#Long Distance Cycling

[longreads]

Danger on the Divide

Maggie Slepian is back with a gripping story of outdoor adventure gone wrong hundreds of miles into the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route.

A few friends had completed the route the year prior, both regularly riding 90 miles each day. They recounted their trips casually—one broken chain, a few grueling passes, some Achilles issues. On paper, the logistics were also easier than my thru-hikes; the only moderate concern was our compressed timeline. Matt had to be back for late-summer guide work, but if we averaged 70 miles per day, we’d have time for rest days and any mechanical issues.

We ruthlessly reduced our pack load, eliminating extra weight to make room for water and account for the oddly shaped bike bags on our ultralight setups. I removed my extra mid-layer, swapped our cookset for a smaller model, and we decided against the satellite communicator. The route was highly populated and the older inReach weighed a hefty eight ounces. It hit the no pile with a thunk.

Check out Danger on the Divide.

[kliteau]

Website: https://www.klite.com.au

kLite specializes in expedition-ready gear, offering a powerful dynamo lighting system for bikepacking enthusiasts. Their products, including ultra-bright adventure lighting systems and dynamo powered USB chargers, are designed to enhance the riding and racing experience. kLite's gear is trusted worldwide for its reliability and performance in challenging conditions, empowering riders to explore further with confidence.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/klite_dynamo_power

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/kLiteRacing

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kLite.com.au

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[kilometermacher]

Kürbiskern Schnitzeljagd Graz – Wien

[theb-route]

Childhood dreaming

For as long as I can remember, I knew that I wanted to do long distance cycling. On road trips with my family in Namibia, we’d very occasionally pass a lone cyclist, panniers and wide-brimmed hat in place, slowly inching along the blistering hot tar, on a dead-straight, desolate stretch of road with the next town 200km away and no other human as far as the eye could see. We’d give a cheerful toot and wave and I’d keep them in view for as long as I could.

These sightings always got me very excited. There was something about it, in our context, one of the world’s least densely populated countries, that was completely outrageous. And maybe brave too. Definitely determined, defiant even. 

That idea of being able to be alone like that, for kilometers, for days, for weeks and months even, to be able to be self- sufficient, to be able to move substantial distances on one’s own steam. I’d not have been able to articulate that then but on reflection now, I think there was something about that which was incredibly appealing to my young mind. Solitude. Time away, being apart from the day to day, from the rush of activity and ‘to do’s’. 

I’ve since read some about solitude and pilgrimage and tried some multi-day solo walking and all of this seems to gel for me. 

So, almost 30 years after first being inspired by those intrepid lone cyclists on the remote roads of Namibia, I’m finally  giving this a go myself. The ensuing blog will chronicle my trips as well as hopefully being a space to do some reflecting on the what and why of long distance cycling. There is of course a lot of time for thinking on the long road.

Lastly, I’ve not found much on cycle touring in Namibia. That which I have found is now mostly a few to several years old as well as generally having been written by people travelling to Namibia from overseas. And so hopefully what will follow will be some insights from a Namibian travelling through her own country and possibly in time others too, on 2 wheels. 

[newyorkthegoldenage]

Mr. and Mrs. Maxwell Fead of Birmingham, Michigan, pose with their bikes in front of their hotel, July 3, 1943. The Feads didn't let gas shortages ruin their vacation. Traveling by bicycle and boat, they made their way from Michigan to New York in a week and declared it one of their most enjoyable vacations. They planned to take a different route on the return trip to see another section of the country. The Feads used the bikes in New York for sightseeing.

Photo: Robert Kradin for the AP

[a-lilguy]

Ronan 'Peach Emoji' Lynch 🍑

[mutopians]

do you ever think about how NONE of the gangsey really had friends before they met each other besides henry? the only people we know gansey interacted with before meeting adam and ronan are people like mallory, who i wouldn't really count as super close friends. we know blue was the odd girl at school. that the only people adam seems to really interact with are gansey, ronan, and noah at the start of the raven boys. we know ronan was close with his brothers, but never mentions any close friends growing up. even noah is only really described as having one close friend (whelk) in high school, and we all know how that one ended up.

i think a lot about how messy the friendships are in that group, but it wasn't until today that i realized that part of the reason might be because none of them have really had friends before. it makes sense that henry, the ONE person who actually seems to have friends besides the gangsey, is also the one who is the most upfront with getting friends, and the one who seems to be really good at picking up his new friends' strengths. he's already been there before, so he knows how to interact within groups like that. everyone else is still figuring out that dynamic all throughout the series.

[persephonaae]

I think there’s something to be said about my weird self fulfilling prophecy with Persephone, I don’t think she will ever stop being the ruling force of my life

[beepborpdoodledorp]

ok but starry siblings modern day AU where moonlight and stardust were separated at birth and meet for the first time in their adulthood and due to circumstances stardust has to crash at moonlight’s place for a while and the entire thing is just a slice of life sitcom where the two start to know each other + bond over astrology n stuff and also space donut is stardust’s cat who is literally just named donut

[crossbackpoke-check]

re last answer: please don't stop, being very unhinged about these two pretty white boys is helping distract me from the sharks losing streak rn so bring it on

https://www.tumblr.com/bondedpairs/764566430180147200?source=share

(sideblog woes but there's the link for you) anyway in the vid they talk about going over to each other's houses to have dinner and things and while that is a delicious example of their codependence i love it bc through an rpf lens there is definitely some old man ******* going on. they can have the dilfs and each other.

