Have you ever arrived at the start of the ride to discover than you are missing something? The drinks bottles are lost, the shoes in the other vehicle, the glove which disappeared, helmet left on the kitchen counter.  It happens to all of us although probably not many left home, as I did once, without the bike; happily I did notice something was missing after driving a short distance towards the start.  All these mishaps could have halted your participation in the club ride. But more inconvenient and potentially much more dangerous is what you have not noticed is missing or is not properly fixed. This is a cautionary tale about what fell off my the bike and by good...

NCCC Rider Survey Spring 2018: Conclusions and Action points About 50% of members responded, 97 out of about 200. Average membership was 7.3 years and the median 5 years. CRUISERS: very satisfied or satisfied 95%. Strong points: welcoming to new riders, well organized, friendly and good cooperation. Suggestions to improve: (actions in italics) More ride leaders (done; 4 new qualified) Shorter rides on Wednesday: we will ask Cruisers for clarification. Obviously those who ride are happy with distance,usually 24‐28 miles. Define Cruiser ride length and stick to it; should always be “no drop” (Done. “No Drop” definition is posted on theCruiser web page). Distance remark is unclear – rides are always posted in advance and do vary from about 36 to 45miles on Saturdays with very...

Iceland had been on my bucket list for a long time. After my reading and planning up front, it was still chock full of surprises. One mistake was hauling camping equipment, an extra 15 pounds that I used for one night, not out of necessity, but because it was a mild night. Rooms, although not in abundance, were available, even in remote areas. The weather was as expected, and I experienced some outrageous winds. The scenery exceeded my expectations as did the farm animals. If you do not want to read this extensive blog, my one recommendation is to at least view the photos of Iceland. I had a convenient direct flight from Iceland to Halifax, Nova Scotia, where my...

I wanted to do a bicycle tour in Europe and go through areas that I hadn’t been before. I looked at Norwegian Air’s schedule and picked a convenient place to fly into (Madrid, Spain) and to fly out of (Helsinki, Finland), and roughly measured the land distance along a probable route to be semi-confident that I could do it within a 3 month window. This was a no camping trip. Besides the flights in and out, my only other reservation pre-trip was my first few nights in Madrid. Talk about a wing and a prayer! This was a huge success. I ended up bicycling through 13 countries; Spain, France, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria, Slovakia Republic, Czech Republic, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia,...

Several months away from cycling and several more trying to catch up with the group as it disappeared up the next hill encouraged me to investigate the world of e-bikes; not the types that are fully motorized with a throttle (Class 2), nor high powered mountain or boulevard cruiser type electric bikes, but a simple road bike with a battery and motor. Not that I’m trying to conceal my e-assist; in fact, I’m revealing all here. My basic requirement was for a regular road bike of reasonably light weight and a standard gear set, such as 50/34 chain rings and 11-30 cassette. I would like to ride it as an unassisted bike as often as possible and secondly, but also...

I went from “0-60” in just a few months! No, not in a car. On a bike. Not an ordinary bike, but a Kona Sutra gravel/touring bike. How did this come about? I’ve been an avid “supported” bike tourist for over thirty years and when I heard about a trip some buddies were taking across Mexico, self-contained, it aroused my curiosity. I was too late to prepare for that trip, but the next trip was similar to the upcoming "Big Island" (Hawaii) self-contained ride, a nine-day bicycle tour. I spent the next few months researching bicycles and the various accessories one needs to accomplish such a tour. In the end, nearly everything worked out great. Weight-wise, my bike was...

My goal was to hunt lobsters by bike. That was the inspiration for the first of my two solo 2018 bicycle trips. In June I left from our home in New Hampshire, close to the Vermont border and headed east to the Atlantic Ocean then north up the Maine coast.  I discovered the secret to great lobster! Read more here: https://bethsrecipes.wordpress.com/2018/06/28/the-great-lobstah-hunt-bicycle-tour/ I wrapped up my second 2018 bicycle tour adventure in November along the coast of California. This spontaneous tour was driven largely by my need to get my cycling legs back after 2 months off the bike in New Hampshire. I did not anticipate the California fires and only hoped to beat the rain. On November 8th I packed my bike...

DAY 1 - Jul 12th - Vancouver, British Columbia In case you haven't heard, I'm doing a bicycle tour. Left on July 11th, flew to Vancouver, BC with the help of two friends, Pete Simons and Tom Hanson. Initial plan was to bike over Whistler, head northeast, up the Alaska Highway, maybe reach Fairbanks, down to Anchorage, etc., etc. That plan has changed just a bit. A few days before I left, many inland areas of BC are on fire. Go to plan B. Biking up Vancouver Island to Port Hardy, ferry to Prince Rupert, then biking east toward Prince George and up the Stewart Cassiar Highway. Lucky I'm flexible. I arrived in Vancouver late at night, biked a little, took...