Tag Archive for bike touring

Safety crackdown in Mission Viejo, Shimano parts may be built by slave labor, and bike book wins non-fiction award

It’s Day 15 of the 9th Annual BikinginLA Holiday Fund Drive!

Which means there’s just 16 days left to support SoCal’s best source for bike news and advocacy.

Thanks to Phillip Y, Ed R and Christopher T for their generous donations to help keep this site coming your way every day. 

So please, take just a moment to give now!

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And while we’re at it, happy Chanukah to everyone who lit a candle last night.

Chag sameach!

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Days left to launch the California ebike incentive program as promised this fall: 13

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The Orange County Sheriff’s Department will conduct a major bicycle and pedestrian safety enforcement operation in Mission Viejo this weekend, after pedestrian deaths have jumped nearly a third in the county over the past decade.

Which means the usual protocol applies — ride to the letter of the law until you leave the area, so you’re not the one who gets ticketed.

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Shimano is investigating a report from The Telegraph that consumers are buying parts made by virtual slaves in a Malaysian factory.

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The Buddha and the Bee, a book about a 2001 bike ride from Minnesota to California along America’s forgotten highways, has won the 2023 Reader’s Favorite Award for non-fiction.

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‘Tis the Season.

One hundred kids in Victorville, California got new bicycles as part of the 20th annual Doris Davies Memorial Bicycle Giveaway, named for the late civic advocate who founded the program.

Fayetteville, Arkansas’s Bicycle Man Foundation is unexpectedly back in business, a year after the widow of its eponymous founder retired a decade after his death; now the Bicycle Madea, whose own son was a beneficiary of the program, is reviving it and distributing one hundred new bikes to kids in need.

Meanwhile, 60 kids in another Fayetteville, this one in North Carolina, got bikes courtesy of a local insurance company, which gave a new bicycle to every 3rd grader at a Fayetteville elementary school.

And if you’re looking for the perfect holiday gift, you could do a lot worse than an autographed copy of Seattle Bike Blog editor Tom Fucoloro’s new book, Biking Uphill in the Rain: The Story of Seattle from behind the Handlebars.

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Local 

Agoura Hills received a half-million dollars in state funding to complete an 11-mile bike lane through the West LA County city, which will eventually be part of a regional bike network.

 

State

Sad news from Marin County, where officials identified the victim of Saturday’s fatal bicycling crash in San Raphael as a 70-year old randonneur who was well known in the area; he was on a 124-mile club ride across the county when he apparently fell off his bike while riding over a railroad crossing, and was run over by the driver of a pickup towing a trailer.

Bad news from Sacramento, where a 50-year old man was hospitalized with a “substantial” head injury after he was struck by a hit-and-run driver while riding his bike.

 

National

Fast Company explains why 2023 was the year of the ebike and not the self-driving car.

Colorado Congresswoman and pistol-packing grandma Lauren Boebert is accused of dipping into campaign funds to cheer her boyfriend to a 774th place finish in the prestigious Leadville 100 mountain bike race, a month before they were caught fondling one another during a performance of Beetlejuice in a Denver theater; no word on whether she’s paid back the funds.

Sad news from Buffalo, New York, where friends remember the leader of a local bike club after he was killed in a fire at his home.

The rich get richer, as New York completed yet another Complete Streets project, redesigning dangerous intersections and adding nearly two miles of bike and bus lanes on Third Ave in Manhattan; Streetsblog says the wide bike lane is a good start, but the makeover still devotes too much space to cars.

 

International

Bike Radar explains why you should buy an endurance bike instead of a race bike. Having owned both over the years, I definitely preferred the ride of the former.

Former Ab Fab star Jane Horrocks is one of us, after breaking her wrist and bruising her ribs falling off her bike when she hit a patch of black ice.

Ford says the warning signals on the doors of their new European passenger van will protect bike riders by alerting passengers to their presence. After all, why build safer doors when you can just put warning signs on the deadly ones?

 

Competitive Cycling

Bicycling says it’s a good thing the planned merger of the Jumbo-Visma and Soudal-QuickStep cycling teams fell apart earlier this fall, since it could have resulted in a superteam with too much top talent concentrated in a single team. As usual, read it on Yahoo if the magazine blocks you.

Pez Cycling talks with former pro Jordan Cheyne about what comes after a cycling career, after an unplanned retirement following a crash on a training ride that left him fighting for his life.

