Category: Ride Reports

San Elijo Overnighter

I have been planning and preparing for a week-long tour of PCH (Pacific Coast Highway) here in California, and this overnighter ride is, among other things, a shakedown for the tour. I have spent time shrinking my load to a minimum size and weight. Most tourers err on the side of packing too much if …

Continue reading

Redlands Strada Rossa V 2018: What A Difference A Year Makes

I rode the Redlands Strada Rossa ride last year (RSR IV) and really enjoyed it, so naturally I was looking forward to the event this year (RSR V). I registered early and reached out to the event organizer and produced a virtual flyover of the 67 mile route, such as it was planned at the …

Continue reading

Mud Bogs and Seaweed Clumps

I like to call my fat bike a surf bike. It is not a perfect name, but it conveys what I like to do with it, which is ride on beach sand. A properly set up fat bike can ride along the beach all day in the right conditions. What are the right conditions? One …

Continue reading

The Great American Eclipse Trip and Boise Bike Tour, August 21 2017

Preparation and Getting There I don’t know when I first heard about the Great American Eclipse of 2017. We know the schedules of eclipses for centuries in advance, maybe longer. I may have heard about it back in the 70s in high school (yes, now you have a bracket on my age). But I had …

Continue reading

The Strand On the Los Angeles Coast to Sycamore Canyon Overnighter, July 2015

The Plan This is another throwback blog of a ride I took a while ago.  The route was simple: to ride the entire length of “The Strand”, continue along  Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) to Point Mugu State Park and camp at a Sycamore Canyon, then retrace my route back the next day. “The Strand” is …

Continue reading

Tour of California 2017 Stage 7 By Moto

The time had come to once again follow a stage of the Tour of California on my motorcycle. I have done this once before: Stage 6 of the 2010 Tour, following the tour from Palmdale to Big Bear CA. I will put up a retro blog about that soon. When I say “follow”, I don’t …

Continue reading

Redlands Strada Rossa Ride 2017

After much anticipation, the Redlands Strada Rossa ride finally came around on March 18, 2017.  Aside from having one of the coolest names ever for a ride, it features a variety of both on and off-road riding, a format that I have always wanted to ride at an organized event. The name, Strada Rossa, means “red …

Continue reading

Vultures, An Opsrey And A Cutthroat Overnighter

We have been getting much needed rain in California lately, and it continues to wreak its own special havoc with outdoor activities. Cyclists here are not used to dealing with rain and they mostly stop riding, so when I ride in the wet there are very few cyclists to be seen, even on weekend mornings. I don’t …

Continue reading

After The Rain Comes Sun

The last few weeks have brought a series of badly timed rainstorms to southern California. Don’t get me wrong: we need the rain. We need it epic bad. But the pesky storms have been blowing through on the weekends. And while rides were possible, they had to timed just right to avoid the rain, or …

Continue reading

Daejeon’s Expo Park, Korea / Smart City Region Bike Ride

During a recent stay in Korea, I took the opportunity to ride one of my hotel’s loaner bikes around the neighborhood. Cycling affords an intimacy with your surroundings as well as the ability to cover ground like no other option. The neighborhood I was staying in was near the site of the 1993 World Expo, …

Continue reading