While others her age are just getting used to life after high school, Erin Nelson is taking on the world on her bicycle.
At 18, she left her home in Turlock, California, in November 2010 and pedaled across the US, Europe and Asia on an around-the-world bicycle trip that now finds her in China. [See her video below.]
Why an around-the-world bike tour? She wrote an early blog about some many people living lives of contentment:
"I don't want to be happy being content. I want to be happy because I'm making the most out of my short life so when I die I don't have regrets .... more»
A couple from Madison, Wisconsin, finished up a 17,000-mile Pan American bicycling adventure in Argentina a couple of weeks ago.
Meanwhile a couple from Tempe, Arizona, are waiting there to get their tandem out of customs to begin their journey north.
Alan Turnquist and Erin Syth, at left, arrived in Ushaia, the southern-most city in South America, in mid-December after traveling for 550 days from the Arctic Circle.
The Madison couple quit their jobs and drove to Canada's Northwest Territories ... more»
Where do we get the inspiration for a long-distance bicycle tour?
Englishman Anthony Watson didn't go any further than his morning cup of coffee.
Watson brewed his love of the bean into a full-blown bicycle expedition from England, through southern Europe and Turkey to the birthplace of the coffee plant, Ethiopia. He's sharing his adventures and discoveries for the past 7 1/2 months at his blog, Bean on a Bike.
The fact that Dejan Zafirov lost one leg and injured the other in a work accident hasn't stopped him from his goal of bicycling around the world.
The Macedonian cyclist rolled into San Francisco on Friday after completing a two-month cross-country ride on his fully loaded bicycle.
He already has toured on his bicycle in South America, Europe, and Asia. His tour across the US was launched to inspire his fellow countrymen and raise money for adaptive sports equipment at home through his Citizens Association Gaia.
Dejan rides his bicycle with a prosthetic right leg to compensate ... more»
Chance encounter with kangaroo nearly derails attempt
A recumbent cyclist from British Columbia is submitting paperwork soon to document his bid as the new Guinness around-the-world record-holder.
Bruce Gordon completed the bicycle trip on Sept. 23 in 153 days, 10 days faster than current record-holder Vin Cox of Great Britain.
If Guinness World Records accepts his submission, Bruce points out that he'll establish a number of firsts among the small group of globe-girdling record holders:
He'll be the first to break the record on a recumbent; the first to break the record going in a East-to-West direction; and, at 48 years old when he started, he'll ... more»
Folks who help lighten the load for traveling bicyclists are recognized in this year's National Bicycle Travel Awards.
The Adventure Cycling Association announced the winners, based on nominations from the bicycling public.
They're people like Donn Olsen, left, who runs a bicycle bunkhouse. And Kevin Cashman, who created Apogee Adventures, an outfit that offers extreme trips for youths.
Jim's Bicycle Shop, owned by Jim Peters, in Cincinnati also received an award for helping cyclists preparing for long-distance travels, and Leslie Wills of Michigan received the Volunteer of the Year Award for her work on the U.S. Bicycle Route System.
"These folks do so much to make America a better, friendlier ... more»
The proposed 50,000-mile network of bicycle byways called the US Bicycle Route System is getting a $100,000 boost.
The Adventure Cycling Association announced it has procured grants from four foundations to continue its work on the USBRS.
The nonprofit bike touring association has been coordinating efforts to create the bike route system that will connect common destinations for travelers, such as cities and national landmarks.
So far, volunteers and state highway staff in 41 states are working to bring the bicycle routes to life.
They're looking for the most bicycle-friendly roads ... more»
Using the work of the best bicycle writers and photographers, the magazine is published by experienced bike traveler Grace Johnson.
She and Paul Jeurissen have been traveling the globe for years on their bicycles, sharing their stories and photos at the blog "Bicycling around the world, In search of inspiring cycle images."
The launch of the magazine itself is a lesson in what traveling bicyclists can accomplish while on the road. Grace writes .... more»
On an overnight bike trip to the John Wayne Pioneer Trail last weekend, my biking buddy and I discovered that the newly reopened Snoqualmie Tunnel is drawing a lot of visitors.
Mostly they're day-trippers on bicycles, but some come by foot and at least a couple packed in with their llamas carrying their burdens.
The cyclists we talked with were taking advantage of the 18-mile downhill slope that greets them after they pass through the tunnel heading west.
They either came in groups and dropped off cars in Hyak and the Iron Horse Trail State Park lot in Cedar Falls, or contacted the shuttle service that carries passengers and bicycles to the Hyak trailhead ... more»
The ferries that cross Puget Sound can be a quick and affordable escape for bicyclists seeking to get away from the urban sprawl for a rural retreat.
