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Day 10. Cascade to Crouch, Idaho: Taking Off the Training Wheels
Greetings from Crouch! It smells delicious here, like a sweet wildflower I don’t recognize. The dry air heightens my senses; the afternoon sky is pure blue, and there is no haze, anywhere. Continue reading
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Day 9. McCall to Cascade: An Invitation to the Idaho Mountains
After days of roadside observation of the stand-offish peaks on our tour, Felkerino and I received an invitation to the mountains in the form of the Adventure Cycling Idaho Hot Springs Mountain Bike Route. And so we went. Continue reading
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Day 8. Riggins to McCall, Idaho: 50 Miles Up
Today Felkerino and I had a hard time getting our bike touring act together and ended up leaving Riggins at 9:30 a.m. Gasp! Continue reading
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Day 7. Kooskia to Riggins, Idaho
To make up for our 90-mile gradual downhill to Kooskia, we spent much of the following day climbing. Continue reading
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Day 6. 135 Miles from Missoula, Montana to Kooskia, Idaho
After our layover day in Missoula, Felkerino and I rose early for a 135-mile day over to Kooskia, Idaho, via Lolo Pass. Continue reading
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Day 5. Adventure Cycling Headquarters
We are currently overnighting in Missoula, Montana, after a short mellow 50-mile day from Hamilton. Continue reading
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Day 4. Lost Trail Pass into Montana
After three days of riding and fretting about my bike tour fitness, I’ve now decided that it’s a much better plan to focus on pedaling rather than worrying. This approach makes the day better. Continue reading
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Day 3. Challis to North Fork, Idaho: Salmon River Serenade
Today’s episode in bike touring found Felkerino and I sidling along the Salmon River for most of the 82 miles we covered. Our route was via highway Idaho 93, but it was quiet except for the perpetual singing of the Salmon River. Now that’s the kind of highway noise I could get used to. Continue reading
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Day 2. Pickup Truck Dreams in Idaho: Lowman to Challis
We began today with a quiet exit from Lowman, a town nestled between the mountains. As we rode I wondered how life would be if, in order to go anywhere, I had to climb thousands of feet away from home. Continue reading
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Day 1. Riding Out the Bike Tour Kinks: Boise to Lowman, Idaho
It’s our first day touring Idaho and I already feel in the teeth of it all. After some urban trail riding out of Boise that took way longer than it should have due to our lack of familiarity with the area, we ascended away from town. Continue reading
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Joy, Adventure, and Solo Bike Touring: Zoe of Women BikeDC
I started riding when I was 7 or 8. On a trip to the county dump with my dad, we found a gem of a purple bike in the heaps of trash and took it home. He fixed it up, my grandpa spray painted it pink, and I was off! –Zoe I first met Zoe… Continue reading
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Training for Randonneuring Rides on a Tandem
Those of you who receive American Randonneur– a quarterly publication of Randonneurs USA– may find this article about randonneuring tandem basics familiar, as it is a piece that was recently published in the Summer edition. I’m reprinting it here. Thanks to Mike Wali for the pics in this piece. Continue reading
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Lisa of Women BikeDC
There is a feeling you get when you are just relaxing on a ride, maybe as you sit up and glide into your destination, take a deep breath, and feel at home with yourself and the world. I’ve found that– in situations far removed from the bike, such as meetings– I can re-create that feeling… Continue reading
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BikeDC Homebody
Over the last month, I spent many days traveling outside of D.C.– away from Felkerino, the office, and the daily bike commute. I suppose a change of scenery is a good thing. It’s always interesting to have a brief window into life outside the city. Continue reading
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Cycling to Get Places: Fionnuala of Women BikeDC
Mostly, I ride because it’s my favorite way of getting around. I like seeing street life and buildings as well as the landscape and nature at the pace that I can take them in. I also enjoy the chance everyday encounters as I travel around the community. This isn’t to say you won’t find me… Continue reading
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Hilly Billy Roubaix 2015 on Tandem: Operation Lump of Coal
Over the last three years, I have developed a hopeless crush on the Hilly Billy Roubaix. This 72-mile ride over unpaved state roads out of Morgantown, West Virginia, raises my heart rate and heightens my senses. Despite muddy roads and unrelenting steep gravel climbs and descents, I can’t stay away. Continue reading
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Letter from Jerry: 3500 Kilometers into Bike Touring Alaska to D.C.
