Bikes and Biking Year in Review: 2022

North Beach, Orcas Island. 5 August 2022 Looks dreamy, but this serene image was hard-earned from a challenging day biking the island. Olympus XA2/Fujicolor 100 Hello, friends. As another year comes to a close, it's customary for me to look back at the past year and reflect on what's happened, then ponder what may come...

A look back at my 2022 touring season

The Bantam at Crown Point, during the Midweek Gorge group camping trip, 15 Oct 2022. Camera: Ricohflex Dia Film: Kodak Gold 200 As the first real rains of autumn hit the Northwest, and the chances of getting "one last camping trip in" diminish, now is a good time for me to look back and reflect...

Summer 2022 Bike touring/status update

Camping at Ainsworth SP in the Gorge, 15 June 2022. Ricohflex Dia/Kodak Gold 200 We're just a couple days away from the start of July. If it's not too hot (or too smoky) July through September marks the best time to bike tour here in the Pacific Northwest--long, dry, warm days. Spring typically isn't a...

Champoeg post-report: A de-briefing on my first (tent) bike camping trip of 2022

St. Louis Church, 7 April 2022. Olympus 35 RD/Kodak TMAX 400 My first tent bike camping trip of 2022, to Champoeg State Park, happened just about two weeks ago. (My first bike overnight was in February with Emee to Stub.) Even after bike camping and touring for the better part of two decades, the first...

Bike Overnight: Champoeg (and the Willamette Valley Scenic Bikeway) 6-7 April 2022

The gate(s) of Champoeg, 7 April 2022. Olympus 35 RD/Kodak TMAX 400 After the trip to Stub Stewart with Emee to Stub Stewart in February, I was jonesin' for another trip, this time with a tent. While there were good bouts of weather in March, I was occupied with other things when they hit. So...

Like a broken record, the bike camping/touring itch returns

Beverly Beach State Park on Emee and my Oregon Coast Tour, 14 August 2021. Camera: Olympus Pen EES-2. Film: Fuji Sensia 100 (slide film)(expired) Winter camping in Portland is a possibility: there are several all-year campgrounds nearby and we rarely see snow or temperatures below freezing. Every once in awhile the temptation to do a...

The itch for bike camping returns

Bike Camping at Ainsworh SP/Columbia Gorge, 25 Aug 2020. Ricoh 35 ZF/AristaEDU 200. We're having some nice weather for the beginning of March. That snow and ice storm? So two weeks ago. How can you think about winter when the outside temp is nearing 60F? Not only do we have nicer weather, but the days...

Bike Overnight to Champoeg State Park, 1-2 Sept

I did cancel the Three Speed Tour that I had planned for Labor Day weekend, but that didn't mean I was against camping. So I roped Steve M and Todd B into an overnight camping trip to Champoeg State Park. Champoeg, ah. I've been bike camping for thirteen years, and while this campground is about...