for me a

the world. stepping stone on my journey north, but greg siple Like Pytheas, I wished to have the world because the next boat will not leave for at my back, if only for a moment. My plan uity. But the legend of Ultima Thule did the Shetlands for several days, I decide to would be to find Ultima Thule and to look catch on and eventually came to symbol- explore what scenery the outlying islands out on what was once the world’s last hori- ize the land at the farthest boundary of have to offer. When the ferry finally leaves zon. Because a quest is as much about the the world. Ptolemaic maps from around the Orkney mainland for the Shetland road as what you find at the end of it, I this time also show Ultima Thule in a geo- Islands, I‘m sad to leave behind this silent decided to dust off my Giant Sedona ATX graphical position above Scotland with no borderland to the North. To actually expe- and screw on a pannier rack. lands further north. rience the Orcadian landscape viscerally, My first day of cycling on the Scottish My ride from Crianlarich to Fort with its contours of hilly moorlands and mainland takes me to the bonnie banks of William brings me through sweeping valleys, I had to cover it on my bike, ped- Loch Lomond, where a beautiful stretch moors and glens. I stop for a brief moment aling out each long and lonely mile. of scree-sloped ridges towers over a deep at the pass of Glen Coe, and take in the By the time I reach Lerwick on the and tranquil body of azure water. I stop at surreal grandeur of the towering peaks, Shetland’s Mainland island, along the same the Drover’s Inn and, without blinking an alpine corries, and deep ravines. If not latitude as St. Petersburg, Russia, I’m ready eye, order a meat pie and a pint of stout, for the soreness in my legs, this would to ride. The Vikings divided the clock into opting for substance over style. be a moment of physical transcendence. I ax-time, wolf-time, sword-time, and so on. Few believed Pytheas’s claim to have leave Fort William and head for Inverness I steel my resolve and point my bike in the sailed to the end of the world. The idea along the Caledonian Canal. When not direction of the world’s end. It’s dragon- of Ultima Thule simply didn’t fit into the overwhelmed by the sublime beauty of killing time, I tell myself, at least until I worldview of the cartographers of antiq- the Scottish Highlands, I’m overcome by begin pedaling. Every mile is a struggle

34 ADVENTURE CYCLIST MAY 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG ADVENTURE CYCLIST MAY 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG 35 FINAL MILE

into a Hyperborean headwind that leaves The tip of the Isle of Unst is shaped like of the world had inspired me to cycle over me whimpering like a baby. In this tree- the gaping jowls of a dragon, its mouth every hill, through every nasty headwind less, wind-scarred landscape, I think of the formed by the fjord of Burrafirth. I stare and midday shower. I had convinced poet William Blake who said, “You never out into the expanse of the North Sea. myself it was worth it, that great depths know what is enough unless you know Here be dragons, the old maps proclaimed. are necessary for great heights. And now what is more than enough.” The winds I Terra Finis, the end of the world. the dragon, which I had resolved to chal- had cycled through in the Highlands were The uncanny isolation of the place lenge every inch of the way north, no cake. These North Sea winds are the kind has a strange calming effect. The world longer fought back. that make you want your mommy. behind me feels far away, as far as it has Along the way it happens: the road From the northern tip of Yell, I can ever been. I should be ecstatic, I think. I becomes a path into an interior region see Unst off in the distance. By the time should be high-fiving the puffins that fly where what we seek is what we become. I unstraddle my cycle in the tiny village by. Instead I stare off beyond the cliffs In the old days, when someone claimed to of Uyeasound, I’ve covered 50 miles, no and watch as the sun ignites the waves have discovered Ultima Thule, it would great distance but the hardest traveling into a thousand filaments, illuminating appear on the next map farther north on of the trip. Exhausted, I pitch my bivy this moment where the past truly lies the horizon. What mattered wasn’t geog- and fall asleep under a summer twilight behind me, where no future lies ahead, raphy but the notion that our desires are that never darkens through the night. and the present simply is. meant to be elusive, that every destination With Viking pragmatism, I unpack my After what seems like hours, I step begins where one ends. When I finally see bike down to one water bottle the next back from the cliffs and turn. I begin my bike up ahead, I realize that Ultima morning, and with only 12 miles of road the journey back to my bike, back to Thule is still out there — in every direc- between me and the end of the world, I Glasgow, back to my friends in the States, tion — waiting. I climb on my bike, clear muster every synapse in my body to fire. and then it hits me. My eyes swell with the odometer, and begin pedaling. Where the road finally ends the island tears. My quest is over. At the moment continues on. I lay my bike down in the I turned, the end of the world was no Philip Arnold is from Boone, North Carolina, where he grassy moorland and start walking. After longer ahead of me but became more of enjoys cycling the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains. His writing and photography have appeared in The Iowa a mile of avoiding dive-bombing Skuas, a memory with each step away from the Review, North Dakota Quarterly, Rattle, Sou’wester, I see blue water on the horizon ahead. cliffs. The notion of standing at the end Birmingham Arts Journal, and Cerise Press.

