Rosa is a rescue dog from Crete, Greece and brightened our lives in early 2022. She adapted to our home city of Hamburg, Germany just as quick as to our passion - cycling. Going on her first bike & camping trip just 3 weeks after her arrival. Followed by small trips to the beach & lakes and a big trip through Belgium and the Netherlands. Thus was born our idea to share & document our trips - hoping more people will take up environmental friendly travels. More to come in 2023.
We are Kora and Henry partners and pawpackers in crime. Social workers, para medics, bicycle couriers and adventurers leaving the cuteness and (most) content to our furry friendly pal.
Bikepacking Belgium
In August 2022 we set out for our first “real” (besides a few smaller, local trips) dogpacking tour; originally we wanted to cycle for 14 days through Belgium and the Netherlands but as another pandemic year would have it, it all came a bit different…
Prologue
Back in October 2021 I (Henry) set out to buy a new bike, only the third completely new bike in my life, at the trusted Suicylce store in Hamburg-St. Pauli. After many years of travelling with my cargo bikes (Bullitt and Omnium MiniMax) I wanted something lighter. No, I needed something lighter.
The days I would ride a fully loaded Bullitt with a mounted box, completely filled with tin cans and +10 lts water over the mountains of Iceland in 2014 or hauling the very same set up filled with everyone’s toolkits from Hamburg to Copenhagen’s 2016 ECMC in one go are simply over.
Don’t get me wrong. I still love both bikes and having the freedom of just taking everything you need or want on a trip …but the combination of my personal health issues + the weight and considerable travel restrictions in public transports across Europe, led me to the decision that a simpler travel bike is the way to go.
Travel lighter and simpler by bike…what’s the word for that again? Yes, bike packing – or in our case paw packing! “Carrying only the bare necessities on a bike that’s light enough to explore the trails you’d seek out on a day ride” as bikepacking.com puts it. Yes, that’s it.
Remember the time where you could not get bike parts at your local store or the internet? Oh, yes…the damn COVID pandemic disrupted not just our lives but also supply chains across the globe.
Not a problem I thought. I have more than enough time to get this bike build. October 2021 till August 2022? Yes, that’s almost a full year. The bike shops predicted shipping time for my custom build frame was 6 month, so April 2022. That should be more than enough time for the rest of the part to arrive and to get used to the new, simplistic set up. Well….long story short it took more than 15 months to finally have the bike fully ready. You wanna know why? Weeeeeeellll…..no. No need to write that disaster down, I’ll only say this – it was not the bike shops fault and their customer service was 20/10!
I can’t/won’t travel by cargo bike anymore? Well, f**k I had to do it again. So I packed my still beloved Omnium MiniMax again and all the simplicity was out the window again.
The first step is always the hardest...
Day 1: Hamburg to Liege
Our first day was supposed to be an easy one, catch and early train to Liege and cycle only a few miles to our first camping spot, Camping Les Murets. Sounds easy enough? Not with Deutsche Bahn. Precision, punctuality and German engineering? Forget about it. Not in public transport, not with Deutsche Bahn. After +6 hours in full trains we reached Aachen, almost Belgium…but due to 9€ Ticket, which was introduced by the German government to make public transport and travel during the summer month of COVID affordable, trains were more than full. Who would have thought that when you make all public transport affordable that people would use it extensively? Generally a very good idea but the rail networks of Germany were simply not build for so many passengers, most trains simply banned the transport of bikes altogether. The train ride from Aachen to Liege usually is very easy and fast but due to all the people and the size of my cargo bike we missed 4 (!) trains. Not exactly a good start for your holidays.
When we made it to Liege central station, which is a fairly nice station, we jumped on our bikes and finally pedaled the first few miles of the trip to: Camping Les Murest. What a nice place.
It’s a fairly small hike and bike friendly space. Reasonable prices, local beers and pizza every night (no vegan options sadly) if you like – all right next to a small river (water levels permitting you can swim in there) AND they had the best library we’ve ever seen.