Although these ferry rides are relatively short, I always feel that I've been deposited on a faraway shore with all my cares and worries left behind.
Last week, I rode down to the Seattle Ferry Terminal to begin an overnight bicycle tour to the Key Peninsula, a rather isolated part of lower Kitsap. How isolated? A barista I spoke with near the town of Home said she'd lived there 32 years and was still considered a newcomer.
I would only be gone 30 hours, but I felt like I'd been away from home for a week by the time I returned ... more»
Deep in the bowels of the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History -- surrounded by 3 million other national treasures -- sits a bicycle.
It’s a German-made Reinhardt. The single-speed, 42-pound brute found its way here after traveling 25,000 miles around the world in the mid-1930s as the main conveyance of Fred Birchmore.
Some say he's the original "Fred." It's possible, depending on which definition of the term you use.
A "Fred" can be a do-it-yourselfer or independent-minded cyclist who doesn't follow the cycling styles or conventions pushed by advertisers. However, it also has evolved to describe a neophyte bicycle enthusiast who buys all the latest gear without having much ability. That second definition.... more»
An Englishman riding his bicycle the length of Africa is wondering what his next step will be after most of his equipment, except for his bicycle, was stolen from his room in a town in western Kenya.
Peter Gostelow is riding his bicycle to South Africa in a grand expedition called The Big Africa Cycle that he expects will cover 18,600 miles while traversing 25 countries.
This is no record-seeking bike tour. He left England in August 2009. The slow speed of his tour ... more»
Seven kidnapped Estonians on a bicycle tour gone seriously wrong are free after French diplomats negotiated their release in Lebanon.
The men, in their 30s and 40s, were kidnapped at gunpoint after crossing over the border from Syria on their bicycle tour on March 23.
The May 20 video at left is one of two posted on YouTube.com.
The seven arrived at the French embassy in Beirut on Thursday. There was no immediate word whether a ransom was paid or other conditions of their release.
The French volunteered to help in the case ... more»
It is refreshing to see a front page story about bicycling in the local newspaper that doesn't invoke the "bikes vs. cars" debate in the headline.
The story is about Darren O'Donnell's amazing venture to travel by bicycle to all 30 major league baseball parks this season and watch a game.
Like many in Bellingham, Washington, O'Donnell is a bicycling enthusiast. He's also a baseball fan. In fact, he's looking for a front office job in baseball and figured this would be a great way to introduce himself to management.
O'Donnell is about halfway through his cross-country trek by bicycle, visiting the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and the Florida Marlins after meandering the western US.
Next he'll head north to Atlanta, then Cincinnati and Cleveland .... more»
Deep snow in the Cascade Mountains this winter and spring delayed the opening of the Northern Tier Bicycle Route through Washington until earlier today.
The bicycle route follows State Route 20, also known as the North Cascades Highway, over the breath-taking Washington (el. 5,477 feet) and Rainy (4,875 feet) passes in North Cascades National Park.
The highway is normally closed due to snow in late November until the spring. This year, state highway snow-removal crews arrived to find the snow 75 feet deep in places.
An April snowstorm and avalanche danger delayed the start of snow removal that took 6 weeks, about twice as long as normal. This year marked the second latest opening of the road ..... more»
While others her age are just getting used to life after high school, Erin Nelson is taking on the world on her bicycle.
A couple from Madison, Wisconsin, finished up a 17,000-mile Pan American bicycling adventure in Argentina a couple of weeks ago.
Where do we get the inspiration for a long-distance bicycle tour?
The fact that Dejan Zafirov lost one leg and injured the other in a work accident hasn't stopped him from his goal of bicycling around the world.
A recumbent cyclist from British Columbia is submitting paperwork soon to document his bid as the new Guinness around-the-world record-holder.
Folks who help lighten the load for traveling bicyclists are recognized in this year's National Bicycle Travel Awards.
The proposed 50,000-mile network of bicycle byways called the US Bicycle Route System is getting a $100,000 boost.
On an overnight bike trip to the John Wayne Pioneer Trail last weekend, my biking buddy and I discovered that the newly reopened Snoqualmie Tunnel is drawing a lot of visitors.
The ferries that cross Puget Sound can be a quick and affordable escape for bicyclists seeking to get away from the urban sprawl for a rural retreat.
Deep in the bowels of the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History -- surrounded by 3 million other national treasures -- sits a bicycle.
An Englishman riding his bicycle the length of Africa is wondering what his next step will be after most of his equipment, except for his bicycle, was stolen from his room in a town in western Kenya.
It is refreshing to see a front page story about bicycling in the local newspaper that doesn't invoke the "bikes vs. cars" debate in the headline.
