Waypoints 8 travels with willie 38 open road road gallery 47

Adventure Cyclist GO THE DISTANCE. august/september 2011 www.adventurecycling.org $4.95

switzerland: Where the rubber meets the sky PLUS:

Texas from the saddle

touring Iceland’s ring road

road test: soma saga 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 membership 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 higher level of support. These corporate membership significant role in the success of our nonprofit orga- funds go toward special projects and the creation of nization. Our Corporate Membership Program is new programs. To learn more about how your busi- designed to spotlight these key supporters. Corporate ness can become a corporate supporter of Adventure Members are companies that believe in what we do Cycling, go to www.adventurecycling.org/corporate or and wish to provide additional assistance through a call (800) 755-2453.

TITANIUM GOLD

SILVER BRONZE

Rocky Mountain Print Solutions Anderson ZurMuehlen & Co. PC BikeQuest Bicycle Touring Co Ortlieb

2 ADVENTURE CYCLIST AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG ADVENTURE CYCLIST AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG 3 8/9:2011 contents August/September 2011 · Volume 38 Number 7 · 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 subscrip- tion to Adventure Cyclist and dis- counts 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 A cyclist rides along Alpine Route 1 in Switzerland. Photo by Aaron Teasdale. (left) A cyclist reaches a directional sign on Switzerland’s Alpine Route 1.

MISSION

aa r on teasda l e The mission of Adventure Cycling Association is to inspire people of all ages to travel by bicycle. We help cyclists explore the landscapes and underestimating the alps by Aaron Teasdale history of America for fitness, fun, 10 Switzerland is all in when it comes to bike travel, and their Alpine Route 1 is a major draw. and self-discovery.

Lost in the lone star state by Laura Crawford & Russ Roca CAMPAIGNS 20 Our strategic plan includes three Texas hasn’t been on the radar of many bike traveler’s, but it should be. major campaigns: Creating Bike Routes for America Getting Americans Bicycling vikings and lakers by Roy M. Wallack Supporting Bicycling Communities 28 When bike touring in Iceland, you best be prepared for some serious challenges. How to Reach Us To join, change your address, or ask questions about membership, visit us online at www.adventurecycling.org departments LETTERS or call (800) 755-2453 or (406) 721-1776

email: 07 companions wanted 04 LETTER from the Editor [email protected] Subscription Address: from the 08 WAYPOINTS 05 LETTERs readers Adventure Cycling Association P.O. Box 8308 40 geared up 06 LETTER from the DIRECTOR Missoula, MT 59807 Headquarters: life member profile COLUMNS Adventure Cycling Association 42 150 E. Pine St. Missoula, MT 59802 43 Marketplace/Classifieds 36 road test: soma saga / Patrick O’Grady Soma Fabrications adds a rugged touring frameset 47 OPEN ROAD GALLERY 38 travels with willie / Willie Weir The advantages of getting out of your comfort zone

2 ADVENTURE CYCLIST AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG ADVENTURE CYCLIST AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG 3 Adventure Letter from the Editor Cyclist is hell freezing over? August/September 2011 volume 38 number 7 Cycling enters the mainstream www.adventurecycling.org

editor michael deme mdeme@ adventurecycling.org art director Cycling has been a part of my life since I first greg siple gsiple@ adventurecycling.org technical editor hopped on a child’s tricycle. I’ve ridden them john schubert schubley@ aol.com to travel, commute, or just to have fun. For the FIELD editor michael mccoy vast majority of that time, most of my family and friends mmccoy@ adventurecycling.org contributing writers considered my appreciation of the bicycle a bit odd. For dan d'ambrosio nancy clark willie weir jan heine instance, they would Bay Rays manager Joe patrick o'grady say things like, “I don’t Maddon (an avid cyclist Copy Editor phyllis picklesimer understand. You’ve got a himself) called, “men- advertising director perfectly good car. Why tally staggering.” rick bruner 509.493.4930 don’t you drive to work And then there’s advertising@ adventurecycling.org like everyone else?” My Peter King, a well- STAFF response would usu- respected sports jour- executive director ally be something that nalist who writes a col- jim sayer shouldn’t be repeated in umn about the National jsayer@ adventurecycling.org chief operations officer these pages. Football League for sheila snyder, cpa But lately a strange SportsIllustrated. membership & Development julie huck amanda lipsey thing has been happening. com called “Monday amy corbin joshua tack I’m hearing about bicycles in songs, seeing Morning Quarterback.” In his first thomas bassett media them in television commercials, and their column about the upcoming 2012 NFL winona bateman michael mccoy popping up in the mainstream media. season on July 26, and the day the NFL publications On a recent Sunday night (July 24), Players Association voted to end the michael deme greg siple derek gallagher rachel stevens I was getting ready to watch a baseball labor standoff, he assembled a list of the intern: heather andrews it department game on ESPN. I was in the kitchen 10 things he liked most about his recent john sieber richard darne when I heard Karl Ravech of “Baseball vacation. Number four on his list was tours Tonight” say they were going to feature a bicycling through Chicago. According arlen hall mo mislivets paul hansbarger madeline mckiddy story about Darren O’Donnell, a 24-year- to King, he “Rented a bike in downtown routes and mapping old from Bellingham, Washington, Chicago on a hot and sunny morning carla majernik jennifer milyko virginia sullivan kevin mcmanigal who has so far visited 16 cities on his eight days ago, rode past the joggers casey greene nathan taylor 10,500-mile quest to see a game at all and in-line skaters and walkers and the sales and marketing teri maloughney 30 Major League Baseball parks (check sun-worshipers on the city beach 5.2 cyclosource out Baseball Biking Tour on Facebook). miles up Lakeshore Drive, hard by Lake ted bowman sarah raz office manager O’Donnell, of course, is not the first to Michigan. Took a left on Addison and beth petersen attempt this feat. As many of you will there I was — at Wrigley Field, two recall, we published a story in the June hours before Cubs-Marlins. Rode around board of directors president 2006 issue by Charles Hamilton (“Thirty the stadium, saw the Goose Island Pub, carol york Ballparks On A Bicycle”) who did the locked the bike, and sat out on the patio vice president same thing. Unfortunately for Charles, he for a noontime Wrigleyville White, with jennifer garst secretary wasn’t riding the crest of the resurgent a lemon. Magnificent. Got back on the andy baur bicycling wave, as is Darren. He’s no bike. Rode back. I doubt I had two bet- treasurer andy huppert Kim Kardashian, but he’s certainly been ter hours on the entire vacation.” board members somewhat of a press darling, garnering Pinch me. Ouch! That hurt. jason boucher todd copley george mendes jeff miller local newspaper articles along the way as donna o'neal wally werner well as coverage by MLB.com. Good luck Michael Deme the rest of the way Darren. You’re well on Editor, Adventure Cyclist your way to achieving a feat that Tampa [email protected]

4 ADVENTURE CYCLIST AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG ADVENTURE CYCLIST AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG 5 Letters from our Readers

Naïveté about Cuba, the ride that started it all helmets save heads

Cuba crisis through the “Great White North” follow- ing was three MPH. We were only two The article about Cuba in your June 2011 ing much of the same roads in Canada, blocks from my place so we continued on. issue made me more than a little upset. Yukon, and Alaska. After graduating When we got there, he put some salve on According to the author, Cuba is a mis- in 1982, a college friend and I flew to his road burn, popped a beer, and soon understood paradise of 1950’s Cadillacs, Vancouver, British Columbia, and then after he prepared to head home. When ox carts, and charming cities caught in a rode east to the Canadian Rockies, back he picked up his helmet to put it on, time warp. And so many young and old across British Columbia, through Prince he noticed it was banged up and badly Cubans ride bicycles! George, and then turned north head- cracked. Amazingly, he did not even The readers of your magazine, myself ing up the Stewart-Cassier Highway into know that he hit his head when he fell. included, are fortunate enough to be able northern British Columbia, Yukon, and Can you imagine what would have hap- to pretty much travel wherever we can Alaska. Our trek then took us down the pened if he was not wearing a helmet? afford to (including Cuba) and we ride inside passage via ferry to Vancouver, Put it on!! bikes because we choose to. Wouldn’t it British Columbia, where we then rode John Fedak be nice if the “kind-hearted denizens” down the Pacific coast back to Arizona. Thornton, Colorado of Cuba were afforded the same political, Whether the story is told by an article personal, and economic freedoms as we in National Geographic or slide show as in are and thus able to ride bikes as a choice the years past, or in the blogs or tweets of rather than a necessity. today, they can be extremely inspiration- Correction to the July issue’s Matthew Thiel al. Thank you June, and may you, and all “Americano Rohloff + Gates”: Phoenix, Arizona those who you inspired, have many more According to Ben Moore of Co-Motion, happy and safe miles. the standard Americano has 145mm More Hemistour Tim Joganich rear wheel spacing but the Americano Thank you to June Siple for re-sharing Chalfont, Pennsylvania Rohloff has 135mm rear wheel spacing. her Hemistour Expedition story. Their Sorry for the confusion. story first appeared in the May 1973 Helmetize yourself National Geographic , which I still have. I am amazed at how many individuals I Your letters are welcome. Due to the volume of mail I was 14 years old at the time, and their see riding without helmets. A few years and email we receive, we cannot print every letter. story ignited my bicycle-touring ambi- ago after a nice easy 40-mile ride, my We may edit letters for length and clarity. If you do tions. Years later, they presented a slide ride buddy was coming off the bike path not want your comments to be printed in Adventure show of their Hemistour Expedition at onto the street and his front wheel hit a Cyclist, please state so clearly. Please include your name and address with your correspondence. Email Arizona State University where I was groove on the curb. He instantly went your comments, questions, or letters to editor@ attending undergraduate school. At down. Afterward, I happened to look at adventurecycling.org or mail to Editor, Adventure that time, I also decided to plot a route his cyclometer and the last speed show- Cyclist, P.O. Box 8308, Missoula, MT 59807.

4 ADVENTURE CYCLIST AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG ADVENTURE CYCLIST AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG 5 Letter from the Director Travel Connections Exciting news on partnerships and people for bike tours and travel

The end of summer is in sight, with some fantastic fall tours coming up — from the Sierra Sampler (splendid, supported road riding from Lake Tahoe to Mammoth Mountain) to Great Lakes Relaxed (mellow, scenic road riding and temperatures) and self-contained spectaculars from the Pacific Coast to the Southern Tier. But beyond specific trips, Adventure Cycling is bringing on people and connecting with partners to create and preserve more opportunities for bicycle travel.

Here are some highlights: Travel partners: Over the last year, New tours leadership and New tours leader: We are thrilled we have begun to meet with broader new partnerships to announce that Arlen Hall is our new travel groups — such as the Adventure Tours Director. Arlen is a charismatic, Travel Trade Association and the Global experienced tour leader, who has led Sustainable Travel Council — to help ele- all types of bike trips for Adventure vate bike travel in the fast-growing tour- Cycling and his own tour company. He ism industry. We plan to use these con- receives the highest accolades from tour nections to attract more people to bike participants, including the many young travel — and to encourage policy makers people he’s taken across the U.S. and to to realize the importance of investing in other places by bicycle. Arlen started bike-friendly roads and communities. with us August 15 and is working on We’re making real progress across the the final elements of our 2012 tour slate, nation (and possibly the planet), though which will soon be coming your way via it isn’t all good news. Despite enormous the web and the mailbox. Look for some efforts to partner with federal agencies fresh new tours from Arlen and his team on cycling conditions, we are still hav- in the coming years. ing problems with the Federal Highway National Parks and bikes: Some Administration issuing advisories that TI M Y O U NG of the most interesting and beautiful give short shrift to cyclists, especially Jim (on the left) with Yellowstone National places to cycle are America’s national on rumble strip applications. With your Park Superintendent Dan Wenk. The girls parks — and we’re working with the support, we will keep reaching out and in the middle are Jim’s daughters, Keilan National Park Service (NPS) to improve advocating for better treatment of bicy- and Samantha, who enjoyed the thrill of the bikeability of those parks. As part of clists. In the meantime, enjoy the rest of Yellowstone … and meeting the person in our effort to create an official U.S. Bicycle your summer and happy riding! charge! Route System, staffer Ginny Sullivan is working on a formal agreement with NPS Jim Sayer on ways in which we can cooperate on Executive Director bike facility construction, signage, and [email protected] promotion. We’re also connecting with leaders in some of the most iconic parks. In July, I had a terrific meeting with Yellowstone Superintendent Dan Wenk (the recent deputy director for NPS) and his top staff on planned road and education improvements in the park to improve cycling conditions.

