Check out this video short: Journey as Destination - Traversing the Roof of the World by Bicycle (Vimeo). Shot by David A during his cycling trip in Tibet in summer/fall of 2007. It brought back lots of memories. Even now, three years later, I vividly remember most of the places David cycled through… His trip started out in Kashgar, Xinjiang, and continued for three months riding all the way to Dali, Yunnan. I, on the other hand, was already under way for three months before arriving in Kashgar in late September of 2006, enjoying cycling through northern India and Pakistan. Our roads split in Saga. He seemed to make his way toward Lhasa and farther East whereas I turned sharp south and rode down to Nepal and back onto Indian plains.
Enjoy it, it’s worth it! You will better understand what it means to “enjoy” Tibet on a bike… Makes me wanna go back again. Thanks for sharing, David;)
I uploaded some pictures from my Tuesday’s solo tempo ride in Westchester county. I rode on the South and North County trailway. What an amazing ride with nice and cool weather in mid 50s and colorful display of falling leaves everywhere. I made it to the Croton reservoir, turned around and headed back to the city. A little over 83 mile with a few short breaks for picture taking and re-fueling at Dunkin Donuts.
I have put a set of pictures on Flickr!: South & North County Trail (2009). Plus, if you want to trace the route, check out my ride with all the info (speed, heart rate and elevation profiles and a Google map, too) on Garmin Connect: NJ/NY - North & South County Trails. Now, if you prefer to see the route in Google Earth you are in luck. Just download the NJNY - North & South County Trails.kmz file and have fun with it… BTW, you can pull the file directly from the Garmin Connect site, too.
For more on the Westchester County trailway system visit the amazing resources below:
I’ve been busy lately with work and other projects. I apologize for my failure to put up the Tour Divide 2009 ride write-ups. I still have more pictures to upload, too. It’s been really nice outside lately. New York area is enjoying a beautiful and cool Indian summer, so I’ve been riding my Salsa Fargo and exploring places in Bergen (NJ), Rockland (NY) and Westchester (NY) counties. But I promise as soon as weather turns for the worse, I’ll catch up.
Aside from my recent travels and mountain biking (the ‘real’ fun stuff), I have some other stuff I’d like to share:
First, a few days ago, I found Cass Gilbert’s travel/photo blog about his trip from Alaska down to Tierra del Fuego in Argentina. I’ve been following his travels for a few years, mostly his biking trips in Indian Himalayas (my favorite playground) where he used to run a low-impact bike touring business. On this trip, he seems to have a great time, judging by photos on his new blog: While Out Riding. Right now, he is on the Great Divide Mountain Biking Route making his way through lots of snow somewhere in Montana, or Idaho. I clearly remember these places and it is hard to believe there is so much snow this early in October. Must have been one of those early ‘freak’ snow storms. He really is a HARD-CORE tourer/biker;) In any case, subscribe to his blog. His pictures are unbelievable!!!
Second, I put a link in my sidebar to a book I greatly recommend: The Simple Guide to a Minimalist Life. I see it all around me almost every day when my friends and co-workers, even myself sometimes, worry about unimportant ‘things’, pay too much attention to stuff that is so irrelevant or avoid dealing with problems rather than simply solve them before they start stressing us out… It shouldn’t be that way and that’s what the book is about. I’m still reading it. It doesn’t have any new mind-blowing, secret or mystical advice. It’s just a collection of simple ‘common sense’ ideas how to overcome clutter and negativity in one’s mind. I found most of the advice extremely practical and from my own experiences on a ‘journey to simplify my life’ very much true. Leo Babauta, the author of the book, also writes on his great blog: Zen Habits - Simple Productivity. I check it out regularly. From time to time it’s good to be reminded that life shouldn’t be unnecessarily over-analyzed in our minds. I guess anyone marginally familiar with Eastern philosophies knows that already.
Welcome to my blog where I share outdoor adventures, travel experiences and random musings from home and faraway places alike... My current plans: 1. [Summer-Fall 2010] Vagabonding alongside the Silk Route: It’ll be me, my bike and wide-open spaces of Western China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan for 2-3 months... 2. [2011 or 2012] Motorbiking from Alaska to Patagonia: Just started thinking about it. Plan: Find a used thumper and hit back roads exploring this classic route all the way from the Deadhorse in Prudhoe Bay, U.S. to Ushuaia in Tierra del Fuego, Argentina. Plus, practice and improve my Spanish, too...