Cycling Today remembers climbing specialist Jose-Maria Jimenez, once touted as a successor to Miguel Indurain, 20 years after he died in a Madrid detox clinic.

 

Finally…

Now you, too, can see the bicycle owned by President William McKinley, who was killed by an assassin’s bullet in 1901. That feeling when you make a big impact on your “little” bike.

And a record-setting 80-mile “Look Ma, no hands!

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Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.

Oh, and fuck Putin

Fountain & SaMo bike lanes back in WeHo, K’town to H’wood CicLAvia, and new Adventure Cycling LA short routes

There may be hope yet in WeHo.

Nine months after proposals for new and enhanced bike lanes on Fountain Ave and Santa Monica Blvd were nearly derailed over concerns about increased traffic and lost parking spaces, WeHoVille reports they will be back before the West Hollywood city council next week.

According to the paper, the Fountain Ave proposal is planned for two phases.

The first phase of the study, known as Phase 1 PS&E (Planning, Specifications, and Estimates), focuses on the design of protected bike lanes, with specific plans to reduce travel lanes from four to two and remove approximately 150 on-street parking spaces on the north side of Fountain Avenue. This phase includes an 11-month timeline, with an expected conclusion in July 2024. The construction phase is anticipated to begin in early 2025, taking another 4-6 months. The preliminary construction cost for Phase 1 is estimated to be between $5 million and $10 million…

As the study progresses to Phase 2, the focus shifts to the permanent installation of protected bike lanes and the redesign of sidewalks along Fountain Avenue. The timeline for Phase 2 spans 16 months, starting in January 2024, with potential construction beginning in Q1 or Q2 of 2026. The construction of Phase 2 is estimated to be between $30 million and $35 million.

Meanwhile, the council directed the city to study the feasibility of upgrading the existing painted bike lanes on the western portion of Santa Monica Blvd to protected bike lanes.

City staff were also told to conduct a block-by-block analysis of the feasibility of installing painted bike lanes on the narrower eastern segment of the boulevard, which would likely involve narrowing traffic lanes and the removal of parking spaces.

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CicLAvia comes back to Hollywood and Koreatown this Sunday with a return of the Koreatown Meets Hollywood route, first explored in the epic DTLA to Hollywood route celebrating the 100th Anniversary of the LA Symphony four years ago.

According to a press release from CicLAvia,

On Sunday, August 20; between 9 a.m. – 4 p.m., CicLAvia – Koreatown meets Hollywood, presented by Metro, and in partnership with LADOT, welcomes everyone of all ages and abilities to its 47th car-free open streets event connecting Hollywood and Koreatown along Vine St, Melrose Ave, Western Ave, and Wilshire Blvd, for participants to jog, ride, bike, skate, run, walk, skateboard, spectate, play, to enjoy the 5-mile route. Always free, CicLAvia participants just show up anywhere along the route at any time to enjoy the open streets and to take the time to explore two of L.A.’s iconic communities. Participants are encouraged to take Metro.

There are many local gems, activities, and businesses to check out near and along the route – discover them through CicLAvia’s new Interactive Digital Map. Hubs have family-friendly activities, restrooms, free water refilling stations, free basic bike repair, bike parking, and first aid. In addition, free pedicab rides, sponsored by AARP, are available at each information booth. Activities along the route can be found here.

A press conference kicking off the event will be held starting at 8:30 am on Sunday, August 20th, at 1750 Vine Street, at the Hollywood Hub next to Capitol Records.

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Adventure Cycling announced the launch of their Short Routes Program, featuring shorter bike touring routes designed to break down barriers accessibility and make bike travel more approachable, regardless of experience level or how much time someone has available.

The program launches with routes starting from Los Angeles, Washington, DC, Atlanta, Boston, Minneapolis, Philadelphia, Austin and Seattle.

Anyone can submit a route in the US that a beginner can bike in two to five days, with approximately 20-50 miles of riding each day.

According to the group, there are three short routes currently available in the Los Angeles area:

Carpinteria to Refugio

Created by tour leader, Johnny Lam, this route has camping available at both ends, in Carpinteria — where riders can easily get to by Amtrak or car with many amenities including a great coffee shop and various restaurants — and Refugio, where the hiker biker site is given the best plot of land looking over a beach and the Pacific Ocean.