6 ADVENTURE CYCLIST AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG ADVENTURE CYCLIST AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG 7 Companions Wanted

Providing partners for tours, domestic and abroad, since 1978

Thailand/South East Asia November 2011. I parts of France (beginning in the mid 1980s) and California, and heading to wherever. I’m 63, have two to four weeks to explore Thailand and now I’m living here permanently. I know the an avid cyclist, and good for 60 miles a day. maybe the areas of Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam country very well so if you are thinking about a Partner? Anybody? Also, I’m willing to drive to surrounding Thailand. Flexible dates and route. bike trip in France, I would be happy to answer an alternative start destination to meet you. If Maybe Bangkok to Chiang Mai or Phuket. your questions and to give you any information interested email [email protected]. Prefer to ride mostly on road and stay at guest that I can. Maybe we could even ride together houses, hotels, and hostels. I’m a 50-year-old for a few days while you’re here. If interested Texas to Canada and Back A friend and I are female with some touring experience from email [email protected]. riding from Amarillo, Texas, to Banff and Jasper Florida and am very heat tolerant. I’m looking National Parks then heading west and south forward to an awesome and amazing adventure. Skyline/Blue Ridge — SAG Driver Needed I’m along the coast until we get to San Francisco, If interested email [email protected]. organizing a ride of the Skyline Drive and the and then we’ll head back to Texas. We would Blue Ridge Parkway for some friends (retired love companions on any part of the route. We Crossing Asia I’m looking to start cycling from NYFD) for late September/early October and we plan to have an easygoing pace and to complete Dubai, United Arab Emirates, to Bali, Indonesia, need someone to drive our sag wagon. We will the trip in six months. Several of the Adventure on March 2012 (my prediction for the trip is 3 be driving from New York City but the driver Cycling routes will be used and we will camp months). Prefer an road route, guest houses, or could meet us in Front Royal. All expenses met most of the time. This is our first cross-country a tent. Riding to enjoy the trip, scenery, and to and maybe even some extra compensation for trip. If interested email [email protected]. take beautiful photos. I’m 28 years old and male. the right person. Motels and meals included. If interested email [email protected]. Very casual, some free time each day to explore Pacific Coast, September 2011 I will be fin- on your own. Probably 12 to 14 days. If inter- ishing college in the spring and I work in the Tour de Tummy — Southern Europe Highlights ested email [email protected]. summer. I would like to take this cycling trip would be an early September Athens start, for a month and a half or two months. Starting tastes of the islands, then off to Barcelona via Want to Wander — Destination Unknown I’m an either from the south going north or vice versa, Provence and Marseille. As we burn through experienced female self-supported cyclist who depending on the way the wind blows … liter- calories, why not indulge our food and wine would like to travel by bike for a month or so. I ally. I’m looking for people around my age to appetites? Expect to meet fellow couch surfers have flexibility to be gone for a month or more join me (from 18 to 28). I’m very flexible in along this trails-and-rails mosey for unhur- and will consider various locations. Prefer back terms of the dates (but must be after August) ried adventurers. The harried need not apply. roads, 50 to 100 miles per day with camping, and planning of the trip. If you would like Experienced single male, early 60s. I’ve enjoyed inns, and hotels. My spouse may join periodically to ride only one part of the trip, that would

TI M Y O U NG a self-supported coast-to-coast U.S. tour in 2008 en route. If interested email [email protected]. be great. Email me with questions or ideas at and published a blog at crazyguyonabike.com. [email protected]. Meet/ride/train summer in Mainefor prepara- A Year on the Road As of April 1, 2011, I’ll tion. If interested email [email protected]. begin a year of RV-ing around the U.S. on my Pacific Coast in October Companions welcome Surly Long Haul Trucker, which is my ulti- to join me on or about October 1 in Bellingham, Biking Around Europe on Gap Year Two mate recreational vehicle. I plan to follow the Washington, to ride the Pacific Coast Route. I’m 18-year-old girls looking to bike-bum around TransAm Trail from Virginia, then pick up the a fairly experienced (coast-to-coast on tandem in Europe as part of a gap year after graduating Northern Tier Route to Washington state, then 2009) 58-year-old male. Plan is to average about high school, either September to November, pedal up to Prince Rupert, Canada, take the 70 miles per day with a day off each week. 2011, or February to May, 2012. Both of us have ferry to Alaska spend a few weeks there, ferry Mostly camping but probably won’t cook too cycled across America before and miles per day back to Washington, take the Pacific coast or many dinners. If all goes well, we should arrive will vary. Looking to have fun and see as much the Sierra Cascades Route to Southern California, in San Diego at the end the month. If interested as we can; lots of camping and a relatively small use the Southern Tier to Louisiana, where I email [email protected]. daily budget. Looking for companions who are will forge my own trail back home by way also graduating this year and taking a gap year, of Memphis. I’m a woman seeking short-term Adventure Cycling Association assumes, but can- but others in the age range are also welcome. If companions for sections of my trip. If interested not verify, that the persons above are truthfully interested email [email protected]. email [email protected]. representing themselves. Ads are free to Adventure Cycling members. You can see more ads and post Backroads of France I’m an American woman North America Two weeks of cycling begin- new ones at www.adventurecycling.org/mag/comp who’s done self-contained bicycle tours in all ning September 25, leaving from Berkeley, anions.cfm or send your ad to Adventure Cyclist, P.O. Box 8308, Missoula, MT 59807.

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

PREACHING WHAT THEY PRACTICE Sue Knaup, the executive director of the Prescott, Arizona-based One Street, an entity that consults with and advises the leaders of cycling and walking organizations, recently launched a course at Prescott College with the intriguing title “The Bicycle: Vehicle for Social Change.” According to One Street (onestreet.org), “The Prescott College Bicycle Solutions Campaign is a focal point of this course, which guides students through the bicycle’s beneficial role in society. They learn about beautiful street designs that encourage even timid cyclists to try riding with traffic, and the health benefits of cycling that add physical CYCLEPEDIA activity to even the busiest schedules. The students work Beautiful book shows bicycle design over time on articulating these benefits: that reshaping streets into The new book Cyclepedia three dozen bicycles falling poured into the bicycle in the appealing public spaces will (from Thames & Hudson in under the Touring category are last century and a quarter, but invite people to linger and Europe and Chronicle Books a stunning ultralight aluminum also the design and artistry. respect the human dignity of in North America), is a visual bike from France known as the Anyone who respects the lore, traveling by one’s own power.” exploration of the bicycle, cen- Mercier Mecadural Pelissier history, and beauty of bicycles In March, Sue and three tering on 100 iconic models (circa 1950); a Bob Jackson needs a copy of this book.” of her students traveled to from the past 100 years. The 2002 Super Legend custom Without a doubt, this book Seville, Spain, for Velo-City book features the unusual and tourer (one of only 120 made); was made for permanent (velo-city2011.com), where the groundbreaking — bicycles an Alex Moulton Speedsix residence on your coffee table. they heard about the latest in of unexpected beauty, inspired 17-inch-wheel bike from 1965; The photos alone, which just designing bicycle-friendly cities design, and sometimes short- and a most peculiar-looking about anyone would enjoy, are from advocates and officials lived (or never-lived) popularity. 1939 recumbent out of France worth the price of admission. worldwide. Combining what The 100 bikes included are called the Sironval Sportplex. Also included are detailed they learned there with their grouped by type, although Time Out London had this to technical specifications that class findings, the entire class some fall under more than one say in a review of Cyclepedia, will make even the dedicated brought a package of requests category: mountain, racing, calling it “A sumptuous collec- collector and hard-core techy back to officials at the City of singlespeed, touring, kids’, tion of machines that power- squeal with joy. So look for it Prescott. We hope to report tandems, urban, folding, cargo, fully illustrates not only the at your favorite bookstore or later on their progress. and curiosities. Among the engineering precision man has your favorite online vendor.

8 ADVENTURE CYCLIST AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG ADVENTURE CYCLIST AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG 9 1976 + 35 = 2011 NEW INTERNET RESOURCES “It began on a spring day in For bloggers and overnighters 2007, about 9:30 PM, when the phone rang. A guy on the In recent months, your favor- hostel, or B&B. “For those of developer John Sieber, a blog other end said something like ite cycling organization has us who love to bike tour but aggregator: “The idea is that ‘This is a person from your launched a pair of new web- don’t always have the time or we wanted to put a website past.’ The man turned out to sites aimed at informing and money, bike overnights are a together that would help pro- be Gary Mollenhauer. Gary not inspiring both veteran and great option,” reads copy at mote cyclists’ bicycle-travel only found me — he located would-be bicycle travelers. the site. For neophytes “bike blogs, as well as make a single every other member of our First, bikeovernights.org overnights provide an easy spot on the web to aggregate cross-country cycling group details short tours that have way to test the waters before the content on these blogs.” as well.” been ridden and written up by heading out on an extended Featured writers include This passage is from an a large array of rider-contribu- adventure.” A few of the site’s Adventure Cycling’s regular email sent to us by Ivan Ford, tors. On a bike overnight, you featured overnights include a staff and guest bloggers, along a member of 1TAWB613, one start riding on one day — quite Seattle to Port Townsend ride, with a growing number of inde- of the many Bikecentennial possibly from your front door- a family trip on the Farmington pendent writers. There’s lots of groups that pedaled across step — and stop and stay the River Trail in Connecticut, and adventure and advice to read the country on the TransAm night somewhere, then ride “Falling in Love on Skalkaho about here, and new bloggers Trail in 1976. (The “secret back the next day or the day Pass, Montana,” by our own are always welcome. Submit code” indicated that Ivan’s after that. Bike overnights can Sarah Raz. your blog and, once approved, group would depart from the be camping trips, or they can Second, BicycleTravelBlog your posts will appear in the West Coast on June 13, and be getaways to a local inn, gers.org is, according to web feed. See you there. stay in bike inns along the way.) His missive continued: “A reunion of 1TAWB613 is RIDIN’ REALTORS going to happen. We’ll do a lot of reminiscing, catch up, Bicycling to location, location, location and share some libations and a meal. There are just 13 of us Waypoints heard recently from now [two members have died], Kari Neering who wrote to say, we share a common bond, “Good morning! I wanted to and who knows if and when pitch you a fun story involv- we may get together again. ing real estate brokers in New Let’s roll back the clock and York City who bike to work. I for a day or two relive a sum- represent Halstead Property, mer without cell phones and which has nearly 1,000 agents computers when we were kind throughout the tri-state area. I of in a world of our own, just know of several brokers of all sharing the days and the expe- ages who hop on their bikes riences with each other while each morning (in corporate pedaling across America.” work gear!) to go to the office, The get-together was sched- showings, and so forth.” uled for the Chicago suburb Although this may be a new of Buffalo Grove on Saturday, and unusual concept amid the August 6. When we last spoke crazy traffic of the Big Apple, with Ivan, he was working to it’s not new to North America; arrange a meeting between in fact, bicycling real-estate his group and members of agents could be considered 1TAWK613, the camping a trend. Boulder, Cambridge, group that shared the same Toronto, and Salt Lake City riding itinerary and was plan- are just a few of the cities ning its own reunion in the boasting their own bicycling Chicago area that weekend. realtors. Not only is this trend It seems the two groups are healthy for the agent and good still on the same schedule 35 for the environment, it helps years later! clients — provided they ride to We’ll report how it went the showing themselves — get in a future edition. And we’d to know which neighborhoods love to hear from other are relatively bicycle friendly Bikecentennial ’76 groups that

H a l stead pr o p e r t y and which ones aren’t. are having — or have already Edward Herson, Senior Vice President, Halstead Property. held — 35th reunions.

8 ADVENTURE CYCLIST AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG ADVENTURE CYCLIST AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG 9 Underestimating the Alps Underestimating the Photos and story by Aaron Teasdale Alps A ride on Switzerland’s new nation-spanning mountain-bike route SWITZERLAND - 2

“Why in God’s name didn’t I take the Alps more seriously?” I say to myself while des- perately clenching the brakes as my bike careens down a snowfield high on a wind- blasted mountainside. It’s the first week of October and my riding partner Crash and I are at 9,000 feet somewhere in the remote mountains along the Swiss-Italian border. Everywhere there’s snow and cliff and one monstrous mountain after another plummeting into an uninhabited valley far below. A trail can be seen there, in the distant valley floor, leading away into a tightly-packed labyrinth of peak and val- ley. We would very much like to reach this trail, but to get there we’ll have to navigate this snowfield and then find our way to a series of snow-choked, plummeting switch- backs packed with loose rocks and gullied “Franks?” I reply, while wondering why suspension mountain bikes waiting at our by running water. I pause to contemplate he would want to bring hot dogs. starting point. They even promised to haul our situation when clouds envelop me and “Yeah, to have some money for when we our luggage from village to village. I lose sight of Crash. He’s somewhere flying get there.” For someone used to bikepacking in the down the mountainside ahead and soon to Realizing my mistake, I recover quickly North American wilds, this sounded impos- enjoy his second, and not final, uninten- and say, “I bet they’ll have some there.” sibly posh. So what if we’ve never been in tional dismount of the trip. It’s not that we’re wilfully ignorant or the Alps before — this is Switzerland, You’d think that if you were head- that I’m obsessed with hot dogs, it’s that as a meticulously organized country where ing over to one of the most mountainous fathers, husbands, and professionals, our cycling routes are signposted at virtually countries on earth to ride a new mountain- lives are packed full of weighty responsibil- every turn. I figured there’d be espresso- bike route across one of the world’s most ities. We don’t have time to plan. Which is serving mountain villas every few hundred famously rugged ranges that you might, why we’re here — Swiss Trails, the national yards staffed by buxom Heidi lookalikes you know, do a little planning. Not Crash organization that books trips on the coun- and men in lederhosen playing those long and me. We show up undertrained and try’s many cycling routes, makes it easy. wooden horns. Heck, there aren’t even shockingly uninformed. All I did was tell them the route we wanted grizzly bears in Switzerland. I was looking Consider our flight to Zurich when Crash to ride and bought plane tickets. They forward to a leisurely tour through a civi- says, “I should have gotten some francs in arranged our lodging, sent us maps and an lized mountain range. the Chicago airport.” English-language guidebook, and had full- The first clue that our ride in Switzerland

Climb to the sky. Crash gets out of his saddle to keep momentum going on one of many ascents along Alpine Route 1.

