Right now I’m in Telluride CO. sitting on a couch, which reminds me how the Playground Tour all began. Last winter, I was doing nothing, writing like I am right now, only I had no story to tell. Recently graduated from college, I was living at my parents’ home trying… Read the rest

“I am German, you know. It is time for beer.”
I break my focus from pitching the tent and squint up at Guenter, the sun flaring above his head. I nod in approval, but notice he’s drinking Coors. Should I be more upset about the fact that Guenter’s perception of… Read the rest

My girlfriend, Staj, and I wait outside Cali’s house. Minutes go by and no one answers the door. It’s the morning of Cali and I’s first of one practice ride before our 1,000 mile, month long bike trip together. I’m an hour late and wonder if she took off alone… Read the rest

Cali lies fetal in the front yard. Her parents are on their way to visit us in Missoula and I prepare myself for the well-deserved interrogation that awaits me. It was my idea to achieve our first century day today, and judging from her night spent puking out of the… Read the rest

Seeking zen–achieving our chi–is what Cali and I envisioned our climb up Big Hole Pass would be. One yoga pose every mile is the key to hill-climbing enlightenment, we were told the night before.

The only thing we achieve is unnerving frustration and a skin that reeks of garlic and… Read the rest

Packing a Bier stein on a 4,000 mile bike tour is impractical, but it sure would have been nice to have at the Lander Brewfest. Instead I’m deduced to admiring the off-white porcelain mug with a intricate pewter top of a Lander local.
He asks where mine is, and I… Read the rest

The sun is setting, but the lure of the the jade green pools and burnt orange stalactites prove irresistible. Staj and I glance at each other, quickly swap our bike shorts for swim trunks and scramble down the scree to the water.

This is a daily routine, and rarely is… Read the rest

The twilight hour is upon us and we’re speeding up the Going-To-the-Sun Highway towards Logan Pass in Glacier National Park to catch Montana’s big sky magic.
Only tonight, the we failed the troll’s riddle and we weren’t allowed over the pass. Shane, one of our hosts, had told us they… Read the rest

I peek my head under the tent’s rainfly, carefully avoiding the cowpies. Immediately, I’m engaged in a stare down with a wet and disgruntled cow. There’s an entire herd of them surrounding our tent. Cali wakes up quicker than she has the entire trip, frantically begins packing and tells me… Read the rest

Some days on the road are magical. The road seems to constantly curve downwards towards the horizon where the sun be shinin.’ Other days, you push up one false summit after another was the wind slaps you in the face so hard you have to reapply lip balm every ten… Read the rest