We could have just stayed there for the rest of the trip. Period.
A large part of our planned route went right through the Ardennes (as Wikipedia puts it: much of the Ardennes is covered in dense forests, with the hills averaging around 350–400 m (1,150–1,310 ft) in height but rising to over 694 m (2,277 ft) in the boggy moors of the High Fens region of south-eastern Belgium. The region is typified by steep-sided valleys carved by swift-flowing rivers”) and it was the middle of a heatwave. Packed Cargo, first Dogpacking tour, heatwave. Not ideal…and just two weeks after having COVID. Uff…
Hills (and of cause the bigger version, Mountains) are absolutely beautiful. Once you are up there.
A large part of our planned route went right through the Ardennes (as Wikipedia puts it: much of the Ardennes is covered in dense forests, with the hills averaging around 350–400 m (1,150–1,310 ft) in height but rising to over 694 m (2,277 ft) in the boggy moors of the High Fens region of south-eastern Belgium. The region is typified by steep-sided valleys carved by swift-flowing rivers”) and it was the middle of a heatwave. Packed Cargo, first Dogpacking tour, heatwave. Not ideal…and just two weeks after having COVID. Uff…
Hills (and of cause the bigger version, Mountains) are absolutely beautiful. Once you are up there.
It was unexpectedly hard work getting all three of us up there but it was absolutely worth it. Our next stop was the Bivakzone Sous son Aile. A beautiful little place next to a hayfield, far enough from the road and basically in a little forest. Inside Belgian Bivakzones you are allowed to stay for free for a single night. Usually there are small wooden shelters, a few benches but no real infrastructure. You should be prepared to have enough water and to carry out your trash.
Sous son Aile is not a secret spot and it seems that in summer it’s rather heavily frequented. So be prepared to carry out your own waste as well. There was a little dugout but we wouldn’t recommend it. Anyhow, it’s always good to leave no trace.
Next stop would be the Namur area. We were aiming for the closest (official) camping spot next to the city of Namur. Not before we checked out the local burgers. If you are looking for a vegan friendly option, look no further than Paul’s Boutique. Not only is Paul a very friendly and knowlageable person, he also cooks excellent vegan burgers and has one of the best advertisement you can imagine for hungry cyclists. A huge banner that reads “FEELING BURGERS”? Yes, we do. [PHOTO BUEGERS]
The camping spot was not far away but as the Ardennes would have it was ways up a hill. The last mile up to Camping Trieux is definitely taxing after a day in the sun and with a belly full of Paul’s burgers. Again it would be worth it…although the old camping spot has not much flat ground for tents, it’s beautifully sitting on the hillside. Carved in over decades. Most cyclists we met there left well before 06:00h to escape the heat. Not our style. When we sticked our heads out of the tent we had the place to ourselves and enjoyed the breakfast we had ordered the day before.
A banquette larger than our dog? We’re in!
Over the huge breakfast we made plans for the next days and decided to skip a little part of Belgium and take a train into the Netherlands the same day. Definitely not what we expected or planned for but a good decision. After all it’s our holidays and riding our bikes should be fun, not mostly exhausting. But not before we saw the giant golden turtle in Namur. The what? Yes, you read that right. On top of Namur’s giant Citadel there is a sculpture of Jan Fabre called “Searching for Utopia”. Go see it. It is worth the little hike.
Travelling by train with your bike in Belgium is surprisingly easy, if you come from Germany. You just buy a ticket and hop on any train you want. There might not be a special bike compartment and you might have to haul your packed cargo bike up tight, narrow stairs but the staff will help you and generally don’t care if you bring a bike or not. Some might even offer you to lock your bikes up in the locked storage compartment of the train. It could be so easy Deutsche Bahn.
Crossing into the Netherlands we went into Maastricht to a laid back and family friendly camping spot that frankly was more of a resort. We were happy to take it.