12 ADVENTURE CYCLIST AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG ADVENTURE CYCLIST AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG 13 SWITZERLAND - 2

Chaschauna Pass. The route was often so steep between Italy and Switzerland that walking was necessary.

might be a bit tougher than planned comes national park. buried the mountains in snow and the early on the train ride from Zurich. It’s our “They have grizzly bears in Europe?” forecast calls for highs in the 40s. On our first view of the Alps, and not only are they Crash says. itinerary is a handwritten note: “Ask about shockingly large and steep, they’re covered We ask the gray-haired man behind the snow getting over Chaschauna Pass. You with snow. counter who politely tells us that he doesn’t may need to find an alternate route.” “Are we going, like, right over those?” speak English — in German. Or maybe it’s I fall asleep that night to visions of me Crash asks as the train carries us into Romansh, a variant of Latin still spoken lying hypothermic in a snowbank in the Switzerland’s far eastern hinterlands. in Switzerland’s isolated eastern mountain Alps while a grizzly bear gnaws on my leg. “Pretty much,” I answer, and then, communities. I’m not even sure what he The note launches a debate that will “I think.” The truth is that I don’t really said; all I know is that Crash and I don’t continue between us for the next three know. All I can say for certain is that understand a word. Like classic American days — do we attempt Chaschauna? We’re we’ll be spending the next week riding doofuses, we’ve made the mistake of think- slated to cross mountain passes every day, Swiss Alpine Route 1, their recently creat- ing everyone in Switzerland would speak but at 9,000 feet Chaschauna is by far the ed answer to North America’s Great Divide English. Fortunately, we’re good smilers, highest. I’m inclined to go for it, but Crash Mountain Bike Route. which at least makes us friendly doofuses. is less sure. Of course, he’s also developing Our next surprise comes in the moun- We look over our Swiss Trails pack- an unnerving habit of wiping out unex- tain village of Scuol, the route’s starting ets and maps that night in the castle-like pectedly, his first spill coming on wet stairs point, in the canton of Graubünden, the Hotel Engiadina. The elevation profiles during our ride around Scuol. Plus, as an highest and least populated region in the are daunting — over 3,500 feet of climb- emergency room doctor, he has a front-row country. A poster in a visitor’s center ing each day. It’s the first week of October seat to the grisly consequences of people’s shows a grizzly bear with cubs wander- when Swiss weather is typically still sunny bad decisions, so I consider him biased. ing through a meadow in the neighboring and warm, but an early-season storm has Leaving our bags in the hotel lobby for

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glade and towering, snow-laced summits. To our right is Switzerland’s national park — as the only one, it’s commonly called “the national park” — and the mountains to our left form the border with Italy. We keep our eyes open for grizzly bears. After being extinct in the country for almost 100 years, they have recently begun ambling over from a remnant population in Italy, bringing a dash of wildness back to the landscape. But there have only been three sightings of them in the last five years, so we don’t get our hopes up. As we near Pass da Costainas, recent ava- lanches visible on the mountains, marmots ducking into their burrows at our passing, we assess the snow, which blankets the nearby mountainsides and clings to shadier patches around us. We’re still 1,200 feet lower than Chaschuana Pass. This does not fill me with optimism. Our descent, however, delivers enough endorphins and stunning beauty to render optimism irrelevant. A ragged dirt road spirals down through a tidy larch forest, the tree’s needles brilliantly bronzed by the cool kiss of autumn. Rocketing out onto a cliff ledge, the roadside drops off into a distant blue valley 2,000 feet below. As the sun slides behind snowy peaks, we stop at a pasture where the oversized cowbells that seemingly adorn the neck of every cow in Switzerland ring through the moun- tain air. A pristine Volvo parked outside a nearby farmhouse speaks to Switzerland’s status as the 10th wealthiest country in the world. In Switzerland, where farmers drive Volvos, being picturesque is apparently the national ethos. “They might not have wilderness here,” I say to Crash. “But, man, have they got beauty!” Late-night meal. Crash enjoys the delicacies of the only place serving food in Santa Maria. Our lodging for the night is in the vil- lage of Santa Maria, which is slightly off the Swiss Trails luggage van to pick up, we most remote and picturesque villages. the actual route, leaving us to freelance our head out the next morning at the civilized White homes with window flower boxes way there. Rather than the certainty of a start time of 11:00 AM. Crash, my origi- and wooden shutters overlook pastures valley-bottom road, we opt for the adven- nal riding buddy from college, recently of grazing horses. The steeple of a white ture of mountainside singletrack. Through emerged from the black hole of medical church casts a shadow over a cobbled darkening forest, we plunge down steep school, and we’re thrilled to be riding square. We roll up to a wooden chalet goat trails and feather our brakes through together again as we pedal up a paved road where a scattering of hikers enjoy drinks switchbacks, occasionally passing through into the mountains at a conversational pace. on a sun-drenched deck and it occurs to farms and backyards, while the flickering The Alps slowly emerge, their snowy sum- me that the only things missing are singing yellow lights of villages constellate in the mits piercing patches of cumulus cloud, elves and a few prancing unicorns. valley far below. Switching on our lights and we talk about our lives, marriages, “This is the Switzerland I envisioned,” and chasing their illuminated circles, we careers, and the incomprehensible fact that I say to Crash while we sip iced mineral yell and yodel our way down, boyishly we’re both teetering perilously close to 40. water on the deck. giddy from the feeling of controlled peril, As we climb into the alpine mountains, After gorging on pasta and fried trout, until we roll into a village along the valley- cutting into the sky on all sides, the village we spin up a wide dirt path along a creek bottom highway. Except there’s no way of S-charl appears, one of Switzerland’s into an alpine wonderland of meadow and we’re spoiling this golden day of mountain

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biking by riding the highway. the end of a 10-hour-day can deliver, the away. “Hey, it looks like there’s a singletrack matriarch of a family-run hotel to serve us Soon we’re interrogating the front desk running along the creek into Santa Maria,” a sprawling platter of salami, cheese, and clerk, one of the only people we’ve met in I point out as we study the map by head- bread. We gratefully devour our meal in a Santa Maria who speaks English, about the light. We find where it cuts in along a low-ceilinged dining room of wood floors, best trails to take out of town. The density tumbling creek and ride on, laughing and wood ceilings, wood walls, chairs, tables, of trails and tracks lacing the mountains hollering as we fly down the creek through and grandfather clocks. Virtually every- here is unlike anything we’ve ever expe- black forest. thing our eyes behold is wood, much of rienced, which makes sense when you “Aaauuuggh!” I hear Crash yell ahead, it ornately carved. Not surprisingly, they consider how long people have been build- grabbing my brakes in momentary shock. don’t take credit cards. Indeed, the very ing trails here. Some of the routes date to A huge man is standing with an axe over presence of plastic here feels like an affront. Roman and even pre-Roman times. We ask his head, about to swing down onto the We’ve somehow been transported into Old the clerk, who is a keen mountain biker, trail. Crash laughs as he realizes it’s a Europe, removed from the modern world, about Chaschauna Pass, which we’re due to wooden carving, left trailside for either where people speak Latin and all is wood hit tomorrow. He shakes his head and says macabre decoration or to terrorize night- and stone. it’s sure to be buried under snow and, with time mountain bikers. Turns out there are On the walk along the cobblestone back a look over the rims of his glasses to stress many wooden carvings decorating Swiss to our hotel, through the cool nighttime air his seriousness, it’s “very steep.” forest trails — beavers, marmots, bears, of the Alps, we both agree it’s been one of “Chaschauna can’t be much steeper than and, apparently, Swiss lumberjack axe mur- the finest days on bikes we’ve had in ages. this,” Crash says later that morning, as we derers. While we’re casually gorging on a hearty muscle our granny gears up a car-free dirt “Man, that was so much fun!” Crash says breakfast in the hotel’s mountain-bike- road through larch forest. Views through as we cross the bridge into Santa Maria, themed dining room at 9:00 AM the next the golden needles reveal clouds sweeping where we reach our hotel at 9:00 PM just morning, the Swiss Trails luggage van across high mountains, which birth long, before they lock the doors for the night. arrives to pick up our bags. slender waterfalls. It feels like a mystical Remote Swiss mountain villages are not “Oh, crap!” we cry, then run to our fairyland — a mercilessly steep mystical known for their nightlife, and we wander room, jump into our riding clothes, quickly fairyland. narrow cobblestone streets only to find all think through and pack into daypacks “I guess this is why people always say four restaurants in town closed for the eve- everything we need for the day’s ride, and places with steep, pretty mountains are the ning. Thankfully we convince, through the bring our luggage down to the van driver, Alps of wherever,” Crash says. kind of desperate pleading only a cyclist at who gives us an annoyed look and speeds “Yeah, that might have been a good clue

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for us to train a bit more,” I say between When we meet a group of hikers with bin- where we head straight to a bike shop to gasps. oculars, I tell them we’ve just seen a pair of ask about Chaschauna Pass. The owner tells As we crest the pass of Doss Radond rare endangered vultures up the trail. Well, us there are between 30 and 50 centimeters amid bracingly cool mountain air, the I don’t actually “tell” them — flapping my of snow at the pass. clouds begin to clear, revealing an impossi- arms like wings, I pantomime the message “Do you know how many inches 30 bly beautiful scene of snow-draped moun- that there are huge birds up ahead. to 50 centimeters is?” I ask Crash quietly tains, soaring gray cliffs, and a gravel path Hours later, we’ve climbed to another while he examines booties and waterproof threading into the distance along a grassy pass where the sky darkens and turns an shoes. valley bottom. I try to pay attention to the otherworldly blue. A new valley drops “No idea,” he replies. “But it’s a lot.” roll of my tires as the sun reappears and away ahead of us, deeply cleft and shad- Glitzy Livigno is no sleepy mountain hides, but I’m soon completely lost in the owed by massive pyramids of stone. We’ve village like Santa Maria, and at a four-star play of alpine light across mountain and only another hour or so of daylight, so we hotel a dapper, suit-wearing man at an meadow. We pass a group on horseback shoot down a cart track into the valley immaculate front desk offers us champagne and two different couples on mountain through golden tunnels of larch, waterfalls glasses of orange juice and cookies the bikes whose steady smiles confirm that it’s spilling over cliff faces at our side. Crash minute we walk in. Our gusto in devouring not just the doofus Americans who are feel- laughs demonically as we cross narrow the cookies may shock him, but he stays ing exalted by the landscape. wooden bridges and slide through turns, professional. When he introduces us to A short while later we’re in Italy, having coming perilously close to their open-aired Severin, a fit-looking Swiss lad in his 20s unceremoniously crossed the border some- edges. Emerging at a lake that fills the lower who is the hotel’s mountain-bike guide, we where along the trail. We can tell because valley, we stop to rest our braking fingers immediately ask him about Chaschauna, the trail signs have changed — they now and revel in the thrill and beauty of what explaining that no one we’ve talked to show actual distances to locations, not time we’ve just ridden. A relaxed path delivers thinks we can get over it. in hours like the mystifying Swiss signs. us to the ski resort town of Livigno, Italy, “You can make it over,” he says confi-

Nuts & Bolts: Switzerland

When to go: July through mid-October there can be junctions with specific Route their rides, you can stay anywhere from is your window. September and early 1 signage. As long as you have a map (pro- four-star hotels to hostels to barnyards. We October typically offer good weather and vided by Swiss Trails) and basic navigational chose the Standard level, with nights in less tourist traffic. skills, you should be fine. clean and comfortable hotels, hearty break- fasts included. For five days and four nights Alpine Route 1: One of the world’s premier Switzerland’s Route Network: expect to pay around $800 for Standard, or mountain bike routes, the Alpine Route 1 Switzerland has the most elaborate, most $550 for hostel-style accommodations. spans the Swiss Alps for 413 miles. Though meticulously-organized, best-signed cycling Bike rental: Swiss Trails rents high qual- route network in the world, with over 7,500 ity, full-suspension European mountain miles of road and mountain bike routes rated bikes with hydraulic disc brakes. We for varying ability levels. There are also hiking brought our own helmets, shoes, and ped- routes, canoe routes, and, curiously, inline als. I’d also recommend bringing basic trail skating routes that crisscross the country. tools, including a shock pump, and giving All are bookable through Swiss Trails or can your bike a good once over before set- be ridden independently (though it’s recom- ting out. We needed to make a few minor mended to get their excellent route maps). adjustments to get our bikes in tip-top shape (derailleurs, shock inflation, etc.) Getting around: You’re responsible for getting to and from your starting and Resources: ending points on Swiss Trails trips, but, l Swiss Trails, www.swisstrails.ch. unsurprisingly, Switzerland’s train and bus l Switzerland Mobility, www.switzerland systems set the gold standard for con- mobility.ch, has printable route maps for venience, comfort, and ease of use. It’s every cycling route in the country. even possible to cherry pick stretches of a l Swiss tourism and general travel infor- route, using buses or trains (both of which mation: www.myswitzerland.com accommodate bikes) to leapfrog along. l DK Eyewitness Travel Guide: Switzerland. Of the several guidebooks referenced, this Swiss Trails: You won’t find an easier- succinct, photo-intensive book proved the much of your time is spent on paths and dirt to-organize international trip anywhere in most useful and informative. roads, those without serious mountain biking the world. Swiss Trails will organize your For more about bike travel in skills need not apply, as every day will feature itinerary, book your rooms, transport your Switzerland, check out our web-exclu- sections of outstanding, sometimes technical gear daily, and have bikes, maps, and sive “Traveling Solo Swiss Style” by singletrack (and, yes, you need a mountain guidebooks waiting at your starting point. Gigi Ragland at www.adventurecycling. bike). The route is generally well-signed, but Offering five levels of accommodation for org/soloswiss.

