About

I am a retired academic living in the flatlands of Iowa, USA.  

My first bike tour was in the summer of 1972, a 5 day loop around central Ohio with my college roommate.  We took off without much thought - our "gear list" included mosquito head nets from the Columbus Army Surplus store, a down sleeping bag purchased through the Whole Earth Catalogue, and a tube tent borrowed from a skeptical friend the night before we left.  It was 37 years before my next tour, a self-guided trip through Burgundy that thoroughly hooked me on the joys of bike travel.  

Since that awakening, I enjoyed a number of guided, self-guided and self-contained tours - most lasting a few days and none more than a week.  On retiring, my touring goals became more ambitious and I completed my first extended, mostly solo, self-contained tour around France in 2018, chronicled here.  

I will be returning to Europe in the fall of 2019, following some of the routes and locations of my fellow CycleBlazers.  I very much enjoy the knowledge, support and camaraderie of the Cycle Blaze community – thank you all!