I’m tenting right next door to second largest beer celebration in the world after the Munich Oktoberfest.
It’s called the Cannstatter Volksfest or Stuttgart Beer Festival.
Over 4 million visitors a year.
Everyone but me drinks big steins of beer then tries not to get sick on rides like this.
Instead I sipped some cheap wine. Ate pretzels and soft cheese for dinner at my tent. I was celebrating.
Quite good. And quite large for such a small island.
But quite a few of the displays were under construction while I was there.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
Increasingly — in recent years — I’ve been looking for the cheapest long distance flights … with stopovers.
For example, my 6 hour break in Lisbon made the LONG Bermuda to Stuttgart flights much more enjoyable.
No problem for me.
But schools and Gymnastics clubs in Bermuda were closed for at least 2 days.
The Category 3 storm’s 120 mph winds left 80% of the island — more than 27,000 people — without power …
Our power went out for about 14 hours. During peak winds in our home bunker, we played Mexican Train dominos.
Next morning we surveyed the damage. Some gas leaks, nine medical incidents and three structural fires. One roof blew off.
Bermuda rarely sees storms as big and powerful as Humberto. Only 21 hurricanes have passed within 100 miles of the Atlantic Ocean paradise over the past century …
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
The rail trail where I run is impassible due to fallen trees.
Love ’em. 🙂
Currently I’m traveling with the Lexar® Professional SL100 Pro Portable SSD.
Don’t buy the Samsung version. One of mine was bricked, incompatible with the most recent Mac OS.
It’s tiny. Light. Durable. Perfect.
And I paid only CAD $100 at BestBuy in August 2019.
It replaces my Samsung T5 Portable SSD 1TB USB 3.1 at CAD $239.99 from Amazon.
A Samsung software update bricked my drive. There’s been no help getting that fixed. #SamsungSUCKS
Over the years I haven’t had much luck with wool clothing.
Very expensive. Yet not durable. I found holes in the garments after, perhaps, 10 wash cycles.
But last year I was convinced by an icebreaker salesman to try again. Some of their new products are mostly 87% Merino wool but with some nylon to improve durability.
It works. I’ll be traveling with 3 icebreaker tops on my next trip.
They dry more slowly than synthetic. But stink less. It’s worth it.
The one below costs US$90 or more. I got my most recent shirt for less than $40. You have to shop and wait. The icebreaker sale in my local shop only happens twice a year.
When you plug your phone into this you know it’s charging at the fastest possible rate.
If you have to pull it out of the wall before your phone is finished, it’s also a 5000 mAh powerbank.
It can recharge an iPhone about 1.1 times.
With two USB ports I typically charge my AirPods and Apple Watch at the same time as I’m charging my phone.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
I really want to get to Senja as an alternative to Lofoten.
I’d bikepack carrying an inflatable kayak.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
My major project of summer 2019, I finished a month long trip on August 3rd.
Day 1 | 2 | 3 | 4-5 | 6-7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12-13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | info | video
One excellent adventure.
The Pacific Northwest is gorgeous. I had fantastic weather. Very few biting insects.
The theme was rails to trails. I tried to ride as many railway lines converted to non-motorized transport as I could.
HIGHLIGHTS
Click PLAY or watch a 6 minute highlights video on YouTube.
LESSONS LEARNED
I started in Nanaimo wanting to get to Lake Cowichan as quickly as possible.
Lake Cowichan is the western terminus of the Great Trail.
2. Islands to Port Townsend WA
After visiting friends in Victoria, I took the most direct route to visit friends in Port Townsend via the American San Juan Islands.
3. Port Townsend WA to Rattlesnake Lake WA
To avoid some highway miles, Doug & Diana delivered me to the Bainbridge ferry. I cycled the Burke-Gilman rail to trail and others connected to get to the fantastic Iron Horse Trail out of Rattlesnake Lake.
4. Rattlesnake Lake WA to Tekoa WA on the Palouse to Cascades State Park Trail
5. Eastern Washington
Just past Ellensburg I was forced off the semi-official GART on to secondary highways and alternative trails that took me through Spokane.
I found this section of GART to be too soft and sandy for my tires. Also it was too disconnected.
I finally stopped at Plummer, Idaho. Dave Adlard picked me up. We dropped the bike at a shop for repair as I’d broken 3 spokes the previous evening. And then took an indulgent 8 days off in Couer d’Alene.
6. North to Castlegar
Dave and Jeni rode with me away from the Adlard log cabin in Athol. We headed towards Sandpoint on back roads and I later rejoined the route shown in the map below. Dave had suggested I cross the border close to pretty Metaline Falls.
6. Castlegar to Hope
For decades I’d wanted to ride the Kettle Valley Rail (KVR) Trail and the Columbia & Western Rail Trail. It’s totally wonderful. And obviously one of the great cycling routes of the world.
Hope to Vancouver and on to Parksville on the Island was problematic. There is no excellent route yet available. Cyclists I met took a number of different roads.
Psychologically finished at Hope, I managed a series of rides, buses, trains and ferries to cover the 240km in about 36 hours without sleeping.
related – compare my 23 days bikepacking Patagonia, Chile earlier this year
Day 1 | 2 | 3 | 4-5 | 6-7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12-13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | info | video
Rick McCharles 