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Night lights. When caught riding into Santa Maria after dark, the guys were sure glad they brought their bike lights along.

dently. “There will be some snow, but you where the road ends, a concrete-walled running water. The lunacy reaches its peak can make it.” refugio, now closed for the season, provides when my rear wheel comes off the ground Crash and I look at each other and smile. a temporary windbreak as we prepare and I barely steer a nose wheelie around a Severin, a young man about the same for the final push. Now on a trail, snow tight switchback, an eye-popping drop off age Crash and I were in our riding glory blankets the ground and a metal crucifix the side. days, has given us all the reassurance we appears on a pole ahead, seemingly float- Minutes later Crash loses control and need — Chaschauna is on. This is also a ing in the sky. Clouds engulf us in blind- smashes his ribs into the back of his seat. good reminder that whenever you need ing gray as we trudge through snow and, “Dude, that might be the burliest encouragement to do something everyone somewhere, cross from Italy back into descent I’ve ever ridden,” Crash says, while tells you you shouldn’t do, just ask a male Switzerland. We’ve reached Chaschauna probing his ribcage and looking back up in his 20s. Pass. the trail. Having ridden with him on the After having a relaxing breakfast inter- Wind slices through our clothes and mountain trails of Crested Butte, Taos, and rupted again by the unfortunately punctual we don’t spend time noticing the lack of Moab, this was saying something. luggage van, we pedal out of town the next a view. The snow is deeper on the pass’s His propensity for unintentional dis- morning toward Chaschauna. Up a side val- backside, but now, with the benefit of mounts aside, Crash is a handy partner for ley, through satellite villages, past grazing gravity, we climb on our bikes and begin an overseas mountain-bike tour. Not only cows with giant bells, we ride, turning at a a treacherous controlled slide down the is he an ace ex-bike mechanic, but he’s an dirt road that vaults high into the treeless mountain, hoping to find the trail that will emergency-room doctor, which means that peaks. 3,000 feet above us is the pass. deliver us into the valley below. My hands he can adjust derailleurs and knee strains. Marmots chirp at us from the mountain- are so frozen I can barely squeeze the brake Of course, it also means that after he, say, side and we’re quickly reduced to pushing levers. slams his ribcage into his seat, he internally our bikes up an incline so steep it almost We pick our way down the mountain- catalogs the possible consequences, then seems physically impossible to ride. side with significantly less abandon, using turns to me and says, “Don’t take this the “That guy in Santa Maria was right,” our uphill legs as outriggers as we execute wrong way, Teas, but if I go unconscious, Crash says, “This is insanely steep.” a sliding traverse to where we’ve spotted it’s because I’ve ruptured my spleen and I Snow begins appearing in the shadows. the trail. But the trail is no relief. It’s stun- need a surgeon.” Alpine choughs, birds of the high Alps, ningly steep and technical, and we ride Fortunately his spleen stays intact, and whistle past. High on the mountainside controlled slides through loose rocks and as we rocket down the trail, then dirt

16 ADVENTURE CYCLIST AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG ADVENTURE CYCLIST AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG 17 morning from a different village in one picturesque valley or another — our day packs stuffed with provisions — and fol- low trails, paths, and roads across the Alps. It becomes clear that St. Moritz marks the end of Switzerland’s wild country and the beginning of a more developed, traditional Switzerland. Trading in the rugged passes and lonely valleys of the country’s southeast corner, we ride from village to village, where farms, chalets, and trim pastures spread up the mountains. To our surprise, it’s just as fun as the boonies. The wintry condi- tions of the first few days are replaced with 70-degree sun as the route takes us through a riot of terrain and riding styles. Roads hug sparkling blue lakes, tunnels carve through cliff faces, rocky trails plummet down moun- Through the mountains. One of many carefully-carved tunnels on Alpine Route 1. tainsides, and everywhere are snowy peaks, golden forests, and centuries-old villages so road, into the lower valley, we ride side After hours of exploring forested side perfectly manicured they look like paintings. by side, giddy from having made it over trails and following bike paths through a I now understand Goethe’s description of Chaschauna. We’re covered in mud and chain of hamlets, we roll up to the ritzy Switzerland as a combination of “the colossal laughing, hooting, and catching simulta- resort village of St. Moritz that night, and the well-ordered.” neous air off any berms and ripples that where our beds feel like gifts from angels. Besides its easy-to-navigate orderliness, come along. Severin had been right. This It takes me approximately 43 seconds to fall the long European heritage of public access was a victory for young males everywhere, into a sleeping coma. Nope, we’re definitely serves cyclists in Switzerland well. Being and, er, not-actually-that-young-anymore not 23 anymore. from the U.S., where private land pervades, males, too. For three more days, we pedal out each Crash and I quickly learn to appreciate

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18 ADVENTURE CYCLIST AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG Schwalbe_Adventure_May10.ai 1 2/16/2011 1:14:06 PM the less restrictive sense of property in Switzerland, even if it does leave us occa- sionally befuddled. “Is this the trail?” Crash says hesitantly The journey is to three women talking by a wooden farm- house. We’ve just ridden past chickens and the objective. into their backyard. A large pig watches us Not the end. from a nearby pen. The women laugh and assure us it’s the trail. Or at least we think The perfectly coordinated rubber compound that’s what they say. provides speed, durability and grip. Tread C Other times we found ourselves rid- and side wall doubly protected. Roads M become uplifting and drift easily by. ing through quasi-industrial zones, across Trails are sublime in their ruggedness. dams, along train tracks, and through lumY - DUREME is the most versatile beryards. Rather than detract from the Marathon in the high tech CM Evolution series. ride, it adds intrigue, like we’re riding MY guerilla-style through secret Swiss back- ways. Except this is a national bike route,CY and each junction is signed and leading usCMY ever closer to the next mountain pass, theK next thrilling descent, the next immaculate hotel with perfect beds. Even Crash’s final and most spectacular wipeout of the trip, coming as he lost his traction on wet rocks and slid hard into a boulder, can’t dampen our enthusiasm. On our last day of riding, it hits me that we’ll soon be saying our goodbyes to Switzerland, and to each other. We’ve talk- www.schwalbetires.com ed a lot about how we wish we could ride the whole route together, but neither of us have the time. We’ve got busy lives and responsibilities waiting for us back home. As we catch air off rocks and take corners a little too fast, it occurs to me that might be exactly why I hadn’t taken Switzerland more seriously. Maybe we needed something like this. After years of building careers, leading families, dialing back the excesses and impetuousness of our youth, never leaping without look- ing, here we were, fathers, a doctor and a writer, riding mountain bikes across a faraway land without the slightest clue as to what were doing, where we were going, or even how to talk to anyone. Neither of us had been this spectacularly unprepared for anything in ages. It was exhilarating. Sure we’re “responsible adults” now, but those college kids who rode their bikes into snowdrifts two decades ago are still in there and they’re having the most fun they’ve had together in years.

Aaron Teasdale is a freelance writer and photographer who lives in Missoula, Montana. In past years, his con- tributions to Adventure Cyclist have twice earned him the Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism award. You can read more about Aaron at www.teasdale.smugmug.com. surlybikes.com - 1.877.743.3191

ADVENTURE CYCLIST AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG 19 TEXAS - 1 Lost in the Lone Star State TEXAS - 1

by Laura Crawford and Russ Roca Texas is perhaps one of the least likely Far West Texas From Guadalupe Mountains National bicycle touring destinations in the U.S. This part of Texas is the dusty hidden Park, head south on Highway 54 into the When imagining Texas, a cyclist’s head is gem of the state, sandwiched between New small town of Van Horn, along Adventure filled with the image of angrily speeding Mexico and Mexico. As one of the most Cycling’s Southern Tier Route. If you’re drivers in pick-up trucks, and endless days remote parts of America, it is vast, empty, looking for a relaxing refuge from the of sandy desert and cactus. We’ve all heard quiet, and full of that desert cowboy imag- desert sun and dusty roads, the Hotel El the myriad negative stereotypes and, due ery. Far West Texas can be a difficult place Capitan is very welcoming to bicycle tour- to its sheer immensity, simply crossing the that will push you and demand awareness ists. Renowned architect Henry C. Trost state is a feat in itself. For us, however, and preparation. You will often encounter was responsible for the design of the hotel. riding through the Lone Star State was long, desolate stretches with very few, if Trost, a Midwesterner who moved to El one of the great highlights of our recent any, services. Despite the sometimes chal- Paso in 1903, was heavily influenced by 15-month, 10,000-mile trek around the U.S. lenging conditions, it is also one of the most the Chicago School of architecture and What makes Texas so great is precisely fascinating corners of the country and will designed many other buildings in Far West the fact that it is so big and varied. Far introduce you to some of the friendliest Texas. West Texas is completely different from people you’ll ever meet. From Van Horn, you have two options, the Hill Country, which itself is entirely We entered Far West Texas near Highway 90 or Interstate 10 (Cycling on different from East Texas and the Gulf, Guadalupe (pronounced Guad-a-loop) interstates in Texas is discouraged but not and the Plains of the North. Lumping the Mountains National Park (on Highway 180- prohibited.) I-10 has more services along state into one dry, sandy image does it a 62), just across the border from Carlsbad, the way, but we chose to follow Highway great disservice. In this one state, you can New Mexico. The park features the highest 90 through the funky little towns of Marfa, experience a wide range of culture, nature, point in Texas (8,751 feet), so it’s well worth Alpine, and Marathon, gaining access to food, and people. Texas also has an incred- the stop. Unlike many National Parks with Big Bend National Park. Highway 90 is ible network of roads, which means it’s paved roads that traverse the reserve, mostly free of traffic because most travelers easy to find a quiet one that’s perfect for Guadalupe has no vehicle infrastructure. If take the interstate, which means that you’ll cycling. Because Texas is so large, we’d like you want to explore it, you have to hike in. have peaceful riding conditions and you’ll to offer up our two favorite regions to get Even without the hikes, however, you can need to be very self-sufficient (read: carry you started in planning your own Texas get a sweeping view of the valley below lots of water!). cycling adventure. from the visitor center and campground. From Van Horn you’ll ride through the

The evening meal. Laura prepares a meal at one of the many excellent campgrounds in the Texas State Park system.

22 ADVENTURE CYCLIST AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG ADVENTURE CYCLIST AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG 23 The rugged west. The roads of Far West Texas provide many a quiet mile for traveling cyclists, like this one in Big Bend National Park.

small town of Valentine. When we passed when it opened, including being burgled modern art. You’ll also find some of the through, all the shops had been shut- of all merchandise (the installation no lon- best pizza in the country at the Pizza tered. All but one public building, the Kay ger has pairs of shoes, just unmatched Foundation and a “hotel” where you can Johnson Library, was closed. This little gem singles). stay in refurbished trailers or a teepee (El was financed and built by folks in the area In Marfa you’ll find a fascinating mix of Cosmico). and also provided an opportunity to get New York art lovers and dusty Wrangler- Next along Highway 90 is Alpine, the water. Near Valentine you’ll stumble upon wearing ranchers. In the 1970s, the mini- largest town in the area. Alpine is home the Marfa Prada, an art installation made to malist artist Donald Judd adopted Marfa to an Amtrak station, a fantastic indepen- look like a Prada retail store, complete with as his new hometown. Now Marfa is home dent bookstore, and the annual Cowboy shoes and handbags from the 2005 Prada to the Judd Foundation and the Chinati Poetry Festival. It is also the best place to collection. It was met with mixed reactions Foundation, which house world-class stock up before heading into Big Bend.

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22 ADVENTURE CYCLIST AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG ADVENTURE CYCLIST AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG 23 Shoppers delight. Funky shops adorn Far West Texas, so plan on stocking up on plenty of what the Lone Star state has to offer.

Just beyond Alpine is the tiny town of tunities to stop for the night along the way. just a few miles on FM170 into Terlingua Marathon, centered around an Old West- We found ourselves at Cowhead Ranch, a Ghost Town to soak up some true local style Main Street. You’ll now find art gal- small replica of a western town run by a color. It’s traditional to have a drink on The leries, the Gage Hotel, and incredible food warm-hearted cowboy named Chris, who Porch while watching the sun set against and hospitality. There is even a hostel made hand-built the plywood and corrugated the mountains. Locals and travelers mingle entirely from papercrete (a construction steel structures to create accommodations for impromptu jam sessions and storytell- method that utilizes paper and clay), where for passing travelers. Cowhead has a small ing. Plenty of lodging is nearby, including you can stay free if you’re bike touring. bathhouse with on-demand hot water and the Terlingua Camping Hostel, which has To head into Big Bend from Alpine, ride a saloon with wireless internet! an old school bus that has been converted south along Highway 118. It’s approximate- Continuing on Highway 118 will take into a kitchen/lounge. ly 80 miles, and there are very few oppor- you to Study Butte-Terlingua. Head west For the hearty cyclist, we recommend a ride into Big Bend National Park and camp- T H R ing/lodging in Chisos Basin. But be pre- O N

N E W M E X I C O E pared for a challenge. From the main road, H FT WORTH T it’s a five-mile, 2,100-foot climb into Chisos Carlsbad Caverns NP F O

S GRANBURY Basin. Although it’s tough to get to, it’s an

N I N O R T H - C E N T R A L Guadalupe EL PASO A T E X A S amazing place to hike and camp, nestled in Mountains NP L GLEN ROSE P P a ring of mountains. ecos W E S T R ive Far West Texas is full of experiences that T E X A S r T E X A S VAN HORN we guarantee you will not find anywhere VALENTINE else. But a word of caution, conditions can ALPINE be harsh. Distances between services can MARFA Pedernales AUSTIN MARATHON SP be very long, so plan ahead and be sure you FREDERICKSBURG Y R T N always carry extra food and water. KERRVILLE U LUCKENBACH O R C The Hill Country & North-Central Texas TERLINGUA io L L H I G ra The Hill Country is roughly located in M E X I C O Big Bend NP nd SAN ANTONIO e the middle of the state and is anchored

on the east by the capital city of Austin. case y g r eene

24 ADVENTURE CYCLIST AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG ADVENTURE CYCLIST AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG 25 You’ll find quaint towns with German and Scandinavian heritage, old stone farmhous- es, incredible wildflower blooms during the spring, and plenty of hills to climb. Just to the north of the Hill Country, you’ll find yourself surrounded by the rolling plains of north-central Texas. This is a different Texas than most of us imagine. It’s lush and green in the spring, peppered with lakes, and replete with small towns centered around a courthouse square. We entered Hill Country after months in the desert and were immediately struck by the green trees and rushing rivers. After a long stay in Austin (an amazingly bicycle- friendly city), we headed west through the Hill Country on a long and roundabout ride to Fort Worth. Without realizing it, we had timed our trip through the Hill Country Prada Marfa. A sculpture by Michael Elmgreen and Ingar Dragset outside Valentine, Texas. at the peak of the wildflower bloom (in mid-April). For a true Hill Country experi- has an incredible network of these gems known batholith formation). ence, we suggest you do the same. It’s an with fantastic camping facilities, so we The Hill Country also boasts a num- amazing experience to soar down a country highly suggest taking advantage of them. A ber of great towns to explore. West of road and breathe in the sweet fragrance of few of our favorites, Pedernales Falls, Inks Austin, you’ll find Fredericksburg and thousands of bluebonnets, the Texas state Lake, and Enchanted Rock, are accessible Kerrville, complete with myriad restau- flower. by small back roads. One of the highlights rants, museums, and shops. Just south of Our rambles through the Hill Country was climbing up to the top of Enchanted Fredericksburg, and way off the beaten were punctuated by stops at the numerous Rock, one of the largest batholiths in the path, you’ll find a very small town with a state parks throughout theMANTA region. Texas U.S. (Half Dome in Yosemite is another well- big reputation — Luckenbach. The town

VERVE SERIES

MANTA

Photo: Ryan Bonneau www.OSPREYPACKS.com

24 ADVENTURE CYCLIST AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG ADVENTURE CYCLIST AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG 25 was made famous by country music artists Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson in a song of the same name that harkens back to a simpler life. In Luckenbach we stumbled onto the annual Texas Hat Festival and bought a couple of hat pins with the Texas star for our panniers. South of Austin, you’ll find Gruene, New Braunfels, and Lockhart. Gruene Hall is the oldest dance hall in Texas and is still a thriving anchor of the community. Stay for a show or simply pop in for a beer and a slice of history. On a hot summer day, make time for a swim in the nearby Guadalupe River. Lockhart is known as the barbecue capital of Texas and has three famous estab- lishments vying for supremacy: Kreutz’s, Smitty’s, and Black’s. We flipped a coin and chose Smitty’s, located downtown. The brick walls are black with soot, and the smell of smoked meat hangs permanently in the air. In Texas barbecue is synony- mous with seasoned and expertly smoked beef brisket. You buy it by the pound, and your choice of sides includes either Wonder bread or saltine crackers. Texas barbecue traditionalists will tell you that good brisket doesn’t need any sauce and good meat should stand on its own. Despite that, many establishments are acceding to the demands of the masses, and sauces are reluctantly offered. One of our favorite parts of exploring the Hill Country by bicycle was that it’s a popular place for cyclists. You’ll no doubt pass others on bikes enjoying the hills and scenery, and they’re often happy to share their favorite routes. When we were tour- ing through the area, we even ran into an Adventure Cycling-led group at Pedernales State Park. Having that many cyclists in an area also means that car drivers are more aware and accommodating. Heading north you begin to leave Hill Country and start to enter the prairies and lakes region. The hills gradually become less severe, and the bluebonnets are replaced by fields of wild grass. In the small town of Glen Rose, you’ll find a small and revitalized courthouse square, a historical museum, and a small bak- ery serving delicious homemade pie. Also nearby is Solavaca, a private ranch now open to mountain biking. After using a bike to repair holes in his fence, the owner invited friends to ride on his property and has since begun hosting organized races. Camping is allowed on a limited basis and Different altogether. The Hill Country is lush and green compared to West Texas. requires advance notification.