LA to Catalina Island

Created by local transportation planner Danielle Parnes, this is a fun bikepacking trip full of beautiful beaches, mountains, and wildlife. It’s relatively easy to get to from L.A. via a ferry departing near Long Beach but feels like a faraway destination. Campsites on this route are only accessible by hiking or biking, making for calm, quiet evenings, and the dirt roads have few cars.

Santa Monicas Overnight

Also created by Danielle Parnes, the Santa Monicas Overnight route leaves from West LA and goes up fire roads into the Santa Monica Mountains, camping in Topanga State Park, and then down to the beach, with a mix of city, desert mountains, and ocean views and swims. This route starts and ends at Expo line light rail stations in West LA, for easy access from downtown or other parts of the city.

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Streets For All announced a call to remove the three-mile 90 Freeway in Marina del Rey, converting the remaining stub of the otherwise unbuilt highway into a linear park.

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Good point.

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Remember these tables from a tweet by traffic planner and co-host of The Planning Commission Podcast Don Kostelec the next time someone complains about the great ebike menace.

And remind them what the real danger is.

 

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Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokić one of us, riding his bike to a horse track in his native Serbia.

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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.

A British news producer was slammed for comments comparing 20 mph speed limits for motorists to bicyclists using training wheels, while sarcastically suggesting that maybe cars should have giant beanbags attached to them, as well. Actually, I might be in favor of that one.

But sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.

A man carrying a cross somehow managed to ride his bicycle through burned-out Lahaina, Hawaii, despite being closed to the public after the town was destroyed by a wildfire last week.

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Local 

An op-ed from Streets For All founder Michael Schneider calls for banning cars from streets around schools, which would greatly improve safety for kids, and everyone else.

The Los Angeles Times considers the benefits and challenges of living carfree in the City of Cars, uh, Angels.

The Eastsider reports a final design has been chosen for the 12-acre Paseo del Rio greenway being created on the former Taylor Yard railroad property next to the LA River.

 

State

Sad news from Ridgecrest, where a 48-year old man was killed when he apparently struck the center median with his ebike; police suspect he was riding under the influence.

This is who we share the road with. A 71-year old woman was arrested for vehicular manslaughter and failing to yield to pedestrians after killing a four-year old girl crossing a San Francisco street with her parents, and critically injuring her father. But at least she stayed at the scene, so there’s that.

The partner of fallen San Francisco cyclist David Sexton is still looking for answers, over a month after he was killed in a hit-and-run crash in the East Bay city of Richmond. A tragic reminder that most California hit-and-runs are never solved. 

This is the cost of traffic violence. According to the LA Times, 20 bears have been killed by motorists in Lake Tahoe, and nearly as many seriously injured.

 

National

NACTO calls out six things to look for in the forthcoming revision of the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, aka MUTCD, which sets the standard for traffic control laws and devices in the US, including elimination of the deadly 85th Percentile Rule.

The bike industry is rallying around a pair of bike shops destroyed in the Lahaina wildfire.

An Albuquerque NM man faces a murder charge for allegedly stabbing another man 15 times in a dispute over a stolen bike.

My Colorado hometown newspaper examines the causes of bike and pedestrian crashes in the platinum level bicycle-friendly community, as bicycling collisions trend downward, but remain the most common crashes affecting vulnerable road users — including another one injured by an SUV driver just two days ago.

No surprise here, as the website for Colorado’s new ebike rebate program crashed due to overwhelming demand. Meanwhile, California’s program still suffers from failure to launch.

Four years after Cape Cod voters rejected plans to extend a 25.5-mile bikeway, there are still no options to replace the proposal.

Bizarre tragedy in Mississippi, where a 64-year old man was killed when a trailer being towed by a pickup broke loose and fell off an Interstate Highway flyover, striking the man as he rode his bike on the shoulder of a another freeway down below.

De Soto County in central Florida is the deadliest county for bicyclists in the nation’s deadliest state.

 

International

Ouch. A new international report finds that senior leadership within the bike industry remains overwhelmingly white, male and heterosexual, and that efforts towards equality, diversity and inclusion were described as “tokenistic and shallow” at best, while revealing “cultures of harassment and unfair treatment.”

A Scottish man is called the “unluckiest cyclist in Scotland” when he was run down by a driver for the third time in two years, but at least this driver stopped, unlike the first two. Although considering he survived all three, I’d call him pretty damn lucky.

