Cycling makes me happy. It is a means of transportation, a sport, and a way to see the world. It gives me a way to meditate, to relieve stress, and to appreciate nature. It is a simple and elegant thing in a world that sometimes seems too complex.
Touring
My first long-distance bicycle tour was in 1995, the summer after college. I started in Germany and ended in southern Italy. I have few photos from that trip or from two subsequent tours in Italy in the summer and winter of 1996. More recent trips are better documented:
- Alps '97
- Alps '98
- Norway to Italy Tour '99
- Alps '01
- Ireland '03 (a cycling honeymoon!)
- Alps '04
- Alps '07
- Alps '10
- Alps '12
- Alps '14
Randonneuring
The number of randonneuring reports has been growing, so I feel they now deserve their own page.
For more recent writing, see also veloblog.maxp.net.
A few bicycles, past and present
- My Steve Rex custom, a fast and lively bike for long-distance riding.
- My wonderful Rivendell Rambouillet, which has been decommissioned after two chainstay failures.
- A carbon Cannondale that once took me from Paris to Brest.
- My converted Raleigh fixed-gear, which still lives in Boston.
- Rideable art at the 2007 North American Handmade Bicycle Show.
Bike-related tips
- Some notes on how to pack a bicycle for air travel.
- Notes on how to move your road cleats waaay back.
Car-free living
"Car-free" is an oversimplification—we occasionally rent a car for errands or trips—but (even now that we have two kids) we don't own a car, and we don't miss it.
- My car-free house move, many years ago. Today, the most spectacular thing I haul on that trailer each year is the family Christmas tree.
- Pedal Pushers Online asked me to write a piece about what it's like to live without a car. You can read what I wrote and what Kara wrote, or look at the nicely illustrated final version (mine, Kara's).
- Velo Vision Magazine: all about cycling as transport. It is well-written and nicely illustrated, too.