Category: Postcards

Letters from abroad, from home, from within.

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The Sawtooth Scenic Byway

I’ve been sitting here for too long already.  I want to tell you the story, but this one’s not easy, and more to the point, it’s not yet over.  The adventure continues to expand, and exceed all expectations. No words are doing justice to the feelings we’ve had, it seems I’ll have to let the photo’s do the talking this time.  What is the message?  It is not about the no-car, it is not about the bike.  It isn’t even about the mountains or the adventure, although that’s getting closer to the source.  You can live any way you choose: dream big, do good, be kind.  Do Epic Shit.  Live with passion and be the force for positive change.  Create the world, the reality you want to inhabit. Live your Dreams.

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Unfolding on its own.

The first leg of this trip was really only an introduction , a prelude, things seem to be much more under way at this stage.  Traveling from SLC to Ogden, and riding across the desolate landscape north of the Great Salt Lake was surreal, grueling, and amazing.  Making it to City of Rocks and climbing for a handful of days was rewarding, rejuvenating, and inspiring.  After leaving The City we got dumped on by cold rain, snow, and a biting headwind, the scene was rugged and as we contemplated transitioning to the higher-trafficked narrow-shouldered road with numb fingers and toes, Calvin the mechanical bull ride maker pulled up with his trailer and offered a ride into Twin Falls, we were happy to oblige.  A well earned and much needed night in a motel room gave us the chance to chill out, wash up, and hold palaver over the road ahead.  We cut out all that we reasonably could, leaving only ski gear with the hope we could borrow or find anything else we might need.  Unbound from our Beasts of Burden, we rolled easily on out of town, spending a night in the Shoshone town park.  Another day and we’ve made it to Ketchum, completely stoked to be at the doorstep to these beautiful mountains.  It looks like a town day is in order as some weather rolls through over the next couple days.  The climb to Galena Summit, Stanley, and the Sawtooths lay ahead, and we’re psyched for it all.

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A Word on Gear

 
I’m not really one to write about gear.  Talk about it, obsess over it, over-analyze it, yes, but there’s something about personal blogs that feature gear reviews and gear talk that makes me nauseas.  I didn’t start this to get free gear, free trips, whore myself or promote the continuation of our material culture that is leading to the degradation of our environment.  Lest you believe I’m a total cynic about this sort of thing have yourself a read of Craig Childs’ piece of the “Buying and Selling of Nature”, and Dane’s piece about the “Elite” attitude of sporting becoming the norm.  Although these pieces might not actually say much it is a pretty good jumping off point for the conversation of the amazing duality that exists between outdoor enthusiasts and the material “gear” culture that we’re so entwined with.  We rely on our gear, it’s a huge part of what is enabling us to push our boundaries and find new limits.  You’ll not be finding a thousand-word blow-fest about a mid-layer polartec hoody here, we can leave that for the “athletes” with pretty faces who’s job it is to sell things. Mostly themselves.  What I do want to offer you is a glimpse at the gear I use, how normal and average it is, how it fits on the bike, and how easy it is for you to make the transformation yourself.
The impetus for this post is a recently published write-up of our Zion trip to my friend Ed’s site VerticalMinded.com.  If you haven’t yet, check it out, it’s mostly a bunch of pictures but there’s a little bit of the insight and reflections that went into (and came out of) that trip.  I don’t plan on re-posting it here but I thought I would instead include few things that I left out of that posting, mainly, a look into the gear we use, what we brought, and how you can do it too.  In the hopes that others might follow suit, here’s a quick look into our panniers, our minds, our bags of gear, and why packing all of the same stuff into your car is weak sauce.  Enjoy.

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Bicycle Travel. Commuting and Consideration.

This is what’s up.

Life on a bike is full of adventure.  No matter what’s thrown your way, if you’re flexible and adaptive, you can always make it work.  This time last year we were riding into the mountains loaded down with food and climbing gear, tackling summits and remote climbs in the wildernesses of the Washington Cascades.  We spent our downtime relaxing and riding around a small town.  Now, shifting gears and taking a little break, we’re relaxing with family and riding a little over 20 miles a day commuting to and from work on our bikes. 

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catching up…

Hello old friend.  I still don’t really know weather or not to treat you as a mouthpiece, or a journal, or something in between, but I do feel as though I owe it to you, to myself to do a bit of catching up, as the last few months, weeks, and days, have held a lot of change, and there’s always some sort of tugging reminder to share, or record it, here, for you, for myself, for whatever reason.  This has never felt like a project with boundaries, deadlines, or an end, but rather an ongoing and evolving space to share my thoughts and actions, organize them, realize new ones, and continue to strive to be a better human.  I’ve always told myself I would not apologize for not blogging, and I won’t.  I feel no obligation to myself, to you the reader, or to anyone.  Much like the ebb and flow of physical awareness, where it takes an injury or illness to get realigned with the priorities of health and wellness, my aptitude for clear thinking and writing often falter and fizzle, but will in time return.  Continue reading “catching up…”

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Becoming lost.

The act of travel, and the art of becoming lost, are at once related and reliant upon each other.  Although travelling, at its essence, is the simple act of moving from one place to another, as we all know, it can also be so much more.   Travelling imparts knowledge, it signifies rank, class, and intelligence, it can humble, embolden, and enlighten.   For all time traveling has been used by humans to expand understanding and cultivate awareness.  To begin to truly understand the nature of the world around us, and ourselves, it is necessary to move around, and experience that world.  Additionally, the means by which you travel have drastically different influences upon our bodies, and minds. Continue reading “Becoming lost.”

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Just a Reminder…

This is a blog.  Simple.  A quick deconstruction of the word reveals its true meaning, a web log.  A diary.  A journal.  But more then that, the format and purpose of today’s blogs is to share.  I’m writing for you, even more than for myself.  Writing and photographing for me has become a way of expressing my worldview, sharing my thoughts, feelings, insights, and adventures.  The format and structure of this site and those like it allow for the sharing of ideas and following of readership.  You can comment, subscribe, or share it with your own friends and families.

This is a journal, and I usually treat it as so, my entries flowing mostly from a stream of consciousness that receive little or no editing.  But this is a journal of purpose, and while I often get lost in the web world of climbing, the hopes and dreams of a kid who loves mountains, I’d like to take this moment to remind myself, and you, why I created this space, why I’m still here writing, and the direction I hope to be going. Continue reading “Just a Reminder…”