adventure cycling

Travelogue: Recollections from the Precipice

Standing on the precipice of time at the end of one year and the beginning of another, I can see the final glimmerings 2017’s twilight falling into the darkness behind me while 2018 lays just ahead in the pre-dawn light. In a moment’s pause, I look over my shoulder to cast a few final furtive backward glances into the looking glass before moving on. Who are you? What have you done with the time given you? Where will you go and what will you do with the time remaining?

2017: Adventures Remembered

by Johnny Isaak ·

The steady patter of raindrops form into small rivulets and run down the window of our Shanghai apartment. Vacantly staring into the featureless mist and clouds wandering through the skyscrapers and high-rise buildings, my mind drifts to places far away. It’s an excellent moment to reflect on journey’s past. Just a few days on the backside of this year’s winter solstice, our adventures in Hokkaido, Kyoto, and Hong Kong seem so far away. A new year is only a couple of days away while 2017 draws to a close, and what an incredible year it was. Twelve months filled with continual cycling and travel adventures seemed to pass so quickly. Such is the nature of time when you’re having fun. Before we plunge headlong into another year, here are a few images to recount some of our travels and places we experienced during this great year.

Travelogue: Winter Sunrise on Gaolong Bay

by Johnny Isaak ·

It’s those special mornings on the road when you’re up before dawn in the early morning hours out chasing the light. Camera in hand, walking in the sand along a quiet beach are those extraordinary moments to be savored and remembered.

Late winter in Hainan, China’s most southern province, brings with it a dense morning fog that hangs in the air over land and sea well into midday. A thin, golden light dances on soft ripples gently lapping at the shore. There are no crashing waves here. Salty wisps of a fresh sea breeze touch the senses. Cool moisture in the dawning air makes the pilings weep and wet to the touch.

My Hybrid Long-Distance Setup

by Johnny Isaak ·

One of the most often asked questions I receive from the people I meet along the way and on my blog is, “What and how do you carry all of your stuff?”

To share with other riders who are interested in how other bicycle travelers, or at least how one other traveler sets up their/his rig, I’ve put together a few points on the kit I travel with, how I carry it, the basic method I used to determine the two in the hopes other riders will benefit.

Travelogue: Adventure in the Outback

by Johnny Isaak ·

Darkness was coming but the howling headwind whipping at my body and had pounded me for the past fourteen hours refused to abate.

Standing over my bike while leaning into the vicious wind, I swigged down the last of the hot water from my canteen. I had eaten the remaining Snicker bar about an hour ago. The red bitumen and surrounding the desert floor radiated latent heat from a scorching afternoon.

Forty kilometers of the open desert still lay between me and the roadhouse at Cadney Park, the day’s destination I should have arrived at three or four hours ago. But the fierce headwind had had me crawling across the desert floor at a snail’s pace. Now, several hours of riding in the dark stood ahead of me.

Late Autumn in Kyoto

by Johnny Isaak ·

Adventure cycling in late autumn. We spent a few days exploring the hills and mountains surrounding Kyoto. Early in the morning, narrow urban streets led us out of the bustling city into the surrounding olive drab hills mottled with a smattering of yellows, oranges, and reds. Riding to catch the last vestiges of the autumn leaves before winter set in, we whiled away our days on two-lane roads along the edges of the Yamashiro Basin. We pedaled our way through thick pines, stands of bamboo, and groves of maple.

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Travelogue: Osaka Castle Japan

by Johnny Isaak ·

Osaka Castle, or Osakajo, is a 16th-century fortress that lies in the middle of the steel and glass towers of modern Osaka. At one time, the bastion was the largest castle in Japan.

Over the centuries, the stronghold has endured attacks, been burned down, and left decades in a state of ruin. Remarkably, the stone and earthen ramparts somehow survived city-wide aerial bombardments and air raids during World War II. After the war, the city gradually restored the castle to one of Japan’s famous landmark it is today.

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