Front and rear triangle frame packs have been around for a long time.  With the popularity of bike packing frame, seat, handlebar bags, packs and carriers some bike folks may have forgotten or simply don't know about their ability to adapt some bike packing style for their touring bikes to lighten pannier load.

This review of front triangle frame packs (sometimes referred to as gas tanks) covers designs which may or may not interfere with access to your water bottle holder on down tube.  The reason I say that the frame packs discussed here "might" hinder your ability to use the water bottle cage on the downtube depends on how large your bike frame is and or whether you can adjust the water bottle cage up or down on the frame mounts as shown in left photo.  The water bottle holder in photo is of an unknown manufacturer that I have had for several years.  I have been looking for a similar design to share here for use with selecting a front triangle frame pack for your bikes.  Because I was able to slide the bottle cage down on the frame mounts it allows for easy access with a frame pack. If anyone knows of where one can be purchased please share that information in the comments below.  

Jandd's frame pack has been available for several years and considered one of the original frame style bags for bike packing. With a long standing reputation for making quality durable products there are many folks who have been using the pack for several years without issue.  
Some design features folks have complained about are the mounting straps not being made of velcro and having difficulty threading the two straps for mounting to down tube.  On the right side of the bag is a full length zipper with rain flap cover and the left side has a much smaller zippered pocket.  Jandd's frame pack would be a good fit on a larger frame such as 58 cm or more without interfering with water bottle mounts.  Of course this also depends on what size of water bottle but even on a fifty six centimeter frame an adjustable bottle holder is a good idea. 

Banjo Brothers provides three different front triangle frame packs available in small, medium or large and is the main reason I have chosen to list their product here.  Photo at left is of the large frame pack and offers plenty of storage space designed in a rectangular shape whereas the small and medium versions have the typical tapered triangular shape similar to most of the frame packs listed here.  Click on link or photo for more information regarding the other frame pack sizes.

Skinz Protective Gear Frame Pak is available in a smaller size like that shown in photo at left or a full frame bag for bike packing.  It is an excellent quality frame pack which is described as weather proof and water resistant.  Hmm, anyhow as you can see from the photo at left the frame pack permits some use of water bottle mounts at down tube.  Considering that most touring bikes have a more traditional frame geometry than that pictured would permit more clearance between frame pack and water bottle holder.  

The folks at Bushwhacker have the most affordably priced bike frame bags I have ever seen.  Two models of the Tahoe pictured at left and the Laredo which is a bit smaller but not by much. Both of their frame packs offer a nice solution for folks wanting to add a bit of bike packing convenience and style for their touring bike.  

Click on links or photos for more information and to check out their absolutely best price point. 

Made in the U.S. since 1979 Lone Peak products are one of our favorites.  Often made from recycled inner tubes for adding waterproofness and durability Lone Peak products have a long established reputation for quality.  Their frame packs are available in two sizes Standard and Large.  Photo at left is of the Lone Peak Standard Bicycle Frame Bag Pack.  Click on photo for more information regarding both sizes of frame bag packs for your particular touring bike.  

As shown in photograph above at beginning of this post is the Deuter Front Triangle Frame Bag.  Deuter is a company that has making some of the finest quality backpacks and their simple little frame bag is an excellent choice in an affordable quality product to lend a bit of bike packing practicality to your bicycle touring kit list.  

All the frame bags with the exception of the Skinz model can be purchased for under forty bucks.  Click on any link or photo for information or to purchase.

Links related to this topic
Packing Kit List for Bike Touring

Max and Cynthia of World by Wheel share their hard earned bike touring wisdom and expertise while adapting to the challenges of bicycle touring through Thailand.  A place they have come to truly appreciate. So if you're interested in planning a bicycle touring trip to Thailand enjoy they're guest blog post and click on any of the links to visit their comprehensive pages for more information. 

Cycling around Thailand is an experience that is definitely worth the small moments of hardship mentioned above. It is one of the most pleasant countries to be in, filled with picturesque landscapes and such humble, relaxed people. Riding through the heart of local communities seeing surprised expressions as we pass by is an awesome experience, enthusiastic smiles and waves offer us support and encouragement when our legs really feel the strain.

When we rode through northern Thailand it was fortunately the ideal season. The nights never came too cool, there were few tourists around and we had few rainy days. We were there in October, before the high season of Christmas holidays, meaning that we never had to worry about finding accommodation last minute and giving us the space we needed when in spiritual settings. 

