travel

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?

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.

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.

Travelogue: Katsura River Sunset

by Johnny Isaak ·

With the autumn closing in, the evening temperatures dropped quickly. The first pockets of crisp night air bit at our noses as we made our way along the banks of the Katsura River.

The landscape grew a deep gold. Looking back over my left shoulder, I caught a glimpse of the sun’s light fading. There’s a certain feeling I get when I look to the west while the sun is setting.

Cycling Leaping Tiger Gorge

by Johnny Isaak ·

The angry, pulsating brown water thundering past mere feet away resonated at my very core. At narrowest point of Leaping Tiger Gorge, the full force of the Jinsha Jiang or “Golden Sanded River” coursed past me in a naked display of raw aggression. I had never seen such power or stood in such close proximity to so much unbridled energy. The raging power and fury of the Jinsha resonated on a primal level.

Exploring Shanghai’s Vanishing Longtangs

by Johnny Isaak ·

Not only are bicycles great for long-distance travel, but they are also excellent vehicles for getting under local cultural strata as well.

Clear days and mild fall temperatures bring pleasant riding weather. Itching to get out a bit, I was up in the morning and out into Shanghai my bike seeing what there is to see.

This morning’s destination: one or more of Shanghai’s longtangs or “lane houses” in the hopes of getting a peek into the city’s quintessential yesteryears that are all too rapidly fading away.

In a city like Shanghai, adventure is only a short ride away.

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…

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