There was a huge number of cyclists there. Which is not exactly surprising as the Netherlands have a far more developed cycling culture and seem to be more laid back than say…Germans.
Yet, something was off…you had your occasional bike packer and weekend randonneurs but there was a large amount of high end carbon bikes. There would be an Ironman in the city center the next day. Not our cup of tea but fair enough. Speaking of cups…if you go to Maastricht the bike café “Alleycat” is a must. It’s what you’d expect from a nice bike café. A little workshop, some gear and good coffee and cakes. Maybe we went there twice.
On our way to Maastricht we followed well developed bike paths across the Maas and picked fresh blackberries. You could almost pick them as you were cycling by.
Blackberry jam for breakfast. Mmmmmmmhhh.
Also we sat with a nice couple from Amsterdam and had a nice chat about almost everything. Gear, routes, “real jobs”, pooping in the woods… as you do when you meet fellow cyclists. Shout out to Melitta & Roel, they both run a catering service in Amsterdam. Check it out here.
As weather was bad we decided to stay another day in Maastricht and once again made new plan. We’d take another train home. For some this might not be a smart decision, some might ride out the bad weather and do all the miles on the bike. I’ve (Henry) travelled like this and do respect the willpower to do so…but it’s not always about the miles, the stats, the many days you ride….sometimes it’s about comfort and cuttin’ you travel time short. Not to mention this was our first real trip with the dog and did not want to push it too far.
After another coffee at the Alleycat and buying all the good vegan snacks. We figured out how to get our bikes home (thank you nice lady at the counter in Maastricht for helping us out AND thanks to Swiss trains with enough space and an actual booking system for it). We were homeward bound soon than expected.…but we would not end out vacation there. We went straight home from the Hamburg central station and packed another cargo bike full of stuff….it was onto one of our favorite camping spots in Hamburg, the Elbe Camp for two more days of glamping.
It’s nice to come home and tell no one about it and just spend some relaxing time in your own city.
Thanks for reading. Check in for more paw packing trips in the future.
Racoon Riot II - A special alleycat in Hamburg
What the hell is an alleycat?
“An alley cat race is an unsanctioned bicycle race. Alley cats almost always take place in cities, and are often organized by bicycle messengers. [Wikipedia]”. Over time cyclists outside the messenger scene started to host similar races but this one is truly special and hosted by the Captain Dietrich Crew from Hamburg.
Lovely people with a good sense for inclusive politics, humor, DIY (bike) culture and animal themed designs (what’s not to like???) hosted a three day program on the outskirts of Hamburg.
Elbdeich e.V: is located in an abandoned primary school in Hamburg-Moorburg. A dreamy place with long roads, green fields, old houses, apple trees that’s just outside “the city” but still within the city limits of Hamburg. Almost a place where you’d go for a vacation weren’t it for greedy city planners trying to build highways and bulldoze homes for an even bigger harbor development…making it increasingly difficult for people to build lives and business in that small quarter of Harburg. Capitalism 101. Pffft.
Never the less the Elbdeich e.V. is a collective space for music, arts, culture, grassroot resistance - and small bike festivals.
The first day of the festival was pretty easy going for us, starting out with some nice fries at St. Pauli’s famous “Kleine Pause” and a group ride through the harbor with a bunch of bike messengers and friends. There was a race planned for the first day but we either missed it or it did not take place….either way the location is nice enough for just arriving and setting up camp. Two bands (scheitern3000 & Teddies Kneipe) played the outside stage and gave a fine kick off for the weekend. The day would be concluded with some rounds of bar bingo and saved/donated vegan donuts. Mmmmhhhh….yessss. Fancy food for free.