The weather between October and February is fairly dry, along with another dry spell between March and May. At the end of May the wet season starts to have an impact on the northern region giving it its lush looks. With another large showering of the country between July and September. 

We took the train from Ayutthaya up to Chiang Mai, using the city as a base from which to explore from. Chiang Mai itself is a charming ancient city, with its centre encompassed by a city wall, accessed through four gates. The city is incredibly diverse, from impressive temples to new concept malls, there is something for any traveller. For any coffee addicts, this is the place to be, with strong scents of coffee beans waft between streets, alluring you along a trail of incredible cafes.

Travelling around Thailand by bicycle is one of the best ways to understand this incredibly diverse country. Taking the time to appreciate every face that you pass, and eating in places that you wouldn’t normally think to stop at offers experiences that many others would miss, all whilst being able to truly absorb the complex canvas of colour that Thailand’s landscape offers. ​
This region of Thailand is nestled between Myanmar and Laos, while the close presence of China can also be felt. The influence of these neighbouring countries has an impact on the northern part of the country, and there are noticeable changes to faces, foods and language. The cooler temperatures of the north meant we really appreciated the hot soups and spicy sausages that are typical of the region. 

Exploring west towards the border with Myanmar offered us the opportunity to explore some magnificent waterfalls and National Parks, and was a welcome break from the polluted city centres of Thailand. From here we headed East, heading towards Laos, via the magnificent mountainous area of Phu Chi Fa. The ride to Phu Chi Fa is phenomenal, and being on a bicycle really makes you appreciate the sheer scale of these mountains. Keen to experience the magical sunrise and view the mystical ‘Sea of Mist’, we were up and out of our beds at 4am, hiking to the viewpoint. Seeing the golden sun slowly rising above the clouds is quite the awakening, as the sun rose higher, the clouds began to disperse, revealing what they had hidden. As the thick blanket of cloud faded away, we were treated to our first view of Laos, a picturesque landscape of a river meandering through small, straw-roofed villages and the criss-cross of farmers’ fields.

​
What have we learned from this?
The hilly terrain of Thailand is unforgiving and you should ensure that you are well prepared.
It may sound obvious, but always carry plenty of water, and ensure your bikes have enough gears. A lack of foresight on our part meant that we struggled with these two factors, and at times were cursing our lack of preparation. We recommend bringing a bike from back home that you are comfortable on and fully understand its capabilities.
The mountains of Northern Thailand were a dramatic start to our bike touring passion. Our only regret from this experience is that we didn’t see more. It would be fantastic to visit other regions of this magnificent country, and we look forward to making a return visit. For more information on the routes we took check out our page on Thailand.
Worldbywheel.com/thailand
Our recommended way to remain hydrated and respect the environment is by using a Grayl filtering bottle  -worldbywheel.com/equipment 

Who are Max and Cynthia?   "We are a English/Quebecoise couple who have discovered the adventurous travel style of using a bicycle. We have just completed a tour of South East Asia and have many plans for the future..! 
Visit their site at World by Wheel where you can sign up for their newsletter and follow their travels.  

Guest blog post submitted by Liz Pekler shares some information from her more than ten years as a travel photographer.  Here she discusses what she considers to be the top three action cameras for bike touring, commuting or bike packing.  Whatever your bike adventure action camera needs might be here's a good list to select from.

Liz Pekler is a New York based travel photographer with more than ten years experience covering diverse subject matter for the photography industry as a freelance blogger. 
"I'm actually not connected with any company or organization. I'm doing this out of a personal advocacy. I've spent a couple of years taking beautiful shots of people and places, and it feels so good to share what I've learned along the way with friends and strangers who are starting out in photography. I want them to be able to tell their wonderful stories to the world by capturing them in photographs. It's just so fascinating to see how photography can inspire people to do that".  Liz Pekler

Due to the MT-4000SF being considerably wider as it has more of a boxed shape than the FRP it was necessary to use appropriate spacers to place the  support brackets parallel or perpendicular to where the other end of the support bolts on to the rack.  Fork width of course will determine how many spacers if any you would need to have a good solid installation but the idea is for the support piece to not have to bend when wrenching everything tight as it can help to reduce or eliminate front brake noise. 