   greg siple   

 





34 ADVENTURE CYCLIST MAY 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG ADVENTURE CYCLIST MAY 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG 35 ROAD TEST

Road Test Raleigh Port Townsend A light tourer that gets the job done by Patrick O’Grady

I was prepared to dislike the Raleigh Port Townsend, in part because it seemed like the little brother to the more rugged Sojourn, especially after seeing the big brother at our local REI outlet a while back. The Sojourn offered Reynolds 520 chromoly frame, Avid BB mechanical disc brakes, SKS fenders with mud flaps, Shimano Octalink triple crankset with a Deore rear derailleur and SRAM 11-34 cassette, spoke holders, pump peg — and a pump to go with it. What’s not to like? ons and eyelets for racks and Alas, the Sojourn was on fenders. The Port Townsend hiatus, according to Raleigh has both and also boasts a marketing guy Brian Fornes, smallish front rack very much who adds that the company like the Nitto M12, suitable will again offer a dedicated for supporting a large handle- touring bike in 2012 as well bar bag, plus the aforemen- as utilitarian, do-everything tioned durable metal fenders bikes like the Port Townsend. — painted black to match “As of now, the Sojourn is the frameset — to keep the in torpor, but it will be back,” squish out of your shoes. Fornes said. “It’s the most Speaking of shoes, you requested bike for editors to can drive this PT Cruiser test right now. The decision home from the shop wearing was almost made to discon- your Stacy Adamses, Hush p a trick o’gr dy tinue the bike but, as we all Puppies, or PF Flyers, because loved it, we decided to bring it back in other Raleigh steel offerings, the One it includes a set of Wellgo track pedals 2012. In the meantime, we’ve brought in Way and Clubman. They held up well complete with steel toe clips and brown the Port Townsend as a more be-all, do- under normal circumstances for me too, leather straps that accessorize nicely with all commuter/light traveler.” including wintry spins on slushy con- the faux Brooks saddle (a brown Avenir While the Port Townsend may be the crete bike paths, poorly maintained city Classic Series that proved surprisingly wave of Raleigh’s future, it has the look streets, the occasional dirt road, gravel comfy in both Lycra and street clothes) of a blast from the past — Reynolds 520 paths, and construction zones. and the brown handlebar tape. butted tubes, a basic black paint scheme, Recognizable bits include the unlovely “We do this on all of the steel bikes and graphics that are understated to the but functional Tektro R200 brake levers, we’re offering,” said Fornes. “From our point of invisibility. 700C x 35mm Vittoria Randonneur standpoint, toe clips give the consumer a In fact, the Port Townsend doesn’t tell Touring wire-bead tires, Shimano BR550 bike they can use instantly out of the shop, you much about itself in an era when cantilever brakes and Dura-Ace bar-end a bike they can ride home straight off the most two-wheelers are tarted up like shifters controlling a Sora drivetrain. showroom floor. And they can continue to NASCAR rigs. Unbranded parts include The 50/34 chain rings and 11-25 cassette ride it until they are ready to upgrade to the headset, stem, handlebars, seatpost, match the setup on my DBR road bike whatever they feel suits their needs.” metal fenders, front rack, front hub, and from the last-millennium — however, I saw this setup as an excuse for a 32-hole rims. that elderly racing machine is about nine downgrade to my old Sidi cyclo-cross The latter are apparently Weinmann pounds lighter and thus better suited shoes with their slotted cleats. My mad TR18s, a slightly high-profile racing rim to hilly Colorado Springs than the burly pedal-flipping skills were last used some- that Fornes says “have held up quite well Port Townsend. where in the 1980s with a pair of Lyotard under normal circumstances” on two But my DBR didn’t come with braze- 460Ds, but they gradually came back to

