June 12th
Woke this morning unsure what time it was because there is no clock, and my phone is on the charger across the room. Laid there with some trepidation. Doing a self check. Legs feel good. Stomach feels good. Fingers crossed everything stays that way.
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July 10, 2019
Setting out on an adventure to bike across America from coast to coast brought a lot of people here to follow that adventure as it happened. Since it came to a premature end, I know plenty of followers have questions and have been patiently waiting for them to be answered. Hopefully, this post will take care of that.
At the time this entry is published, four weeks have passed since my last day of riding as well as the posting of the previous blog entry. In that time I’ve been struggling with how to put a wrap to this adventure. The delay of taking my thoughts from private reflection to public script is due to a combination of occurrences. This entry has undergone several re-writings and hours of editing all to find the right words. This final draft does a pretty decent job of bringing this to a conclusion. I just have to accept that no amount of re-writing will get it to a point that I’ll be truly content.
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Now that the weather here in Michigan has turned to such that I’m pretty much done with participating in outdoor adventures, decided this is a good time to reflect on everything that took place this past summer. Continue reading
This is part two in a series of articles covering my adventures of 2018. Part one can be found here. Part 1 Gaylord MI to Mackinaw City
On the bike trail between Gaylord MI and Mackinaw City little did I know my next adventure was developing before me. Even though I was officially on ‘vacation’ from work I was in contact with my company, talking with them about sending me to a new facility for a few weeks.
This is part three in a series of articles covering my adventures of 2018. Part one can be found here. Part 1 Gaylord MI to Mackinaw City
By the time the middle of August rolled around I was feeling a dire compulsion to fill my summer with as much activity as possible before it’s over. One activity on my wishlist to still fulfill was a promise made to my aunt last summer to take her paddleboarding.
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This is part four in a series of articles covering adventures of 2018. Part one can be found here. Part 1 Gaylord MI to Mackinaw City
Part three of this series ended with the honor of having my picture placed on the wall of fame at Great Lakes Fitness in Escanaba Michigan. However, that is not the end of my Upper Peninsula related adventures.
Since they only wanted me for a week in Escanaba, I brought all my bikepacking gear, along with the bike, with the thought of doing a two-day ride Saturday and Sunday prior to returning to my regular station. Before the week was over they beg and pleaded for me to stay one more week. Not really but this is my damn story.
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This is part five and the final entry in a series of articles covering adventures of 2018. Part one can be found here. Part 1 Gaylord MI to Mackinaw City
Being back in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula for work and having my one week stay turned into two, I decided that my ‘way home trip’ at the end of the week will be a stop in Charlevoix Michigan. There I will do the two-day ride that I promised myself the previous weekend.
Continue readingEver since I first ventured into the bikepacking scene, I’ve been intrigued with the camping hammocks and have been eager to give it try. A few weeks ago an economical option presented itself that I decided would finally be my chance to give hammock sleeping a go.
A Facebook ad, complete with a very enticing video, popped up on my newsfeed. Not only was it a camping hammock but one that was rather unique allowing one to sleep crossways to the way the hammock is hung. Looked like a very comfortable sleeping position so I placed an order for one.
Here is a video of me and my brother opening the package for the very first time and setting it up… Or should I say ‘trying’ to set it up. Let me just say there is absolutely zero useful review information about a hammock in this video. The short video does, however, have some entertainment value.
Here is a quick video of a new set of Bags I ordered to replace bags I’ve been using on the Salsa Anything Cages mounted to the forks of my bike.
Like to consider myself as an adventurer which typically means participating in a variety of voyages. Even though I’ve embarked on a few of those over the past few years, there is one recent adventure that does not fall into the ‘voyage’ category. This adventure did not involve traveling much further than to work or the gym. Will admit, at no point in the time it took for this story to play out, did I ever considered it an adventure. However looking back on all that I’ve done and learned the past months, I’m calling it an adventure now. Continue reading