Today marks one year on the road! We can’t believe that we are still on our bikes and traveling from Patagonia to Portland. Europe seems so long ago. We’ve come a long way from plunking down in the Oslo Airport without a map, pedaling off blindly in a new city. After one year on the road[...]
This post has been forming in my mind for months, ever since cycle touring Bulgaria last fall. The country won us over and it ended up on the top of our list of favorite countries from our European cycle tour. We followed the Euro Velo 13, or the Iron Curtain Trail, for the[...]
The Cross-Border Multi-Day Adventure Challenge is sure to get your adrenaline pumping! In this endurance event, participants use multi-modal transportation as they make their way from the tiny climbing town of El Chaltén, Argentina, to Candelaria Mancilla at the Chilean border. In this[...]
Dave and I sat with Sora on the shoulder of the dusty road between San Sebastian, Argentina and Porvenir, Chile. We had put in a good effort for the day and felt ready to stop after nearly 10 hours of riding. With little shelter to block the wind and a fence running along the entirety of[...]
When I met my friend, Chris, five years ago, he was in the middle of building a bike for his wife, Brooke. I don’t mean that Chris was building out a bike from a purchased frame. He was building the frame with his own hands and tools. That night, I decided that I would one day commission[...]
We may be beginning our tour in South America, but we still have a couple posts left that we wanted to share from our Europe trip. After that, we’ll begin to share our Patagonian journey with you! In between meeting our friend, Lisa in Sitia and my family in Chania, clear on the other[...]
Our 2015 European cycling trip led us on a long and strenuous journey from Oslo to Athens. As we begin a journey through another continent, we reflected a bit on our accomplishments in Europe – where we stayed, whom we met, and how far we traveled. And so, to whet your inner[...]
If you follow us on social media, then you probably already know the news – the Long Haul Trekkers are headed to South America! As our European adventure began to wind down, we discussed our options to either stay in Europe, end our cycle tour, or venture on to another continent[...]
Long gone are the days of dedicated cycling paths, with directions so well-labeled, maps and GPS are rendered useless, where cars respectfully gave way to cyclists, providing a wide berth as they passed, and loud noises stemmed from the flock of barn swallows devouring ripe cherries on[...]
After doling some of its finest attributes like thunder and lightning, downpours, goat path cycling routes, and few sleeping options, Bulgaria more than made up for the barrage of cycling pains we experienced over our first several days. We thawed, rested, and dried our gear for[...]
I stood below the patchy cover of tree branches as I waited impatiently, as larges drops of water pelted my back and head, willing my water to boil. After a failed attempt at lighting the stove due to the buckets of rain pouring from the sky, I finally managed to maintain a flame long[...]
I watched as they danced in my rearview mirror, bobbing up and down like marionettes. Glancing just in front of my face, I saw a cloud of them targeting my eyes, lips, and ears. The ears were the worst. Despite my self-imposed safety measures, I inserted my left ear bud to silence the[...]
Immediately after crossing the border from Croatia into Bosnia, we noticed a marked difference in the attitudes of the drivers. They slowed and drafted behind us while we navigated down hairpin turns, patiently awaiting a safe place to pass. When overtaking, they offered plenty of room[...]
I glanced up from lugging my heavy bike up the dirt path, which was caked with mud from the rains over the two previous days to see Dave sprinting down the hill with Sora trotting behind. When he reached me, he stopped to catch his breath, bent over, hands on his knees. “Did you know,” he[...]
As I nervously hugged the strip of white paint while cycling along Croatia’s Highway 1, I checked my rearview mirror constantly and listened intently for approaching cars. With every distant hum of a motor, I either breathed a sigh of relief when I heard the sound of deceleration or held[...]
After arriving in Czech Republic, we had to decide whether to continue to Hungary or to take a train to Linz, Austria and ride through the Alps. As Oregonians, we pined for alpine views and crisp mountain air. Despite tough hills ahead, we choose to take the train and see the Alps[...]