26 ADVENTURE CYCLIST AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG Nearby Granbury is also centered around a revitalized courthouse square and offers shops, restaurants, galleries, and The World’s Best Bike Tours museums that will entice you to take a Featuring the Most Beautiful Rides break. If you’re staying the night, take Our Affordable More Miles for Less Tours Include advantage of the shuttle system. You can Italy Tuscany | Piedmont | Puglia | Sardegna | Italian Alps leave your bike in the room and let the shuttle take you to the town center and Spain NEW Gran Canaria back. Plus France, Croatia, Austria & Czech, Scotland, Ireland, Norway, Greece & More In our rambling travels, we spent three 6 day tours from $2,695 months exploring Texas and we were con- Fully Guided and Supported tinually delighted and impressed. Our 22 Years Experience experiences challenged our preconceived Group and Bike Club Tours for 5 – 50 People notions of the Lone Star State. Not only did we meet friendly people, see beautiful scenery, and eat delicious local foods, but the network of farm-to-market roads meant that we could crisscross the state without dealing with much traffic. Texas is so large that it’s tempting to race through it, just to get across. For the bike tourist who prefers to meander and explore, Texas offers a mul- titude of touring options, from challenging cycling to epicurean delights.

Russ Roca and Laura Crawford are doing what they’ve always wanted to do — an open-ended bicycle tour ciclismoclassico.com — and they’ve recently incorporated Brompton folding 1.800.866.7314 bikes and trains into their travels. You can find out Price based on More Miles for Less tours in Tuscany more about them at pathlesspedaled.com. and Piedmont, based on double occupancy. ©2011 Salsa Cycles

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ADVENTURE CYCLIST AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG 27

Vikings&Lakers Iceland’s windblown Ring Road journeys between medieval and modern, unleashing Norse lore, rotten shark meat, troll statues, blackened sheep heads, mail-order Filipino brides, raspy liquor, and the world’s only phallus museum.

Story and photos by Roy M. Wallack

“You will not like mysa,” the museum res- did my paralyzing fear of the Ring Road, doing a diving shoot in Panama.”) taurant director said, pouring a clear, egg- the 830-mile two-lane highway around this Worse than that was the bitter, terri- whitish liquid into a shot glass. “Hardly Ohio-sized island at the top of the world, fying cold. I’m from Los Angeles, where anyone here in Iceland even drinks it which had left me hobbled, freezing, tech- breathing out frost is considered a magic anymore — only old, fat pensioners who nologically impaired, hating every pedal trick. I waited all morning in the capital started when they were young because stroke, and closer to throwing in the towel city, Reykjavik, for the icy wind and rain they were told it would grow big muscles than I’d ever been on any other bike trip to abate and the sun to shine. It didn’t, and put hair on their chests.” in my life. probably a sign that I should stay in town In desperate need of the latter, I swigged Could a few slurps of a millennium-old for the night and see if the legend of “the the shot, my face twisting as if it were back soft drink spark an epiphany that could world’s most beautiful women” was reality in college chugging tequila for the first get me my mojo back? Could I trick myself or myth. But with a wedding ring on my time. Non-alcoholic, mysa (pronounced into forgetting the miserable mileage of the finger and a 10-day schedule of 83 miles “missa”) is the sour, vinegary, briny water Ring Road by turning myself into a roll- per day on the line, the macho side of me that floats atop old milk or yogurt — the ing anthropologist in search of interesting took over and I headed north. same stuff Viking sailors drank and pickled (or disgusting) stuff about the great Norse Rocking the bike out of the saddle into meat in 1,000 years ago because it was the explorers and the culture they left behind Arctic headwinds, my torso quickly was only thing that didn’t go bad on their epic — like mysa? soaked in a cold sweat, and my nose and journeys from Norway to Iceland and the Many people visit Iceland to run white- hands ceased to function correctly. My New World. Emboldened by its histori- water rapids, watch whales and waterfalls, camera was next to go. When I took it out cal significance (and my desensitized taste shop for stuffed puffin dolls, and pose with for a shot about seven miles out of town, buds), I asked for another shot — and troll statues. But a deeper perspective was the sub-freezing windchill (as low as -5 another and another. It tasted like … liq- crucial motivation for a broken-down man C, according to the occasional electronic uid courage! That’s because as the carton with abandonment issues. I was riding weather signs on the roadside) actually of mysa disappeared down my throat, so solo on Highway 1 — the official name of shorted out the circuitry. Just like that, my the Ring Road — because a photographer Lumix was dead. Less than 45 minutes into pal who’d recruited me for the trip never my adventure, I’d become a picture-loving Protective measures. A group of British showed up at the airport (“Didn’t you get participant on a buddy bike trip without a girls mask themselves from volcanic ash. my email last week?” he texted me. “I’m camera or a buddy. The next camera shop was in the pic- turesque town of Borgarnes, located on a peninsula 40 miles north of Reykjavik, population 1,900. It took me over 10 hours to get there due to a long, underwater tun- nel that bans bikes and forced a 60-mile detour around the Hvalfjörður inlet. By the time I got back to the Ring Road, it was a shoulderless, busy two-lane freeway passing through a desolate, treeless land- scape of tundra and lava rocks — with no cities or stores along the way. No surprise there, as there are just 300,000 Icelanders, with 200,000 of them in the capital area. As for the lack of trees, the first wave of Viking pioneers cut down all the native birchwoods a millennium ago. They regrow slowly in the four-month growing season of these near–Arctic Circle latitudes. “If you get lost in the forest in Iceland,” goes the saying, “just stand up,” — which refers to the sparse and runty forests that look like Christmas tree lots. Standing up on a bike in a frigid head- No trees here. Roy climbs above one of Iceland’s many barren, windswept landscapes. wind for over 80 miles takes its toll. By 9:00 PM, when I crossed the 1.5-mile within two minutes of stopping, I shorted ing that a Chinese group had bought out Borgarfjarðarbrú bridge (the second lon- my normal stretching and feeding routines the entire youth hostel, I lucked into the gest in the country) into Borgarnes, all the all day long. Oddly, for a sunless day, I last room at a bed and breakfast. shops were shut down — and so was my was also darker than usual. It seems that “We opened this when the market body. The hardest double centuries never the fallout of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano, crashed,” said the proprietor, referring to beat me up like this. I was coughing, sneez- which blew its top from March to May the national banking scam that blew up ing, soaked, and hurting from head to toe. and disrupted flights all over Europe, had and brought Iceland to bankruptcy in My muscles — quad and hip flexors espe- coated my face in volcanic ash and mud 2006. Icelanders left by the thousands. cially — were destroyed. My shoulders, kicked up from the wet roads. When I saw So did businesses that had to buy goods neck, and triceps were stiff and spasmodic. myself in a mirror, I looked like Al Jolson abroad, including McDonalds. Worst were the knees, screeching with pain singing “Mammy.” “Many people have opened B&Bs — like rusty hinges. Working hour after hour Game Over, Range Rover and museums, too,” she continued. “We with no break, I was bonked beyond bonk. Getting a hot shower and shelter after had to — anything to make ends meet. Shivering and shaking from the windchill that hellish day was a priority. After find- The exchange rate dropped from 68 kroner to the dollar to 130 now, and we all went from rich to poor. We all wanted to be Americans — big SUVs, big-screen TVs, big this, big that. Now everyone else comes here for vacation because it’s cheap. And we’re back to being Icelanders again.” The crash gave rise to a slogan that I would hear all over Iceland in the next week: Range Rover, Game Over. Could it be that as I was discovering Iceland, they were rediscovering them- selves? Being marooned here in little Borgarnes for a day put me way behind schedule, but it turned out to be a blessing in disguise that rejuvenated my body and spirit. After sleeping through the midnight sun (you have to pull the shades all the way down), I bought a cheap camera when the shops opened the next day at 11:00 AM, charged

the battery for a couple hours, then ren- case y g r eene

30 ADVENTURE CYCLIST AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG dezvoused with my fateful mysa at the newly opened Settlement Centre museum. Its exhibits focused on the tourist-friendly “Saga” craze — stories of the country’s founding that usually feature Egil, the Want to keep going? Viking pioneer and heathen warrior con- sidered Iceland’s George Washington. Don’t let chappeD skin stop you. While hanging around town, I even got in a swim workout and hot-tub rehab for Before the road rubs you the wrong way, reach for the my aching legs at a geothermally heated little green can packed with relief. Essential gear for the pool and sauna, $3 entry fee. Iceland, which trip, Bag Balm® is the time-tested solution for soothing straddles the grinding North American and European tectonic plates, is a bubbling chapped and chafed skin, cuts, and scrapes. cauldron of volcanoes, geysers, and steam vents that are used to provide cheap elec- tricity and hot water. That’s why the coun- try has over 200 public aquatic centers, including an Olympic-sized lap pool, kid’s dip, water slide, sauna, and locker rooms in Borgarnes. That’s probably why Iceland’s national sport is swimming (or as the guy next to me said, “sitting in a hot tub and talking”). The pools don’t use much chlorine, so strict hygiene rules apply, such as taking a naked shower before swimming. Wall posters and a human inspector instruct you to scrub all private areas — crotch, DAIRY ASSOCIATION CO., INC. armpits, butt, feet, face, and hair — in P.O. BOx 145, DePt. AC11, LynDOnviLLe, vt 05851/teL. 802-626-3610/www.BAgBALm.COm west Of ROCkies: smith sALes seRviCe, P.O. BOx 48, ORegOn City, OR 97045 five languages, including Icelandic, Danish, Norwegian, German, and English. “You forgot your butt,” the man firmly reminded DAS-505-11; Consumer; Adventure Cyclist; AC11; 1/3 page; 4C; 4.75” x 4.85”; dt me. After a necessary and satisfying day of shopping, mysa guzzling, fried chicken eating, and swimming, I spent the second night of my trip watching YouTube videos of the NBA finals and arguing the merits of Kobe Bryant versus Michael Jordan. Like most Icelandic males, Victor Rodriguez, the night manager of the Borgarnes youth hostel, was an obsessive fan of American sports. In the next couple of hours, this half-Icelander/half-Spaniard became my cultural guide, railing against the high unemployment rate and complaining of minor slights against Iceland’s growing population of black-haired halfbreeds such as himself and the kids of the one-time Filipina mail-order bride down the street, who ran the restaurant where I bought the chicken. Hearing that I’d liked mysa, Victor told me that young boys still drank it, but as a sugar-laced beverage called garpur that is marketed as a “he-man” drink guar- anteed to grow chest hair. He then went into the kitchen and came out with some traditional Icelandic cuisine he thought I’d enjoy because, as he put it, “they taste

