gypsy by trade - Ridin' bikes and travelin' light.

About me: Riding bikes to get places

I ride bikes to get places. Sometimes those places are far away, and sometimes encrusted with snow and ice. I rest for the winter– living, cycling, working– in Anchorage, AK awaiting the next chapter. To ensure capable and safe transport in all conditions, I currently ride two bikes, which I refer to as my snow bike and my ice bike. This summer and fall I rode from Annapolis, MD to northern New York, then westward to Banff, Alberta to hook up with the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route. Any and all of it was great fun, and is recommended. Rather, I’ve never been on a bike trip I didn’t like. Even that time when it rained for two months. Or when travelling north, into the wind, on the Pacific Coast.

I condone any and all travel by bike or on foot, by ski or snow shoe or regular shoe or no shoe; or by air, in a balloon; or by water, swimming or by kayak, sailboat or board. Disregard them (naysayers), you can transport yourself!

I am momentarily fascinated with cycling utilities in the form of signed and/or mapped bicycle routes as well as cycling facilities such as rail trails, canal trails, bike lanes and paths. I am perpetually infatuated with bikes; old bikes, new technology that makes life better, and cheap creative solutions to problems. I love bikes, but they aren’t sacred. Make your bike better for you. Make it yours.

I have toured the US, Alaska, Canada, France and Mexico (Baja and Sierra Madre).

He said, “I’m not a homeless man
I’m a gypsy by trade
And I’m travelin’ this land
I’m not a homeless man”

J.J. Cale -”Homeless”

[gypsy by trade]