natbikes.com

SO I finished the muskoka tri, hung out 5h for awards (plaque and socks) drove home slept 2h, ate supper, and jumped into the subie for the 5h drive to Ogdensburg NY and the start of my bike tour. I cracked after 4h and put the tent up behind a church and slept.  (yes this is a slightly old post, but I have posted the pic’s up on-line).

Plus I just got a holla from Kurt and Jen’s 2WD Euro Tour. They’re over in in Norway still at the start of a multi month, multi country euro tour. (more…)

Plan A: was to hit the road and make the 6h out of the desert in the cool of Sunday evening.
Plan B: was formulated until I woke up Monday morning having not made plan A. But I was showered, had slept 9h, and my belly was full of some Ames Famliy BBQ. Not to mention that I spent 2h in the pool, ‘cooling my core’ temperature, and otherwise cavorting with my homies Emily and Colin.

Before I even got to Vegas my butt was cramping, probably a combination of the worn out seat, and the racing. Subie, is possibly due for a timing belt change, and as a precaution I purchased the required belts, and ratchet set.. sitting as preventative measure in the shotgun seat. (more…)

Before I get into things, I would like to re-assure everyone that I have been simply really busy doing different kinds of hiking and camping trips, not wallowing at the bottom of a cookie bag as some of you may assume…

Bike touring marriage, you say. I gotta get me one of those. yeah you do. (no it doesn’t make sense, but sounds good).

Anyhow the day after the wedding, having refrained from punking the bride and groom, I rode to the scene of the crime, was loaded down with rolls and roast beef, and started riding. And I rode. The days were A) social, or B) >200km while pulling 65lb bike/ trailer combo.

I was supposed to A) meet Brent and Greg at their hotel… but I was 2+h late. (more…)

On the Dempster Highway, the 732km dirt road, we went 4 days without seeing a building of any kind - meaning that we camped in the dirt, rode in the dirt, gravel, and rocks. Drank, ‘washed’ and did laundry in creeks and streams. It was cool, because for a bit I wasn’t sure if we were going to make it.
So I woke up, and was the slowest to get rolling in the morning - surprise. When we’d asked at the tourism office, they had said if we dropped a food box off with them, they’d confirmed that we could leave boxes of food with our names on it and they would arrange for moto-tourists to drop it off ahead of us. So I rolled back into town, and got my food boxes on. Then punched it back to the ‘home of the muskox burger’ and start of the Dempster highway. (more…)

So after 2 days sleeping indoors. The little Bro, has a cool friend, Tiffany, and she hooked us up with a place to stay at her co-worker Karen (Holla - what ever that means). So we got to use ‘real’ stoves, keep our stuff in a fridge, and not be chased by bugs (no they weren’t bad, but they were usually around). Of course with only one spare bed, and traveling with Pops, no straws were drawn, I got the floor. But how soft, and even that carpeted flooring was…

If you don’t know about the history of the Klondike (click here) Gold Rush, it’s part of what makes Canada NOT America. (more…)

After rendezvousing with my Father, Barrie, in southern BC, we spent the rest of the day driving, and then next day re-packing our gear, tracking down bear spray, and getting advice from everyone.
It was a relief when around 10 am May 18th we wrapped up the last of our chores, and started north towards Prince George BC on Hwy 97.

Starting towards the Canadian Rockies, we should have our coldest weather first, and I was quite worried about this, as my trip last fall in the Rockies, I’d suffered mild hypothermia, and frost bitten toes. Not to mention that we could see snow on the hills beside us.
Because the bears have been sleeping all winter they are very hungry (there is no bear poop, just rumbly bellies). Their normal foods: berry’s, bearies, (barrie’s?) haven’t grown yet, and favorite food - Salmon, aren’t spawning. Next choice? Chilled cyclo-tourists. After 2h or riding we had spotted 3 bears, then later a moose. (more…)

My Gear List:

I have amended this list, post tour, to show which gear I deemed excessive (because there was a lot more than needed).
After the last trip when my bike was an excessive 140 lbs I wanted to try to avoid that. As I took more gear than my father, my bicycle weighed between 110, and 130 lbs depending on if I was carrying 4 days of food, or about to starve.
I am worried about being cold.
I am also a little worried about being eaten by bears. (more…)

Well it’s going, and fairly quickly. I headed back to B.E.A.U.tiful Bakersfield, and repacked my life possessions. Which I was dismayed to find has swollen to the size of 2 full subaru loads. 1.5 of these were stowed in Evil’s storage unit, and the other half load (which is about a quarter load more than I need) I couldn’t be bothered to sort through, and brought with me, just ’cause.

So 10pm I gassed up and hit the road for the 19h drive up to Victoria BC. 4.5h in and I made Sacramento, found the WalMart, and rolled out my sleeping bag in front of the Subie. 4h later the sun woke me up, so I moved around to the shaded side of the subie, and slept 3 more hours. (more…)