Intro (written the day before the race) Tomorrow, I depart on an epic 2,000 km bikepacking, the 5th edition of the Trans Pyrenees Race (TPRno5). While the distance may seem daunting, the real challenge is the 40,000m of elevation gain. It’s essentially riding your bike all day, stopping as little as possible, sleeping an adequate […]
Read more "TPRno5: A Beautifully Hard Bike Race"At the start of the year, I made a bold plan for 2025 that included a bike tour, multiple options for ultras, a 14-day meditation retreat, a “vanlife” road trip through northern Spain and a visit to the U.S. As the year progressed, it became clear that I was being overly ambitious; there just wasn’t […]
Read more "Belgium or Bust: Monumental Gravel"La Garba is a gravel event in Tarragona, about 3 hours north of Dénia on the Mediterranean coast. There are several options; from 100km to 500km. Naturally, I chose the ultra distance event of 500 km, named ‘Lo Voltor’ (vulture in catalan). I made a list of all the bikepacking events for the year and […]
Read more "Lo Voltor: Misadventures and Serendipitous Osos in las Terres de l’Ebre (La Garba Gravel)"This is the story of the Wedding. Out of all my bike and Camino adventures, this one has been the most special, challenging and memorable of them all. Part 1. Why have a wedding? Steph and I both liked to turn our noses up at tradition, believing that we’re independent thinkers, revolutionaries, “different” from everyone […]
Read more "This Must Be the Wedding (Nou Roma)"El Piri is a solo and unsupported bikepacking gravel adventure. Starting and finishing in Girona, the route covers 850 kilometres and features 20,000 meters of climbing. The route is fun, split nearly 50/50 gravel/tarmac, designed to take you to some of the most beautiful areas in the Catalan Pyrenees. Most gravel roads in Catalunya are […]
Read more "The Ecstacy and Agony of El Piri"Another year, another stint as a Hospitalero Voluntario. I put my name into the hat at the end of August to help out in the second half of September if any Hospitalero dropped out. As fate would have it, The Camino called me back to Bercianos for a sequel to last year. Same location, but […]
Read more "Albergue Life"After more than 2 years away, it was time for us to visit our homelands: California and Canada. Not only were we due for a visit, we were also excited to welcome each other into the family after we agreed to take the plunge into marriage. It was the union of two different worlds: Steph […]
Read more "The Great North American Tour"Intro I looked at my calendar for 2023 and it was filling up fast. There were plenty of fun trips and activities like visiting Ibiza, doing a grand North American tour and a potential van tour of Italy. However, it was lacking one thing: a Camino. It had been less than a year since doing […]
Read more "No More Half Measures: San Salvador + Primitivo"The seeds of the plan began to form over a year ago, when Jay, a hiking friend, told us about how wonderful Ibiza is in May. He explained how the crowds haven’t arrived yet, but the weather is warm and the island sparkles in all its luster. We were intrigued – it had always been […]
Read more "One Perfect Moment at Es Vedrà"Wait, what is an Albergue? An albergue is essentially a hostel for pilgrims on The Camino. Most albergues are private; they are for-profit entities that are run like a business. Many private albergues are cozy, promote the spirit of the Camino and do communal dinners. Many are faceless macro-albergues – designed to be as minimal […]
Read more "The Albergue Diaries"