Johnny Isaak | Adventure Cyclist
A compendium of adventure cycling chronicles, travel lore, tips, techniques, and tactics for the adventure cycling perplexed.
The sun is setting on the shrimp ponds of Xiapu, Fujian. Local farmers have called it a day and retired for the evening. The water is still, the landscape quiet. Miles of riding remains before sleep will come tonight.
Riding into the night has a magic all its own. Catching the final rays as the light fades to gray and then to dark gives one pause for a bit of thought and reflection.
The great thing about China is an adventure is always near. As the longest continuous civilization on the face of the earth, there is always someplace to go, something to see. It was time to let the spirit run and see what there was to see. Destination: the coastal fishing village of Za Pu in Zhejiang province on the north shore of Hangzhou Bay.
After kissing my wife and daughter on the cheek, I pedaled my bike out the compound gate and down the street in a southerly direction. Gradually the concrete, steel, and glass of Shanghai fell away behind me. Traffic congestion easied and the riding became more relaxed. I considered the importance of time, our most precious resource. When the opportunity presents itself, ride.
“Do you want to ride? It’s a long way, close to 100 miles of cycling two days in a row. Are you really up for it?” Mia nodded her head confidently. “Dad,” I want to ride. “I can make it.” Give your children a taste of adventure and they will rise to the challenge.
Our family was traveling out to a small cottage on Sanshan Dao, a small island on Tai Lake, for Golden Week to celebrate Mid-Autumn Festival and the Chinese National Day. The holiday would consist of a simple family dinner of local fare, a little exploring on the island, followed by a night mahjong for those game. The next morning, we’d all return to Shanghai for a final family dinner in the city.
[Read more…] about Mia Rides: Double Century Adventure to Tai Lake
Fall weather is an excellent time to ride. The overcast skies and cooler temperatures typical for Mid-Autumn Festival make for pleasant cycling. It’s a great time to get out and it the road and spin those pedals, especially in China.
For Mid-Autumn Festival, our family celebrated the holiday with a family lunch and dinner. In the evening there was an all-nighter playing mahjong for those who could hang. I wasn’t one of them. Besides, I would be playing on scared money anyway. Always wanting to work a bit of adventure cycling in wherever possible, decided to make a couple days of it by riding out to the ancient water town village of Xinchang near where we would be staying.
Maintaining the oil at the right level in your Rohloff Hub is essential to keeping the hub in good working order and will prevent damage the drive’s internal components due to a lack of lubrication. Here’s are a couple of tips you may be interested in that I use to keep my Speed Hub operating smoothly over the long-haul.
When it comes down to it, there is nothing between you and your dreams but thin air and opportunity. And more times than not, it’s about working up the guts to go and just doing it.
As a child, I never thought it possible to have the opportunity to travel the world in search of adventure in exotic faraway lands. As with most kids in small town America, I grew up believing my life was about getting a job, paying a mortgage, and living a “normal” life that eventually led to a quiet retirement and old age.
Tweaking my bike’s set up is almost as fun as taking long bike rides. It’s a never-ending evolutionary process of trying to build a cleaner, more reliable ride produces the purest, hassle-free travel experience. Each cycling journey provides me with a few ideas on how I can improve the Divide’s set up. Last summer’s family cycling adventure around the island of Hokkaido, Japan was no exception.
After using some of my bike’s kit to outfit my wife and daughter’s bicycles for our trek through Japan’s northern most island. I was in need of a couple of new bags and pouches for the Divide, plus some minor tweaking to sweeten the ride. Here’s a quick rundown of what I came up with.