As I write this, our friend is out on the road somewhere, pedaling steadily eastward. Jerry talked with me before he departed for his big cross-country bike tour, and you can read those thoughts here. Now that Jerry’s been traveling for a few weeks, I thought it would be great to catch up with him… Continue reading
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PBP Qualified…
Our recent finish of the D.C. Randonneurs 600K brevet means that Felkerino and I have now qualified for Paris-Brest-Paris. Continue reading
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Freedom on Two Wheels: Grace of Women BikeDC
First and foremost, riding bicycles has brought me closer to the vibrant biking community of D.C. It has heightened my appreciation of nature & my environmental concerns. I also believe it has made me a healthier and much happier individual. —Grace As I began putting together today’s Women BikeDC feature, I realized that I have… Continue reading
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Eat If It Looks Good? Not So Fast: Fueling on Brevets
This year, I began to be more deliberate about how I eat during brevets, especially the 400K and 600K distances. I’m not the best eater nor am I a nutrition expert, but I have ridden a fair number of long rides up to 1200K distances employing both good and regrettable fueling strategies over the years. Experience has been a fine teacher. Continue reading
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Stop telling the bike commuter it’s going to rain: Reba of Women BikeDC
I find the bike riding population in D.C. to be eclectic and interesting. I talk to a lot of people, sometimes I don’t get their name or their history, we just share the moment we are in and then ride on. Biking is about being present in the moment you are in and not trying… Continue reading
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Finding Your Randonneur Superpower
When you begin to dabble in the randonneuring arts, you may have an inkling of what your cycling strengths are. You may develop additional skills for riding long-distance. However, it is only through doing brevets over time that your randonneur superpower will reveal itself to you. Continue reading
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Living On In Memories
This past weekend I had one of the best rides of my life on the D.C. Randonneurs 600K brevet, and that’s not the randonnesia talking. The course layout, weather, and randonneur fellowship combined to set up a practically perfect 375 miles. Continue reading
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Randonneuring Beneath the Stars
The sun flares orange and pink, drops behind the mountains, and leaves us. Felkerino and I pause to don night gear, assess our 600K progress, and estimate the hours of night riding ahead. Continue reading
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Addicting, Fun, Rewarding: Cyndi of Women BikeDC
My favorite thing about riding in D.C. is the community. These people just rock and make riding a bike fun. I mean, who else is going to think riding around Hains Point countless times during the middle of winter of is a good idea? –Cyndi J. I met Cyndi, a year-round cyclist who puts up… Continue reading
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600K Brevet Packing List
I’ve been readying for the weekend’s big ride– the D.C. Randonneurs 600K. I stew in my nervousness and look frequently at regional weather forecasts. I burn off steam with short runs and rides, during which I consider and reconsider all I need for two days of pedaling. Continue reading
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Transformation and Inspiration
It’s surreal to recall it now, but bicycling– even running– were largely absent from my life during my post-college twenties. I worked long hours, drove my car, and attended many a happy hour. Continue reading
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Nothing To It But To Do It: Linel of Women BikeDC, Part 2
Women are expected to look pretty and be delicate and dependent, among many other things. Riding a bike requires uprooting at least some of those gender assumptions, forcing ourselves and others to rethink preconceived ideas of what women can or cannot, or should or should not do. —Linel We’re back for the second half of… Continue reading
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Nothing To It But To Do It: Linel of Women BikeDC, Part 1
I have learned to approach many hurdles in life as if they were a ride on a new road. At first you might feel apprehensive and tentative, but once you do it, it becomes clear that all it takes is committing to that first push of the pedal. You may go slow or even fall… Continue reading
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Summer Legs on the C&O
Lately I haven’t had a lot of words to describe my riding. I have things to write, but my mind has been fuzzy and my motivation rather stilted with regard to writing any posts. I also have some work things that have required my time and attention. However, friends, I have been riding. My summer legs… Continue reading
Chasing MailBoxes 