The second day would start off with some nice breakfast and a good ‘ol round of beer yoga. Don’t know what beer yoga is? Google it, you are in for a treat. Unlike the calming nature of yoga and/or beer, the mood would get a little….heated, you might say. Like in most parts of the world we get longer and much dryer periods – even though it does not feel like it in Hamburg, which statistically has more rainy days than London. Very dry grounds + (most probably) carelessly discarded cigarettes, ensued in a little “forest” fire. At first it seemed like our camping ground was on fire (which was covered in highly flammable pollen). Luckily all tents were unharmed as the fire was only close to a few buildings one meadow over. A more or less coordinated but highly motivated effort of participants and locals put out the little but very, very hot and intense fire before the local fire fighters could even arrive. They are just a few 100 yards down the road but DIY would once again prevail over the weekend.
Thanks folx! Leave no trace. Take your trash, take your damn cigarettes!
Clearly everyone was awake for the race after that.
I (Henry) rode a lot of alleycats over the years. In most cities of Germany, London, Riga, Vienna, Copenhagen etc. Well, long story short: I lost my competitive steak long ago and I retreated to hosting checkpoints rather than to partake in the actual race. For some reason I lost my taste for it.
That being said…. this time would be different. This race would not take part in the city streets but on the trails of the “Harburger Berge”. I would be joined by my partner with paws, Rosa, AND the soon to be best dogpacking team of all time. Yves (human) and Tilli (dog). Tilli and Rosa are best friends, partners in crime in every dog park and hella cute together. We were also joined by our friend Chrishan, human.
It would be the first bike race for both dogs.
Yves is a messenger college and friend who bought my old work (and first) cargo bike. An Alfine 11 speed internal gear hub mini tank. Not exactly your first choice for a gravel race in the woods…but a comfy set up for dog travels, if you don’t mind the weight
In case you have read this far, it should be clear that this race was special. Not only because of the organizers or the neat checkpoints. Not only because of the mode of the race but because where it was. As they say everything falls into place and on that day it did.
We set out with another nice group ride to the actual start of the race. The weather was perfect, our plan was, too. Not race as in an actual bike race but “race” as in stop at every checkpoint, have a beer and let the dogs roam the little forest.
In the middle of the race, Yves turned to me and simply said: “Smell the air, it’s so good.” And it was…almost ridiculous when you take into account that we were ever only a few minutes away from a busy street. Nature is still the best architect. Nature is where we are drawn to more and more.
Getting off trail…
Somehow I thought about a video I saw some 4 years ago about cycling the (new) silk road in Kyrgyzstan. What got me thinking in that moment was the video’s title “The price of progress: Riding the like road before it changes forever”. A super highway project along the historic silk road that promises wealth and development to very remote areas where horses and cattle would still roam free and mostly only indigenous people would live in yurts.
Railways, paved roads, commercializing and classic tourism mostly comes with loss of local culture. As the project is spearheaded by China you cannot expect that indigenous people will profit much if at all by “sharing” their beautiful lands…. If we do not listen to them and eradicated their culture, we’ll loose the ability to learn from them and live more sustainably.
You should watch the video, it’s beautiful and gives a well curated and god digestible insight in the biggest infrastructure project in recent history. Yes, ride the silk road before it changes forever (I guess now it’s too late as the video is already 4 years old).
I urge you to see nature while you can. Go see a forest before it’s logged (or burned). Go swim in a river before it’s poisoned by chemicals and waste. Drink from a well while you still can. Go see nature (in a responsible way), learn to appreciate it and in consequence protect it.
Climate change is happening and it’s only picking up the pace. Highly industrialized economies and capitalisms growth imperative will ultimately be the downfall of industrialized civilization and the natural world as we know it today. It will be terrifying and uncertain future – maybe not for us but for sure for our children. We can all do our part. Big and small. Educated yourself but don’t forget…it’s not all on you. You can recycle and reuse as much as you like, it won’t make a big enough difference. We do need to hold ourselves accountable but even more so the big corporations, industrial emitters of CO2 and those who take no responsibility in ensuring that our world but rather just their place of operations survives.
If you consume any resource (be it water, lumber or another’s flesh) you take responsibility for the continuation of the others community. That means action on a local level as well as globally – and that includes the corporations and rich of this planet.
