I’ll admit it, spending the winter in Baja California, Mexico was Claudia’s idea and I really wasn’t too excited about it, at first. That is until I started looking at maps and seeing all the great off-road tracks to out of the way place’s and remote camping spots we can have all to ourselves. Many, if not most travelers stick to the main highways and only deviate to a few well known destinations. While this option leads to some interesting areas and great sights, it’s not the route we are looking for.
I’ve been going through my photos from Yukon and Alaska, the two places I spent most of this summer in, and I’m still amazed by all the beautiful sights I saw. It’s hard to pick favorites out of all the places I’ve been, but if I had to pick three, I’d pick:
For most of the month of March, Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument is where I spent my time; 1.7 million acres of canyons, mesas and mountains. For a cyclist, carrying enough water is the biggest challenge and bicycles are restricted to the same roads as autos. Admittedly, I was in a high clearance 4WD so ten days of self sufficiency was never a problem and regardless, the lack of people and ease of camping makes this a must see place for anyone. Rather than go into detail on great places to go,
After spending a few days taking in the big city of Phoenix and mountain biking in the South Mountain area, I headed north out of town with the plan to ride the Black Canyon Trail. With a late start and some confusion linking the various bike paths and urban trails, I made it to the Care Free Highway and found a great highway underpass camping spot
The time back in Vermont was what I needed, but with no permanent home, it’s now time to travel again. My original plan was to fly into Phoenix, grab a shuttle to the Mexican border, hop a bus south and continue where I left off; but why rush. After reading some great blogs and forum posts describing the riding in Arizona I decided to stick around for a while. Besides, after the TSA confiscated my Trianga stove and United Airlines bent the fork on my bike I needed a day to get my things in order.
Wandering by Bicycle 