Even the dogs don’t bark at bicyclists in New Zealand!
If ever there was a paradise for a touring bicycle rider, New Zealand is it. The South Island with its 12,000-foot glacier covered summits possesses extraordinary mountain vistas. [...]
Millions of people around the globe ride bicycles, but I have never been so affected by bicycle riders than when I rode through the streets of Beijing, China.
That country houses 1.35 billion people. Their main transportation? The bicycle.
With [...]
On Route 72, near Parker, Arizona, I headed east into the twilight.
A blistering day scorched my body into a dishrag that had cleaned out a pot of greasy spaghetti and hung over the top tube to dry. My chances of finding a stream for a bath [...]
“Let’s cage ourselves and let the animals run free.
Let’s find new stars and new songs to follow.
Let’s build some foundations under our dreams.
For if we have the prowess to destroy the earth,
then we can surely save [...]
It could happen in the morning when you pedal down the highway to see dewdrops sparkling off the leaves of a cherry tree.
You stop to pull cherries off the tree along the Lewis and Clark Trail in Oregon. Their succulent sugars bathe your mouth [...]
Do you work a nine to five disinteresting job?
Do you watch four hours of television everyday after work? Are your weekends filled with powerboats, beer and grilled ribs? Do you lust for the thrill of the NFL season? Will you be remembered for [...]
This summer, after two years existing under assisted living, my mother passed away peacefully in her sleep.
My two younger brothers and I stood near the bed watching her life energy ebb, wane and finally, vanish. She spoke her last words in [...]
On your bicycle, backpack, canoe or any journey, there’s always that special “moment” that pops out of nowhere. It flashes in front of you much like an ephemeral lightning bolt out of the heavens.
It strikes your eyes, your senses, your [...]
Two sisters, Meloti and Isabel Wijsen, 12 and 10, noticed plastic bags clogging the beaches, streams, streets and highways around their tiny island of Bali.
What they witnessed appalled them. Ironically, Bali tourist organizations sang praises [...]
Verdant green lodge pole pines blanket the Mount Holy Cross Wilderness region.
A cobalt sky profiles rolling mountain tundra while gray rock peaks push against the universe. In the valleys, snow-fed sparkling rivers cascade over boulders, while [...]
Yellowstone National Park: when Gerry and Dave pedaled westward, I felt my heart grow sad.
At the gate entrance of Madison Junction campground, I paid my bill for the “Hike-biker” section. No laughter tonight around the campfire. I pitched [...]
“A person should set his goals as early as he can and devote all his energy and talent to getting there. With enough effort, he may achieve it. Or he may find something that is even more rewarding. But in the end, no matter that the outcome, [...]
Adventure is not always comfortable; however, it’s still adventure.
It’s not always safe, either. Whatever it is, it beats a couch, remote control and the indolent TV any day of the week.
Our first canoe trip of the summer proved green trees, [...]
“When something becomes too much fun, the government will move swiftly to tax it.” -Disgruntled Taxpayer
Outside Vicksburg, Mississippi, on Route 80, my brother Howard and I cranked east through the afternoon heat. Sweat dripped from our [...]
“Have you known the Great White Silence?
Not a snow-gemmed twig aquiver?
Eternal truths that shame our soothing lives?
Have you broken trail on snowshoes?
Mushed your huskies up the river?
Dared the unknown, led the way, and clutched the [...]
They say, “Good girls go to heaven and bad girls go to Sturgis!”
That’s why ALL the boys, including preacher’s sons, go to Sturgis! On the back of one motorcycle rider’s shirt, “One week of Sturgis makes the other 51 weeks bearable!”
The [...]
Backcountry mountaineering takes guts, gumption and strength.
Not for the meek. Not for the lazy. Not for the mild. It taxes and tantalizes at the same time. The wilderness summons the deep, primordial spirit of mountain men and women. It spills [...]
From the inception of the human race on planet Earth, intrepid men and women followed their ‘adventure inclinations’ to explore the continents, oceans and outer space.
Some raft, some swim, some climb and some fly. And some sling a heavy [...]