36 ADVENTURE CYCLIST MAY 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG ADVENTURE CYCLIST MAY 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG 37 ROAD TEST

me. It was just like riding a bike. And despite its heft and decid- edly unflashy components, the Port Specifications: Raleigh Port Townsend Townsend rides, well, just like a bike. Price: $910 Crank: Shimano Sora, 175mm arms, I got a comfortably upright position Sizes available: X-small (50cm), small 50/34 chainrings straight out of the box, which never (53cm), small/medium (55cm), medium/ Front derailleur: Shimano Sora happens, and there was no toe-clip/ large (57cm), large (59cm) Rear derailleur: Shimano Sora fender overlap, due in part to the medi- Size tested: Medium/large Shift levers: Shimano Dura-Ace BS77 um clips. I wear a 42 shoe but liked a Weight: 28.7 pounds with pedals bar-cons large Christophe toe clip and wide pedal Brake levers: Tektro R200 back in the day, and the first custom TEST BIKE MEASUREMENTS Brakes: Shimano R550 cantilevers touch I’d add to the Port Townsend is Seat tube: 21 1/2 inches (55cm), center Pedals: Wellgo R025 track pedals with a different set of pedals, especially if I to top MT-16 steel toe clips (M) and W5 leather planned to use shoes I could walk in. Top tube: 22 inches effective straps. The ride was predictable but not Head tube angle: 72° Seatpost, stem, headset, handlebar, lively. Once you get the Port Townsend Seat tube angle: 73° front rack: Unbranded rolling, it keeps rolling, but muscling Chainstays: 17 1/8 Saddle: Avenir Classic Series brown it away from a stop sign takes a bit of Seat height above ground: 40 1/4 Fenders: Alloy, unbranded effort, especially if you’re having trouble inches Cog cassette: Shimano HG50 11-12-13- flipping that pedal (reflectors butted up Crank spindle height above ground: 15-17-19-21-23-25 9-speed against a teensy tab don’t make pedal 11 1/4 inches Chain: KMC Z narrow flipping any easier). Fork offset: 1 31/32 inches (50mm) Gearing in inches: And if wind or gravity adds a degree Wheelbase: 41 3/8 inches or two of difficulty to your ride, you Standover height: 32 1/8 inches 50 34 feel every ounce of the bike’s 28.75 Frame and fork: Reynolds 520 butted 11 123.5 84.0 pounds, especially with a low gear of chromoly with 4130 chromoly fork. Thread- 12 113.2 77.0 34x25 (37 gear inches). Add a handlebar ed bosses for two water bottles. Canti- 13 104.5 71.1 bag, a rear rack with panniers, plus a lever brake bosses. Braze-ons front and 15 90.6 61.6 kickstand, headlight, and taillight, and rear for fenders; braze-ons at rear for rack. 17 79.9 54.3 you have a real beast on your hands. Fenders and front rack included (mounts 19 71.5 48.6 I’m not a gram counter — the bikes in to cantilever bosses). Cable stops for 21 64.7 44.0 my garage are made of steel or titanium, front and rear derailleurs and rear brake. 23 59.1 40.2 save one featherweight kinesium-carbon Threadless headset. 25 54.3 37.0 weirdo — but I do live in Colorado, Rims: Weinmann TR18, 32-hole where every ride is uphill into a head- Spokes: 14g stainless, cross three Contact: Raleigh America Inc., 6004 S. wind, so I notice an extra pound or six. Hubs: Tiagra rear, unbranded front 190th St., Suite 101, Kent, WA 98032; Your mileage may vary. Tires: Vittoria Randonneur Touring wire (253) 395-1100; http://www.raleighusa. That said, the Port Townsend — bead, 700C x 35mm com. unlike the Sojourn, which has more standover clearance, longer chainstays and wheelbase, and load-friendly gearing — is not intended to be “a full-on with a large Arkel handlebar bag, an Old cassette. touring bike,” says Fornes. Think rather Man Mountain Cold Springs rear rack, Still not sold? Then just wait a while. commuting, coffee runs, short and light- and Jandd Economy Panniers holding Raleigh will be adding more utilitarian ly loaded credit-card tours — in other what I’d need for a short spring-break bikes to its line so there will be some words, a utilitarian bike. road trip — spare tubes, minipump and new machinery due out in the 2012 So I treated it as such, riding it unen- multitool, Click-Stand, snacks, water, model year. cumbered in my old Sidis, lightly loaded wallet, camera, iPhone, foul-weather “It’d be rad if we could maintain as a commuter might, in street clothes and gear, shaving kit, civvies, and street every bike in every line that we have — some Vasque hikers, and packed for a one- shoes. Like Ol’ Man River, it just kept but, as we all know, to bring in the new, or two-day credit-card tour in Shimano rolling along. some things have to go,” said Fornes. touring shoes after switching the stock Sure, the Port Townsend could be “People will see more bikes from us that pedals out for a pair of Crank Brothers lighter and prettier. So could I. But a lit- fill that do-everything category.” Candys (my knees, like the rest of me, are tle simple tinkering could slash pounds 57 years old and inclined to complain). off the bike. And, at $910 ready to ride, Patrick O’Grady has written and cartooned about At every step of the process, I expect- it will leave plenty of weight in your cycling since 1989 for VeloNews, Bicycle Retailer and Industry News, and a variety of other publica- ed to sneer at the bike but never did, wallet, say for a gym membership to tions. The number of bikes in his Colorado garage is even when it bulked up to 46.5 pounds bulk up those quads, or at least a 12-27 an exact match for the number of voices in his head.

