Camping

Two days in, and Slovenia is already doing its thing. Day 1 began slow and a little chaotic. The bikes didn’t show until 8, so we didn’t roll until past 9:30, and the roofing crew working on Risto’s house picked the same moment to jam up the alley with their truck. Traffic snarled behind us before we’d even made it out of Ljubljana. Once clear, the riding found its rhythm. The climbs treated me well. Every time I caught my heart rate drifting too high, I’d change cadence or pull over for a beat and settle back down. I didn’t love the village-to-town miles, the stop-start through the built-up bits, but the cars and trucks and motorcycles were patient, and that counts. We grabbed a bite before the ride’s end, and my legs went stiff rolling into camp. ...

Ten days from now I’m on a plane to Slovenia. Landing in Ljubljana, two days to orient, then the bike ride starts. The route is a 640km loop through Slovenia with a Croatian coast detour. Julian Alps (Bohinj, Bled, the Vršič Pass at 1611m), the Soča Valley, Goriška Brda wine country, down to Opatija on the Istrian coast, back up through the Gorski Kotar forest, the Kolpa River valley, and finally back to Ljubljana. About 10,280 meters of climbing over nine riding days with one rest day on the coast. ...

I just got back from another year of RAGBRAI. Wasn’t sure if it would actually happen because of the new wave of COVID-19 cases. It was cancelled last year. I only did three and a half days of riding from Parkersburg to Clinton. Originally, I was going to bike out to the route and back and meet up with my team, but when my friend Mike said he was going to come all the way over from Switzerland, I adjusted my plans so that I could help him get to the route/team and share any gear with him that he may have needed. ...

At the beginning of June this year, I went on a five-night canoe camping trip with family members in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area (BWCA), specifically the Shell Lake area off entry point 14. This was my first canoe trip and my first time visiting the BWCA. Because of that, I had a lot of questions going into the trip. Normally, on canoe trips, folks have a tendency to pack more similar to a car camping trip because the hikes, or portages, are short and the canoes instead carry most of the weight. ...

Here is a follow-up to my previous post, 2017-ragbrai-packlist. Based on this year, I made some last minute decisions on what to pack. Here are some factors that changed what ended up on the ride: Supported by my team bus. Riding/camping with my wife. Riding my single speed. Only camping four nights (22nd-25th) and only riding three days (23rd-25th) In addition, the weather is looking pretty decent for July in Iowa. For the portion that I will be riding the highest is 88 and the lowest is 58. ...