Photo at left shows the eight inch bracket length which of course can be modified to a shorter length.  I found the top hole useful for attaching a bungee cord when strapping items onto the top plate of the rack so didn't bother with it. 

For example, the Kona P2 fork on our bikepacking rig is so wide that I had to flip the supplied brackets around to fit the width of the brake bosses and is covered at my initial review of the MT-4000SF rack.  Anyhow, hope this helps folks who might want to install either of the excellent quality Minoura front racks which I have found to be an exceptional value for bike touring or commuting.  After three years of owning each of these models of bike rack I was finally able to get around to trying a modified installation method without too much fuss to accommodate my traditional touring bike style fork. I am very pleased to say that all in all it was much easier to accomplish than I had originally anticipated as it proved to be one of the easiest bike modifications I've ever done, thanks in large part to the availability of the Stanley mending plates.   Any of my suggestions for modifying of bike touring parts or accessories are of my own ideas and could possibly void any warranty from the manufacturer.  ​


Links Related to this Topic:
Minoura MT-4000SF Review
Minoura FRP-3000 Review

Photography is something I enjoy as much as riding a bike so while planning this next bike tour it was important for me to figure out a way to keep my Canon G16's batteries charged while bike camping and touring.  

Within the past couple years or less small, lightweight solar panels have become exceptionally affordable with many company's offering very similar looking products in a folding monocrystalline portable power unit for travel.  Providing these in a variety of watt sizes such as three, ten or twenty watts for example, solar power is becoming more and more available due to improved panel technologies and designs as well as some competition for better pricing.  This is good news for folks looking to powering or keeping gadgets charged while pursuing outdoor activities and traveling.  Some quality review sites make mention of quality solar panels from Anker and particularly the Goal Zero Nomad 7 with a waterproof, dustproof battery pack or power bank.   The Goal Zero Nomad 7 is a seven watt panel paired with a 7800 mAh power bank.  I picked up a SEcur 7 watt panel and paired it with what I consider to be a better quality power bank with "charge through" function for approximately sixty bucks.  

Depending on what gadget wants or needs you might have the assortment of quality affordable solar options most likely has something to offer for everyone.  I have kept my gadget needs to a minimum even while blogging and for photography.  Here is an example list of items that can easily be charged with a seven watt panel which can be connected to a compatible power bank or directly to any USB device.  The Zendure A2 (photo at left) is a very solid power bank available in different sizes offering a few options for the number of USB ports when charging a couple devices or more at once.  An important consideration when selecting a power bank is whether or not it can continue to be charged from a solar panel while it's charging other devices.  There are only a few that do and Zendure makes an excellent quality power bank and the "charge through" function is  an extra bonus.  Zendure started out as a kickstarter program and has since established a reputation for durability and charge performance. 

My first testing of the Zendure A2 was to see how quick it would charge my RCA Voyager Pro 7" tablet.  The Voyager Pro's battery is not so great which is one of the reasons I put together the solar recharging kit being discussed here.  After approximately an hour and half the battery drops to fifty percent so I plugged the tablet into the Zendure A2 which had the tablet fully charged in about an hour.  Not bad at all and the Zendure power bank still had seventy five percent capacity left!  Excellent for such a tiny, lightweight unit.  Just want to make mention of the silly little Voyager Pro Tablet.  Although it retailed for fifty bucks it has since had a significant price increase to seventy five.  I guess folks figured out what an excellent product it was for travel being that RCA put all the money into the tablets processor and comes with a pretty decent keyboard.  I have found it to be the smallest, lightest weight tablet available that can easily handle running all the photography apps installed for resizing, editing RAW files and uploading to my stock agency.  It works just fine for typing up emails, some blog posts but I certainly would not recommend it to students needing to write lengthy term papers.  But for travel and in my case bicycle touring it is a very affordable quality option that serves my needs.  Photo below shows the Secur 7 watt panel charging the Zendure A2 while the power bank charges the Voyager Pro Tablet.  One of the reasons I chose the Secur 7 watt panel was for its' rack friendly size and shape which can easily be secured with included loops placed around the perimeter of the two folding panels.  There is a velcro closure underneath or on the backside of the panel for storing the power bank so that I have the option of charging it while riding.

