I picked up the bottle in the D8 tienda, which is like Colombian Aldi's– put your own groceries in a used cardboard box after checkout. "Ron Viejo de Calandas" I wondered if it was some kind of brown aquaguardiente (aguaguardiente is like the national liquor, it tastes like licorice schnapps). Figured I'll try it. Back … Continue reading Colombia: Belén to El Cucoy
Tag: bike tour
Bikepacking Colombia
A little drip of sweat in right eye, burns, I stop pushing my bike up the rocky track and try to get a dirty glove finger under my sunglasses to wipe it away. Instead of wiping it out I add glove dust to the sweat mix and wipe it in further, dammit. Try to blink … Continue reading Bikepacking Colombia
Ha Giang to Lao Cai
We just finished dinner at a little farm called the Cinnamon Eco Lodge, and the grandpa of the family just brought out his jungle pipe. As long as we've been here, I've been seeing guys sitting next to the road hitting these things- it's a bamboo bong, used to smoke Lao tobacco, which is very … Continue reading Ha Giang to Lao Cai
Vietnam: Cao Bang to Ha Giang
Close to the top of a giant climb, I see a pack of six little kids running down out of a steep field. Nothing unusual, kids are constantly running out to scream "Hello! Hello! What's your name!" I wave to these ones, and say hello, and keep moving up the steep hill. They're down to … Continue reading Vietnam: Cao Bang to Ha Giang
Vietnam: Ha Long Bay to Cao Bang
"Man, Colleen couldn't you have picked a place farther up the hill?" I'm doing the paper boy up the super steep street in Cat Ba Town, to the hotel Colleen picked which is like five feet below the very very top. "You're being super dramatic," she says. "No, I'm just telling you, please pick the … Continue reading Vietnam: Ha Long Bay to Cao Bang
Hello Vietnam
I never finished writing about New Zealand last year, work just got too busy. We rode all around the South Island, it was nice, I'll write it up sometime. (And here's a plug for a good gig- if you're interested in being a bike tour guide or mechanic, we're crazy short staffed. Work in the … Continue reading Hello Vietnam
Napier to Wellington
“They's all meat sheep now,” says Will. He's a pot bellied bloke with a stubbly face, and is wearing a t-shirt with a screaming, flaming, ghastly ghost skull on it. Spooky! We're sitting at the Wimbledon Tavern, an old little pub at the bottom of a steep green valley. “Meat sheep?” I think of the … Continue reading Napier to Wellington
Wairoa to Napier
“You looking at the bird?” There's a little black bird hopping around the grass. “He's called B-fah. You see? B for bird!” T starts cracking up at his own joke. He's an older Maori guy, thin and wiry, fluorescent camo bucket hat and little pink reading glasses. “I named him, he follows me everywhere. Poor … Continue reading Wairoa to Napier
Rotorua to Gisborne
It's raining in Rotorua. Which is just fine, because we're happy and dry in a house. “You guys could probably jump on a trip today,” says our friend Dicky. The raft trips are quick, only 30 minutes or something down the Kaituna River. We went a couple years ago, and the river is gorgeous- blue … Continue reading Rotorua to Gisborne
Colville to Rotorua
I'm way behind on this as usual, but we're taking a few days off before our last couple weeks of riding, so I'm going to try to get caught up. Back in December: From Colville at the top of the Coromandal, we ride south to Whitianga. A vacation community with some houses attached to a … Continue reading Colville to Rotorua