ADVENTURE CYCLIST AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG 31 ICELAND - 3

like crap.” That’s how I got to sample slátur Borgarnes and Akureyri, Iceland’s second city, which sits in a sheltered natural har- (pronounced slouter), a sausage made of biggest city at 17,000 people and its north- bor at the end of the inlet. sheep liver, blood, and intestines, ground ern sightseeing hub, are ideal for cycling — Depleted by the tough two-day ride, I up together, sewed up in a ball, boiled, and if you’re headed southwest. Unfortunately, switched into R&R mode for the next 36 sliced, and Brennivín, a 40-percent-alcohol I was still going northeast into a freezing hours. I found a B&B and a supermarket, liquor dating from Viking times made from headwind. swam laps in the pool, and made a visit fermented potato pulp and caraway seeds. Back-to-back 170- and 140-kilometer to the famous Listagi Street art and craft It’s known as the Black Death, and I know days on this busy, barren, shoulderless center. Of course I continued eating all why. It tastes like black licorice from hell. stretch of rolling road, almost devoid of the Viking foods I could lay my hands on. “And do you in America eat svid (pro- stores and shelter were only made tolerable I tried hákarl (pronounced how-kahrl), nounced “sweeth)?” he asked. “You must by the lack of rain, my rested legs, and my a gray cube of putrefied shark with tiny try it. It’s an entire roasted sheep’s head, new upbeat attitude. The ho-hum scen- bones and a nostril-twisting ammonia reek. with the eyeballs, ears, and other parts ery — pastoral farmlands, volcanic moon- And I became addicted to skyr, a tasty intact.” scapes, grasslands with grazing horses and Icelandic cheese-like yogurt with a built-in Before he shut the hostel down for the sheep, and occasional Christmas tree-lot spoon in the lid. night, Victor asked if I’d be passing through forests — finally got interesting the last I received more history on Iceland’s pre- Husavik, a small town in the far north 30 50 miles. Long, steep climbs led to a veri- carious economics from the B&B’s friendly miles from the Arctic Circle best known for table Little Switzerland — row after row manager-owner, Elin Conway, daughter of whale watching. When I said no, seeing on of snowcapped peaks with the white stuff a G.I. stationed here during World War II, the map that Husavik was a full day’s ride dripping down the sides like melted marsh- when the U.S. and Britain took over the off the Ring Road and I couldn’t spare the mallow on chocolate ice cream. island for several years. time, he shook his head. “Then you will The reward came when the road topped “You know, I was a big-time real miss another unique thing in this coun- out at 4,000 feet and I began a wild estate agent before the crash,” she said try found nowhere else in the world: the 90-minute, 30-mile descent that led all the with a laugh. “We were all trying to be Icelandic Phallological Institute.” way to the outskirts of Akureyri. Facing Americans — so I drove a Range Rover My curiosity was piqued. After all, how a breathtaking wall of mountains framing and took expensive vacations. I loved San could I come all the way to Iceland and not Eyjafjörður, Iceland’s longest fjord, the Francisco.” Her daughter Ritta was a top go to the renowned Penis Museum? Ring Road turns right for the last 10 bliss- manager at Iceland’s Landsbanki bank that Size Matters ful miles into town. Heading south for the precipitated the country’s rise and fall The 210 miles of Ring Road between first time, tailwinds whisked me into the by offering exorbitant interest rates and

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travails. More likely, their outlook is due to their thousand-year geographic isola- tion and near-unpronounceable Viking language, which is unintelligible even to the linguistically similar but modernized Danes, Swedes, and Norwegians. Seeing me fumble over a nine-syllable street name while asking directions to a hardware store, several people just looked at each other, threw their hands up, and laughed. “Just look for a long word that starts with a T,” they said. They apparently like to laugh so much that they elected a comedian to one of the most important offices in the country Jon Gnarr, a non-politician and Iceland’s best-known comic, had been elected Reykjavik’s mayor the night before. The only candidate of his self-created Best Party, he ran on the slogan, “Government The one and only. The extra miles couldn’t keep Roy from the Icelandic Phallological Museum. in Iceland is a joke. So who better to run it?” In an attempt to calm the nerves of then defaulting. Unemployed, she has since I found the Icelanders to be a help- the business community after the election, emmigrated to Canada. ful, outgoing people who enjoy a good he said, “No one has to be afraid of the When I told Elin I wanted to take mysa laugh, at odds with the dour reputations of Best Party because it is the best party. If it back to America to sell to health-food their Nordic cousins on mainland Europe. wasn’t, it would be called the Worst Party stores, she gave me her business card and They have sort of an odd-man-out view or the Bad Party.” said she’d help me market it as the “Viking of life that might stem from their coun- Bad puns were flying two days later chest-hair grower.” try’s modern-day economic and geological following a crazy-hard climb out of town

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

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32 ADVENTURE CYCLIST AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG ADVENTURE CYCLIST AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG 33 Ascent of a different kind. Roy joins others to top 6,921-foot Hvannadalshnjúkur.

on the Ring Road and a night in Mývatin again. National Park, a pretty mini-Yellowstone But the riding was coming to an end. with a lake, volcanic hot pools, and stinky, After doing 440 mostly hard miles, I still sulfurous fumes. I looked at the map and had 500 to go and only three days to do it realized that I not only had no hope of — so I did the logical thing and bused the completing the Ring Road, but was only 35 Ring Road around to the island’s southern miles from Húsavík and what could very shore. well be the climax of my trip — the Penis In my hostel’s dinner hall, a large group Museum! of Icelanders invited me to join them for Believe me, this members-only institute, hrutspungar (chewy pickled ram’s testi- identified on the street by a tall wooden cles), and svid (the blackened sheep’s head log carved into the shape of an erect penis, with eyes and intact teeth that Victor had measured up to expectations. Highlights told me about). As we washed Sven (as of the Phallological Institute’s 276-speci- we named him) down with shots of Black men collection include a 67-inch sperm Death, the group’s leader, a 48-year-old whale penis preserved in formaldehyde, a named Odin, explained that my compan- 48-incher mounted on the wall like deer ions were part of a larger group of several antlers, lampshades made from bull tes- hundred who the next morning would be ticles, and, as of May, its first human climbing up the country’s largest and tall- schlong: the 11-inch pickled penis of newly est glacier, 6,921-foot Hvannadalshnjúkur, deceased 95-year-old Icelander Pall Arason. which covers 11 percent of the island’s land “He was a boaster, a braggart, a funny mass. They’d all trained for four months in guy,” said curator Sigurdur Hjartarson, the a program called “Reach the Top.” 69-year-old former Reykjavik college pro- “We’d invite you to come along,” Odin fessor who had founded the Phallological said, “but this is rough, steep stuff requir- Museum in the capital and moved it up ing ropes and crampons most of the way. north when he retired three years ago. No way riding your bike for a few days Allowing Húsavík tourists to combine would give you the fitness to keep up.” whale watching and whale penis watch- He didn’t know his own headwinds. My ing, the museum is considered a significant legs were super fit from the ordeal. Joining stimulus to the local economy. the fast group the next morning, I went to Turning south to Akureyri, I basked in the roof of Iceland and back in 11 hours. At the sweet afterglow of a 30-MPH tailwind the top, the Reach the Toppers celebrated for 40 miles. Suddenly I remembered that like it was the Super Bowl. For many of cycling was fun. It was actually kind of them, Odin told me over swigs from a flask romantic: After spending time with 276 of mysa, it was a chance to “get in touch phalluses, I fell in love with bike touring with their roots” after some years of excess.

34 ADVENTURE CYCLIST AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG ADVENTURE CYCLIST AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG 35 On my last day on the Ring Road, I stopped by several pretty waterfalls, then rode the last 30 miles into Reykjavik, stop- The real art of the bicycle is for each to have its purpose. ping for a swim and a shower. Before catch- ing my airport bus, I took a picture with a troll, downed a couple tubs of Skyr, ate a lamb hot dog at the Baejarins Beztu hot dog stand (known as the most popular restau- The perfect marriage between humanity and machinery. rant in the country since Bill Clinton ate a lamb dog there a decade ago), then headed up to the landmark Hallgrímskirkja (the church of Hallgrímur) for a final picture. At the rocketship-shaped church, I ran into a tall Scotsman on a touring bike. It had four waterproof panniers and a full camping kit. He wore a rain jacket imprint- ed with the words Paris-Brest-Paris 2007, referring to a famed 762-mile ride held every four years in France to be completed in three and a half days. This guy was a hard-core randonneur. “How’d your trip go?” he asked. “I saw you head off from here 10 days ago. I was going to do the Ring Road too, but got intimidated by the rain and wind.” He stayed in town that day and instead opted for the Golden Circle route, a tough, sight- seeing-rich 186-mile loop in the Reykjavik/ American Made. Oregon Made. Handmade. southwest region with nearly 10,000 feet www.co-motion.com of climbing. He got some great photos of waterfalls and geologic formations. As I looked at his camera screen, I thought, “This guy should have been my partner!” On the other hand, he didn’t mix much with the locals and stuck to his own oatmeal, sardines, and energy bars — no cool Icelandic stuff like Svid. And he did bail out on the Ring Road even before he started. Bottom line? The Ring Road has a nice ring to it, but it’s not for the weak of heart (or legs). Iceland is big, harsh, and spread out. You need at least 10 days to do it right — by car. By bike, double that time if you can, go in mid-summer (when it’s merely cold, not freezing), and be social. The descendants of the Vikings will show you stuff you can’t see anywhere else.

Roy M. Wallack owes it all to bike touring. An article Nature does not hurry, about his 1982 Pacific-to-Atlantic tour launched yet everything is accomplished his journalism career. His first book, The Traveling Cyclist, detailed his many trips in the 1980s and It took us a little while, but finally we’ve engineered a fully-functioning 1990s, including the first into the USSR. His son was eco-friendly fender. Made of fast growing Moso Bamboo and designed born exactly nine months after his 1994 honeymoon with a compound curve to help you stay dry, our Grasshopper Fenders tandem ride from Nice, France, to Rome. Last sum- truly are a better bicycle product for a better world. planetbike.com mer, they did their first father-son tandem trip, from Portland, Oregon, to Yellowstone. An L.A. Times fit- ness columnist, Roy has edited several bike magazines and written five bike and running books, including Bike for Life: How to Ride to 100.

34 ADVENTURE CYCLIST AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG ADVENTURE CYCLIST AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG 35 Road Test soma saga Soma Fabrications’ touring frameset arrives by Patrick O’Grady

Returning to cycling as an adult, a former competitive swimmer gone soft in the service of journalism, I relied upon the tools of my trade. I did some research, interviewed a few shop types, and started writing — checks, mostly, for a series of off-the-rack, ready-to-ride bikes. As I pedaled through flab to fitness, from century rides to amateur racing, I learned through trial and error what worked for me, and more important, what didn’t. Taking up cyclocross gave me a Dia-Compe/Rivendell Silver chance to play product man- friction bar-end shifters, Soma- ager, because my first racing label Tektro brake levers and machines arrived as frames IRD Cafam cantis, Nitto B135 and forks. Cyclocross had yet Randonneur bars, Soma Thick to achieve even niche status in N’ Zesty tape, and an IRD America — on this side of the Techno-Glide headset. I was on pond, it was more of a pothole. my own for the rest, rooting I dressed my framesets up through boxes, appraising idle with parts I’d come to rely on bikes and making notes as to in road and mountain-bike what would need to be begged, racing, read about in books borrowed, stolen, or — as a last like Cyclocross: Training and resort — bought. Technique by Simon Burney, Ironically, my Double Cross or had scattered about the became the first organ donor. p at r ick o ’ g ad y place awaiting some purpose. a Double Cross for myself, the formula for Having undergone category- Occasionally, an old bike had to die so the optimal number of bikes in my garage reassignment surgery a while back, it that a new one might live. being n + 1. I built mine up almost entirely was now a touring bike of sorts, and sur- As cyclocross grew in popularity, it with old parts stripped from another ’cross rendered its beefy Rich Lesnik/Rivendell became possible to buy complete bikes, bike that had proved too whippy for me, wheelset, Shimano A520 touring pedals, and I got hold of a few. But by then I and I found its ride both lively and com- and Tubus Cargo rear rack. Another bike had developed a number of perfectly fortable. Plus it had mounting points for contributed a Flite saddle, Ritchey seat defensible biases regarding components racks and fenders, front and rear, making it post, and Cane Creek Crosstop brake levers. and so eventually returned to buying capable of doing more than going round in A Tubus Ergo rack was presently steel framesets and equipping them with muddy circles for an hour. unemployed, as was an Ultegra front my favorite bits. Naturally, when I saw Soma had derailleur, but the Deore rear I had to That’s how I stumbled across Soma begun offering a loaded-touring frame- buy. And since I was in a rush, I also Fabrications. My wife likes to ride, but set, I was immediately interested. So bought a Dura-Ace chain, 9-speed doesn’t much care for streets or single- was Adventure Cyclist, and soon I was in Shimano HG50 cassette, bottom bracket, track, so, in 2006, I bought her one of possession of a Soma Saga, plus a box of Origin-8 Pro Fit stem, and some silver their inexpensive Tange Prestige Double parts that fell short of a complete build. SKS P45 fenders for style points. Old Cross framesets and she’s been happily Oh, boy — Frankenbike time again. Town Bike Shop stitched it all together, I navigating the local bike paths ever The Soma folks, otherwise known plugged in my Visa card and brrrzzzzap! since. as The Merry Sales Company of San It’s alive! It’s alive, it’s alive — it’s alive! The frameset got the usual anarchic Francisco, don’t sell the Saga as a com- My build runs 26.3 pounds without assembly, a hodgepodge of this, that, and plete bike, but they were kind enough to racks and bags, but with a lighter set of the other, and she liked it so much I bought include a Sugino Alpina 2 triple crankset, wheels the Saga would make a refined