Missing Iranian cyclist Mohammad Ganjkhanlou has reportedly been granted asylum in the UK, a week after he disappeared following the world championships, where he placed 66th in the time trial.

 

Competitive Cycling

Cycling Weekly examines the nascent National Cycling League, and says there may be hope for its fan-first format.

I want to be like them when I grow up. A pair of 81 and 79-year old men will complete in Maine’s Mount Washington Auto Road Bicycle Hillclimb, 50 years after competing in the inaugural race up the tallest mountain in the Northwest. Meanwhile, a man who’s suffered from Parkinson’s disease for nearly five decades will once again compete in the annual race, after finishing the difficult climb in just under one hour and twelve minutes last year.

Former Syracuse basketball player Terrence Roberts suffered three broken ribs and a collapsed lung after crashing with another bicyclist on a June training ride, just three days after the 6’10” former forward completed in his first crit with LA’s Major Motion Cycling team.

 

Finally…

That feeling when the 122-year old, first-ever motorized bicycle prototype goes on display, even if it is a replica. How to tell when a roadie rides a mountain bike.

And how cars took over American streets, explained.

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Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.

Oh, and fuck Putin

Morning Links: A Linton family bike tour, Arroyo Seco Bike Path sort-of reopens, and a different way to walk your bike

Today is National Walk to School Day.

So if you see kids walking to or from class today, give ’em a figurative pat on the back.

Because actual touching is a big no no. For obvious reasons. 

And it’s California Clean Air Day, with free rides on LADOT buses. Not to be confused with Metro buses, which aren’t.

Then again, riding a bike is always free, and even cleaner.

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Nice piece from Streetsblog’s Joe Linton, who describes a recent family weekend trip biking from Santa Barbara to Los Angeles with his six-year old daughter in tow.

Literally.

Our Weehoo trailer works for longer and less bike-friendly trips. It looks and works like a recumbent bike, and she has pedals but most of the time she doesn’t help much in propelling the bike. She needs to balance, as well – although with her relatively light weight, even if she’s off balance, it hardly affects my balance…

For our three-day weekend trip, we took the Amtrak Pacific Surfliner to Santa Barbara on Saturday morning, and explored a bit there. Then, over the course of Sunday and Monday, we biked back to Los Angeles, riding about fifty miles each day. We didn’t carry camping gear; instead we stayed at a hotel in Santa Barbara and an Airbnb in Oxnard. When we arrived in Santa Monica, we loaded our bikes onto the Expo Line and took Metro home. For what it’s worth, we rode between fifteen and twenty miles in Santa Barbara/Goleta on day 1, 53 miles from Santa Barbara to Oxnard on day 2, and finished the last day after completing 46 miles from Oxnard to Santa Monica.

It’s a nice read, with several good photos.

Maybe it will inspire a two-wheeled road trip for your family.

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Good news, as the Arroyo Seco Bike Path has finally been reopened.

More or less, anyway, as one segment remains closed due to storm damage.

https://twitter.com/LADOTlivable/status/1179123885582819333

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CiclaValley’s Zachary Rynew celebrates CicLAvia with his new project Bike Angeles, in advance of this Sunday’s Heart of LA open streets event.

 

I won’t be riding this time. But I hope to stop by for awhile with my wife, so say hi if you spot us. 

Although we may be harder to recognize without a corgi in tow.

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Once again, someone has given a whole new meaning to walking a bike.

Or maybe the same person, this time outfitting his bike in matching Nikes.

If that looks familiar, it’s because it is. That’s clearly the same bike, even though he’s switched brands.

Maybe it didn’t run right on Adidas.

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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes is all too real.

Or in this case, scooters, as a Florida man has been busted for vandalizing e-scooters and cutting their brake lines.

But sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.

Police in New York are looking for a bike-riding groper who grabbed a woman as he rode past on the sidewalk.

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Local

Century Blvd is being extended a half mile through Watts for a redevelopment project, including wide painted bike lanes — with a buffer on the wrong side, judging from the photo.

LA/Burbank US Representative Adam Schiff is one of us, as rightwing site Breitbart notes in a surprisingly positive profile.

Kesha is one of us too, as she goes for a casual bike ride along the beach in Venice.

 

State

California bicycle touring company Wheeltales wants your input on a number of proposed bike tours for the coming year.

A new report says the Coast Highway and Escondido’s Valley Parkway are the most dangerous streets in San Diego’s North County area.

