Ortlieb

Travelogue: A Day on Danseys Pass

Inching up the final reaches on the approach to the top of the pass, I knew the end was near. A few more minutes laboring over the pedals and I reached the summit. It was 2:15 pm. Four hours and 1170 meters of climbing on mostly gravel road had put me at the top of Danseys Pass. There was nothing to greet me but the howl of gusts blasting along windswept ridges and heavy blue skies overhead. The elation in knowing a lot of downhill awaited coursed through my veins. The hard climbing for the day was over.

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.

Gear Review: Ortlieb Gravel Pack

by Johnny Isaak ·

I recently nabbed a pair of Ortlieb’s Gravel Pack panniers to replace a pair of front Ortlieb Roller Plus panniers I’ve been running on the rear of my Divide for the past couple of years.

Still, with years of life remaining in the Roller Plus panniers, they’ve found a new home on the rear rack of my wife’s touring bike. Ever since last summer’s cycling trip to Hokkaido, she’s adopted then as her own and I’m sure they will give her with many years of trouble-free service.

Here’s my initial take on the new bikepacking lineup offer from Ortlieb…

Updating the Co-Motion Divide

by Johnny Isaak ·

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.

What’s on the Bike? Setup for an Australian Bike Adventure

by Johnny Isaak ·

My bags are packed. The Divide is ready to roll. Distant horizons of the burnt red sun of the Australian Outback call.

Setting up a bike and kit for a long journey is an ongoing ever evolving process of tweaking and changing, deleting this and adding that. For me, it’s just the nature of the beast.

Setting up my rig and kit for Australia was a pretty casual affair. In the Land Down Under, I’m rolling fairly light and not over thinking the gear. Other than protection from the elements, a few items to keep the bike rolling, and a camera and notebook to document the journey, not much more is needed.

Co-Motion Divide Rohloff: A Long-Term Review

by Johnny Isaak ·

Quest for a ‘Heavenly Horse’

Is the Co-Motion Divide Rohloff the right expedition touring bike for you? Read here and find out.

Over 2000 years ago in 130 BCE, Emperor Wudi of the Chinese Han Dynasty sent an army numbering 60,000 men deep into the heart of central Asia to the fertile Ferghana Valley, an important conduit along the old Silk Road located in modern day western Uzbekistan to acquire the fabled, almost mythical and much desired blood-sweating ‘Heavenly Horses’ of Dayuan to help fight the Xiongnu who threatened China.

Just as Emperor Wudi was in search of legendary Ferghana Horses, I was in search of a hardier breed of bike, a stalwart steed, a ‘Heavenly Horse’ of sorts that would confidently carry me to and from distant lands and the fringes of my imagination. At the end of my search, I settled on a Co-Motion Divide Rohloff, which I’ve owned and ridden for fourteen months and ridden over 10,000 kilometers.