Dick, a good friend with whom I worked in Haz Mat at the County of San Diego Environmental Health Department and I have kept in touch since he switched jobs years ago. He retires this week from the City of San Diego. It has been over two years since our cycle trip along the Danube. I have put off writing up the trip long enough; so, as it’s a blustery fall day I have resolved to get it done. Another reason I finally got started was a promise I made to dear 98-year-old friend that I visited in Canada this summer. She made me promise to write this story since she really enjoyed my STR story a few years...

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...

*EOR, pronounced Eeyore, with apologies to A. A. Milne In late January Mike told me about a group planning to ride the Southern Tier Route. After some hemming and hawing I decided I would give it a try. I chose a Fuji 58 cm model. I immediately ordered and installed a Brooks saddle. To alleviate a persistent neck pain I replaced the 110 mm stem with a 90 mm one, and switched the 32 C tires for Continental 38s. I also carried two spare tubes although I never got a flat over the entire 3100 miles. Mike and I did a two-day test ride with fully loaded bikes from Ocotillo Wells to Agua Caliente in the Borrego State Park as test...

We did it. Bob Sheldon, Ursula Misiraca, Sherry Newsham, Ken Hartman and I rode from Vancouver B.C. to the Mexican border. We left Vancouver on August 30, 2015 and touched the fence on October 6, 2015.  Funny how when you take your bike apart and pack it, that after it arrives and you are trying to put it back together there are parts that don't fit, extra pieces and missing pieces and lots of adjustments needed to be made. We arrived in Vancouver by train from Seattle. After checking into our hotel we were planning to cruise Stanley Park however, the park was closed due to unexpected high winds and downed trees. That’s how our adventure started trees blocking bike...

#1 My European bicycle tour has gotten off to an inauspicious start. With the help of two good friends, I got my large bicycle box, another slightly smaller box, myself, and two carry-ons up to LAX in plenty of time for the song and dance routine that the TSA puts you through and to board Norwegian Air's 787 Dreamliner. "Dream" would be the key word here. Things were going well as I boarded a pretty full plane and got a seat next to a comely Norwegian girl. I noticed the little hi-tech screen in front of me had a good selection of movies. Then we backed away from the gate. After maybe 200 yards, I began chewing some gum in order...