36 ADVENTURE CYCLIST MAY 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG ADVENTURE CYCLIST MAY 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG 37 GEARED UP

Geared Up Bike stuff you can use by Mike Deme

Stone Cold Outdoor Bicycle Cooler withstand the rigors Bag ($29.95, stonecoldoutdoor.com, of a severely bumpy 913-236-0449) mountain-bike ride but Going out for a pleasant summer you may find it useful for ride to your favorite picnic spot and less strenuous outings. you want to make sure your beverage of choice is nice and frosty when you Planet Bike Grasshopper get there? Or maybe you want to pack Bamboo Fenders ($134.99, a lunch and ride to work? For whatever http://ecom1.planetbike.com/7020. reason you might need to carry a cooler html, 866-256-8510) on your bike, the Stone Cold Bicycle Bamboo has become a favorite Cooler Bag may be for you. material for the environmentally Basically, it’s a nylon cooler/pan- conscious — it’s renewable, nier lined with 10mm-thick insulating it grows like weeds, it’s foam that keeps drinks cold for hours, strong, and it’s pretty cool and you can add two square cooler bag looking. Bamboo bikes bottles ($9.99 each) that fit perfectly into have been around for a the bag. while and, lately, I’ve It attaches to your rack with two seen bamboo bike trailers, handlebar grips, and saddles. Planet Bike decided to take it a step further and create the Grasshopper fenders. Made from Moso bamboo and treated with a marine-grade finish, the 3-ply fenders repel the water, mud, and road assorted grime. Installing the Grasshoppers is a snap. The stainless-steel V-stays are pre- installed and the only issue you need to face is whether or not your bike has clearance for them. According to Planet Bike, the Grasshoppers are designed to Arkel fit over tires of 27” x 1 1/4” or 700C x OverDesigns 35mm, however, your frame, fork, and Randonneur Rack ($89.95, arkel-od. frame hooks and can be secured to the brake configuration may also need to be com/us/arkel-randonneur-rack.html, 888- bottom of the rack using the supplied taken into consideration. If you’re think- 592-7535) velcro strap and D-rings located at the ing about buying a set of Grasshoppers If you’re looking for a versatile rear bottom of the bag. While this solution but have questions about whether they’ll rack for a trunk bag, look no further works well on mildly rough surfaces, fit your bike, drop by your local bike than the Randonneur from Arkel. the Stone Cold Cooler is not designed to shop and see what the pros think. Unlike other racks that attach to your

38 ADVENTURE CYCLIST MAY 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG ADVENTURE CYCLIST MAY 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG 39 GEARED UP