A San Diego heart transplant recipient is riding his bike across the country to Florida to meet the mother of the Navy officer whose death gave him a second chance at life.

An op-ed in Cal Berkeley’s Daily Californian says get off your high horse and onto a bicycle.

 

National

If you’re looking for somewhere to ride, Outside recommends seven uncrowded national monuments “you’ve never heard of.” Can’t speak for you, but I’ve already been to just under half, let alone heard of them.

After an Idaho bike thief stole a two grand mountain bike, police in Ketchum caught ’em.

A Davenport, Iowa TV station doesn’t know what to make of a tall cargo bike “contraption” ridden by a banjo-playing Pittsburgh man and his dog wandering aimlessly across the US.

Who cares if he had a record. Famed 1930s ’round the world aviator Wiley Post was one of us, saving up to buy the first bicycle in his Oklahoma county when he was just 13.

A Chicago bike thief learns the hard way to look out for new high-def surveillance cameras before going to work.

Who needs a gun when you’ve got a car? A Michigan man was robbed as he rode his bike away from a store after a thief ran into him with an SUV, knocking him off his bicycle and making off with his wallet.

It’s a sad commentary on our streets when an Ohio bike rider isn’t even safe when he’s not on them.

A Jersey City letter writer is convinced that a road diet and parking protected bike lane is a “clear and present danger” to everyone on the street.

No surprise here, as an op-ed in the anti-bike New York Post complains about a ban on cars from a planned bus lane. And naturally, blames the hairy hand of the “bike lobby.”

Maybe in response to the Post piece, someone hacked a New York detour sign to read Cars ruin cities.

Just months after donating a kidney to a total stranger, a Florida PE teacher was critically injured when he was hit by a driver while riding his bike as he trained for a triathlon; a crowdfunding account to help pay his medical bills has raised over $8,000 of the $50,000 goal in less than a day.

 

International

The maker of Cannondale and Schwinn bikes saw its stock prices plunge 32% to a 23-year low after Trump’s trade tariffs led to the loss of a regular dividend.

Apparently, motorcycle ghost bikes are a thing now. A ghost bike was installed for a Calgary motorcyclist who was killed in a crash; it’s the second one in the city.

James Cracknell blames getting booted from the UK’s equivalent of Dancing With The Stars on the massive brain injury he suffered when he was struck by a driver while on an aborted bike ride across the US, which kept him from learning the steps.

A British two-time suicide survivor is riding his bike through Europe to raise funds and awareness for men’s mental health. If you’re thinking of harming yourself, talk to someone. And if you don’t have anyone you can open up to, pick up the phone. There really are people out there who care.

After his sister was killed in a collision while riding her bike, her brother calls for 10% of Ireland’s transportation budget to be dedicated to bicycling.

A 29-year old Turkish man has been wandering across the country on his bicycle for the last seven years.

An Indian website says everyone is equal on a bicycle, calling bikes the solution to many urban problems.

A Sydney, Australia man confesses that at 37, he’s never learned to drive. But in today’s world, that’s a good thing. And once again, Los Angeles is used as the poster child for what cities don’t want to be.

Aussie motorists freak out because a trio of spandexed bike riders chose not to ride in a narrow protected bike lane, evidently preferring to ride in the roadway.

 

Finally…

If you’re going to vandalize a locked bike, first make sure it doesn’t belong to an investigator for a law firm. When is a bike lane not a bike lane? When it’s a parking lot for cop cars.

And here’s your chance to get a free bike shop near the base of an Australian mountain range.

 

Guest Post: There and back again — a former Iditarod sled dog racer takes the long way home

It wasn’t that long ago that my oldest brother was chasing his childhood dreams through the frozen tundra.

Growing up in the San Fernando Valley, Eric Rogers dreamed of one day moving to Alaska and driving his own dog team through the wilderness.

Then made it come true, leaving behind a successful career as a particle physicist to compete four times in the famed Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.

But that was before Eric discovered bicycling. And his dreams shifted from sled dogs to RAAM.

After moving down to the lower 48 a few years ago, he started bikepacking along local trails and backroads, before moving on to short bike touring trips.

This past fall, he set out on an epic solo bike tour from the Pacific Northwest back to his western Colorado home.

And took the scenic route.

Here’s his story, followed by photos from his tour.

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Why would anyone want to ride their bicycle 2,500 miles?  The answer is I didn’t.  

