Ever since living in Germany in the late 90's, I'd always wanted to do a transalp and finally got the opportunity. I didn't know quite what to expect in terms of trail or difficulty, so I went into it without a lot of expectations. Having been introduced to a guide from BikeAlpin, I chose their company and picked out the Garmisch - Gardasee (East) 5-day guided tour. Doing a transalp has become sort of a right of passage for German mountain bikers. I don't think there's anything to compare it to in the states.

Czech Greenway: Prague (Prag, Praha) to Vienna (Wien, Vídeň)

2-6 July, 2011

Picking up the tandem in Vienna

Getting the bike, getting to Prague

I'd read about the Czech Greenway in National Geographic many years ago and had always wanted to ride it. I finally created the opportunity in July 2011 and asked my non-cyclist girlfriend, and she was game! Since we were of disparate cycling experience, I thought a tandem would be the ideal equalizer and keep the relationship healthy. We found a place in Vienna that rented tandems: It wasn't a high-end bike shop, but had a big enough inventory that they had at least two tandems I thought would be satisfactory for the trip.

TrasCandonga: Sierras Chicas, Cordoba, Argentina

7-11 December, 2006

Cuchi Corral Viewpoint

I desperately wanted to do some mountain biking on my first trip to Argentina in my adult life. My plans were only to be in Buenos Aires (i didn't know how flat it was, nor how far the nearest mountains or hills were.) Since i knew no one in Argentina that was a mountain biker, i searched the internet and found