Category Archives: Bike Touring

Going places on a bike for the longer haul.

Keeping Wild Things Wild is Up to Us

Backcountry wanderers and campers walk a thin line in our dealings with the furred and feathered natives on whose doorsteps we camp. We want to be accepted by them, but we also want them to know their place and keep their distance, and it’s much harder to strike the right balance than it used to be. But it’s up to us to help the wild creatures stay wild.
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by Tamia Nelson | June 1, 2015

Ah, wilderness! The annual flight from the cities and suburbs is about to get under way in earnest. Soon many popular waterways will boast their own traffic jams, as canoes and kayaks jostle tentatively with darting jet-skis and lumbering party barges. Lighting out for the territory just ain’t what it was in Huck Finn’s day. But some things don’t change. Beyond the boundaries of the tent-cities now springing up in established campsites—the line of demarcation is easily identified by the sudden and unexpected appearance of lower limbs on trees—the natives go about their business as best they can. That’s natives … Continue reading »

Beyond the Beauty Strip: Talking Trash

Have you ever revisited a favorite spot in the backcountry or along a quiet back road, only to find it transformed into a passable imitation of a poorly managed landfill? That’s been happening more and more often to Tamia these days. Now she’s wondering if it’s just a local phenomenon, or if the problem’s bigger.
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by Tamia Nelson | May 22, 2012

Let’s talk trash. It’s a big subject, and if what I see on trails and canoe launches is any indication—to say nothing of what I find scattered along the roads I travel—it’s getting bigger by the day.

What’s the explanation? Well, one of the leading citizens in Garrison Keillor’s fictional Lake Wobegon memorably described the early settlers in the neighboring hamlet of Millet as having come to the New World “to get drunk and throw away their garbage,” implying that their descendants were keen to continue this proud tradition. Maybe this is all the explanation that’s needed. Or maybe not.

In any case, I guess I live in Millet.

That isn’t the impression you’d get … Continue reading »

The Fine Art of Foraging: Convenience Stores and the Hungry Cyclotourist

Many cyclists find it hard to eat well on the road, but there’s no reason to add your name to the list. With just a little effort, you can make every tour a movable feast, even if all you have to chose from is a rural convenience store.
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by Tamia Nelson | April 26, 2014

Cyclists, like armies, travel on their stomachs. So it’s no wonder that cyclotourists spend a lot of time thinking about food. If a tour is short, you can carry all you can eat on your bike, but since food weighs in at somewhere between two and five pounds a day (depending on your menu, and not counting water), the grubshed dividing short tours from long comes pretty early. Most cyclists can carry the meals for an overnight or weekend without feeling overburdened, but by Day Three or thereabouts, many of us will be looking to restock. That’s where foraging skills come into play.

Of course, if this were an ideal world, you’d find a well-stocked grocery store on the roadside at … Continue reading »

Keeping Your Food to Yourself Where the Wild Things Are

It’s summertime, and the wilderness is calling. Soon campsites in popular parks will be filled to overflowing, as paddlers and hikers make themselves at home where the wild things are. And with the crowds comes conflict. We want to keep our food to ourselves. But our involuntary hosts have other ideas, and the resulting differences of opinion can get messy. Is there an alternative? There is.
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by Tamia Nelson | June 6, 2015

Backcountry wanderers and campers walk a thin line in our dealings with the furred and feathered natives on whose doorsteps we camp. We want to be accepted by them, but we also want them to know their place and keep their distance. This is pretty presumptuous of us, really. Since when do house guests get to lay down rules for their hosts? Be that as it may, however, it’s much harder to strike the right balance than it used to be. Truly wild things treat infrequent blow-ins with appropriate caution and circumspection. But tens of millions of us now invade the natives’ … Continue reading »