The publication last year of Isola Press’s Ride Bike! chronicling Jobst Brandt’s influence on cycling culture had me vowing a summer outing in the same spirit as his, namely a fast and light ride in Europe on dirt and tarmac tracks seeking some of the most Homeric Continental cols.
Riders: Brian Berry, Sophie Edmondson, Johnny Hsu, Donalrey Nieva, Mike Simpson, Karen Yung.
What I’m after is carrying not very much, yet just enough.
I frequently visited Patagonia when I lived in Tucson in the 1990s.
The terrain south of Tucson—rugged dirt roads, old mines, Elephant Head butte, thorny cactus single track, canyons and sky and dry—has filled me for 30 years. The bikes have changed but they’re a distant second to the landscape and emotions and riding with friends.