Two add on items were a USB battery charger for the Canon G16's batteries and a new phrase to me an "OTG or "on the go cable".  This is simply a USB cable extension which provides a USB cable to be attached via micro usb port to a tablet or phone.  This makes it possible of course to download or transfer photos directly from the camera to another device and is used when tethering a camera to another device which has become quite popular with many professional photographers.  This is an excellent option when wifi networks are not available to transfer images to my phone for editing or sharing.  A bit of info. for Canon Camera users only EOS system cameras have the "tethering" option but for the simple transfer of images from my G 16 to my phone the OTG cable is excellent.  

Green technology is something I have been investing in for more than ten years so I have observed the vast improvements with the newer monocrystalline panels' efficiency.   I consider the bicycle to be one of the earliest forms of green technology although that was obviously not the intention at the time of its' invention. Today, the bicycle is the most conscientious form of bike travel whether that be touring or commuting and with some of the latest advancements in portable solar power for travel we can all feel that much more empowered.  Click on any of the links provided in bold and underlined or click on photos for information or to purchase.

Links related to this topic
Camera Favorite for Bike Touring
Tripod Favorite for Bike Touring
Fun Filled Multi Day Pack Kit
Bridge Cameras for Bike Touring

There are many different tire designs to provide excellent performance for a particular terrain or riding surface.  Some tires designed and promoted as all purpose tires fail at delivering a tire that's good at anything at all.  It was for this reason that a few years ago when Schwalbe discontinued their XR touring tire bike folks were left scratching their heads wondering what to do or where to go to find a replacement for such a legendary bike touring tire that had traveled the world several times over.

It was at about that same time my pair of Schwalbe tires had been all but used up.  There were small chunks of tire missing, a couple of small tears held together with tire boots (thank goodness I had those) but there was still a decent amount of tread remaining.  Those tires were so tried and true I decided to pull them off of my touring bike and installed them on a vintage restoration project which required a tough side wall for the bottle generator.  Since then I have tried the Vittoria Randonneur Trail II RFX and the Panaracer Pasela Tour Guard.  Although the Vittorias are good for trails and excellent for gravel or dirt roads they didn't roll as well as the old Schwalbe's for touring and are described as being suited for "poor surfaces".  The Panaracer's are lightweight, fast rolling and a word often used to accurately described the ride quality "supple".  Oh they're simply lovely but the suppleness, though a quality in handling is due to the soft, thin side walls and thus not ideal for bearing the weight of a loaded touring bike.  However, due to their being exceptionally lightweight in the folding bead version it's an excellent spare to carry for very long distance epic style bike tours that might require being prepared for anything.  

I enjoy the Vittoria's and the Pasela's each on their own merits and if I could take the best qualities of each of those tires and combine them into one all purpose tire what would that look like?  The Schwalbe Mondial.

It is difficult to near impossible to find one tire that performs well over most any riding surface.  On a day when the winds were all but having there way with me I noticed how my old Schwalbe Marathons were demonstrating considerable rolling resistance over some large chunk asphalt and after forty miles of riding into winds gusting to thirty miles per hour I tend to notice such things.

Fortunately I'm not alone in that conclusion.  It's a fact that having the puncture proof quality and durability of a tire like the Schwalbe Marathon still requires some compromise and at certain moments I miss the faster, lighter weight, supple and smooth rolling performance of the Paselas.  

All the tires discussed here are of the 700c x 35 or 32 variety and so to be fair while further comparing the ride quality or characteristics of the tires I reasoned out this way.  For a road specific touring tire which can easily handle some loose stuff a 700c x 32 is all that's required while touring with a load.  So when comparing the Schwalbe Marathon to the Panaracer Pasela Tour Guards I preferred the quicker lighter weight Pasela's for quickly getting around town while commuting and performed very nicely over gravel and hard pack dirt roads.  Although I only experienced one flat while riding at night it was no fault of the tire as a rather large hooked piece of metal penetrated the side wall in such a way that I had to remove the piece with a pair of pliers.  Would I have received the same flat with the Marathons which are constructed of a rather indestructible sidewall casing?  Possibly but while on another night ride with the Schwalbe's I smashed over an empty beer bottle and then crushed over some more broken shards of glass and debris and I knew I wasn't going to get a flat with those tires. And that's the difference between a heavier, slower rolling touring specific tire and a speedier tire for fast commutes or randoneurring, which the Paselas would be excellent for. 