seatpost, the If you’re looking to carry some basic Randonneur gear and are also thinking about trying employs a out a framepack for the first time, you three-point might want to consider the attachment sys- Deuter Front Triangle tem. A quick-release Bag. At 4 ounces, bracket slips through your saddle it’s constructed rails and is secured to them creating the of 210 Denier first two points of attachment. The third nylon with ripstop point is your seatpost, to which a rub- the Quick-True can attach to your threading and is PU berized clamp attaches and is secured chainstay, seat stay, or fork via rubber coated. At this weight, it with a velcro strap. Once the rack is in mounting straps. Once it’s been secured, barely adds to the gear you’re carrying. place and all necessary 4-millimeter hex you use the adjuster head and indicator Its dimensions are 4.7” high x 14” wide nuts are tightened, the Randonneur is screw to find the section of your wheel x 2” deep so it fits nicely in the triangle solidly attached and ready to carry your that is out of true. When you’ve found it, behind your head tube, and it attaches load (Arkel’s Tailrider makes the per- via two velcro straps to the top tube and fect companion). Additionally, it can be one to the down tube. One issue that you removed and reattached very quickly so might take into consideration is whether you can switch it between or and/or where you carry a water bottle on among your different bikes. your frame. If you do, and it’s located on The Randonneur is your down tube, the Front Triangle designed to fit bikes with Bag may run interference between both short and long sea- you and your favorite liquid. If posts. It is initially con- your frame is quite large, you may figured for the long seatpost set up but not have this problem. with a few adjustments, mainly the removal of the extension brackets and you can use the included spoke wrench Bolle Helix ($169.99, bolle.com/prod repositioning of the quick-release mecha- to begin the process of straightening ucts/helix/crystal-smoke-rose-blue.aspx, nism, you can arrive at the short seatpost your rim using basic wheel-truing tech- 800-423-3537) set up in no time. Whether in the long niques. Pretty nifty. Although they are categorized for or short set up, you’ll need 4 inches from Simple Pleasures states that there medium-sized faces, the saddle rails to your seatpost clamp. are limitations to what the Quick- the Helix offers a There is one catch, however. Since True can handle so if you completely larger the saddle rails are used as attachment taco your wheel you’re probably still lens points, the quick-release mechanism going to need that lift to the shop, but similar will only securely attach to rails that are within 5 to 6 millimeters or warping, it to glasses designed 2.5 cm apart. Because there are so many should do the trick. for larger faces, and saddles with different rail configura- they offer some interesting and unique tions, the Randonneur may not fit them Deuter Front Triangle Bag ($18, design qualities. The pinless hinges allow all. Arkel is aware of this and is working deuterusa.com, 877-384-9252) for quiet and smooth operation of the on adapters that will help alleviate this temples and issue. reduce the possibility of Simple Pleasures Quick-True Tool mechanical ($41.95, spbicycles.com/products, 541- breakdown. 408-2960) The use of There are a lot of mechanical issues Thermogrip, that crop up on a bike ride or tour that a hydrophilic can be repaired onsite, but one that rubberlike often causes the need for a lift to the material, bike shop is a warped rim. Well, if you on both the don’t mind carrying eight ounces in your temples and pack, you can now handle that repair as the nose pad well thanks to the Quick-True Tool from helps reduce Simple Pleasures. slipping, Consisting of the tool base, slider keeping the rod, adjuster head, and indicator screw, glasses firmly

38 ADVENTURE CYCLIST MAY 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG ADVENTURE CYCLIST MAY 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG 39 GEARED UP SCENE FROM THE SADDLE

in place. The best feature of the Helix, of the lens, the UV detection mechanism however, is the adjustable nose pad. is tricked and the crystals lighten. Once Both “wings” of the nose pad are free the mud is of the frame and can be maneuvered removed, it forward and backward, which allows for takes some the adjustment of the glasses away from time for them to darken again or closer to your face. They can also be so for a short time there’s an uneven dis- adjusted inward and outward to accommo- tribution of lighter and darker portions of date thinner or wider noses. Not only that, the lens. but they can self adjust by applying a bit and smaller faces and offers excellent If you’re not interested in the photo- of pressure so that the nose pad conforms value. The Eyeque comes in two versions: matic version, the IC version is the same to your particular features. The bridge of photomatic ($69) and IC ($59). but offers a variety of options and inter- my nose is wide and crooked (read broken The Optic Nerve photomatic system changeable lenses. You can get any com- many times) and, after a bit of pressure, incorporates crystals embedded in the bination of frames (white, black, or blue) the nose pads look as is they’ve been tor- polycarbonate resin of the lens. It’s these and lenses (metallic blue, orange, brown, tured, but they fit my face very well. This crystals that darken when exposed to UV or clear). Both offer a slip-free tactile rub- feature helps eliminate the crooked look rays. The more UV, the darker they get, ber nose pad and lens venting, provided that many non-adjustable glasses give. lessening the amount of UV that reaches by a slot in the outer edge of each lens The Helix comes in a variety of frame your eyes. Out of the case, the lenses which enhances air circulation between and lens colors, offering something for are light brown and continue to darken the lens and the eye, helping to reduce everyone, from the flashy white and depending on the amount of UV detected. fogging. orange to the subdued black and grey. If It works pretty well. It happens so gradu- If you’d like to give the photomatic you’re looking for a new pair of shades, ally that it’s really not noticeable while it’s version a try, they’re available through the Bolle Helix is a good match for cyclists. happening, but when you take the glasses Adventure Cycling’s Cyclosource catalog or off, you notice the color change. One online at http://www.adventurecycling. Optic Nerve Eyeque (nerveusa.com, drawback is that photomatic glasses are org/store/index.cfm/category/25/miscella 800-234-0735) best used when they won’t get spattered neous.cfm. The Eyeque is designed to fit medium by mud. When the mud covers a portion

