Cycling Morocco - An Interview With Pat & Cat Patterson
June 30, 2008 by Darren Alff · Leave a Comment
Pat and Cat Patterson are a couple from Oxnard, California who spent four years riding their bicyles around the world. By the time they returned home in 2006, the Pattersons had traveled through 4 continents and 57 countries.
A few months ago I did an interview with the Pattersons in which we discussed the basic overview of their travels, but in today’s discussion we have focused our conversation on their trip through Morocco. Read more
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The Difficulty In Finding A Bicycle Touring Partner
June 28, 2008 by Darren Alff · 1 Comment
When planning my 4th long distance bicycle tour down the Mississippi River, I really wanted to find someone to come with me. I had been fortunate enough to have riding partners on my first bicycle tour down the California coastline, but I had been forced to travel alone on the subsequent two tours. That’s why, when I began planning my 4th long distance bicycle tour, I made an extra effort to find a riding partner.
It was 2004 at the time and I was in college. I had a few friends that were interested in joining me on my bike ride, but each of them seemed to have an excuse for as to why they could not join me out on the road. Read more
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Three Different Ways To Carry Your Gear Once You Get Off Your Bicycle
June 26, 2008 by Darren Alff · Leave a Comment
When traveling by bike there are bound to be numerous instances when you will want to get off of your bicycle, go inside a store, take a hike, or simply explore the surrounding area on foot. When such a thing happens, figuring out a way to carry your belongings can be difficult.
In the past, I’ve simply carried one of my panniers in my hand. This method of carrying your belongings works, but is far from ideal.
I recently reviewed Lone Peak’s BP-500 Briefcase/Pannier and the PD-200 Mount Olympus Pannier/Day Pack. Today I want to talk about one other way to carry your belongings when off of your bicycle and compare and contrast these various methods of hauling your gear. Read more
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Getting Your Parents’ Permission To Go On A Bicycle Tour
June 24, 2008 by Darren Alff · 1 Comment
No matter what your age, telling your parents that you are leaving on a bicycle tour can be a difficult and scary task. Your parents surely care about you and worry about your safety, so when you fill them in on your plans for traveling long distances on your bicycle, your overall well-being is going to be one of the first things that pops into their minds.
I was seventeen years old and a senior in high school when I first told my parents about my plans of cycling down the California coastline. As you can imagine, they were less than thrilled. They probably thought I was crazy… and I know they were hoping I would forget about the idea in a couple months. But I didn’t forget about the idea! In fact, my dreams of cycling from Oregon to Mexico became that much stronger as the months progressed.
So how did I go about convincing my parents that I could not only make my bicycle tour happen, but also convince them that the ride would be a good idea? And how can you do the same? Read more
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An Interview With The Crazy Senior Citizen & Hearty Heart Attack Victim Who Rode Their Bikes Around The World
June 23, 2008 by Darren Alff · Leave a Comment
In 2002, Pat and Cat Patterson (age 62 and 48) left their home in Oxnard, California and spent the next four years riding their bicycles around the world. When they completed their tour in 2006, they had ridden through four continents and 57 different countries.
Pat and Cat met in 1993, later married, and ran a real estate company in Southern California. Then, in 2000, Cat suffered from a heart attack. But rather than play victim, Cat’s heart attack only pushed her more to get out on her bike and ride.
The plan for the big bike tour was born and rather than tell the rest of the story myself, I’ve gone ahead and asked Pat and Cat to share their story with you. Read more
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My Interview With “Bike Friday”
June 22, 2008 by Darren Alff · 2 Comments
I recently had the pleasure of traveling to Aruba with a Bike Friday New World Tourist folding bicycle. I posted a few short articles (here, here, here, and here) about my new bicycle and received quite a bit of feedback.
Some people wrote to ask me about the bike and how it handled. Others wrote to tell me that they already owned a Bike Friday and that they absolutely loved it! Some even sent me pictures!
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The Lone Peak PD-200 Mount Olympus Backpack/Pannier
June 20, 2008 by Darren Alff · Leave a Comment
Two days ago I reviewed the Lone Peak BP-500 Briefcase/Pannier that I used on my recent tour of Aruba. Today I want to talk about another one of Lone Peak’s packs – The PD-200 Mount Olympus Pannier/Day Pack.
Like the BP-500, the PD-200 has two functions. The bag fastens to your bike rack and works like a normal pannier, but once you get off your bike, the bag can be quickly converted into a backpack – thus enabling you to carry your things with you when you are away from your bike.
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The Lone Peak BP-500 Briefcase Pannier
June 18, 2008 by Darren Alff · Leave a Comment
On my recent trip to Aruba I took my Bike Friday New World Tourist folding bike and a single Lone Peak briefcase pannier (The BP-500).
My goal for this trip was to travel light. My bicycle fit inside a suitcase and flew for free… and my pannier doubled as a briefcase, held all my personal belongings, and I checked it as my carry on item while traveling on the plane.
Upon arrival in Aruba, I unfolded my bicycle, quickly attached my briefcase/pannier and rode off toward my hotel. Read more
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How To Sync Your Cell Phone With Twitter
June 15, 2008 by Darren Alff · Leave a Comment
Yesterday I wrote an article about using Twitter to keep in touch with your friends and family while on you are out on your bicycle tour (Here is the link to that article).
While Twitter’s free service is a great way to keep in touch while out on the road, there is one major drawback: You need a computer in order to make a post or update… and for most traveling cyclists, carrying a computer on their bicycle or hunting down a computer every time they want to make a post or send an email is a huge pain in the butt. Read more
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Should You Twitter About Your Bicycle Tour?
June 15, 2008 by Darren Alff · Leave a Comment
One of the biggest questions I get about bicycle touring is, “How do you keep in touch with your friends, family members, and co-workers while you are out on your bike?”
One way to stay in touch and keep people informed about your happenings out on the road is to use a new service called Twitter.
The service itself is a bit difficult to explain, so a video has been created for you. Read more
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