• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content

Johnny Isaak | Adventure Cyclist

A compendium of adventure cycling chronicles, travel lore, tips, techniques, and tactics for the adventure cycling perplexed.

  • Home
  • Welcome
  • Blog
    • Bike
    • Gear
    • Travelogue
  • Images
    • Bikes
    • Travelogue
    • Kyoto
    • Hokkaido
    • The Pacific Coast
    • New Zealand
  • Links
  • About
    • Bike Setup
    • What’s in the Bag
  • Contact

Travelogue

Travelogue: Magic Moments

Travelogue: Magic Moments

by Johnny Isaak ·

Casting my eyes out to pastel skies hanging low over the Andaman Sea. Standing on the crest of a hill overlooking the shore of the Promthep Cape at the northwestern reaches of the Malacca Strait while waiting patiently with camera in hand. Sunsets are magical things.

The setting sun burns a hole in the muted sky, the last moments of a molten ball of fire smoldering in the mist never quite touching the horizon line. It’s an instant when one’s senses are alive and fully present moment. The first whispers of a cool offshore breeze tickle the hair on the nap of my neck. Yes, it’s the perfect place to be.

Steadily, the shutter fires away. The camera buffers and writes the images to the memory card. Moments are captured. Making decent photos has a lot to do with figuring out the “perfect place to be,” and getting there and set in time for the decisive moment. For me, it’s a little deeper than that. Photography is not so much about capturing the beauty, but experiencing it first, and then recording the moment before it’s gone. And over time, it’s a collection of these little slices that make up a life well-lived.

One last glance to the horizon as the sky fades to dull gray. It’s an excellent moment to consider the gravity of things. Yes, dreams do come true to those willing to give fair chase. I bag my camera and begin ambling down the hill into the dusk. Thus ends a day spent well. Making out the shadow of my driver’s tuk-tuk, it’s time to lean forward to a new day. Life is good. Get some.

Filed Under: Travelogue, Uncategorized Tagged With: Phuket, Promthep Cape, Thailand, travel, travel photography

Travelogue: Reflections from a Bridge

Travelogue: Reflections from a Bridge

by Johnny Isaak ·

An Early Fall Sunrise in Zhejiang

Travelogue: Reflections from a Bridge

Our return trek from Jiangshan in Zhejiang province to Shanghai was going to be a long. 224 kilometers lay between us and home. It was going to be a long day. Considering the miles ahead, we pushed on.

The day’s ride began at the crack of dawn. Cool air nipped at my bare face and jersey-only clad torso as well pedaled in the gray light. Early autumn was in the mountain air. Rather than stop and pull a jacket from my handlebar bag, I hope to shake off the chill as I leaned into the rolling hills.

Glancing over my shoulder upriver ascending the low arch one of the many bridges we’d cross during the day, my eyes cast up a fiery orange sunrise. Incredible. Allowing my bike to coast to a stop at the top of the bridge’s arch, I put a foot down to savor the serenity of the moment. Ah, one of the pure, genuine pleasures of traveling by bike. 

Motionless water wandering into thick stands of trees had not even the slightest ripple on its surface, save for a blanket of lifting fog warmed in the yellow sun. A thick mountain mist defused the sun’s golden light. I unzipped my camera pouch, put the viewfinder to my eye and made a picture for my memories. It’s moments like this that make cycle travel so unique.

Many miles of riding nagged me back into action. I stowed my camera and resumed spinning my way down the road ahead. It’s small experiences such as this that make all the effort worthwhile. We had many miles to go before we would sleep tonight.

Sunrises are magical things. You only get so many of them in your lifetime. Embrace the moment. Put your foot down and take in those sweet little slices of life. Enjoy them one by one. Hope in the saddle and ride. Experience all of them you can as long as you can. Cheers. 

Filed Under: Travelogue Tagged With: adventure, adventure cycling, bicycle, bicycle touring, bicycle travel, China, cycle touring, sunrise, travel, travel photography, Zhejiang

Travelogue: An Unexpected Detour onto the Coast to Coast Trail

Travelogue: An Unexpected Detour onto the Coast to Coast Trail

by Johnny Isaak ·

Life is an open road. You can go pretty much anywhere you want. It’s really up to you. It was a day riding solo while enjoying the quiet and solitude of a beautiful day on New Zealand’s Coast to Coast Trail on the North Island.

[Read more…] about Travelogue: An Unexpected Detour onto the Coast to Coast Trail

Filed Under: Travelogue Tagged With: adventure, adventure cycling, bicycle, bicycle touring, bicycle travel, Co-Motion, Coast to Coast Trail, Divide, Jones Bar, New Zealand, North Island, travel photography

Travelogue: Suzhou Water Town

Travelogue: Suzhou Water Town

by Johnny Isaak ·

Water in the canal lies motionless under a sinking afternoon sun, disturbed ever so slightly by the oar of a lone boat plying the water on its way to another place. Spring is in the air, and my feet are itchy. Destination: Suzhou.

The heavens have the moon and the stars. We have Suzhou and Hangzhou. — Chinese Proverb

[Read more…] about Travelogue: Suzhou Water Town

Filed Under: Travelogue Tagged With: adventure, China, Suzhou, travel, travel photography

Travelogue: Shadows on Lake Taihu

Travelogue: Shadows on Lake Taihu

by Johnny Isaak ·

Returning home doesn’t necessarily mean suspending travel. It’s good to take a little time off the bike but still keep hitting the road in search of unique adventures.

Day tripping to the shores of Taihu only an hour or two north of Shanghai near the old city of Wuxi in Jiangsu Province provided an excellent opportunity to venture off the typical foreigner’s tourist trail to a place the Chinese know well.

[Read more…] about Travelogue: Shadows on Lake Taihu

Filed Under: Travelogue Tagged With: Buddha Palace, China, Giant Buddha, Lingshan, travel, travel photography, Wuxi

Travelogue: Night Ride Up 90-Mile Beach

Travelogue: Night Ride Up 90-Mile Beach

by Johnny Isaak ·

Waves were washing ashore on my left. Countless stars speckled an inky black sky. The Southern Crux and Milky Way showed brightly. The constellations seemed close enough to touch or maybe scoop a handful from the air. To the north was Ninety-Mile beach cloaked in featureless black. Beyond that was Cape Reinga, my destination for the day and this journey lay on the other side. Signpost to adventure up ahead.

[Read more…] about Travelogue: Night Ride Up 90-Mile Beach

Filed Under: Travelogue Tagged With: 90 Mile Beach, adventure, adventure cycling, bicycle touring, bicycle travel, bike travel, cycle touring, exploration, New Zealand, Ninety Mile Beach, North Island

Travelogue: Cape Reinga

Travelogue: Cape Reinga

by Johnny Isaak ·

Should I leap and descend into the underworld? Standing on the windswept bluff overlooking the meeting place between the Tasman Sea and the Pacific Ocean, it’s not difficult to see why the Maori consider Cape Reinga such a special place.

[Read more…] about Travelogue: Cape Reinga

Filed Under: Travelogue Tagged With: adventure, adventure cycling, bicycle touring, bicycle travel, bike travel, Cape Reinga, cycle touring, exploration, New Zealand, North Island, Reinga

Next Page »

Copyright © 2025 · No Sidebar Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

 

Loading Comments...