Category: Bike Touring

It's spring, the time of year when bicyclists rule the road at the Yellowstone National Park.

With park road crews clearing snow and preparing the roads for motorized traffic, certain park roads have been opened to bicycle-only traffic.

Since March 21, bicyclists have been allowed to ride between West Yellowstone (A), Madison, Norris, and Mammoth Hot Springs (B), a distance of about 54 miles.

Cyclists will have the roads to themselves for about a month before the RVs, Winnebagos, and other motor vehicles arrive. But expect to run into the park's year-around visitors. …

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It's 59 countries and counting for an Argentinian bicycle traveler who has been on the road for some nine years.

Pablo Garcia, 35, is riding his heavily laden bicycle around the Middle East now, recently making headlines on his arrival in Qatar. He already has bicycled through South America, Africa and Europe.

Bicycling more than 44,000 miles so far, Garcia has said:

“The crux of the trip is to transmit a message of tolerance and respect. We need to respect each other, different cultures, and to live together in peace …

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Here's a bicycling achievement that I'm sure not too many people have accomplished.

At 68 years old, Al Emma is waiting for the One Helena Hundred to roll around on July 18 this summer in Montana. When he completes that ride, he will have finished organized century rides in all 50 states.

Just as amazing, to me, is that he's done them all since 2002.

What a treasure-trove of patches and route maps he must own, not to mention the memories of favorite dishes at rest stops and the visions of Dan Henrys etched in his brain.

Al first contacted me to ask if there were a club or organization for souls who had ridden organized centuries in all 50 states. I couldn't find any (if you know of any, please leave a comment below). I asked about some of his impressions from his amazing bicycling journey the past 7 years …

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Pan American bicycle tourist Sam Hagler just happened to have his camera running when he was attacked by a swarm of Africanized bees in Argentina recently.

The result is his gripping video posted on YouTube of him pedaling for his life.

Anyone on a long bicycle tour is bound to ride into some misfortune, but Sam had enough bad luck in that one day to last his entire 10,000-mile ride from Paraguay to Arizona.

The former Peace Corps volunteer supports the protection of endangered forests and is raising money through his Ride for the Trees to help fund two non-profits working to save the San Rafael Reserve in Paraguay.

But that bike tour nearly came to an abrupt end in northern Argentina in late January when he stopped at a bridge to take a break and look through the gear on his trailer to find a hammock. That's when a swarm of Africanized bees attacked …

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The Adventure Cycling Association is planning to make available a series of maps for its newly charted 2,500-mile paved-route along the Pacific Crest by the winter of 2009-2010.

Named the Sierra Cascades Bicycle Route, it runs between Sumas, Washington, on the Canadian border and Tecate, Mexico, through some of the most beautiful scenery in the western US.

The Adventure Cycling staff researched the route last summer. A GIS (geographic information system) specialist will begin mapping the route soon, making it the nonprofit's first to be mapped with GIS technology.

In addition to the on-road route, the final map package will include food, camping, lodging and other services along the way.

In spite of passing through the difficult terrain in the Sierras and Cascade ranges, I'd expect this to become one of Adventure Cycling's most popular routes.

The bicycle route will visit Northern Cascades National Park, Crater Lake National Park …

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About four years ago, Ben and Celia Leber put an idea into practice for their Wild Hearts Cycling bicycle tour company that in hindsight makes a lot of sense.

They began offering bike tours in Oregon, California and Vermont that didn't use the customary sag vehicles to carry everyone's gear during the day and pick up stragglers along the route.

The decision had the expected result of making their bicycle tours more eco-friendly and sustainable. It also had the unexpected consequence of making the small touring groups more cohesive and supportive of each other.  

“People relate to each other better ….

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Nancy Shepherd must not mind the prospect of hitting the Big 5-0. She used her upcoming birthday as an opportunity to embark on a bicycle tour of the perimeter of the U.S.

I remember how I celebrated by 50th: My friend flew out to visit me at my home in Austin at the time and we rode 50 miles that weekend. It was in the winter off-season, but now it seems lame.

Now I'm inspired to do something more grand for my 60th, which is on the horizon. Thanks Nancy.

Nancy writes that she started thinking about a big challenge when the signs of aging began to show themselves ….

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When I first learned from Robert Hollandsworth that he was cutting short his bicycle tour because of physical and mechanical problems, I probably should have guessed that there was more to it than he initially let on.

Yes, he did suffer mechanical problems during the first weeks of his tour that started in Houston around New Year's Day. And yes, the 600-plus miles of bicycling stressed his body that was accustomed to decades of a sedentary lifestyle.

But what really brought his Cycle for Life Tour to an end was one of the female residents of Langtry, Texas, who offered Hollandsworth a bowl of soup …

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Phil Keoghan is getting real with an amazing bicycle tour this spring.

The host of “The Amazing Race” reality TV show is embarking from Los Angeles on March 28 for a cross-country bicycle tour to raise money and awareness for the Multiple Sclerosis Society.

The MS Society has chosen the bicycle as a successful form of fund-raising. The non-profit sponsors more than 100 one- to two-day charity bicycle rides around the US every year. Combined, the rides raise about $65 million annually.

Keoghan, who lives in New Zealand, says he'll ride about 100 miles a day …

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This scene from Twin Bridges, Montana, might have made an impression on bike travelers pedaling through on the TransAmerica Bicycle Trail over the years.

Those bicycle tourists certainly made an impression on the people of Twin Bridges, population 400.

In fact, those cyclists have made such a good impression that citizens of the town in southwestern Montana are creating a bicycle campground right on the shores of the Beaverhead River.

The only problem is that the folks in Twin Bridges don't tour by bicycle, so they need some help to determine what's needed at the campground.

Bill White of Twin Bridges recently contacted Adventure Cycling Association …

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