40 ADVENTURE CYCLIST MAY 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG ADVENTURE CYCLIST MAY 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG 41 SCENE FROM THE SADDLE

Scenes from the Saddle

AFTER DINNER Photograph by Greg Siple

The TransAm group had just finished dinner. A couple of group members were attending to the post-meal cleanup. The rest of the group members were free to relax. It had been a long day ending at a campsite above 5,000 feet on the Idaho/Montana border. Tomorrow’s ride would be a long downhill along the Lochsa River with no services until mile 56. Plenty to talk about.

40 ADVENTURE CYCLIST MAY 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG ADVENTURE CYCLIST MAY 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG 41 ADS or GEARED UP

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FREEWHEELING ADVENTURES. GUIDED CROSSROADS CYCLING ADVENTURES Vacation Bicycling — “After taking more & SELF-GUIDED — Small groups since 1987. — Celebrating 15 years of excellence! Come than 90 bicycle tours, Vacation Bicycling is Flexible, positive service. Famous and unusu- ride with Tracy Leiner - owner, cyclist and one of our top 10 experiences!” We provide al rides in Canada, Iceland, Europe, Israel, tour director. Tracy travels with every group, beautiful 7-day tours from $1099, includ- Central America. Go your own pace. Choose everyday managing daily logistics, driving ing hotels, food & SAG through Martha’s hills and distances or flat and relaxed. 800- support vans and pedaling with her cyclists. Vineyard/Cape Cod, NC Outer Banks, Maui, 672-0775; www.freewheeling.ca/; bicycle@ Small groups, personal attention, superior Arizona’s Sonoran Desert, Florida Keys and freewheeling.ca. accommodations and meals. Extensive pre-trip Canada’s Prince Edward Island. 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Motels, meals, plenty CYCLE THE MAJESTIC TONKINESE ALPS ing Southern Tier averaging 63 miles per day. of Ice. 30 Years of Cross Country Tours OF VIETNAM — May 9 – 20, 2011 and The Fully supported including freshly prepared with transcontinental record holders Susan New Ho Chi Minh Trail May 21 – June 5, great tasting meals, mechanic, and massage Notorangelo and Lon Haldeman. pactour.com 2011. Breathtaking Scenery, remote villages therapist. You dip your rear wheel into the 262-736-2453. inhabited by friendly hill tribes. Fully sup- Pacific and your front wheel into the Atlantic, ported, hotels, meals, experienced tour lead- I will do everything in between. March 8 – CYCLE AMERICA’s NATIONAL PARKS — er. 800-613-0390, Email: discover.vietnam@ April 20, 2012. BubbasPamperedPedalers. Visit North America’s majestic treasures on yahoo. com. Visit www.discovervietnam.com com or [email protected]. our fully-supported series of National Park for detailed itinerary. Tours. 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CAROLINA TAILWINDS BICYCLE Trail From the organizers of Tour du Canada Bike quiet roads that take you past fields of VACATIONS — Easy, flat terrain tours Call 800-214-7798 or visit www.CycleCanada. tomatoes ripening on the vine. Visit ancient include: South Carolina’s Lowcountry, North com Discovering Canada by bike since 1988. temples where the breeze sounds like chant- Carolina’s Outer Banks, and Maryland’s ing voices. Enjoy a picnic in the shade of an Eastern Shore. More challenging, mountainous BIKE BEST OF NEW ENGLAND AND NEW ancient olive grove. Sip wine as you watch tours include: Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley YORK’S HUSDON VALLEY — Wineries, the sunset over the sea. Do it again the and North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains. beaches, sunset sails, mansions, kayak adven- next day. Choose between guided tours with All tours include intimate group size, cozy tures, lighthouses, covered bridges, history, van support and self-guided options. www. country inns, and outstanding cuisine. www. wildlife … all linked by superlative cycling. SICICLANDO.com or call 1-800-881-0484. carolinatailwinds.com; 888-251-3206. Fine inns, exceptional cuisine, dedicated, experienced support. Best routes, best sights, North American Tours Charleston — Charleston looks even best time! Great Freedom Adventures www. TIMBERLINE ADVENTURES — Fully sup- more enchanting from a bicyclists point of greatfreedomadventures.com (877) 545-1864. ported bicycling & hiking adventure vaca- view.” Fodor’s writer. 3 and 6 day all inclu- tions with an organization whose sole focus sive tours. Ride past plantations, tour coast- for 26 years is extraordinary adventure al islands and surrounding quaint towns. throughout western U.S. & Canada. Website: Custom biking, kayaking, epicurean tours www.timbertours.com Email: timber@earth for groups. www.charlestonbicycletours.com. net.net Phone: 800-417-2453. 1-800-408-1830.

