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 we continued our quest to experience every seedy RV campground that the state of Texas had to offer, it became more and more apparent that mysterious forces were hampering our abilities to impress bystanders with our long-distance cycling feat. We had entered some sort of wormhole in the space-time continuum! Well, either that, or the existence of a city in nearby Duval County with the audacity to call itself “San Diego” meant that every other Texan we encountered simply assumed that we were out on a day ...

Yes, we’re still in Texas, and all’s quiet on the Southern Tier. The thrill of crossing state borders has gradually faded into a vague memory as we continue to pedal our way across the vast, unsettled frontier known as the Lone Star State. “Everything” is supposedly bigger here, including the trucks, the RV’s, the steep climbs, and the long expanses of desolate nothingness between tiny, one stop-sign towns. Texas is so good at what it does that sometimes I get the feeling that I’m not actually IN ...

Now that we’re deep into the heart of Texas, our fourth state, we’re starting to build up some credibility for the whole “where did you start/where are you headed?” interrogation. It’s always awkward announcing your plans to bicycle across the country when you’re still within commuter range of the Pacific Ocean, where the ceremonial rear-wheel dipping kicks off the whole hero’s quest in the first place. “Ridin’ a bicycle across the US of A to Florida?? Whatta plan!! How far have ya gone so far?” “Um… we started ...

Leaving Tempe, we set out through seemingly endless Phoenix sprawl before crawling back out into the open desert. The mountains loomed closer and closer, and legions of tall Saguaro cacti burst out of each rolling foothill like the spotty aftermath of one of those Biore pore strips. Naturally, I resumed my quest to find the perfect candidate to anthropomorphize with a helmet and sunglasses, but most specimens resisted the hilarious photographic opportunity through unreachable height or arm-lessness. Aside from that small frustration, riding through the desert in ...

Operating under the somewhat outdated advice of armchair guidance counselors everywhere to “do what you love and the money will follow”, I’ve been trying to turn my love of bikes into various odd jobs for quite awhile now. In addition to a long, illustrious career as a Portland messenger, I’ve been leading seasonal cross-country cycle tours for the last four years through a cycle advocacy nonprofit. NO, the money isn’t quite “following” at the pace I would prefer, but I have no doubt that it’s drafting along somewhere ...