• Abstract and Figures
• Public Full-text

rack and a front lowrider rack and my bike reached our campsite, the creek rushed nois - that ate up the miles, it still allowed for a was soon equipped with front and rear pan - ily by and we took an afternoon hike in relaxed pace so we could view scenery, gather niers. During these years I was a high-school hopes of seeing the moose that were recent - information, and practice our photography. 6,000 Miles of teacher and having summers off set both my ly introduced in the area. In the evening, we In the 1980s we hosted a French for - wife and I free. The highway beckoned us to were serenaded by the haunting calls of eign student and Lynn wanted to visit his travel by bicycle. white-crowned sparrows and Swainson’s home in northern France. I agreed, but My wife Lynn, who was still riding a thrushes. insisted the trip be a bicycle tour. Buoyed by traditional touring bike, joined me for our This was the trip that proved to us that the success of our short Colorado tour, we Adventure Cycling first tour in 1990 — four days in the it could be done, and bike touring provided a planned the France trip for 1992. We Colorado Rockies. As with all our trips it new outlet for our love of camping and papered our bedroom walls with northern was a self-contained tour. By starting on human-powered travel. Self-contained tour - France in 1/200,000 scale, studied our While planning for a bike tour down the less important than the experiences enjoyed. rump. By contrast, when I rode my new Trail Ridge Road at 12,000 feet we immedi - ing with front and rear panniers fit well with French, and mapped a route from books on Pacific Coast this summer I reflected on my Although I’ve always ridden upright Infinity long wheelbase recumbent the pain ately enjoyed a spectacular downhill ride, my need for exercise, consumed no gasoline, bike touring in Europe. When the time past self-contained tours. How many miles bikes, I bought my first recumbent in 1989 was nonexistent. I could look comfortably at and for the trip we crossed the Continental produced no pollution, provided great flexi - came, we boxed up our bikes and flew to did they entail, I wondered? After some fig - and found it enhanced my enjoyment of the scenery instead of down at the front Divide twice in 189 miles, camping all three bility, and didn’t strain my limited high- Paris. Our French friends picked us up at uring, the answer turned out to be 6,000 bicycling. When riding my Raleigh road wheel and the miles slipped joyously by. nights. The slow climb from Granby to school teacher’s budget. It also allowed us to Orly Airport and transported us and our big miles, but looking through my logbooks of bike, 10 miles seemed to be my limit before Long wheelbase recumbents are also great Willow Creek Pass was special, with deer meet interesting people and to approach boxes to their home in Vitry en Artois, a each trip I realized that the distance was far pain began in my hands, wrist, neck, and for packing your stuff — I installed a rear and herds of elk near the highway. When we wildlife silently. While traveling at a speed tiny town north of Paris. After we unboxed Story and photos by Chet Rideout and set up our bikes, and still feeling a bit of and was unsure that my bike would be ade - apply to bicycle tourists. jet lag, we gave a bike-touring primer to our quate for touring. Because he rides thou - In Durango, we rode the Durango and friend Alain Daval’s grade-school students. sands of miles each year in the mountains of Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad (with our They sent us off on our ride with calls of a Italy, he proved to be a strong rider and an bikes in the baggage car) and snapped pic - courage! enthusiastic companion. He was, however, tures of the scenery as we chugged up the France is a wonderful country for tour - plagued by saddle pain and I believe he would Animas River valley. That night in our camp ing. Small villages are spaced about five miles have been well served by a recumbent. at Silverton, Piero was nervous — the next apart and campgrounds are abundant. It is hard to imagine a greater contrast day we were going to ride over 11,018-foot- Despite dire predictions that we would find between this tour and the one I had taken in high Red Mountain Pass and he had never the French people cold and aloof, we found France. Each day we rode through scenic, biked at anywhere near those elevations in the loaded touring bikes to be magnets to largely unpopulated terrain between camp - Europe. “You won’t have any problem. the locals, who were in turn amazed to find sites. Often 50 miles of hilly riding was not You’re in great shape,” I assured him. “Just we were Americans. They declared the enough to reach our destination, whereas in keep drinking plenty of water and you’ll be recumbent tres bizarre , and the children were France civilization is never more than two or fine.” And so he was. often jumping and dancing when we came three miles away. Here we saw deer, moose, Those thousand miles with Piero into view. Although I had planned on riding and bighorn sheep, whereas in France the seemed magical, imbued with the beauties of perhaps 300 miles per week, we found we largest wild animals we saw were rabbits and the Black Canyon of the Gunnison, Blue were passing too much history per mile. It hedgehogs. And believe me, in red-rock Mesa Reservoir, North Pass, the Great Sand was here that we learned to slow our pace country there are no cathedrals or art gal - Dunes, and Rocky Mountain National Park. and linger a bit longer. leries to visit! In 1998, with Piero as our guide, we We rode west through Normandy, In Mesa Verde National Park we biked began a tour in Mestre (near Venice) to crossed Brittany, ferried to Belle Isle, and vis - from our campground into the park where Rome. After our first trip, Piero had ited numerous castles along the Loire Valley. we came across a bus tour and asked how we switched to a Speed Ross shortwheelbase We enjoyed visiting with campers from could join. A man told us we had to get tick - recumbent. His doctor had informed him Take your pick. Riding high or laid-back, red-rock country is a great place to ride. France, the Netherlands, Germany, and ets back at the park headquarters; the only that the pain from his saddle during our Switzerland. In five weeks, we rode 1,100 travel through, especially if you don’t know the ultralights above as they buzzed their Piero’s bike. It marked a somewhat odd con - miles before taking the train back for a week the language well. Unlike France, small way south above the coastline. clusion to our ride. in Vitry with our friends. roads are not numbered or marked. After finishing our flat ride across the In June of 2000, Piero again flew to In June of 1994, I read the Fortunately we had Piero, who saved us Po Valley we relaxed at Piero’s home in Denver and we loaded up the car for a long “Companions Wanted” column in from ill-advised detours again and again, Meldol, where we reduced our loads in drive to Jasper, Alberta, 400 miles north of Adventure Cyclist and came upon a listing by often talking to the locals for as many as 15 preparation for climbs in the Apennines and the Canada border. Piero and I were both Piero Tassinari of Meldola, Italy. Piero, a minutes to find the best route. Tuscany. My son Vale joined us for the rest using BOB trailers this tour and we looked grade-school teacher in Italy, had a dream to Emerging from a forest one day we saw of the ride and the four of us rode through forward to an energetic 1,200-mile ride, bicycle tour from Denver to the Grand radio-controlled model airplanes flying above spectacular scenery and thrilling touring averaging around 50 miles per day. Canyon. It turned out to be impossible for the road. These led us to a small airport with country of Florence, Siena, and San The Icefields Parkway through Jasper me in what was left of the summer, but I ultralight aircraft parked on the grass, their Gimignano. and Banff was spectacular but challenging, scheduled a trip from the Grand Canyon to pilots resting in the shade below the wings. The campgrounds in Italy are expensive crossing numerous passes with stiff climbs. Rocky Mountain National Park for the fol - Here we met Roberto who amazed us by – though they are equipped with conven - Signs and brochures about grizzlies were lowing June. In June of 1995, Piero arrived, instantly mastering all three of our loaded ience stores, bars, swimming pools, laun - everywhere and Piero’s pupils seemed to all five foot three inches of him, to ride it recumbents, even my underseat-steered bike dries, and hot showers – so Piero would dilate whenever he saw one of these warn - with me. with a trailer. He was one of the pilots and he often find us cushy lodging in a monastery ings.

Load more

  4

Copy Link