44 ADVENTURE CYCLIST MAY 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG ADVENTURE CYCLIST MAY 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG 45 DONORS

Mile Supporters of Adventure Cycling’s Route Network

thank you

Adventure Cycling would like to thank those who have cost of researching, designing, and printing Adventure Cycling sponsored miles or panels on the Great Divide Mountain Bike produced maps. Your tax-deductible gift ensures that we can Route, the Lewis & Clark Trail, the Pacific Coast Route, and the continue to research new routes, update existing maps, and route that started it all — the TransAmerica Trail. provide resources for all cyclists into the future. Cyclists who contribute support the development and main- Please consider supporting these amazing bicycle routes. $200 tenance of the Adventure Cycling Route Network and play an will support a mile of the Great Divide Route, Lewis & Clark important role in establishing new cycling routes like the Sierra Trail, Pacific Coast Route, or the TransAmerica Trail. You can Cascades Bicycle Route that was just published last year and the sponsor a mile online at www.adventurecycling.org/buyamile. upcoming Route 66 Bicycle maps. The donors listed below sponsored miles or panels between As a nonprofit organization, we depend on your financial March 1, 2010, and March 31, 2011. donations. The price of a map covers only a portion of the total

Great Divide Mountain Bike Route Steven F. Goerke, Redondo Beach, CA The Larry and Nancy O’Reilly Family Since its inception, the Great Divide has Steve Holland Family, Kensington, CA Foundation, Springfield, MO brought a sense of accomplishment and Charles M. Jordan III, Vidalia, GA Tom Woodbury, Rancho Cucamonga, CA adventure to thousands of cyclists who Jeffrey Penta, La Mesa, CA have explored the dirt roads that trace the George Reinhardt Family, TransAmerica Trail continental divide from Canada to Mexico. Overland Park, KS The route that started it all! The TransAm Brandon Sitzmann, Washington, DC Trail was established for our celebration of $750 Arlo Stoltenberg, Mason City, IA the U.S. Bicentennial in 1976 and launched Mark Day, Clayton, CA Hillary Sullivan, Hudson, OH our organization as Bikecentennial. $150-$300 Ski Tarnosky, Hermosa Beach, CA $1500-$2500 Anonymous (1) Thomas R. Tetzlaff, Reno, NV Ann Raines & Stephen Corbett, Paul Attalla, Fernie, Canada Chris G. Tompsett, Newport, RI Sacramento, CA Jody Auldridge, Ventura, CA Michelle Wenk, Ellington, CT Dan & Lora Van Epp, Las Vegas, NV David & Pamela Craig, Prescott, AZ Chester C. Wilcox, Carriere, MS Susan Hann Family, Malabar, FL Jim Young Family, Milwaukie, OR $200-$500 Michael Brown, Allentown, PA Russell Heath, Juneau, AK Pacific Coast Route Jim D. Johnson, Chattanooga, TN Max A. Corley, Sarasota, FL The stunningly beautiful vistas are a Robert Eltgroth & Mary Paquet, Mary M. McCoy, Arvada, CO cyclists dream as you travel along the Don Potts, Jackson, MS San Jose, CA Washington, Oregon, and California Johnny R. Gooch, Bemidji, MN Cheryl & Fred Rectanus, Portland, OR coasts. Wanda Roach, Abiquiu, NM John & Kathy Hannon, Williamsville, NY Armond Tomassetti, Fernandina Beach, FL $2000-$10000 Babette Hiles, Champaign, IL John E. Wescott, Hainesport, NJ Crunchy Frog Fund, San Jose, CA Philip Kruger, Montville, NJ Steve Wilkinson, Whitley Bay, UK Steven Whalen, Amston, CT Noah Lansner, New York, NY Fillmore & Sharon Wood, Jim Leake, Waynesboro, VA Lewis & Clark Trail Corona Del Mar, CA Jennifer Leemann, Richmond , VA This route was created to celebrate the anni- Blake McKinney, Abingdon, VA versary of the Corps of Discovery’s 