My old and cherished pal from college, Barbie (now going by Barbara, but she’ll always be Barbie to me), didn’t hestitate to come on a bike tour with me even though she had never done it before. That’s Barbie for you.  She jumped right in. Here’s her first-time bike tour experience in her words. The… Read more »

  Rim drive around Crater Lake is one of the most spectacular rides in the state.  I encourage all Oregonian cyclists to make it out there at least once and hope that people from all over the States and world give themselves the opportunity to ride the Rim. If you hit this ride on a… Read more »

I wanted to pass on an article in bikeportland.org by Tori Bortman of Gracies Wrench that talks about bike set-ups for touring.  Here’s a snazzy excerpt: “The good news is that you don’t have to run out and buy a special bike to do a multi-day, self-supported tour. Chances are the bike you’ve got will… Read more »

Great news for Cycling Sojourner! After numerous meetings and discussions, Travel Oregon and I came to a firm meeting of the minds, and they decided to sponsor the creation of Cycling Sojourner. A huge thank you to Kristin Dahl, Travel Oregon’s sustainability specialist, who met with me during her busy schedule to figure out how they could be… Read more »

Okay Okay, so I read a book in the The Clan of the Cave Bear series instead of blogging on my honeymoon! So sue me! Now I’m back in the thick of day to day life.  Our bikingmoon was absolutely amazing from the sea to the mountains.  That’s not to say it was glitch-free.  It,… Read more »

Cycle touring! That’s what my newfangled husband and I are doing for our two-week honeymoon.  The wedding was a super dooper amazing bestest day. We are riding down the coast from Astoria then cutting over to the Cascades and my father, who owns Chainwheel in Little Rock, Arkansas, gave us special honeymoon jerseys.  My dad… Read more »

 A swell of local cycling guides emerge on Oregon’s horizon.  It’s super exciting and indicative that Oregon is killing it. Cycling Sojourner, as the voice of touring, was featured in a recent bikeportland article on this subject. As far as Portland cycling information goes, the very best source for that will be online at www.pdxbybike.com. It’s an innovative start-up… Read more »

A household discussion led to the conclusion that we will not be getting a baby Alpaca.  After passing numerous Alpaca farms on my tour with Laura in the Willamette Valley wine country, my affinity for this Dr. Seussesque animal with its fuzzy, dinosaur-like neck and giant chocolate eyes went throught the roof. Did you know… Read more »

I didn’t really have any expectations for the Willamette Valley wine country.  I’ve been to Napa Valley, all over Italy, and even to Arkansas wine country (that’s a whole other story, but I need a banjo to tell it). The wineries and infrastructure here totally impressed me.  I was quite surprised.  For as long as… Read more »

A Note From Ellee: This is a guest post written by Tori Bortman of Gracie’s Wrench, one of my touring companions on this journey.   We’d arrived in John Day to our first quality meal (and quality beers) of the trip. The next morning was another ridiculously perfect day to hit the road– 66 degrees… Read more »