Author Archives: cenminzhao
Riding this Winter
It’s been a good winter season riding so far and I’ve been able to get out quite a bit, especially over the Christmas break. One of the many benefits of working in academia is that I get a good two weeks off work, and sometimes a bit more, during the Christmas season. Our snowpack here […]
Bikepacking Idaho Hot Springs Mtb Route, North Loop: Part 2
We got up a little earlier on Day 3, intent on heading into McCall for breakfast. We packed up quickly, ate a bar, and headed down out of the mountains. After a few miles we passed Little Payette Lake, then rolled into the outskirts of McCall, about ten miles from our campsite. We rode through […]
Bikepacking Idaho Hot Springs Mtb Route, North Loop: Part 1
I plan a lot of trips. I pour over maps, Google Earth, research campgrounds, towns, obscure roads, and so on. Maybe it’s a kind of therapy, a distraction, something to keep me going when I’d rather be outside. Most trips never happen, but some do. When Adventure Cycling Association came out with the new Idaho […]
Snow, snow, and more snow
It’s been a good snow year this Winter. Good storms, sometimes raining in the valleys, but snowing up high. I’ve been riding my fatbike regularly in the snow this year, all the usual places, Big Springs, Round Valley (Park City), Pine Hollow (American Fork Canyon), and Aspen Grove (actually the Alpine Loop on the Sundance […]
Plan B
I tell my kids that things in life usually don’t turn out like you thought they would. You need to be flexible. Have a Plan B, and C, and maybe D. Just because you cannot or did not do what you planned doesn’t have to mean that it was a bad trip, or that you […]
Photoessay: San Rafael Swell bikepacking
My son Finn joined us last month on our bikepacking trip in the San Rafael Swell. He’s a photographer and documented this trip with Tri-x 400 film, developed with d76 1:1 ratio. Lately he has been developing his own film. All photos by Finn Christensen. Enjoy.
Bikepacking the San Rafael Swell—Part Two
Day Three We got an early start as the weather had been warming up through the week. Little shade and direct exposure to the sun, even if only in the 80’s, wears on you. Within an hour we had arrived at the Muddy River (again). The water was cold and refreshing, and the mud deep […]
Bikepacking the San Rafael Swell—Part One
Despite our lack of posting, we rode quite a bit this Winter and Spring, culminating in a nice four day loop through the southern part of the San Rafael Swell. The desert is one of those places that repels me—it’s hot, dry, sandy, and windy—and yet I can’t seem to get enough of it. This […]
Out Riding
I’ve been riding pretty regularly this month, sometimes with others, more often solo. I’ve ridden the nice groomed trails up American Fork Canyon (several times), from Pine Hollow all the way up to the summit via the road, Trail 150, the Ridge Trail, Pine Hollow Trail, the Timpanooke Loop, the Aspen Grove side of the […]
Fatbike Brigade 
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