36 ADVENTURE CYCLIST AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG ADVENTURE CYCLIST AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG 37 townie, with its navy powder coat, vanil- Specifications: Soma Saga la panels, and gold lettering. Sling a mes- senger bag over one shoulder and head Price: $499 (frame and fork only) Cranks: Sugino Alpina 2 triple, 172.4mm for cube farm or café. Ride it no hands Sizes available: 44cm, 47cm, 50cm, arms, 48/36/24 chainrings while checking your email via smart- 52cm, 54cm, 56cm, 58cm, 60cm, 62cm Front derailleur: Shimano Ultegra phone. Cross your ankles over the stem, Size tested: 58cm Rear derailleur: Shimano Deore lace your fingers behind your head, and Weight: 26.3 pounds with pedals Shifters: Dia-Compe/Rivendell Silver fric- tion bar-end shifters have a nap. No, on second thought, don’t TEST BIKE MEASUREMENTS Brake levers: Soma-label Tektro aero do any of that. Not around me, anyway. Seat tube: 22 inches (center-to-top) levers with Cane Creek Crosstop top- But you’ll be tempted, because the Saga Top tube: 22 1/4 inches actual, 22 5/8 mounted levers serves up a very stable, reassuring ride. inches virtual (center-to-center) Brakes: IRD Cafam cantilevers I’m famously timid in corners and on Head angle: 72° Pedals: Shimano A520 touring descents, but the Saga makes up for my Seat tube angle: 73° Stem: Origin-8 Pro Fit shortcomings. I believe I could roll up Chainstay length: 17 3/4 inches Saddle: Selle Italia Flite to a stop light on this bike, climb off, Standover height: 32 inches Seat post: Ritchey WCS stroll over to the button that triggers the Head tube length: 7 5/16 inches Handlebar: Nitto B135 Randonneur, pedestrian-crossing signal, punch it, and Bottom bracket drop: 3 inches 45cm walk back — and the Saga would be sit- Crank spindle height above ground: Cassette: Shimano HG50, 11-12-14-16- 10 5/8 inches 18-21-24-28-32 9-speed ting there patiently waiting for me, like a Fork rake: 1 25/32 inches (45mm) Chain: Dura-Ace 7701 well-trained horse. Wheelbase: 41 1/2 inches Bottle cages: Blackburn CS-2 stainless But what’s a horse without saddle- Frame and fork: Tange Prestige heat- Front rack: Tubus Ergo bags? Soma’s website describes the Saga treated chromoly main triangle, butted Rear rack: Tubus Cargo as featuring “rear load bias geometry” — and tapered chromoly seat stays and Fenders: SKS P45 geek-speak for “it rides best with loads chainstays, 1.25-inch butted downtube Headlight: Princeton Tec EOS Bike in the rear or at both front and rear” and top tube, extended head tube. Taillight: Busch & Muller 4D Toplight — and they’ve beefed up the rear rack Spoke holder, pump peg, flat chainstay Permanent Taillight mounts in case you’re a two-bagger by plate for double kickstand, three sets Gearing in inches: preference. of bottle bosses, double eyelets at rear 48 36 24 So I installed the Cargo and loaded a dropout. Flat-crown Tange Infinity fork 11 117.8 88.4 58.9 has double eyelets at the dropouts and 12 108.0 81.0 54.0 pair of Arkel B-40s with about 18 pounds low-rider mounts 14 92.6 69.4 46.3 worth of this and that and played credit- Headset: IRD Techno-Glide 16 81.0 60.8 40.5 card tourist for a while, without actually Rims: Velocity Synergy Asym 36-hole 18 72.0 54.0 36.0 deploying the credit card (my wife had (rear); Velocity Synergy 32-hole (front) 21 61.7 46.3 30.9 raised questions of authorization regard- Hubs: Shimano LX 24 54.0 40.5 27.0 ing the parts purchase). Spokes: DT Swiss 14/15 gauge double- 28 46.3 34.7 23.1 When I stood to climb with that load, butted stainless steel spokes with nickle- 32 40.5 30.4 20.3 the Saga wanted to wag its butt a bit, plated brass nipples Contact: somafab.com, (800) 245-9959 like an old, plump lab with bad hips. But like that elderly, chubby mutt, it wasn’t remotely frightening. With its fat top (the Cargo already sported a Busch & felt just like climbing in slow motion on and down tubes, long chainstays, and Muller 4D Toplight Permanent Taillight). one of my lighter, pricier bikes. stretch-limo wheelbase, the bike remained At this point the Saga was getting Adding weight to the front made the eminently manageable, whether going up, pretty stout. Before loading the bags it Saga track as though it were on rails. down, or around and about. I never need- tipped my scale at 30.9 pounds. Fully I was perfectly comfortable twisting ed the 24-tooth granny ring on the Sugino loaded front and rear, it weighed in at around with one hand on the bars to crankset, and not once did I clip my toes 61.7 pounds (15.4 up front, 11.2 behind, check for oncoming serial killers and on the front tire or heels on the rear bags. plus 4.2 pounds of tent and pad lashed even rode no-hands for short stretches. Got more in mind than a casual week- to the rack). Happily, I need the exercise And while I was a little tentative on end outing? The frame has three sets and am rarely in a hurry. The path is the one very steep, fast descent, I soon set- of bottle bosses, a flat chainstay plate goal — and the path I chose included tled down and enjoyed the ride, whether suitable for a double kickstand, a spoke several of my favorite climbs and least- up hill or down dale. holder and pump peg, plus the usual eye- favorite descents, peppered as they are And out there is where we all want lets and mounts at dropout and seat stays. with mule deer, motorists, and other to be. This bike will take you there and And the flat-crown fork sports low-rider oblivious Colorado wildlife. bring you back. So what are you waiting mounts and double eyelets at the drop- I was surprised at how well the Saga for? Compose your own Saga. outs. So on went a third bottle cage, fend- climbed while thus loaded — at no point ers, Ergo rack, and some Arkel B-26 bags, did I feel as though I was wrestling with Patrick O’Grady has written and cartooned about cycling since 1989 for Velo, Bicycle Retailer and plus a Princeton Tec EOS Bike headlight the bike, and out-of-the-saddle efforts Industry News, and a variety of other publications.

36 ADVENTURE CYCLIST AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG ADVENTURE CYCLIST AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG 37 Travels with Willie Uncomfortable A case for skipping the warm shower and B&B by Willie Weir

Don’t get me wrong, I like comfort. Comfort violins playing. Just us. We didn’t need anything more. is, well, comfortable. But over the last 30 If someone had offered us a free years of bicycle travels, my most memorable fully-supported luxury bike tour of the Balkans, complete with five-star hotels, and most valued moments have happened would we have accepted it? You bet! It would have been fun. But it when I’ve been uncomfortable. Over the recent wouldn’t have been the intense, visceral, years, bike tours have trended more toward gritty journey that bound us together as a couple. the comfy and luxurious. Which isn’t surpris- But one person’s uncomfortable is ing in a country where parking a 43-foot-long another person’s routine. Going on a bike-camping trip might be an adventure recreational vehicle complete with bump- for someone who works a desk job and outs, satellite television, and leather the norm for another who works as a recliners on an asphalt pad in the forest field biologist. is considered camping. There is a place for luxury tours, of For every route across the country, course. Sometimes you just want to pam- there are numerous organizations and per yourself. Sometimes you just want companies that will cater to your every a vacation. I know. I used to lead those need. They’ll carry your bags. They’ll luxury tours. cook your meals. They’ll arrange for a I worked for a bike touring company soft bed, or, if you have to camp, they’ll in the Pacific Northwest. One of the go to great lengths to bring a hot shower more popular tours was a six-day trip to the field where you will pitch your in the San Juan Islands off the coast of tent. Washington. We stayed in nice hotels I’ve lost track of the number of bicycle and ate at fabulous restaurants. My g r eg si pl e travelers I’ve heard announce, “Oh, I guests were an amazing mix of lawyers, could never go a day without a shower!” lying on top of a down comforter was doctors, university professors, accoun- Really? sheer joy. But that joy was intensified tants, and every other profession under I feel sorry for them in a way. How because, more often than not, the nights the sun. can someone truly appreciate the joy of a prior had been spent sweating in a tent One beautiful summer morning, we warm shower if they’ve never gone with- pitched next to a corn field or haystack had a short pedal from our inn to the out one? after sponge bathing with a warm pot of ferry on Orcas Island. I was riding sag My wife Kat and I have been cycling water. and most of my guests were long gone and traveling together since 1996. Our Then there was the night when there before I pedaled out of the parking lot. first trip was a summer journey through was no water source, so we lay next to One man lingered, pedaling slowly. I just the Balkans. We camped most of the each other, exhausted, the day’s dust figure he was hanging back so I’d have time. If we had spent every night in a and road grit clinging to our bodies. We some company. hotel, our money would have run out stank. We were laughably filthy. I looked Once all of the other guests were out in three weeks. Our journey lasted over over at Kat and realized just how beauti- of sight, he looked at me and said, “Can I four months. ful she was and how much I adored her. I ask you a personal question?” There were times that we were invited took her salty, sweaty hand in mine and “Go ahead.” into people’s homes, and they offered kissed it. In its own odd way, it was the “What do you …” a bath and a feather bed, and other ultimate romantic moment. No candlelit There was an awkward pause. creature comforts. Getting clean and table. No expensive bottle of wine. No “What do you do if you have to … to

38 ADVENTURE CYCLIST AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG ADVENTURE CYCLIST AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG 39 urinate?” “Thanks,” he said, with a look of to highlight and promote short out-and- My immediate reaction was to burst gratitude and relief. back bike tours. out laughing. This was a joke. But the I didn’t follow up the conversation If you’ve done organized bike camp- tour guide in me held back my guffaw with him. Didn’t ask him how it went. ing tours, consider heading out on your and my brain went into overdrive. But I’ll bet that his life has since been a own. If you are a veteran bike camper What is this guy really asking? This is little richer for having finally peed out- here in the U.S., take the leap and tour in awkward. Wait. Wait. doors. a foreign country. I managed to keep a neutral expres- I guess what I’m trying to point out is Discover what is beyond your comfort sion on my face. you don’t have to go on an epic journey zone. Go out and pedal. Get sweaty and He continued. to step out of your comfort zone. grimy. Pee outdoors. Forgo the shower. “I mean how do you go about it? Can Like lifting weights, you don’t get Then sleep on the ground, underneath you get arrested or get a ticket for inde- much benefit until you go beyond what the stars. Feel this world on your skin cent exposure?” is comfortable. Lifting a barbell with 20 and don’t wash it off right away. Travel Was this man pulling off a practical pounds of weight is a workout for some in a country where you don’t speak the joke that would be shared with the rest and not even close for others. language. Eat food you can’t identify. Be of the group at lunch? Kat and my journey in the Balkans uncomfortable. My mind flew to the guest list: One was a leap, but both of us had prior Then, if you want, reward yourself couple from Nebraska. A family from experience of being away from the with a meal at a restaurant and a room Illinois. A doctor and his wife from shower head and comfy bed. But Kat had with a king-size bed. Florida. Two couples from California, and never been on a long-distance bike trip You’ll be amazed out how much better this man was from New York City. and I’d never gone wild camping with that food tastes, how blessedly warm that If this 47-year-old man was born and someone I’d just asked to marry me. shower feels, and you might rediscover raised in the Big Apple, it was quite pos- If you’ve never been more than 18 how decadently comfortable it is to sleep sible that he had never peed outdoors. hours without a shower, planning to ride in a bed. I now could see from his look of the Adventure Cycling Association’s off And if you’re like me, you will treasure embarrassment that it had taken a lot of road Great Divide Mountain Bike Trail those uncomfortable moments as the great courage to bring this up. This man was from Canada to Mexico is perhaps a leap joys and wonders of your life. way beyond his comfort level. too far. I’d recommend a weekend camp- “No. It’s no big deal out here,” I said. ing trip first. Adventure Cyclist columnist Willie Weir has been wild camping and traveling by bike for 30 years. He “Why don’t you go behind that tree and Take advantage of Adventure Cycling’s enjoys the benefits of being uncomfortable, but will I’ll keep a look out.” bikeovernights.org — a site developed admit to not heeding his own advice. Experience Live Olympic Cycling

London London 2012 Adventure Cycling Association is auctioning a 10 night home stay for 2 in North Olympic Road Holmwood, England, during the London 2012 Olympic Games. The house is located in the Race Route beautiful Surrey countryside along the route for the Men’s and Women’s Olympic Cycling Road Races. King Upon In addition to the games, auction winners can cycle the Surrey Hills, day-trip to Dorking or Thames London, explore the history of North Holmwood, and visit the Denbies Estate Vineyard and Esher other local attractions. This auction is only open to Woking Adventure Cycling members.

Location of For auction details and to Home Stay place your bid, visit the website below. Box Hill Dorking The winner of the auction will stay in the home pictured to the right. adventurecycling.org/olympics

38 ADVENTURE CYCLIST AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG ADVENTURE CYCLIST AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG 39 GEARED UP

Geared Up eat, sleep, drink, shoot by Mike Deme and Josh Tack

Cateye INOU upload record your rides, and if you like to ($250, cateye. your share what you’ve been up to on your com/en/prod route(s). bike, it makes it easy to do so. ucts, 800- You 522-8393) will need REI Quarter Dome T2 Plus The INOU to start a free ($299, rei.com/product/761893/rei-quar from Cateye account to complete ter-dome-t2-tent, 800-426-4840) is a still camera and the process. You In many ways a tent is like a touring GPS video recorder that can also access bike — when you find the right one, it you can mount to your helmet the video and feels special. That’s the way I felt about or handlebars. I’ve toyed around photos without a Quarter Dome I had for few years. But with a few helmet cams before but, uploading by that tent is now somewhere in Oregon so far, the INOU has been the easiest clicking on the — I know not where — so I decided to to use, mostly because the versatile Details button see what REI had done with the Quarter mounting strap actually fits many and then the Dome. Much like Travis was at first with styles of bike helmets and was not Display data Young Yeller, I thought I’d be disappoint- intended for helmets with few vents. folders button, but be careful, if you ed, but I’m actually pleasantly surprised. Not only is the INOU an easy way to alter the data that’s been downloaded to REI offers five models of the Quarter record your rides, you can also upload your computer before you send it to the and share them using the INOU Sync INOUAtlas site, the upload may not work software (available for PC and Mac) in properly. The INOUAtlas website allows conjunction with INOUAtlas (inouatlas. you to share your data via Google com). Maps and also through both The recording process is pretty Facebook and Twitter. simple. You mount the INOU to your The INOU runs on two helmet (preferable to the handlebars, AAA batteries and which provides a bit shakier picture) and will run for about press the power button. The INOU will six hours. It can show a solid red light while it acquires handle a Micro your position via GPS and will switch to SD card up to a flashing red light once it has. It’s now 32GB and ready for action and, when you’re ready, the camera you press the video record but- ton. That’s it. When your ride is over, you press the power button again and the record- ing stops. A 1GB Micro SD is included. Dome and I decided to When you’re ready to try out the T2 Plus version. This upload the video or pictures, freestanding model boasts 35.2 square you pull the Micro SD card from the records at 640 x 480 pixels. The camera feet of rectangular floor space (94” x 54” INOU and plug it into a data card reader. and mounting strap weigh in at 5 oz. with a peak height of 41”), five pockets, (There is no mini USB port built into the One odd thing is that the INOU two air-flow chimneys, two entry ways, INOU so you’ll need a separate reader.) doesn’t record sound, which may or may and a seam-sealed, waterproof, coated You then fire up the sync software and not be a big deal to some. ripstop nylon floor. The Tension Truss follow the on screen instructions to The INOU offers an easy way to architecture provides excellent stability