For riding pretty much anywhere the road might lead or end without it being an issue the most narrow tire I feel comfortable and confident with is a 700c x 35. So when comparing the Vittoria Randonneur Trail RFX II with the Schwalbe Mondial it's a good comparison as both sets of these tires I own are of the thirty five width.  Both have excellent puncture protection systems under the tread with the Mondial getting the nod providing a thicker more resilient feel but the side wall construction of the Vittoria's are really tough.  That having been said I am a bit surprised by this but it genuinely provides a nicer feel in ride quality for the Mondials.  Bike touring folks often compare the Mondials to the Paselas which in my mind isn't in quite the same category.  Consequently the idea that that's the choice of getting better ride quality (Pasela) or puncture protection and longevity (Mondial) is a bit too extreme of a comparison.  I guess it's just the name Panaracer dubbed as "Tour Guard" but is actually more of a fun, lighter weight tire (especially folding bead) that kicks the Mondial's butt as a pure tarmac tire.  Another reason I'm not comparing the two, it's far more accurate to compare the Mondial to the Randonneur Trail tire.  Consequently I am able to describe the Mondial as actually having a more "supple" feel than other bike touring folks have given it credit for.  While the Mondials suggested psi of 55 to 85 has folks reducing tire pressures for off road or trail riding pursuits the Vittoria Trail II's not being much of a high pressure tire at all handle nicely at 70 psi over the rough stuff just fine.  The Trail II's grippy soft tread could be the reason why it handles so nicely on dirt and gravel and not so great on pavement creating a bit more rolling resistance than the Mondials.  That combined with the hefty 740g vs the 580g of the Mondials and it's no wonder one reviewer complained about having to get off and push his bike on a long bike tour that was mostly paved.  

After riding the Vittoria RFX Trail II and the Panaracer Pasela Tour Guards, respectively I concluded that my preferred tire for bike touring would consist of combining the best qualities of each of those tires and that's why I chose to pick up another pair of Schwalbe tires but this time I went with the Mondial and glad I did. 
Use any of the links provided in content or click on photos for information or to purchase.

Links related to this topic:
Vittoria Trail Touring Tires 
Lighter, Faster Tires for Bike Touring
Best Budget Tires for Bike Commuting
Gravel Grinding Tire Tour

While preparing for a two to three month bike tour and thoroughly going over my blogging and photography work flow methods, pack weight, pack size and space and considering varying scenarios of getting my work done while traveling by bike.  You know, the fun guy stuff and then Lisa reminds me "how about keeping the stink off when there isn't a shower available"?

Ah yes, it's not that I'm a habitual slob that doesn't consider hygiene basics while camping and traveling but I do tend to blow off some of the niceties and Lisa is good at reminding me to be a bit more self considerate, particularly when we share a tent.  

Basic hygiene while bicycle touring or bike packing is a somewhat popular topic and varies greatly by individual preferences, needs or habits.  Some folks insist on having a fresh pair of bike shorts each day, another fella insists on getting ten to twelve days out of the same pair of riding shorts but then again some folks don't bother with brushing their teeth either.  

Baby wipes and sanitary wipes are a popular option with many outdoor enthusiasts but many of parabens and sulfates are toxic, harsh and tend to dry out a lot of folks skin.  Some folks make their own body wipes or sponge bath concoctions that meet their personal skin or allergy sensitivities.  I have found many such methods to me too bulky and heavy or tedious to bother with.  

Anyhow, the folks at epic wipes couldn't have timed their product better.  Just as I was discussing and going over my bike travel plans I received an email asking me if I would be interested in reviewing their product.  Wow!  Excellent, of course I would, send me a case of the stuff and I love this product for the following reasons.

• Naturally scented
• Eucalyptus Essential Oil
• Biodegradable 
• 100% bamboo fiber
• Paraben and toxin free

Packaged in a small two by three inch shape that can fit in a pocket but unfolds to a large thirty one and a half inch long by nineteen and three quarter inch width (photo above).  Because the bamboo fiber seems to be pretty darn durable I plan on reusing them as often as I can until the towel disintegrates.  Here's my method.  After initial use I will reseal the towel in a large ziploc freezer bag with Thayer's Witch Hazel due to its organic essential oil ingredients mixed with a bit of Dr. Bronner's Castille Soap.  This is an excellent blend for reusing or making your own towel wipes in a ziploc bag but the towel wipes available from epic wipes are by far the best available and are an excellent reusable product.  Yep, adding these goodys to my pack kit list and looking forward to smelling nice for cozy bike camping evenings alone or with my honey.
For more information about epic wipes and get your hands on their awesome product use any of the links provided or click on photo below.

