Fruita. Sounds delicious just saying it. But when you venture westward, go there and place your feet on the pedals, wheels in the track and ride; when you feel the moisture sucked out of your body; when the dust creeps in and the taste of the trail permeates your entire being; when you find yourself alone at twilight with the western desert on fire before your very eyes and a few miles of beautiful, empty trail still ahead; when you replenish at days' end in the company of friends old and new AND the next day presents a chance to…

It was on this date in 1927 that Charles Lindberg landed The Spirit of St. Louis at 10:22pm on Le Bourget Field, thirty three and one half hours after takeoff from Roosevelt Field in Long Island, New York, completing the world's first transatlantic flight. 300 people in New York witnessed his takeoff and thought they had seen a minor miracle occur, since his plane was so heavily laden with fuel it almost didn't make it off the ground in time to clear a string of telephone lines at the edge of Roosevelt Field. Upon landing, however, a crowd of 50,000…

The completion of a new stove, early last week, prompted me to pack up the Pug and take the scenic route to work, incorporating an overnight stay along the river en route. The Pugsley was definetely suited to the low spots on the trail where river juice and a previous day's light rain had turned the riverbank soil into slick, brown gumbo. Epic Designs frame bags, an Old Man Mountain front rack, and minimalist, modified Axiom panniers gave me ample room to securely carry all my gear over varying terrain. When the sun dipped behind the horizon, I found a…

I haven't seen much of southern Minnesota from the saddle, so I decided to ride down to the Dirt Burger hootenanny in Decorah, IA…about 290km southeast of home. The LHT, shod with 700 x 40mm Michelin City tires, was my trusty mule for the trip to and from Decorah. I had my 1x1 shuttled to the event, so I'd have a more suitable mount for the hilly single-track, baseball diamond bucketball, rogue night rides, and derby circle antics. I left Minneapolis around 3:00pm on Wednesday and rode toward Big Woods State Park, 85km down the road. My route took me…