(someone else mentioned kept boys which i could write an essay on but i fear being Perceived™️)

anyway if you have anything to add to this please do, if not ignore me and i will hide under a rock until the stress-related insanity has worn off and i am a functioning member of society once more 😂

- @bondedpairs

ty for the video!!! and please, WRITE THE KEPT BOYS ESSAYYYY i promise i will read it with my hands over my eyes if you don’t want to be perceived. do it scared!! do it anyway!! we’ll all love you for it!!!

[saluteofthejugger]

i am mad at myself for not going on a painful long bike ride cause now i can't do it for at least 5 days

[bsaka7]

ran 8mi today at a flat 10 I didn't even mean to run that far i just felt like it and it was lovely. Just cruising...

[tomatoluvr69]

useless complaint post literally you don’t have to bother reading this it will just help me to rant a bit

This is sooooo not a real issue I’m just in the throes of pmdd but like I have a bunch of semi-expected (but way earlier than I’d thought) unemployed time so I’m using its alignment with the warm weather to go backpacking/live out of my car in [nearby national park and national forests] but right now I feel zero enthusiasm and I really hope it’s not gonna suck bc my heart’s not in it…like if I’m kind of doing it out of obligation bc it’s unusual to have such an extended span of time off when you’re an adult, then am I going to have the drive to get thru the parts that suck, like the exhaustion of steep trail days, the days when it storms so hard you have zero dry gear, etc. but really the part that I’m the most trepidatious about is the loneliness. But it’s so weird bc I’m struggling socially here and I really think some extended alone time would help?? But it’s always hard and I don’t want to lololol. Honestly what would help this the most is to just wait until after my fucking period. But as it is right now I feel like I’m just going thru the motions. If I could fucking live in my house for the equivalent amount of time without my social life encroaching I absolutely would but I’m so burnt out from my close friends leaving and from my last dear relationship here being at times really tough (it’s one that feels like my well-being rides on it— when it’s good, I’m on top of the world, when it’s not I’m hurt and confused and crawling out of my own skin). I still have a community here but it feels like it’s my roommates’ world, and I’m a guest whose presence is like…anodyne at best? And I really think I’ve just latched onto the idea of my trip as a vague mental escape hatch and haven’t really grasped the idea of the fact that I’ll still be present in my ailing brain and treacherous body when I go on the trip— I’m not just taking a nap from my (admittedly spoiled little baby) problems. And when I did the same thing for 3 or 4 weeks last summer I was dropped off & picked up, which created a really nice incentive to stay on trail— to leave, I’d have had to somehow communicate & coordinate with the relatives who’d agreed on a set date to come pick me up, i.e. effectively trapping me in the woods so I’d stay when I got all grumpy or sad or began semi-hallucinating human voices or was ready to throw it all away to get my hands on a slice of pepperoni pizza and a big old kombucha lol.

Anyways this is such not a real problem but me ol’ paranoid ass is convinced a whole passel of my irls have this blog’s url so I can’t freely complain about what’s really bothering me, which is that I’m starting to see harbingers of the devastating dissolution of my closest relationship. Or, even worse, my relegation to a much more distant connection. And I’m trying desperately to convince myself I should stay in this fucking town, because I’m suuuuuuuuper prone to just fleeing when I start to feel [inaudible], which is a super unsustainable way to live my life and o know it’s not [city] I’m trying to flee but myself which scientists are telling me I can’t physically do…but is that the truth?? Or is the truth that I actually do need a clean break from [redacted]…or is that just a convenient lie I’m telling myself so I can flee again. Or is THAT a convenient lie I’m telling myself so that I can keep my head in the sand and keep [redacted]. It’s so cool how you can’t trust your own heart and mind and you might just suffer from uncertainty forever and you’ll die chasing happiness with the grass always greener but also like pmdd and I don’t really want to go on this trip but I think I must. I think…

[bearsgrove]

me: gonna have a cozy Me Time today, not talking to anyone, just watching or playing cozy things, cozy activities, peace, quiet

also me after days of "me time" when i retreated into my cave avoiding all human contact, putting all of my energy into trying not to kms and ignore those thoughts, feeling as alone forgotten replaced as ever, that feeling is eating me from the inside and im in constant pain, i feel an extreme wave of anger when i watch my friends do things together while i rot in my room, im constantly fighting this urge to retreat even further and never come back: well. this isnt what peace feels like

[stefankaz]

[bicycletouringsblog]

What Kind of Long Distance Bikes is Best For Bicycle Touring

Bicycle touring is one of the most exciting adventure activities and it is gaining immense popularity. For those looking for a bike that can handle long-distance rides, the best option is a Long Distance Bike. These Bikes are designed for long-distance touring and offer features such as comfortable riding position, higher handlebars, wider tires, and racks for carrying your luggage. The frame and components are also designed to be strong, durable, and able to hold up against the elements. These bikes are ideal for long-distance touring and can take you through multiple countries and hundreds of miles. The best part is that they are affordable and can be customized with additional components like fenders, racks, and lights to suit your needs. So, if you want to experience the thrill of riding a bike across the country, a Long Distance Bike is a perfect choice!