Here you can find other things I have written be them articles for other websites or random stories I have written just for fun. I hope you enjoy!
Machines For Freedom – RIP
Embracing the Unknown on the Pan American Highway
Riding down the sidewalk when I was four and a half years old, I could have hardly imagined where bicycling would take me. That was my first time on a bicycle, ever. It was my older brother’s birthday and it was his first bike without training wheels. My dad turned and asked if I wanted to try. Of course, the answer was yes; even at a young age I was one to take risks and try new things. Normally when a child is learning to ride a bicycle the parent holds on to the back of the saddle to help balance… But I have never been normal. I hopped on the bike and started down the sidewalk. I remember looking back and seeing my dad running to catch up. I made it to a neighbor’s driveway, turned around and headed back to our house before getting off with giant grin across my face… click to read more
Time Traveling and Bike Touring
When I started my tour over a year ago, people often asked me how long it would take. I generally just told them a year and a half, which is on the short end for most people who do this trip. I never really believed that I would finish in that time but it seemed like a good number so that my mom wouldn’t freak out too much when I told her. (Sorry mom!) Different parts of this journey have seen me go at different paces, for different amounts of time each day, and for different motivations in each case. In the months leading up to the start I was asked to be a bridesmaid in a close friend’s wedding back in Minnesota. I looked at the map, saw the 7000 kilometers between Deadhorse and Minneapolis and thought ‘yeah I can probably do that in three months. And hey, it’s only 2000 kilometers out of the way.’……. click to read more
It was mid day in the coastal Peruvian desert, the sun was high and not a cloud in sight nor any trees for a brief respite from the harsh light of the tropical sun. I had been cycling away from Nazca since 7am, well, if you can call it cycling. More accurately, I was trudging up what was to be 2000 vertical meters over the course of about 45 kilometers with the following day promising another 2000 meters up over another 40 kilometers. (AKA, 6500′ in 27 miles the first day, and 6500′ in 24 miles the second). All in all I was going from just above sea level to over 4000 meters and only had to pass through hell to do it. (Yep, that’s from sea level to 13,100′! You go Nat!) Dealing with the change in elevation and the hot tropical sun weren’t the only issues I had to contend with, as water was proving to be a scarce commodity. I would only be able to find water once at the halfway point and once at the top of the climb, forcing me to ration what I had…… click to read more
I had been dreaming of cycling the Carretera Austral in southern Chile for as long as I had been planning this trip. This road is world famous among the many types of overlanders that exist and I was not immune to its reputation. Stretching from Puerto Montt in the north it meanders for 1,240 kilometers south to Villa O’Higgins through countless valleys and canyons and along fjords inhabited by penguins and other marine life….. click to read more
Who or what inspired you to choose independent vehicle travel as your mode of transportation?
Ever since I was a child I loved bicycling. There is a freedom that you feel when you are on two wheels powered by your body. For me the bike is just an extension of my body; I don’t need to think about how to maneuver around obstacles I just react. When you are cycling you are out in the elements, experiencing the wind, rain, sun, or snow in their full force and that is very humbling. Another benefit is the lack of carbon footprint beyond the creation of the bike and the parts that go along with it…… click to read more
Adventure Cycling Association: Dynamo Jenny
How does one define an adventure? I could easily look it up in a dictionary or on google and get a very broad and dry sounding definition that would tell me what I was asking, or I could think about what it means to me. What do I get out of the adventures I take, what drives me to go on them, and when it gets hard why do I continue when I could just stop? None of those questions are answered easily and the answers for me will likely be different than yours. But what matters is that you listen to the truth in yours and let it lead you onward…… click to read more
Parody Songs
Lyrics only because I am not good at singing