40 ADVENTURE CYCLIST AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG ADVENTURE CYCLIST AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG 41 GEARED UP

and the preassembled poles, which are color coded to match the tent, allow for easy setup, and there are no annoying pole sleeves as the tent body clips to the frame. When packed up, the T2 Plus measures 7.5” x 20” and weighs in at a packed weight of just under 5 pounds. While the vestibules may not be big enough to allow an entire bike under them, they easily accommodate panniers and, if you use this as a one- person tent, there’s plenty of room inside to store gear. I found that stak- combined 6.8 ounces. The cookset con- that easily attaches to your bike through ing out the rainfly at the corners was a sists of a 28-ounce pot, a silicone lid/pot- a Velcro strap that wraps around your better option than using the tent pole holder, and a silicone base that doubles seatpost, and a ratcheting strap that grommets when it rained, allowing the as a cup or small bowl. Yup, that’s it. loops around the rails of your saddle An ultralighter’s dream. And the spork? for a secure fit. On the top of the bag Well, it’s hard to wax eloquent about is a wide mouth bottle opening, which such a utilitarian device, but Snow Peak makes it very easy to not only fill up, at least allows you to choose a color: but also to clean. green, blue, or purple. And the dang To get the water from the reservoir thing works well — it pierced all sorts of to your mouth, there is a long drinking fruit and allowed me to shovel all forms tube that is routed between the rails of of edible materials into my melon (hardy your bike saddle, along the top tube, har har). and up to your stem. There are three If weight is your chief concern and small clips that Velcro to your frame you’re looking for a simple cooking solu- and keep the tube in place, so you don’t tion, check out the Hybrid Summit Solo have to worry about it getting caught on cookset and spork. anything, or getting in the way of your knees as you pedal. At the end of Showers Pass VelEau 42 the drinking tube there is a bite ($80, show erspass.com/ valve, which allows water to veleau-42, 800-557-5780) flow freely when you bite down Showers Pass is a com- on it. It also prevents water pany that is well known from leaking when you are not water to drain further from the main for doing a great job of drinking from it. If you have tent body. keeping you dry, how- a very large bike frame, don’t Another option with the T2 Plus is ever, their new VelEau 42 worry, as there is plenty of tube to use the rainfly, poles, and footprint saddle bag is focused on available. My top tube measures (additional $30.50) to pitch a quick, keeping you hydrated. 22.5”, and I ended up cutting 4” of minimalist shelter. If you’re looking for a The VelEau 42 saddle bag is tube to get the length just right. tent for bike camping (especially if you’re a unique way to add some extra Grabbing the drinking valve and tall), the Quarter Dome T2 Plus is a very water capacity to your bike that putting it back is nearly effortless good option. doesn’t require carrying any on the fly. Two of the clips hold- extra weight on your ing the hose have retractable Snow Peak Hybrid Summit back, like you would reels, which mean that if you Solo Cookset + Titanium Spork with a hydration drop the tube unexpectedly, ($4.95/$8.95, snowpeak.com/hybrid- backpack. The it will reel back to where summit-cookset-scs-004th.html, 503-697- large saddle it originally was. Each clip 3330) bag has a also has a magnet that helps If you’re planning to knockout a 42 ounce secure the clip back onto its few bike overnights (check out bike reservoir respective Velcro strap, so you overnights.org) or have plans for a solo, can concentrate on hydrating week-long, ultralight bikepacking trip, and riding, and not getting you might want to consider taking along everything put back in a neat the titanium Hybrid Summit Solo cook- order. set and spork. These weight savers are After all of this, you may perfect for short trips, weighing in at a continued on page 46

40 ADVENTURE CYCLIST AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG ADVENTURE CYCLIST AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG 41 LIFE MEMBER PROFILE ADS

Life Member Profile vicki marugg With knowledge gained from the ground up, this life member can do it all by Dan Schwartzman

hen Viki Marugg first got into were already part of her daily routine. cycle touring back in 1980, “Now I find it hard to believe I rode as she couldn’t find a bike to fit much as I did,” said Marugg, recalling her,W so she decided to make her own. The when she joined a square dancing club in Californian bought a copy of Eugene A. San Jose while she was living in Menlo Sloane’s Bicycle Maintenance Book, cruised Park, about 20 miles northwest of the city. over to Palo Alto Bicycles, and bought the “Friday evenings the club would meet smallest frame Trek offered and all the from 7:00 until 10:00 PM. I would com- components that she had just read about. mute to work, change clothes there, pedal Four days later, Marugg had a beautiful to San Jose, square dance for two hours, bicycle built from scratch. and pedal home by midnight. Ahhh, “It was still a little too stretched out youth!” for me, but I learned a bicycle from the Marugg said back then bicycle touring ground up,” Marugg said. “With that required more planning and routes had knowledge, one has the freedom to go to be given consideration before hitting anywhere.” the road. A graphic designer, artist, and photog- “I used the library,” she said, add- rapher, Marugg has long regarded the ing that Google did not yet exist. “I bicycle with admiration — both for its researched it and drew the maps and functionality and its aesthetic appeal. organized a SAG crew. We had five rid- Marugg vividly remembers her first father was Vice President of Lockheed ers and seven SAG crew members. What pangs of “bicycle envy” at the age of International and in charge of operations in luxury.” three, when she was riding on a tricycle. Japan during the Korean War.) Her first three tours included a ride A few years later, Marugg received her Over the years, Marugg’s passion for around the island of Maui, a jaunt from first two-wheeler (“a gift from Santa”) in cycling has remained a constant, and San Francisco to Los Angeles along the 1955, while living in Japan. has propelled her to many adventures coast, and a five-day trek throughout “I was in love from first sight,” Marugg whether commuting 14 miles daily, riding parts of Arizona and California. For her, said. “My brother and I would ride late centuries on the weekends, touring, or bicycle travel evokes a powerful feeling. into the evening and would often cruise planning organized rides. “I like the pace. It’s perfect. The outside the Lockheed Compound to explore During the 1980s, when Marugg orga- continued on page 46 the nearby train yard.” (Marrug’s step- nized her first tours, long cycling treks

Life Membership A lifetime of benefits, long-term support If bicycle travel is important part of your Liam Healy, Washington, DC for bicycle travel. life, please consider making a life-time Bradley Herman, APO, Korea Following is a list of cyclists who have commitment by joining as an Adventure Betsy Hunter Family, Seattle, WA made the commitment of Life Membership to Cycling Life Member. To find out more, Elizabeth Labadie, Seattle, WA Adventure Cycling over the past six months. visit www.adventurecycling.org/member Veronica Massey Family, Tampa, FL Funds from Life Membership are put into a ship or give Membership Director Julie Kathleen McHugh & Ernest Cole, special account to provide long-term support Huck a call at (800) 755-2453 x 214. Los Osos, CA to the organization. In the past, these funds Thanks to these new life members who David Miller, Santa Clarita, CA have helped us purchase our headquarters signed up mid-March 2011 through July: Timothy S. Smith, Foster City, CA building, saving us thousands of dollars in Kevin Anglin, Osteen, FL M. P. J. Squier, Santa Barbara, CA interest payments. We then put the savings Dick Combs, Bartow, FL Gregory & Leslie Stone, Red Bluff, CA toward route creation and reaching out to cur- Andrea Commaker, State College, PA Ray Swartz, San Francisco, CA rent and future cyclists. Pamela Fischer & Scott Spaulding, New Steve Tolle, Fernandina Beach, FL Gloucester, ME Richard J. Voss, Minneapolis, MN

42 ADVENTURE CYCLIST AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG ADVENTURE CYCLIST AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG 43 LIFE MEMBER PROFILE ADS

marketMarketplace ads start at $195 per issue. For rate information, place please please contact Rick Bruner. Phone/fax: (509) 493-4930, Email: [email protected].

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classifiedRate: $115 for the first 30 words, $2 for each additional word. For more information,ads please contact Rick Bruner at phone/fax: (509) 493-4930, email: [email protected].

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44 ADVENTURE CYCLIST AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG ADVENTURE CYCLIST AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG 45 JUMP OPEN ROAD GALLERY

continued from page 41 and bottom. This leaves the middle of the continued from page 42 bag with no stiffener but, because the bag be wondering where you’re supposed to is so light, I didn’t find this to be a prob- pace varies according to how you feel. put your tool kit if your saddle bag is full lem on short trips. If you want to travel Anywhere from 7 to 25 MPH. The speed of water. It wouldn’t make much sense light and use quality, simple panniers, the is enough to get you there — even to take the water off your LTW small pannier could hefty distances — and slow enough to back if you’re just going to be a good fit for you. experience the journey through all your transfer your tools over to senses.” your jersey pockets, and Park PRS-25 One cycling event that Marugg took Showers Pass is on top of ($245, parktool.com/prod particular pride in was the Mono Lake this. In a wedge shaped uct/team-issue-repair-stand- Bike-A-Thon, which took place from 1980 space underneath the prs-25, 651-777-6868) through 1995. The six-day, 350-mile annu- water reservoir, there is a I was recently look- al ride raised money to help protect the compartment plenty large ing for a new repair stand lake from being drained by the people of to house a multitool, tube, and my chief concern was Los Angeles and was ultimately successful patch kit, and tire irons. portability. I don’t always in achieving its aim. Marugg said it was With a durable build, and work on my bike in the her first bike ride used to earn money for thoughtful design, this same place; sometimes I’m a good cause. Along for the ride was Jim is ideal for long stretches upstairs in the kitchen, Sayer, now Adventure Cycling’s Executive between watering holes. other times I’m in the Director. -Josh Tack garage or the basement, so I Cycling itself has remained a good cause wanted a stand I could eas- to Marugg, who later joined Adventure Pacific Outdoor Equipment LTW ily carry and move around that wouldn’t Cycling Association as a Life Member in Small Bike Pannier always be knocking into doorways and 1983. ($150/set, pacoutdoor.com/bike-gear/view/ other pesky objects, like a refrigerator. In A cyclist for 54 years, the love of rid- ltw-small-pannier, 406-586-5258) the PRS-25, I’ve found the stand for me. ing influenced Marugg profoundly in Also perfect for the quick overnighter The PRS-25 weighs just 13 pounds many ways. Politically, she has been a or ultralight tour, the LTW small panniers and, while folded, measures 47” high. In Green Party Member since its founding. are a lightweight solution for those who this state, the professional macro-adjust Environmentally, she defines herself as a like to carry gear the traditional way. The clamp is stored upright between the clamp lifelong ecologist. Physically, cycling was waterproof roll-top panniers weigh just 18 bracket and leg brace, and the legs are a large part of her life when she faced a ounces each, offer an internal volume of 19 folded together. To employ the stand, you bout with breast cancer while she was quarts (18 liters), and are made of 50 denier loosen the top quick release and remove training for the Adventure Cycling’s Diamond Ripstop recycled P.E.T. fabric. the clamp, then install it by cranking it Leadership Training Course. The attachment hardware consists of into the bracket. You then release a second Marugg dreams one day of setting out an auto adjustable bot- quick release and push the legs apart a on a 10-year tour around the U.S. But, tom connector and bit. After that you push down on the leg no matter how close to home or far afoot, two top clamp con- bracket and the legs unfold easily. cycling remains a journey for Marugg. nectors that shut to The PRS-25’s clamp is extremely adjust- “The whole point of cycling is that prevent the pannier able, able to clamp vertically onto your seat every ride can become an adventure, even from popping off while rid- tube or horizontally on to your cross tube, if it’s just to work. It’s just about getting ing on rocky terrain. The top and it can be adjusted up to 60” high. in the saddle and doing it; chances are connectors are also adjustable There are some nice options available you’ll run, smack-dab, into an adventure so they can accommodate many from Park Tool that make using the PRS- each time you hop on the saddle.” standard racks, but you’ll need 25 even better: the 106 work tray, the to keep a Phillips head screw- TS-25 wheel-truing mechanism, and the Dan Schwartzman is a Bikram Yoga instructor and driver handy. PTH-1 paper towel holder, which doubles avid bicycle tourist. He is currently planning a tour The main body of the LTW as a wheel hanger. All together, the PRS- of the West Coast and will be teaching yoga along small pannier is simply a roll-top 25 package makes working on your bike a the way. dry bag — there are no pockets, snap. For a preview, check out their dem- and the backside offers two stiffen- onstration video online. ers at the top

46 ADVENTURE CYCLIST AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG OPEN ROAD GALLERY

Open Road Gallery setting goals by Sarah Raz Photograph by Greg Siple

The rules for Hardcourt Bike Polo can vary a little depending on location, but they’re pretty simple. Any type of bicycle is allowed but the handlebars must be plugged. Mallets resemble a croquet mallet with a wide side and a round end — you can build your own with a discarded ski pole. Three players from each team are allowed on the field at any time and are allowed three kinds of contact: body on body, bike on bike, and mallet on mallet. Your feet cannot, repeat, cannot, touch the ground. A street hockey ball is used. A game can be played until one team reaches five points, or a game can be decided by the most points scored within a prescribed time. Krista Carlson discovered bike polo in North Hollywood, California, in 2008 and was instantly hooked. She began to travel all over the U.S. to attend polo tournaments. Her passion for the game also led her to host and befriend traveling polo players from all over: Phoenix, Geneva, Toronto, and even Helsinki. When Krista came to our headquarters in June of this year, she was riding from Los Angeles to Chicago, with lots of layovers for play! Krista declares, “I have met players from all regions of the country and am eager to play on their courts.” Although Krista was eager to continue her Tour de Polo, she got the news while in Missoula that she had been accepted to a journalism workshop in New York so she packed up her bike and four mallets and moved to the Big Apple. She reports that the workshop is going well and, when she isn’t studying, she plays bike polo with the NYC club. When she’s done with her course, she will head to Seattle to compete in the Wildcard Tournament for a chance to play in the World Hardcourt Bike Polo Championships in September. Given her scoring history, we think she has a good chance.

From Adventure Cycling’s National Bicycle Touring Portrait Collection. © 2011 Adventure Cycling Association.

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

FOR THE LONG HAUL adventurecycling.org/tours 1976 DAN BU RDEN

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48 ADVENTURE CYCLIST AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG ADVENTURE CYCLIST AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG PB