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Big Sur – A Fitting Finale

After a month of double bacon cheeseburger binges, dodging logging trucks, battling headwinds, and living off of my bike, the adventure has come to a close. There is no better place on the West Coast to end this trip than Big Sur. With steep winding roads, no bike lane, dramatic vistas, and beautiful blue water, [...]

The Smell of Adventure

Road Cologne is a place for tall tales and anything that makes you stink good. This is meant to be a home for stories about the best burgers we've ever had, how not to get eaten by wolves while riding your bike through the Yukon, how to keep dry in a torrential downpour bike ride, how to win a fist fight with a drunk Alaskan fisherman, the most creative "shower" you've ever taken, how to cook nachos on your engine block while driving across the country, and any tribulations worth smiling about while adventuring. We hope these stories inspire you to share yours with us and remind us all to laugh harder and risk more!

Road Cologne

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American Gladiators mixed with Monster Truck Madness

The last few days have been manic swings from extreme danger to bliss and solitude. After my day of riding through the rain and getting two flats, I felt like my nerves had been hardened. The road was an unruly beast I had reached an agreement with. Then, I enjoyed what felt like the life [...]

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Cape Disappointment – Hoping for Irony

  When I arrived in Cape Disappointment, I was greeted by gas stations and auto shops. As far as foreplay goes, the town around the cape hadn’t really ignited any romantic sparks. While I was feeling a little discouraged after all the rain and flat tires, I decided I better start exploring to see what [...]

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Rain Storms, Flat Tires, and a Sweet New Dance

After a couple of weeks of foul weather reports and threatening clouds, it finally started raining. Luckily my ride for the day was mostly over. I had already eaten my power meal (a double bacon cheeseburger with fries) and knew there was a warm shower at camp. Being in my tent as the storm moved [...]

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Orcas Island

Orcas Island is shaped like a horseshoe. Like a cruel joke, the ferry dock is on one end of the shoe, while the campsite is on the end of the other shoe. To make the joke funnier, you arrive on the island at sea level (naturally) and spend the entire 15 mile ride climbing to [...]

Ferry Sunset

Avoiding Tickets, Fistfights, and Gunshots

On the ferry to Orcas Island, I found myself huddled over the bathroom hand-drier, aiming my sleeves up so the hot air would rush through my jacket’s arms. I straddled the wall so my bare calves might dry off and warm up. I’m sure I looked indecent, but warmth on my calves was far more [...]

Tent Sunrise

Inventing Cuss Words

  When I got off the ferry, I was secretly dreading paying another $16 for a gravel campsite equipped only with a “shit-pit” and water spigot. I started walking the ferry docks asking folks if they knew of any good places to camp undetected. One gal seemed to have a wealth of knowledge on “illegal” [...]