Yellow Tent Adventures

I live in the insanely beautiful Pacific Northwest. Due to our cloudy skies and somewhat damp weather (even in July), the color pallet can be quite muted — dark greens, blues, and greys. So when I travel, I am drawn to the opposite. The rich and vibrant, almost electric colors that you will find on [...]

We always talk about bicycle travel. But what about bicycle lingering? Bicycle lingering is that ability to stop forward motion, pause, and soak up what is around you. Cafes. Ice cream parlors. Roadside restaurants. City parks. Riverside picnic tables. They all call out for you to park your bike and linger. I am amazed at [...]

If I had to choose one photo I’ve taken that captures the view of the world you get when you travel by bicycle, this is it. Up close and intense. It’s 1995. Nelson Mandela has been president for less than a year. I’m on a five-month bike trip in South Africa, where I’m told by [...]

A policeman stopped our progress through the small town of Manteigas, Portugal. There was no traffic — no apparent accident or emergency. We parked our bikes and waited. We heard the music of a marching band long before the processional turned a corner and came into view. It appeared as if the entire town was [...]

We only planned to bicycle to Seville to catch the train to Madrid after our 2 1/2 month pedal around Portugal. Little did we know that we were headed into one of the fastest growing “bicycle cities” on the planet. In just a matter of a few years, Seville has gone from almost no one [...]

We pedaled into a small Portuguese village late in the evening. There was the typical group of old men hanging out at the edge of town–all wearing jackets and caps, all sporting canes. We asked them if there was a campground. No campground or hotel we were assured. The sun was low in the sky. [...]

Here is a salute to a frugal cyclist’s favorite budget lodging option … the tent. Click on any of the photos below to read a post about my favorite camping sites and adventures around the world.

The cost. The hassle factor. The packing. Flying with a bicycle is no fun. Well, actually physically flying would be amazing. I mean boarding a plane with a bike. I wrote a column almost ten years ago about this topic for Adventure Cyclist (Flying the Friendly Skies (If you’re a golfer)) and never could get [...]