Gordon Banks » Cycling

Camping Souvage

Gordon — Sun, 09 May 2010 17:06:19 +0000

Every once in a while you get screwed. After a fanatastic 70km ride up Rio Navia. I reached a town called Grandas. It was Sunday in Spain and this town was dead. Nothing was open, no food, no hotels, no campgrounds. One bar was open. So what do you do?
Plan B: eat bar food which includes pound cake, peanuts, and ice cream That’s all the bar had. Not even any tapas which is unheard of in Spain. I also loaded up on vino tinto which is practically free in Spain. Of course, there is the other Sunday religon; futball on TV to help pass the time. Strangely, the town had wifi but no food on Sunday?
Since you have no place to sleep and it is 6:40pm, it’s time for “camping souvage” (Francais). Which means you must resort to camping in an unimproved campsite. Rare in Europe, but no big deal in North America. So tonight I will camp souvage for the first night of the trip; no hot shower, no morning expresso, no AM crissont delivered to my tent. If I don’t survive the camping souvage night please shed a tear for me when you can.

Lago Maggiore

Gordon — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 20:16:30 +0000

Rode 65 mile loop today: Locarno-Malesco-Finero-Cannobio-Locarno. The first part of the ride snakes up into the mountains and the second part of the route from Cannobio back to Locarno follows the shoreline of Lago Maggiore. We met some Swiss riders along the way, who supplied us with more beta of other local rides. Spaghetti for lunch at the Italian border and later beers with the Swiss in Cannobio.

Bernese Alps

Gordon — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 10:10:42 +0000

This is our first long ride in Switzerland. It is a 44 mile loop starting and ending in Meiringen, Switzerland, where our campground is located. The first 10 miles is a very steep uphill (+10% grades) to Schwarzwaldalp, no cars allowed on the upper section of road which is one lane paved through alpine tundra. Stunning scenery with hanging glaciers and views of the Wetterhorn, Eiger, and Jungfrau. The lower half of the loop from Interlaken and back to Meiringen is a bike path traversing above the Brienzersee. Some tough hills on this section and on gravel too. Bring your energy because it’s not a long ride, but it is challenging. Definitely a top-ten euro road ride.

Cycle Touring Pack

Gordon — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 00:57:40 +0000

REI Flash Pack

Tested a new pack I purchased at REI. It is called a Flash Pack made for climbing but I am trying it for cycle touring too. It is a super light-weight pack that can be cinched tighter by adding a 5 foot piece of shock cord threaded through the two gear loop chains (thanx to Erik Werner for this tip). When clinched up, the pack is tube-shaped, doesn’t flop around, and hides behind your spine without being a wind drag while riding. When un-clinched, the pack is large enough to haul a couple of days of groceries back to your campsite. The other modification I would make is to cut off the waist belt, the extra straps are not needed as the pack has a pretty good shoulder straps system. The Flash can also hold a hydration bag.
I am hoping to use this pack on multi-day, self-support cycling tours along with a trunk bag over my bike’s rear wheel. If the pack is turned-inside-out, it becomes a stuff bag. I think I can carry about 2-2.5 pounds in this pack without being cumbersome or noticeable on your back while riding. When not cycling, it folds up very flat and is not bulky to store. I can also use it for climbing or on Euro ferratas days. The best thing about the REI Flash pack is it only costs $29!

NYC Bike Loop

Gordon — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 21:31:56 +0000

Locals say that the cross town riding is the most challenging, but we did not find this to be an issue. On the wealthier, west side of the city the bike path is quite nice. The bike lanes on 106th and 72nd were well marked and there was very little traffic.
Our biggest challenge was where the bike path/lane dies-out along the East River around the United Nations building. The so-called NY Greenbelt bike path is very contrived, narrow, and not well marked on the east side of the city. Eventually you find yourself riding south on 2nd Ave Street with a swarm of NYC cabs, so have your A-Game ready for about 10 blocks before you get back onto the bike path again.
The loop we traveled around the city and through Central Park took about 3 hours with some sightseeing stops along the way. Riding in NYC is a great way to see lots of the city and it is getting more bike friendly all the time.