I’m not one to make excuses, but I haven’t written anything lately because I’ve been in Switzerland. The big one. I was there researching this ride in Oregon, the little one, the one you’re reading about right now. It was a long flight just to check facts that I’ll be fabricating anyway, so now I’m jet lagged and nothing I say is going to make much sense. But what I learned is that there are big differences between big Switzerland and little Switzerland. This is how they compare.
First, big Switzerland …

When I’m not busy worrying about the swine flu pandemic or the collapse of our delicately balanced financial system, I like to kick back with tall boy and worry about volcanoes. And I’ve just learned that we’re living on a SUPER VOLCANO. What’s the difference between a regular volcano and a super volcano, you ask? Easy. Super volcanoes have awesome names. Tabor? Meh. KRAKATOA? Super. Apparently they built Mt. Saint Helens (meh) right on top of another volcano named CHAOS DOOMEGATRON (super). Just like that movie Poltergeist where they built …

Selfishly, I’ve always dreamed that a natural disaster would come along sharing my first name. Not necessarily the kind of Class 5 Kill-storm that callously wrecks entire cities and lives, but something with the audacity to turn a few heads—something inevitably allowing me to cheerfully clip headline articles reading “Caitlin Ravages Florida Coast” and “Path of Fiery Destruction in Caitlin’s Awesome Wake”. So naturally, May 2009’s featured tropical storm “Anna” was a disappointment in more ways than one. First of all, news from The Weather Channel was …

Bike touring isn’t for everyone. It can be hot and humid, rainy and cold, or any combination of inclement weather conditions. Sometimes the climbs are grueling, but when the terrain actually flattens out, it’s rare that the wind isn’t against you no matter which direction you turn. Camping adds another element of difficulty. Cold showers, no showers, mosquitoes, shady characters hanging around, food-stealing critters, rocky tent sites situated atop Indian burial grounds—the list of tribulations is nigh-endless. Not to mention those bonus challenges out on …

As road season winds down, I am finding myself stumped on what to say about it. Early season races arrived with a multitude of joke potential, but at this point I can find little to report on except that I went to a race, rode in some physically taxing circles, and then went home and enjoyed an ice cream cone in a post race stupor. I can’t even come up with any witty lies and exaggerations! So, in order to not have to include any actual bike racing details in …