I was listening to a couple of local organic farm folks complain about the deceptive practices of supposed organic farmers that actually use conventional methods with the majority of their crops.  “Ah, he’s a poser” exclaimed one farmer fed up with the fact that the ill reputed farmer didn’t actually even work on his own farm.  So the word “poser” certainly is meant to be a slight toward someone with negative implications.  
It also suggests some sort of right of passage within one's peer group.  Listening to the banter reminded me of some of the BMX kids I had working in my shop some years ago and I would listen to them say things like “oh yeah, that dude is just a poser”. It used to conjure images in my mind of some kid being happily content with looking cool and sexy on his BMX bike because after all, chicks dig it and chicks dig a kid who knows how to look good on a bike and to a tried and true bike poser that’s really all that matters or at least it sounds good and if nothing else is empowering to a true bike poser who claims his rightful place in the cycling world, oh yeah, it’s all good.

I recently received a silly phone call from a gal with or using a thick, heavy southern drawl describing her bike as having five wheels and one pedal and asked if I could fix it.  I can now respond with something like “I tell you what, call the Bike Poser I’m sure he can do something with it.  You’re darn tootin’ he could and when no other so called “cyclist” would bother with something so absurd, a bike with five wheels and one pedal would surely make for some interesting photography.  Probably just need to know how to pose it correctly and so yep get a bike poser on it.  
All cyclists are posers they just don’t recognize it or are in denial about it due to the negative slander regarding the term poser.  This is particularly true when considering riding posture which is so important and with so many shops selling their extensive bike fit services the term bike poser could definitely be used as part of a marketing campaign.  It’s virtually impossible to become a bike poser with agonizing posture or riding a bike that at least looks to be agonizing to some.  Most all of the popular bicycle photo themes which are popular with mainstream society not necessarily folks who are cyclists are of very pleasantly romantic notions which are often associated with a pleasant bike ride.  Hence, the most popular bike photography are of a bike poser theme.  ​

As much as bike posing is a nice method of controlling the creative process, those grass designs were already there.

This is all just said in good humour of course as the fluid motion of a talented trail rider or a fella bike touring, displaying good posture and smiling as he pedals his loaded panniers through a variety of countries is the essence of a true bike poser displaying his talent for his own ride.  So, despite the negative connotation of “poser” most authentically joyful bike folks find themselves as bike posers on their journey of authentically riding for their individual wants or needs.  Anyhow, with the current age of technology inspiring bicycle posed images by the thousands I just wanted to acknowledge much of the talented bike poser posing which is a fun way to honor modern bike photography.   It’s been a long while since I have had any of my photography printed.  Back when it was all about using the finest grain of slide film possible, mounted to a tripod and gloriously celebrating the rich colors and contrast of the resulting cibachrome print.  It was a lot of work, a labor of love of course sprinkled with a considerable amount of discipline to achieve the desired results.   After years of being away from practicing the craft of photography I was pleasantly surprised to find that many of the old disciplines are as true today as they were twenty years ago.  For a nice quality print the camera lens still needs to be made of quality glass, slow ISO is required and consequently the frequent use of a tripod.  Because of this fact it makes sense to pose a bicycle in the composition when creating a photo and by way of doing so I was reminded of how a bike just seems to fit it anywhere one feels like going on it.

I understand that nobody likes to be called a poser it's basically saying someone is a fake, superficial, lazy good for nothing wanna be who really doesn't live the reality of some clique created mindset.  That's what that is but for this piece it's simply posing the bike itself honoring its' simple form and function in elegance, grace and potential power that only a bicycle can project.  My understanding is that these are just a few of the reasons bike folks love bicycles and why many folks appreciate a nice bicycle oriented photo.  So, the next time you're out and about wanting to make a poser out of your bike don't worry the bike itself can handle it.  

So it’s settled then, I’m going to finish getting my prints together and go with the new title of “Bike Poser, Fun with Photography”.  

