My birthday comes near the end of August. Once again, I dine amongst distant relatives near the village where my grandfather was born. Twelve months ago these people were all unknown to me, but we’re closer relatives than before, even … Continue reading
Following a few days at the hostel in Kolochava, and a few more days of riding, I finally received word from my mom that she was coming to visit us in Ukraine, again. Last year, as we selected an eastward … Continue reading
The discoveries of one day become the fuel for another. For this reason, I have a tendency to revisit the same places and choose another path. We’ve ridden up and down the west coast a few times, twice down the … Continue reading
This is when and where everything becomes more infrequent, digitally. There is internet, but there are also lots of dirt roads and rustic crumbling paved roads and old churches and inviting groups of men with horilka at lunch, and woman … Continue reading
Last summer, Lael and I traced footpaths across Europe by bicycle. We connected unpaved routes from Amsterdam, Netherlands to the Ukrainian Carpathian Mountains near Lviv, Ukraine. With the exception of a train ride across Germany to shorten our schedule, we … Continue reading
Leaving Sevastapol, rolling past Balaklava on dirt roads, following a GPS track from Vital. It begins as an honest search for the ‘right’ path– the way the Vital had gone before. In time, we’re lost on a game trail or … Continue reading
Attention Denver, tonight only (10/9)! Yes, we have been in Denver for several days now, repairing bikes and electronics, preparing for another few months of riding in the SW before the end of the season. The Surly Owner’s Society and friends … Continue reading
From looking at a road map of the Karpaty Mountains in Ukraine, you might not realize that this area is so hard to access for most tourists. Without a capable vehicle and a bit of time, some mountain destinations may … Continue reading
In and out of Lviv twice in two weeks, soon to be a third time, after a week in the high country of the Ukrainian Karpaty. Lviv is a city that has waved many flags through the centuries, evident in … Continue reading
My grandfather was born in Romanivka during a brief period of independence in Ukraine, before the country was included into the newly founded Soviet Union, almost a hundred years ago. He moved to the United States after WW II, where … Continue reading
