|
|
Dirt Rag Articles
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
It is roughly 15,000 miles from the northern reaches of Alaska to the southern tip of Argentina. John and Mike Logsdon are set to complete their lengthy bike ride of the route this October. The two started out in Purdhoe Bay, Alaska, last July, raising money and awareness for the National Brain Tumor Foundation in memory of their mother. Several flat tires, a bout of dysentery and a few thousand miles ago, writer/photographer Blake Gordon joined up with Mike, John, and videographer Nate Ajello for a month as they tackled the condensed geography of Central America. And the heat... The following is a selection from Blake's journal:
I was pushing hard to go up in the mountains—Costa Rica's Cordillera de Tilarán. The Pacific lowlands of Central America were absolutely baking me in their heat. At the end of the day I wanted to do something besides sweat to sleep. Our guidebook (aimed at auto/bus tourists) read, "On the ride from Tilarán to Monteverde, local commerce and ranches quickly give way to dense cloud forests. The road is treacherous, full of rocks, craters, tight turns and steep angles. But it's worth it."
My legs burned with fire as the pedals come to an abrupt halt on 16% grades. My calves burned as I pushed, outstretched, leaning near vertical into the bike. My shoulders ached and burned from guiding the handlebars through a minefield of impacted rocks that make up this fantastic road of uphills and downhills. We rumble past the bare captivating countryside, viewing beautiful pastureland where thick tropical forests once stood.
Forsaking lunch, we pedaled, pushed, and drug our bikes to Monteverde, averaging a scant 4 miles an hour throughout 7 hours of riding. Mike later wrote, "The road to Monteverde was nothing short of the most intense riding of our collective lives." But there were no qualms among the group. Just muscle weary satisfaction. And the cool relief of the cloud forests perched on the continental divide around Monteverede that made it more than worth it. –Blake Gordon
| Exclusive Dirt Rag Web-Only Extras For Spinning Southward | After a broad foundation studying landscape architecture, Blake Gordon set out for direct experience of the landscape. His education spurred him to seek out unique places, both built and wild, with camera in hand. While he has explored a variety of places, the strongly visual American southwest exerts the greatest pull. While living in Colorado, his first conversation with John Logsdon brought up excited talk of a transcontinental cycling trip. He joined Mike and John Logsdon on their dream trip from the tip of Alaska to the tip of Argentina during a month in Central America and the final six weeks in Argentina—and was kind enough to provide a set of photos from that little jaunt for the Dirt Rag Photo Gallery.
His beloved Bianchi has provided countless miles of riding for recreational, transportation, and touring purposes. Currently he is still riding the Bianchi and also developing a night photography project in the southwest. For more of his photography, visit www.blakegordon.com . |
|
|
 |