Don’t be a consumer, be a citizen.
All of our victories are temporary, all of our losses are permanent.
Anyhow, I can’t tell you enough how nice this day on the trail was. Woods, bikes, dogs. All I need to be content. Thank you badger crew <3.
The day would finish with food and drinks and Hanne’s usual slightly crazy but very entertaining TechnoTischTennis and an indoor rave.
Sunday would finish us off with a very late breakfast, soundtrack by yours truly Cooperfrau Melissengeist.
If you want to know more about the trails and who mains them click here.
Bike messenger dogs to the rescue!
Almost didn’t go to Bremen…if it weren’t for Yves and Tilli. He persuaded me take a train to Bremen and cycle back to Hamburg over two days with the dogs. It’s about 120km/ ~72 miles from Bremen to Hamburg. Not much, you could do it on one day. But do I want to?
Dogpacking is a little different from your average bike packing ride. Sometimes you can’t go as fast with the dog in the bike. Obviously they are not always as stable on the bike as humans are and can predict sharp turns far less. You gotta take more breaks, for the dog. Sitting in the bike is exciting for most dogs and can tire them out while not providing them with (enough) physical exercise at the same time. Dogs “see” the world through their nose and 15 min of intense sniffing can equal and hours walk. That being said they still gotta do their business and enjoy the surrounding as well.
So you take more short breaks or breaks where the dog actually walks and sniffs. Sometimes the dog can just walk next to the bike, sometimes routes or conditions don’t allow for that. So, even if you get off the bike you, the human, might need to walk your dog and push your bike at the same time. Not exactly a real human break.
Tilli is a real rocket next to the bike…she has long legs and more than enough motivation to keep up with the bikes at around 15-20 kmh….but Rosa is a small dog with much shorter legs. There’s the motivation but after a short time, she just can’t keep up and we’d be cycling at ~ 5km/3 miles an hour. Not the best with a fully loaded bike. Keep in mind: Dogpacking adds considerable weight to you set up.
Besides it’s not our goal to “eat them miles”…it’s not a race. It’s about travelling, enjoying the ride and nature as much as possible. Also it was Tilli’s first real bike tour…so we decided to stretch it over two days, averaging 60km/~38 miles a day. Perfect.
The event
Much could be said about the PMS event. The Bremen crew also put on the ECMC 2022 and not only this event set some gold standards for hosting any cycling event in the future. Inclusivity, awareness, nice checkpoints and general friendliness. A real community event. Our race mode was once again, very relaxed. We stopped to swim (and being jelled at by a naked lady) and to sniff a tree. Nope, not the dogs idea. What a side quest.
Big thanks to every single person who made it possible, showed us around and reminded us that cities can be beautiful, green and quiet. Special thanks for Rosa’s new necklace and this snapshot of us (please let us know who took the photo, we forgot!)
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The way back home...
…was a pretty nice mix of gravel and road. The absolute camping gem was definitely the campsite in the tiny village of Scheeßel. It’s a rather small and old campsite run by a family - for fun. That’s right. Not for money but for fun. Prices are low, dogs are free and it’s located right next to the river Wümme in a tiny forest with large pine-, oak-, beech- and bitch trees. I’m no botanist and I might got one or two trees wrong but it’s still a lot for a small campsite. Definitely one of the most beautiful campsites we’ve ever been to.
The next day went smooth with a nice ice cream stop in the middle of nowhere.
Thanks Yves & Tilli for dragging me to Bremen and once again thank you PMS crew.
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Bike
Brother Kepler Disc 2022, 50 cm,
4130 Chromoly steel – double-butted main triangle
4130 steel fork
Sram Rival 1, 1 x 11
Formula RX812/Formula RX300 + WTB i19 32 Loch, Tubeless Ready + currently Cintinental Terra Speed
Light: Busch+Müller Ixon Space front and rear lights
Saddle: SQ Lab
(with bag support - WOHO touring X stabilizer V2 (incl 2 bottle cages tba )
Front Rack:
Old Man Mountain Divide
Rack Bag: tba
(We switch this bag depending on who is carring the dog.)