What I did do was get up in the morning, ride for 50 to 60 miles, stop to set up camp, have dinner and relax before going to bed.  The next morning I repeated the process.  Add some rest days, lather, rinse, and repeat until you get back home and then look at your odometer and by golly I guess maybe I did do it after all.  

So why this route?  I like the Oregon Coast, North Cascades, Glacier, and Yellowstone National Parks, have family in Portland and Idaho Falls and have always wanted to explore the Olympic Peninsula.  Connect the dots and there you have it.  

From Grand Junction you can take the train to Sacramento and change trains to Portland.  Large comfortable seats, friendly staff, no TSA, and for $20 / train you can get roll on / roll off service for your bike.  The staff are not cyclists and don’t know drive side from non-drive side so they ask you to take the bike to the baggage car where they put it in a rack, and pick it up there at the end of the ride (or to change trains) but it is a simple process.  Much easier than boxing your bike to fly or take the bus.  The fires in Northern California did complicate things some, but it all worked out.

So why do it by bicycle?  Besides the fact that I enjoy riding, on a bicycle you are an interesting, and non-threating, person.  People come up to say “hi” and ask what you are doing.  You can meet some of the best folks this way.  

Ready to ride, with kitty litter panniers

In the Olympic National Forest I put a 3 inch nail through the rear tire.  I didn’t think much about it at the time, but riding up Rainy Pass in North Cascades National Park several days later, the bike just didn’t feel right.  I could see ripples in the shoulder pavement and convinced myself that was what I was feeling.  I finally stopped to check the bike, and the rear tire was worn completely through an area the size of a quarter and riding on the Rhino Liner and the nearest bike shop was over 30 miles away.

Luckily Rainy Pass is where the Pacific Crest Trail crosses WA Hwy 20 and a gentleman was doing trail magic there.  Another gentleman going west who had stopped there took me 37 miles east to Winthrop to get a new tire and then 37 miles back to Rainy Pass so I didn’t miss riding through any of the scenery.  Those are the kind of folks I met on the whole trip.

Then how many time have you been driving and seen some incredible sight, but there is nowhere to stop and enjoy it?  On a bicycle you can move to the side, put your foot down and stay as long as you would like.

And there are the hiker / biker campsites.  Oregon State Parks are $8 / person, Washington State Parks are $10 / campsite, Glacier and Yellowstone are $5 (and an Old Fart Pass makes that $2.50!) with no turn away policies.  What a deal!

It was an incredible trip, but if I did it again I’d like to go 2 weeks earlier.  I was leaving Bozeman and intending to ride Hwy 191 through Big Sky to West Yellowstone when I checked the Weather Forecast just for grins – Big Sky (the night’s destination) was supposed to hit 6 degrees for a low. OOPS! Changed plans and took MT 84 to HWY 287. Good Choice. I fought headwinds to the point I really wanted relief. I found a three sided shelter with its back to the wind in the only campground enroute and spent the whole next day waiting out a snowstorm :-).  Luckily the second morning dawned clear and a little warmer and the trip continued.

Then riding home from Idaho Falls at about 7,000 feet elevation in late October got more than a little cold sometimes.  I was riding south 20 miles north of Vernal Utah looking for a place to camp on public land when I spotted a roadside rest area on a ridge in the National Forest overlooking private land in the valley below.  Pretty much exposed to traffic, but having an outhouse is a plus.  I set up camp and called my wife to check in.  Sunset comes early in late October and as the sun went down the temperature dropped dramatically.  The breeze picked up and I sat beside my tent shivering while trying to eat.  Dang!  Right beside me sat a windproof brick outhouse, still a little warm from the setting sun.  Culture be danged, into the outhouse, out of the wind, and ignore any odors!  Luckily it had recently been cleaned and wasn’t near as bad as it could have been – it was supposed to be an adventure, right?  The next morning it was still cold and windy and breakfast was in my unique shelter too.

Then there was Wyoming.  I was going to resupply in Sage WY, but Sage only exists on the map ☺.  There was a train siding there, but nothing else was left.  Not a problem, I always have a day’s food with me.  I wild camped in Fossil Butte National Monument and intended to resupply (now only lunch left) in Kemmerer, but it was 3 miles out of the way and downhill – not a problem I would go right through Carter WY – except Carter was another town that was not there.  The railroad doesn’t stop anymore and there are only 3 house and a couple abandoned buildings left.  OK I’ll resupply in Urie just after I cross I-80.  Urie had a restaurant, but no store.  Luckily Mountain View had a Family Dollar, but I was getting a little concerned.  I learned that in Wyoming, just because the town is on the map doesn’t mean it exists! ☺

There is much more to tell, but space is limited.  Great people, fabulous scenery, doing things I never thought I would do, and burning enough calories to eat anything I wanted.  Life just doesn’t get much better than that!

