Perks of a Summer Bike Trip

March 11, 2011

There is nothing, nothing better than an ice cream sandwich on a hot, sweaty summer day. Well, maybe a triple-scoop ice cream cone ... or two ... followed by a milk shake ... or two.

But take the bicycle trip out of the equation of the above photo (and scenario), and you just have three guys getting fat in a campground. Not a pretty picture.

But there were bicycles involved, and so all of those calories were burned off in the pursuit of scenic beauty in the forests of Oregon.

I pedaled from Portland to Klamath Falls (via Crater Lake) with my two childhood buddies this past September. One of those buddies, Thomas, was the friend I first pedaled across the country with in 1981. We hadn't done a trip together in 29 years.

If you'd like to read about that trip, grab a copy of this month's (March) issue of Adventure Cyclist magazine.

You don't receive Adventure Cyclist? Then it's high time you became a member of the Adventure Cycling Association. Your membership not only comes with nine annual issues of a magazine filled with photos, tips, and stories from the road, but you'll be supporting a non-profit whose sole focus is to inspire people to travel by bike.
Like an ice cream sandwich on a hot summer day ... how can that be bad???
 

Photo by Willie Weir

—

SIGHTS AND SOUNDS is posted every other Friday. Willie Weir is a columnist for Adventure Cyclist magazine. His books, Travels with Willie and Spokesongs, will inspire you to hit the road, and might change the way you approach bicycle travel. He lives in Seattle with his wife Kat. You can read about their adventures at http://yellowtentadventures.com.