About

Hi folks, my name is Greg and I live in Minnesota--the state with snow and sub-zero temperatures in the winter and insane humidity in the summer.  On the upside, my state has 10,000 lakes, vast forests, vaster (sic) cornfields, and the mighty Mississippi River.

I have a long history of bicycle riding.  It started with training wheel riding at age four and advanced, in stages, to biking to grade school . . . to no-handed riding and wheelie riding . . . to riding my bike to high school . . . to riding my bike to college classes . . . to all-weather commuting to work . . . to roadie-type cycling . . . to mountain biking . . . to gravel riding.  Basically, I've engaged in almost every form of cycling except racing and the suicidal kind you see in the X-Games.

Compared to many Cycleblazers, though, I'm relatively new to the world of bike TOURING, and I don't always feel like I quite fit in.  (That's why I called myself "America's Most Naive Bike Tourist" in one of my journals.)  Even so, it has definitely become my current favorite cycling genre.  

But I like doing it my own way.  I have no interest in expensive saddles, tires, hub gearing systems, odd handlebar configurations, etc.  I reject most electronics when touring.  I don't like pie.  I'm indifferent toward ice cream.  I prefer to cook my own food.  I enjoy the rewards--and sometimes the consequences--of minimal pre-trip planning.  I tour alone (my wife is not a cyclist) and I am not a believer in the idea that the best part of a tour is the people one meets.  My touring ideal involves nice scenery, observing animal behavior, being in the great outdoors, and the simplicity of day-to-day existence on the road.  If I meet a few people along the way, that's great.  If I don't, that's great too. 

My tours have not been of the EPIC variety.  I've never ridden outside of North America.  I have family obligations that limit the length and duration of my tours--otherwise I could see myself being one of the wildest cycle touring free spirits ever.  But for now, I enjoy doing exactly what I'm doing.

And for me, half the fun of bike touring--and traveling in general--is writing about it.