On a recent evening, H and I were walking home late from a night out. Walking home late — from a bar at our nearest square, the T station, a friend’s house, it doesn’t matter — on a winter evening means we were walking on cracked gray sidewalk, swaddled in jackets, gloved hands shoved in pockets, shoulders… Continue reading Drab: New England Winter Chic
Author: quintendo64
How to Start Cycling Every Day
In my last post, we talked about the surprisingly low amount of physical preparation required before starting on your first big bicycle tour. For me, one of the most important methods of preparation is to start cycling as much as possible — that’s all. In this post, I’ll discuss how to incorporate cycling into your… Continue reading How to Start Cycling Every Day
Paul Effing Theroux
It seems crazy to say it in hindsight, but I really did wonder if I might see him. He lives in Hawaii and Cape Cod — makes a point of mentioning it in the little bios that appear under his byline, alongside a series of mugshots-through-the-ages in which the increasingly elderly author tries to convey his… Continue reading Paul Effing Theroux
Heading Home
It’s been three years since I last went home. Three long years in which my own blissful little life — romance, marriage, friendships, a loving family-in-law, testing the limits of “working from home,” outdoor adventures in the paradisiacal Pacific Northwest — has shone in ugly contrast with a plague-ridden civilization that feels like it’s shutting down, turning in on itself.
How To Physically Prepare for Your First Big Bicycle Tour
My Book Is (Finally) Available!
The Guest: A Backroads Journey by Bicycle is available in paperback and on your Kindle!
It Ends A The Water’s Edge
“We’re from Minnnn-eh-sOOOHta,” a woman explains. “It’s our third time. We love it here.” She looks like an experienced visitor: her sunhat and lurid, shoulder-covering mumu speak of one-too-many sunburns splashing across the pale expanses of her skin. She takes half a step towards her acquaintance, a younger Black man in a billowy white t-shirt.… Continue reading It Ends A The Water’s Edge
Take A Moment On The Oregon Coast
Early in the spring, H and I spent some time on the coast in northern Oregon. We did this every so often during our time in Seattle, and especially during the pandemic. We’d sneak our names onto the schedule and avail ourselves of the famous beach cabin. We’d drive down in the night, bringing work… Continue reading Take A Moment On The Oregon Coast
10 Life Lessons from 10 Revolutions
Mike Duncan’s voice has a peculiar power over my wife. “Hello,” he’ll say, as a few perilous bars of classical music swell in the background, “and welcome to Revolutions.” “Hi Mike,” she’ll reply, already drowsy. Within minutes, she’ll be asleep. This isn’t to say that Duncan’s subject material is boring. His podcast offers blow-by-blow reports… Continue reading 10 Life Lessons from 10 Revolutions
Portals: Cycling From NYC to Boston
Friday Afternoon A sliver of a river slides beneath the rails and then we’re in Queens, floating over a great plain of brick row houses and tessellating backyards, little boxes of space framed by high fences. I love the train for its glimpses at unseen places: rooftops covered in broken glass, a hidden tag from… Continue reading Portals: Cycling From NYC to Boston