BikeSuperior

Equipment is getting some careful attention.  Some bikers (me among them) recommend carrying a chain, spokes, cables, an inner tube and other assorted replacement parts.  But let’s start with the most important piece of equipment of all – the bike . With age comes practicality.   It is probably part “been there/done that” and part learning how to exist on a fraction of prior income.   Retirement the scary time when you shift from contributing to a 401k to spending it down.   It is the ultimate smack-in-the-forehead declaration that a lifetime is finite. Practicality led me to Costco, the warehouse store, where nearly everything is boringly practical.   My clothes are Costco as is our food, eyeglasses, prescription meds and lawn fertilizer.   In our home, Kirkland does not refer to a warbler, but rather a Costco proprietary brand that is pasted on everything from milk to socks.   Our house is occupied by foodies and I married my own per...

So what really goes into planning a month-long bike trip?   The best strategy may be:   Pack a PB&J sandwich, make an ATM withdrawal and set off for Canada with a six-pack of Labatt’s.   What better way to see the great white north – Eh Hoser? Yeah, maybe there are a couple more considerations.   The first and most important one is:   Where will you eat and sleep?   I am ready to make camp with a tent that weighs just over 3 lbs. plus air mattress and 40 ° rated sleeping bag.   This picture is from a recent overnight training excursion to South Haven, MI   But you can’t just pitch a tent anywhere – the authorities frown upon that.   I also prefer the safety of being surrounded by like-minded people.   So, thanks to Google Maps I have scoped out just about every campground and civilized lodging along the entire 1,390 mile route.   Eating is another matter.   ...

I am a casual bike rider.  Five or ten miles is a typical ride and on occasion, my wife and I have completed 30-mile trails for a day of fun.  Biking Superior is going to be a much harder endurance test than a few casual days.  Being well aware of this fact, I have been conditioning for the event. Now in a near vegetative state, the Midwest winter has taken its toll as usual, adding a few pounds here and there.   Following doctor’s orders, I have been doing my level best to speed recovery from a partial knee replacement a few months ago.   The routine established following professional PT consists of three to five miles walking daily and weight training 2 or 3 times each week.   For a Superior ride, I will need to step up my game – especially legs and core. In mid-winter I was taking advantage of every thaw to get a few miles in before the next snow storm.   The threat of snow is gone, but the temperature is not yet inspiring.   Noneth...

Hi, and welcome to the first installment of A Superior Bike Adventure!   It is an adventure that has not yet begun, other than initial stage planning.   As much as I hope it will be the best adventure ever, the superlative “Superior” refers to the lake, not my riding skills.   My intent, you see, is to circumnavigate Lake Superior on a bike – the pedal kind, not the Harley kind. My first flirtation with this adventure was the idea of completing the great loop in a trawler.   The great loop is a term that refers to boating a complete circle from the Intercontinental waterway, to the St. Lawrence seaway, the Great Lakes, the Mississippi river and the Gulf of Mexico back to the original starting point on the eastern seaboard.   The plan was a two-year live-aboard experience interrupted only by a winter layover in Lake Michigan during which we would return to our home.   I studied the loop and read several accounts written by “loopers” to prepare for this...