It has been more than a year since we went there and the more time goes by the more I miss it. IMO Bali is a wonderful place to ride a bike and travel.

I ussualy don't like to re-post stuff somebody has written/posted somewhere else; that is, a short summary of somebody else's blog, don't see the usefulness to that plus I try to keep this site with as much "original" content as possible. However here is a piece I can't pass as it touches my roots.


Back in September 2006 Monica and I did an overnight bicycle tour to Point Reyes. On the way back to San Francisco we meet Randy and Nancy, who were cycling from Alaska to Patagonia. Being Colombian I asked them if they were planing on riding through the country and they said said they had considered it but it seem it was to dangerous and probably would fly from Panama to Ecuador like most people do to avoid what in the US is known as "one of the most dangerous countries in the world".

I told them there was to much misinformation about Colombia and that they probably would be safe. However like with any foreign land just use common sense. I know I would not like to be caught in some San Francisco (my adopted hometown that I love) neighborhoods at night, same principle different country.

I remember receiving  email from them early this year (2008) letting Monica and I know they had decided to ride in Colombia, I gave them the contact of a friend in Bogota but it seems they did not go to Bogota (IMO, a huge cosmopolitan metropolis in the true sense of the word.) Just today I came across one of their old emails and decided to visit their website and find out how the Colombia segment went. They have plenty to write about their experience in Colombia. For those whith short attention span here is Nancy's summary of their experience in Colombia. Their writings describe very close the country I know and how people behave. Believe me interesting writing not just of my home country but of all other places they've been.

Greg, Jim G and I started riding from the Golden Gate Bridge a little latter than planed, somewhere past 8:15 am. Our route, proposed by Greg, used roads that I am familiar with but rarely ride, quite nice for cycling, with very low car traffic and great scenery.. This is the way we took to Bodega Dunes.

For me both Randonneuring and bicycle touring are very similar activities. Last year I played randonneuring mentor by encouraging some friends to test the waters of brevet riding, they liked it. Recently I've been doing the same with bicycle touring. Today two of my cycling friends will be joining me on their first bicycle camping overnighter. I hope they enjoy it the same way I do. I did give them some tips but hope they discover the important details and joys of touring on their own.

The other day I finally packed away the folding bikes, they've been parked in the living room since we came back from our last tour more than a month ago. For that tour I'd bought a Carradice Trax SQR (Seat Post Quick Release) bag and the hardware was still mounted to the seatpost of my folding bike so I removed it with the idea of using it on another frame. I installed the SQR on my "road bike, my early 90's MTB Miyata, the bike I use for most of my road riding and even in town from time to time.

Once the bag went on the bike the next thing in my head was "I need to put some stuff in that bag". Yeah an overnight bike camping load would take care of that. As in the past, I selected Bodega Dunes, a camping park with hiker/biker sites (no reservation needed for us and only $3.00!) that is about 75 miles from my door. The wife was going to be out of town for a week so that was a perfect opportunity to go. I woke up very early on Saturday, maybe to early and felt tired from a bad night sleep. Stayed in bed until 8:30 when I decided it was enough, I had to take a shower and go, the bike was packed and ready and calling my name...