Links related to this topic:
Camera Favorite for Bike Touring and Commuting
Tripod Favorite for Bike Touring and Commuting
Bridge Cameras for Bike Touring
Bike Tourings' Photography

Five years ago the beautiful area of Bastrop, Texas was hit very hard by a mass of forest fires devastating the local community who like all small town residents consider the natural beauty of their area a part of feeling at home.  I have had some experience with living in a community hard hit by forest fires while living in Durango, Colorado.  When a beautiful small town resort area gets hit by forest fires it also tends to hurt the local economy as tourists aren't drawn to areas which appear to be in such an unnatural state of disrepair.  

We had visited Bastrop and Buescher State Parks a few years ago, just a year and a half or so after the devastating fires.  This time we decided to go during the winter and rented a cabin with tent space for our Alps Mountaineering Lynx 1 person tent as dogs are not allowed in the cabins, we didn't mind that's why we have our tents.  And a beautiful meadow for riding in our own back yard! : )

If you've never seen an area of natural reforestation a few years after a forest fire it can be beautifully inspiring.  When an acquaintance heard I was going to hit the trails in Bastrop she requested I share some photos of the area saying "it would be interesting to see how the area looks now with all the new growth".  It's true, it is quite beautiful, especially the naturally occurring new growth which is in no way meant to devalue the efforts of the National Forest Services tree planting efforts which is beautiful in its' own way.  

Some areas are glowing with green new growth revealing a stark contrast in size when compared to the trees which survived the fires.  It's actually quite beautiful and glad I have had opportunities to observe the changes and witness how rapidly a forest bounces back with or without intervention.  Most if not all the trails are now reopened whereas a couple years ago they were not.  Some of that was simply due to the safety issues of trees possibly falling on folks as well as keeping folks from trampling the fragile potential of new growth which was just occurring at the time.  So ya, I had a few yee ha! moments to say the least as the area is still so incredibly beautiful.  
​Links related to this topic:
Visit Bastrop and Buescher State Park for Current Park Conditions_

While hurriedly packing my gear for a trip to Bastrop, Texas (previous post) I received a phone call from a gal speaking with such a thick accent I couldn't understand what she was saying.  She must have picked up on my lack of patience at that moment and said "I apologize it's my accent".  That was all I needed to hear to exercise some more patience with her and after understanding she was bike touring and simply needed a place to sleep for the night we both got a good chuckle out of our initial communication gap.  She suggested that I google her name of Niki Rellon.  I figured she just wanted me to verify that she was a legitimate bike touring person so at first I hesitated to look her up.  

As it turned out a whole of folks know about Niki Rellon and her accomplishments as an adventuring amputee and perhaps just as many other folks had heard of Niki Rellon's adventuring accomplishments previous to the injury she received which caused her current amputee status.  For example the folks at the Adventure Journal shared her long list of outdoor accomplishments including hiking, bike touring and other very active achievements which are all quite impressive.  
All that having been said what is most notable about her visit with us was her warmth, humour and personable character of deep strength.  Although due to work and other previously scheduled obligations I didn't have much of a chance to chat with Niki but Lisa was glowing with enthusiasm at having an opportunity to meet such a strong, courageous woman which of course I'm sure they have a lot in common in that regard.  However, Niki did tell me a tid bit of her 2002 bike touring trip from Alaska to Mexico City and her cross country bike tour in 2013.  We joked about how some of the folks on warmshowers request three days notice or some sort of tight scheduling because as she agreed when you're bicycle touring it's more of an "will get there when I can, hoping to be there by such and such date and time".  It's one of the things I appreciate about bike touring and Niki totally agreed with me by saying to Lisa "people have no idea if they haven't traveled by bike before, there's no hard and fast schedule to keep".  Excellent.

Anyhow, Niki's journey continues as she is currently working on her book after having so many folks suggest that she do so.  It was nice to hear how much about her life and her new plans on her adventures she had shared with Lisa.  We wish Niki great success in all that she aspires to achieve with her life and will most likely succeed in whatever she sets out to accomplish.  
For more information about Niki Rellon and her inspiring story use any of the links provided above or simply search her name.  Here a couple of links to her facebook and crowdrise pages where you can also take the opportunity to support and aide Niki's pursuit of her dreams. Here are a couple of links for more info.
Niki Rellon Crowdrise Fund Page
Niki Rellon on Facebook