Bike Bags:
Frame: Apidura Expedition Full Frame, 6 ltr
Saddle: Apidura Expedition Saddle Pack, 17ltr
Toptube: Apidura Expedition Top Tube Pack, 1ltr
Handlebars: Restrap Bar Bag Large 14 ltr + 1 ltr (add on food pouch). We switch this bag depending on who is carring the dog.
Cockpit: tba
Fork:
(with Topeak Versa Cage, 128 g)
2 x Drybags tba
Downtube bag tba
On Body:
(either/or)
Messaker Hip Bag, 1,4 ltr
Blahool Hip Bag, 2,4 ltr
Harness: Ruffwear H & Light
Leash: Ruffwear Roamer, 2nd hand
Glasses: RexSpecs glasses V2
GPS Tracker: Tractive
Sleeping pad: Ruffwear Highlands dog bed (pre 2022 version red/grey), 2nd hand
Sleeping Bag: upcycled old Meru sleeping bag. Cut in half for dog size
food bowl: Ruffwear Quencher Cinch top
water bowl: Ruffwear Trail runner, 1ltr
Jackets:
(depending on weather and season we carry different dog clothing or none at all.)
winter: Ruffwear Quinzee
winter-fall: Carhartt Chore Coat
summer: none or custom crust punx battle vest (Cerdá)
Additional gear
2 x Fox Outdoor foldable seat pads, 40g (for inside the bag/box and in the tent + sitting for the humans)
Tick card
Chicargo style comb
poison bait protection/ muzzle (for trains & airplanes. (consider buying a bait protecton rather than a muzzle as it lets the dog drink easly and you can sneak in a snack from the side)
4 x dog booties (made of cordura if paw(s) get injured or the surface is rough)
set of eyedrops (not dog specific, buy at your local drug store, drops for "occasional use". Dog eyes are fairly close the the human eye - but always talk to your vet before use!)
self adhesive band aid
Bike
Custom Kocmo Titanium Frame (close to the Daytona)
Enve Adventure Fork
Sram Force 22 with Sugino Mighty Tour, 2 x 11
DT Swiss 350 Road + H pluS Son "The Hydra" Rim 700c + DT Swiss "competiton" spokes + currently Continental Terra Speed
Light and carger: SON Edelux 2 + SON 28 / 32 Hub Dynamo + Apcon3000 NC17 Powerbank
Saddle: SQ Lab
'(with bag support - Minoura SBS-250 (incl 2 bottle cages - cat eye BC 100, 36g)
Front Rack:
Old Man Mountain Divide
Rack Bag: tba
(We switch this bag depending on who is carring the dog.)
Bike Bags:
Frame: Apidura Expedition Full Frame, 12 ltr
Saddle: Apidura Expedition Saddle Pack, 17ltr
Toptube: Restrap Race Top Tube Bag, 2ltr
Handlebars: Restrap Bar Bag Large 14 ltr + 1 ltr (add on food pouch). We switch this bag depending on who is carring the dog.
Cockpit: 2 x Ellum Bag Works Travler, 1,8 - 2,6 ltr (fits a 1 ltr Nalgene
Fork:
(with Widefoot CargoMount, 68 g)
2 x Restrap Fork Bag, 5 ltr
Downtube bag: tba
On Body:
Vessel Workshop Hip Bag, 2ltr
(not 100% complete, yet)
Tent: MSR Hubba Hubba NX 2Person + Gear Shed + Footprint
Sleeping pad: Exped Duo M + cover
Sleeping bag: Termarest Hyperion 32/0, 2nd hand (H) + 2 x Termarest Air Head lite / ....
