Entries by Dakota
Dealing With Emotional Lightning Strikes
When I get hit in the head, I morph from Calm Dakota into Dak the Destroyer, Wannabe Viking Marauder. Take the time a college roommate (Chelsea’s brother) tagged me in the head with a rubber ball as I studied for an engineering test. RWWWARG. Dak the Destroyer grabbed my chunky TI-89 calculator and angrily launched […]
Racing the High Cascades 100, Round Two
The ride summary of a fellow racer in the High Cascades 100 mtb race were two sentences not often found together: “Fun day. GI issues for 20 miles, plus 2 code browns.” Riiiight. Fighting a lurching stomach while pooping yourself twice is everyone’s idea of a fun day! Perhaps only for types with screws loose […]
Creating A Productive and Balanced Life During This F’n Pandemic
Hello from our Bend Compound! Wherever you’re reading this – an apartment in Spain or NYC, a van in the woods, a house with bored kids tearing your walls down – I hope you’re thriving as much as possible given a worldwide pandemic. A meme that struck home for me: “Introverts, put your book down […]
Let’s Talk About Money: How To Build A Strong Financial Foundation
“What should I do with my money?” is a common question people ask me. They’ve snagged their first solid job or want to wipe out debt from student loans or credit cards. They’re excited to take the next step, and also overwhelmed by the sheer amount of options. Building a financial foundation sounds intimidating. I […]
A Rugged Adventure Bikepacking in the Chilcotin Mountains
Call it mountain bike amnesia, but I’m already forgetting the hard work necessary to bikepack in the Chilcotin Mountains. Sweaty hike-a-bikes up mountain passes drift away, replaced by stunning vistas and brake-melting descents, a goofy grin plastered across my face. Our simple trip goals: pedal bikes laden with six days of food into the backcountry […]
Shutting Down the Noise – A Digital Minimalism Experiment
Devices pull at our time all day. They live in our pockets, tug at our thoughts, interrupt our conversations. We don’t naturally gravitate to digital minimalism. Can our wimpy human brains beat the tech geniuses working to steal our attention? I say yes! Traveling nine time zones ahead during our recent trip to Europe meant […]
Adrenaline and Beauty in Madeira (If You Survive the Flight!)
Don’t let the flight into Madeira and the island’s treacherous roads scare you off. Once your knees stop shaking, you’re in for a magical time on this outdoor oasis off the coast of Portugal! For a week, we hiked and mountain biked from Madeira’s mist-shrouded peaks to cliffs overlooking the ocean. It’s one of the […]
Updating My Salsa Fargo Build, Bikepacking Style
I’ve ridden my Salsa Fargo 10,000 miles over hundreds of hours across the U.S. and Europe. I STILL love it. To make it even better for our April/May bike tour in Spain and Portugal, I added a few hacks from the bikepacking world. Since over 3,000 people per month still read my post about the […]
Hitting Our Bike Touring Stride in Spain and Portugal (Plus a Major Trip Pivot)
So, you might ask, how is the Spain and Portugal bike tour going? After pushing hard our first 10 days, it was raining and we were ready for rest in Granada. A concerned friend texted to ask Chelsea if she was having fun. Wait, people bike tour for fun…? After the obligatory breaking-in period for […]
First Impressions: 10 Days Bike Touring in Spain
If travel is a physics experiment, bike touring is a particle accelerator. Pedal off into the world and careen about, smacking into culture, language, food, physical hardship, boredom, satisfaction, splendid scenery laced with agricultural land, and all the emotions accompanying such a journey. For better or worse, touring exposes you to greater ups and downs […]
Where Do You Pee, Sleep and Shower? Bike Touring FAQs!
Hola! In case you missed it, during April and May, we’re pedaling a big loop around Spain and Portugal. Prepping for our trip, I realized only 1.6% of my friends know what the heck bike touring is all about. From the basic to the more elaborate, questions poured in. And SO, here is my handy-dandy […]
My Favorite Lake Tahoe Mountain Biking Trails
TAHOOOOOE! The word is fun to yell and the mountain biking there is even better. When a blog reader asked for recommendations of California mtb trails, I pointed him at a past blog post about coastal rides. However, I didn’t have anything written about Tahoe trip Chelsea and I did last summer. Now I do! I’ve ridden […]
Fighting Gravity for 1 Million Feet
One million feet: 35 trips from sea level to the top of Everest. Fighting gravity to climb that many feet uphill in a year without any motorized assistance is incredible and badass. Well, my friend Paul did it. Props, kudos, congrats, and a standing ovation, you beast! On December 31, 2018, Paul wrapped up his […]
How to Make 2019 Awesome
Here’s my approach to creating a fulfilling, balanced, and adventurous new year. It’s a simple process that anchors me happily in the present with a lens forward and an appreciation for the past. No resolution talk here. Zero discussions about fitness or reading a book a month are below. (The Daily Stoic Challenge or Atomic […]
Eye Candy from the City of Rocks (A Photo Essay)
No one arrives at the City of Rocks by accident. Perched near the Utah/Idaho border, it’s a remote, beautiful place an hour off I-84 that’s easy to miss. For rock climbers, however, the City of Rocks is a mecca. For my first visit in summer 2008, I arrived at midnight via a rocky, wandering back […]
Do You Want to Run a Business, Or Do You Just Hate Your Job?
Ten years ago, I left my safe engineering job and swam into the dark waters of self-employment. No steady paychecks, no health insurance, no 401(k) matching. Just me, a degree I owed money on, and adult anchors like a mortgage. I’d taken zero business classes and didn’t know a P&L statement from a TPS report. […]
A Rock Climbing Van Trip to Hells Canyon
Sometimes I visit a new destination carrying expectations. For rock climbing in Hells Canyon? Nope! I van tripped there on a passable rumor from a guy (who knew a guy) claiming the existence of hundreds of bolted climbing routes. The interwebs proved less helpful: “There is no guidebook – hike up and climb stuff.” FINE. Heading […]
What I’d Change If I Built Out a New Camper Van
It appears this van life trend is sticking around. We’re sucking up wifi bandwidth at your library and stealth camping in your neighborhood…watch out! At most trailheads these days, I count the number of vehicles that aren’t vans. I’m certainly not innocent. In fact, since I think all humans (and some dogs) need a van, […]
Running the Enchantment Lakes Traverse
“Go to the Enchantments!” said half the people I know. Words like “circle of mountains” and “endless alpine lakes” reinforced their exhortations. I didn’t need much convincing. Where is this magical outdoor palace? A few miles outside Leavenworth, WA, nestled in the peaks of the North Cascades. The Enchantment Lakes traverse is a 19-mile trail, […]