Eric O Rogers

Oregon Coast
Oregon Coast
Oregon Coast
Oregon Coast
Rain Forest
Rain Forest
Rain Forest
North Cascades
Coming into Winthrop WA
Eastern WA
Western Montana
Whitefish MT
Whitefish MT
Hiker Biker Site Glacier NP
Swan River Valley MT
Coming into Helena MT
Coming into Helena MT
Before snow – after Bozeman
Before snow – after Bozeman
Madison River – Yellowstone
Madison River – Yellowstone.
Yellowstone
Yellowstone
Lewis River Yellowstone
Grand Teton NP
Grand Teton NP
Grand Teton NP
Western WY
Western WY
Western WY – the town that was not there
Western WY
Flaming Gorge
Local Politicians (Turkeys)
Almost Home
Classy Colorado Motel – the Best Western it is not
Classy Colorado Motel – the Best Western it is not
The Last Camp outside Rangely CO

Update: Seven high school students injured in Arkansas while biking to Santa Monica

Last night I linked to a horrifying story from Arkansas.

Multiple press reports indicate that a motorist plowed into a group of 13 bike riders from behind, injuring seven — three seriously enough to require helicopter evacuation to nearby hospitals.

News reports indicate they were on an organized tour riding from Charleston SC to Santa Monica. Now one of my regular contributors has dug a little deeper to get the full story.

That group of thirteen cyclists that was hit from behind are high school kids on an epic summer vacation! The tour company, Overland Summers, provides all sorts of adventures, including cross-country bike trips.

Several kids are still in the hospital, and one is in ICU, as of 7am this morning. According to Evan at the head office, parents of most of the injured are with them, having arrived by chartered plane late last night. The uninjured ones haven’t yet decided whether they’ll continue to Santa Monica. There’s another group of Overlanders two days behind, and they’ll probably make the determination whether to join with this second group once it arrives.

If the kids in this party are brave enough to push on, I totally want to meet them.

Unfortunately, the company’s website is down as I write this.

There’s no word yet on how this tragedy occurred. Distracted or drunk driving would be an obvious guess; however, we’ll have to wait for more details before we know for sure. So let’s hold off on organizing an online lynching party. It’s always possible, though unlikely, that a medical crisis or some other factor may have caused this collision.

But one thing is certain. With 13 riders on the roadway, the driver can’t make a legitimate claim he didn’t see them. If he — or she — didn’t, he certainly should have.

Meanwhile, I can’t imagine parents allowing their kids to continue on following something like this. But if they do, I hope the company lets us know.

Like my source, I want to meet them when they get to Santa Monica.

And give them a round of applause they’ll hear back in Charleston.

Let alone Arkansas.

Update: Overland Summers has issued an official statement in response to the collision, and promises to provide updates as things progress.

Newport, Arkansas – On July 2, 2013 seven individuals on an Overland bicycle touring program were injured when a car traveling on Route 17 struck the group. Police and paramedics responded to the scene. Three of the individuals were airlifted from the scene, including one individual who is in critical condition. The remaining four individuals were transported by ambulance and were being treated at local hospitals. Of these four individuals, two have been released. At this time, we at Overland would like to express our deepest concern for those injured and our gratitude to the emergency response teams.

Update 2: More detailed information from the Boston Herald.

The victims were participants in a Williamstown MA summer camp, when they travelled down to Charleston to begin the ride. The riders were hit from behind around 4:35 pm on a straight section of State Highway 17 offering clear visibility just two miles north of McCrory, Arkansas

Charges are possible against the 21-year old driver. 

Update 3: Sadly, the Overland Summer website reports that the critically injured rider, 18-year old Merritt Levitan of Milton, Massachusetts, has died of her injuries. Thanks to Andy R for the heads-up, and deepest sympathy for the victim’s family and loved ones. 

And there won’t be any welcoming party in Santa Monica for the surviving riders; perhaps understandingly, the company has cancelled the remainder of the tour