I love survival stories and this summer I indulged in many shipwreck stories. One thing that I love about shipwreck memoirs is that the author always survives so it doesn't feel like I'm watching someone's death. Often other members of the crew die so it isn't completely guilt free but since these are real stories I do feel less guilty when I know there is some type of happy ending. While…
I spent years trying to find a bike bag that would be accepted at an airport but was also easy to transport on a bike. Every trip I took before 2019 either involved lengthy bus and train options to avoid the hassle of boxing the bike for a flight (and sometimes still required boxing the bike) or I spent the last few days of my trip trying to find a cardboard…
I was disappointed by The Devil's Teeth by Susan Casey. I wanted to like it. I actually enjoyed the story and I still recommend reading it. Casey is a great writer who makes her audience feel involved with her story. However, I had an uneasy feeling about her involvement in this project from the beginning of the book and the epilogue only confirmed my fears, that her presence on the islands…
A piece of gear so omnipresent that I didn't even list it in the first several iterations of my pack list because it'd be akin to writing out wallet or water. Buff keeping the sun off my neck and sand out of my face in Joshua Tree The classic style Buff is arguably the most versatile piece of gear that I own. I generally wear it around my neck to keep…
I will start this off by confessing that I'm not much of a music fan. I enjoy going to concerts every once in a while but I rarely listen to music on my own and when I do it's generally just whatever happens to be on the radio. Due to my ambivalence about music I refused to pay for a music streaming service. When I found an album I enjoyed I…
This is the story of a man who rides his bike across the country and you won't remember the riding. I think that's generally how bike touring is: you remember what happens between pedal strokes. The Memory of Running is the story of Smithson (Smithy) Ide of East Providence, RI. He has spent the last two decades drunk, fat, and alone. His mentally ill sister disappeared decades earlier and his parents…