Cooking: MSR Trail Mini Duo Cookset + Pocketrocket II + 220g gas + Piezo igniter
2 x Light my fire titanium spork
2 x Opinel pocket knife
2 x Sea to Summit XL-Bowl
1x Toaks light titanium 550ml pot
1 x emaile mug, 500ml
1 x Strike igniter
1 x MSR ultralight cutting board
Sea To Summit Clotheline
Water managament:
(2 humans and 1 dog considerabily add to the amount of water you might need to carry. We reccommend to keep and dedicated water bottle for the dog! Dogs might drink from pools of water on the road or straight from the river which might not be advisable for humans)
1 x Steripen UL (USB cargeable)
1 x Katadyne BeFree tactical, 1 ltr
1 x Apidura Frame pack hydration bladder, 1,5ltr
+ several water bottles, both "race style" and 1 ltr Nalgene
Woolftooth pack pliers + 2 links
(included serves as a tire lever, Presta valve core remover, valve stem lock nut wrench)
Daysaver original 9 + coworking5 (82g)
(includes Hex 8, Hex 6, Hex 5, Hex 4. Hex 3, Hex 2.5, Hex 2, Torx 25, Philips #1 / chain breaker, tire lever, spoke wrench, valve core, chain link holder)
repair kit box with patches, glue, spare screws, extra brake pads, needle + thread + thimble
Restrap tire patch kit
Lezyne Pocket Drive
Spare tube
Tent pole crutch/splint wrapped electrical tape
(trying to carry as little as possible because they tend to break first)
Wahoo Element Roam GPS
Cell phones
Steripen UL
Apcon3000 NC17 Powerbank
Set of bike lights for Kora
Tractive GPS Tracker for Rosa
1 x Headlamp Nextorch EcoStar (battery powered)
"[...] historically at least, survival stories perform well for Outside [Magazine], same with articles about major controversies in the outdoor world. And then there was that time when everyone on the internet seemed to be reading a column we ran about a better way to cook chicken.
But of all the recent stories we've published, perhaps none was a more surprising hit than a feature-length essay by Colorado-based writer Annette McGivney about saying goodbye to her beloved yellow lab titled, "How to Grieve for a Very Good Dog." It ran last September and quickly became one of our top five most popular stories of the year. This is partly because Annette is an excellent writer. She's a veteran journalist and her 2018 book, Pure Land, won the National Outdoor Book Award. But her essay also tapped into the powerful feelings that people have about their pets. [...]"
Originally published by Outside Online May 19, 2022
Read the full article here.
More Anette McGivney
"[...] Not every journey ends when you get back home, as Joshua Meissner discovered upon his return from a solitary tour around Scandinavia in 2021. Settle in for a thoughtful reflection on the twists and turns that followed his journey
[...]
While it’s fairly straightforward to talk about stats such as distance and duration, highlights and lowlights, sights and sounds, leaving it at that would be doing the episode a mighty disservice. There’s a quote by Aldous Huxley I like that says: “Experience is not what happens to you, but what you do with happens to you.” Given how the trip shook me up and turned me inside out, any attempt at recounting it must include the reorienting that only began once I returned home.
[...]
"
Originally published on Bikepacking.com February 1, 2023
Read the full article here.
More Josh Meisner.
In short the principles of LNT:
1. Plan ahead and prepare
2. Travel and camp an durable surfaces
3. Dispose of waste properly
4. Leave what you find
5. Minimize campfire impacts
6. Respect wildlife
7. Be considerate of others
Read a details bikepacker version of this here.
Originally published on Bikepacking.com in 2015, improved in 2021, and refreshed in March 2022.
A collaborative film project between Mercator Films and Evergreen Gravel Racing which explores the intersections between adventure cycling, conservation, and Indigenous Sovereignty. The film follows 10 cyclists as they disappear into the landscape surrounding the Dark Divide 300, a 330 mile Pacific Northwest bikepacking route through Nisqually, Cowlitz, and Squaxin Island land in Washington state.
Originally published on YouTube in November 2022.
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