Adventures and Steel Wheels

Big news on the cycling front - I have launched a small boutique touring company Backyard Bike Tours specializing in a series of easy, family-oriented day tours in the New York/New Jersey area, and multi-day adventures that start locally and go - targeted at cyclists who want to tour (as opposed to tourists who want to cycle).

Bill "2.0"

As a networking initiative, last week went to an open house of a local start-up custom bike builder, Ryan Reedell, in Newark New Jersey - his company is called Folk Engineered.

Ryan with his frame jig

It was literally an "open house" as the owner who lives on the 4th floor of a warehouse, has his machine shop and tools set up in what could be called an extended living room.  It was a really neat experience, despite being on the 4th floor of a massive old building, Ryan and his significant other, Marie, managed to recreate the feel of a country kitchen and farm house - well except for all the massive machinery and bike frames on display.

The "Marsupial" hanging in the kitchen.

They work in steel, and build all their frames from scratch - lots of interesting tubing lying around.  During the open house he demonstrated to all (about 30 of us) how to machine a top tube to fit onto the seat tube, and how to drill the water bottle inserts on to the seat tube.

Machining the Top Tube in the living room.

Lots of precision jigs.  Being new to the business he purchased most of his machinery on e-bay - some pretty serious (heavy cast iron - 50 years old) stuff, so heavy that the shipping costs were greater than the purchase price.

It was fun and refreshing to see a business in its infancy, and the group who attended the open house were quite eclectic, and interesting.  One of the attendees rode his bike last summer from Newark to Montreal, closely following my planned route for the  Hudson - Champlain Tour of new touring company Backyard Bike Tours - spectacular scenery, great roads and lots of fun!!!   I may have found a new tour guide for when the business expands.

Another attendee owns and runs The Bike Church in Asbury Park NJ - a really interesting group who brings a second life to bicycles - "getting more people (especially youth) on bikes, more often, while encouraging people to re-purpose old bikes and bike parts, rather than discard them."

All in all a great evening meeting all types of folks with a common interest, cycling...

The Bike Vacation

Over the past several years, I have had lots of time (and experience) to think about what makes a multi-day vacation, or even an afternoon ride on a bicycle so great and memorable.

Over the last 10 years, I have taken multiple week-long bike trips, and countless day-long rides:
2000 - 6 days in August from Fairbanks Alaska to Anchorage
2001 - 6 days from Montreal Canada to Portland Maine
2003 - 6 days with my 14-year old son, from Toronto, Ontario to Montreal Quebec
2004 - cycling in Provence, including climbing the fabled, and brutal Mont Ventoux
2010 - 10 weeks across the continent
1994 - 2011 countless day trips of anywhere from 40 to 120 miles...

In all of these, the formula for creating lasting memories appears to be the same:

The People
You may know one or two people before doing the ride, but for the most part, at the start of the tour the rest are total strangers.  In the space of a week, you will connect with like-minded individuals who share your spirit of adventure.  Over the ride, you will probably forge bonds of friendship and memories that last a lifetime.

The Outdoors:
There is no getting around it - cycling is an outdoor sport.  Each day of your vacation you will be engaged in hours of aerobic exercise in the fresh air exploring uncharted (at least for you) new terrain, and experiencing nature at its finest, and sometimes (hopefully not a lot) at its fiercest - that clears your mind. Of all my rides, it seems that the most memorable days include some of the most challenging weather-wise (e.g. a 90 mile day of riding in snow, rain and temperatures between 25°F and 35°F in Alaska).

The Pace:
There is a great deal to be said about watching the world go by at 10 - 20 miles per hour on a bicycle compared to 60 - 75 mph in the cocoon of an automobile.  On a bike,  you have time to look around you and absorb what you are passing by - at that slower pace,  if you see something interesting, you can slow down, stop and explore.  In a car, you may not see the interesting "side shows" as you are too busy (rightly so) focused on the road ahead which is coming at you at great speed. If you do notice something of interest, you are probably a mile past it by the time you might think of turning back to have a look. As well, on a bike you can stop on the shoulder of the road to take in the scenery.  I can't count the number of times I have stopped on the shoulder of a bridge to stop for a minute or so to take in the beauty of a roaring river or waterfall to the side of the road - try that in a car.

The Physical Challenge:
In all my years of cycling, it has been a rare occasion when I returned from a ride not feeling better about myself than before the ride.   At the end of the ride, your lungs are clear, your head is clear and you have a wonderful build-up of "endorphins" which seem to last for a day or so after the ride.

The Unexpected:
One fun aspect of biking is the spontaneity of the sport. You may know the route, but you never really know what you are going to see along the way.  Be it a Nun in full habit weed-whacking her path, an elderly Indian woman in full sari putting seal coat on her driveway in 90°F heat in full sun, a fox darting across the road, or spectacular autumn leaves, there is usually always something memorable from the ride.

The Bike:
even after all these years of cycling, I continue to be amazed at how efficient a means of transportation the bicycle is - what other mechanical, human-powered device enables one to travel such great distances over such a long period of time.  If you have bikes sitting in your garage collecting dust, you may want to consider re-cycling (couldn't resist the pun) them through programs like Pedals for Progress.  This organization collects un- or under-used bikes in North America, gets them in good mechanical order, and ships them to people in underdeveloped countries in need of an efficient means to get around.  The bikes essentially offer freedom in removing or reducing the massive time constraints of traveling by foot.  In addition to providing the bikes, they also train locals as mechanics to maintain them and keep them in good working order. 
If there isn't a like-minded organization in your area, you may want to consider starting one up.


That's it for today, we continue to have one of the best winters (from a skier's perspective) in New Jersey of the past several years - basically a snowstorm a week!!!
It may make for a delayed start to the cycling season however.