1804- $200-$500 Jim Pietrick, Woodbury, MN 1806 historic journey across the continent. It Anonymous (3) Bob Rineer, Fullerton, CA offers cyclists the opportunity to follow the Jody Auldridge, Ventura, CA Mike Samuelson, Lakeland, TN path of the intrepid explorers while creating Edd Cochran, Oklahoma City, OK Karl (Max) Sherman Family, their own adventures by bicycle. Bart Coddington, Aptos, CA Kennett Square, PA Tom Granvold, Santa Clara, CA Todd E. Williams, Cincinnati, OH $2,500 Greg Harrah, Port Angeles, WA Tom Blanck, Brooklyn, NY Todd Huckins, Truckee, CA Thanks to everyone for their support of the $150-$300 Rebecca & Riley Newman, Richland, WA Adventure Cycling Route Network. Frank Chew Family, Atlanta, GA Anthony Powers & Cecilia Sullivan- It’s easy to sponsor a mile. Go to www. Tom Duquette Family, Virginia Beach, VA Powers, Folsom, CA adventurecycling.org/buyamile and choose David & Anne Fege, San Diego, CA David Reuteler, Boise, ID the route and mile you’d like to sponsor. Gerry & Anne Serafino, Roswell, NM

46 ADVENTURE CYCLIST MAY 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG ADVENTURE CYCLIST MAY 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG 47 GALLERY

Open Road Gallery 1892 by Greg Siple Photograph by William A. Hobitzell

greg siple

ell z it b Ho A. am Willi a l u isso m a n a ont m f o nicersity u collections, l a speci nd a es v i h rc a 98-0110

This is where you would expect to see one of my formal portraits of bicycle tourists accompanied by a story written by Sarah Raz. But for this history-themed issue of the magazine, I decided to become the writer and feature the work of another photographer. I began shooting my portraits in 1982. I wanted to make a permanent record of the grand parade of traveling cyclists that visit our Missoula office every summer. I always shoot the cyclist with bike in profile on black and white film. More than 3,000 portaits later, the formula is unchanged. What a surprise it was to learn that I was not the first to shoot such a portrait in Missoula. The portrait above is of Frank Lenz, a cyclist who in 1892 set off from his home in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with intention of riding around the world. He mysteriously disappeared in Turkey in 1894, never to be seen again (“The Last Ride of Frank Lenz,” Adventure Cyclist, January, 2009). The first time I saw the Lenz portrait was in David Herlihy’s 2010 book The Lost Cyclist, a detailed account of Lenz’s ride and the the attempt to find him. The caption indicated that it was taken in 1892 here in Missoula, Montana. The building in the background looked familiar and I realized it was St. Francis Xavier Church. The church is on the same street as our office and just four blocks away. I got up from my desk and walked to the spot where Lenz stood 108 years ago. The photographer was William A. Hobitzell, like me an avid cyclist. Frank Lenz wrote in his account of the trip that in Missoula he was greeted by 10 “wheelmen” including Hobitzell, the only one to have the new pneumatic tires. The Lenz photo is preserved in the archives of the University of Montana along with other Hobitzell photos. Hobitzell left us with a window into the past. I hope that my portraits will attract viewers who will want to gaze back at us a hundred years hence.

46 ADVENTURE CYCLIST MAY 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG ADVENTURE CYCLIST MAY 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG 47 Adventure Cycling Association Non-profit P.O. Box 8308 U.S. POSTAGE Missoula, Montana 59807-8308 PAID Adventure Cycling Association

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