The Faces of Bicycle Travel #5


People. The true treasures of bicycle travel.

Laos, 2005


The smell of wood smoke is in the air along with the squeals of little pigs darting across the road. The roads had wound up and down for days (500-foot to 2,000-foot climbs all day long) as we crossed from one river drainage to the next. There were no restaurants or stores to be found, so we asked a local if she would cook us breakfast. She held a newborn in one arm as she fried up spicy eggs with greens and sticky rice over a wood fire. We kept glancing up to see dozens of kids peeking in to see the foreigners. We emerged out into the brilliant blue sky of the highlands of northern Laos.

The kids ran away at first but soon surrounded us with smiles that would melt the heart of even the most jaded of travelers. We heard their laughter and calls until we finally pedaled up and over the next ridge.

 

Colombia, 2008

He just wanted to buy us a cup of coffee. Why? Well, in this little village high in the mountains of the coffee growing region of Colombia, travelers were a rarity -- especially travelers on bikes. It was a gesture we received time and time again. One gentleman who stopped and talked with us at a roadside restaurant shook our hands and said, "Thank you for taking the time to visit my country." When we later went to pay our bill, we found out that he had already paid it.



Portugal, 2010

Sometimes you pedal by at just the right moment. We were invited to spend the day in a small village in Portugal with the local folk society. (Southern Portugal Escapade: Adventure Cyclist July 2012) It was their annual festival and they were all decked out in traditional clothing. We were taking a walking tour of the town and I snapped this photo of these girls checking out a Facebook photo. The contrast of past and present just cracks me up.


Many images of my bicycle travels may fade over time ... but the faces of people encountered will always burn bright.

Photos: By Willie Weir

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SIGHTS AND SOUNDS is posted every other Friday. Willie Weir is a columnist for Adventure Cyclist magazine. His latest book Travels with Willie: Adventure Cyclist will inspire you to hit the road and just might change the way you approach bicycle travel. He lives in Seattle with his wife Kat. You can read about their adventures at http://yellowtentadventures.com/.

Source: http://blog.adventurecycling.org/2012/12/the-faces-of-bicycle-travel-5.html

rapha cycling

TdF Stage 12 ? Klöden ? Pain and Suffering

To the uninitiated, when enthusiasts talk about how elite cyclists can suffer and push themselves through pain, it?s usually a good thing, a compliment. It often refers to a rider pedaling up a high mountain or a long time trial where the toughest mental competitors drive themselves beyond their physical red zone and can hold [...]

Source: http://www.teamradioshack.us/tdf-stage-12-kloden-pain-and-suffering/

cycling clothing

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Merry Christmas.  Happy Christmas. I know I am a little bit late wishing the very warmest holidays to you and your family, but that is a good sign that I was fully immersed in the perfect Christmas cheer involving a gingerbread house, Christmas tree and wreath, puffy paint Christmas stockings, festive music, Christmas manicure, flawlessly wrapped presents and a spice pot.  Yes.  A spice pot. It was the more memorable Christmases I have had in quite some time, maybe because I can remember things again, or maybe because it was...

Source: http://alisonstarnes.com/merry-christmas-and-happy-new-year/

cycling team clothing

TdF Stage 5 ? One Ugly Crashfest

Team RadioShack?s Slovenian Time Trial Champion Janez Brajkovic crashed hard just shy of the halfway point of today?s 165-kilometer 5th stage in the northwest Brittany region of France. After about 75 kms while tightly packed on the far left of the peloton he went down in a heap, hard and fast with little warning, looking [...]

Source: http://www.teamradioshack.us/tdf-stage-5-one-ugly-crashfest/

cycling in london

Nice jumpers?

Strange things happen in offices at this time of year and here at Cycling Plus the festive spirit has had an interesting effect on our sartorial sense… It’s as traditional as turkey, mulled wine and drunken fumbling by the photocopier… I’m talking, of course, about the Christmas jumper. As you’ll see from the accompanying photos [...]

Source: http://magazine.bikeradar.com/2012/12/12/nice-jumpers/

descente cycling

Andreas Klöden Out of the Tour

And then there were 5! After just a few minutes of pedaling into today?s Stage 13, Team RadioShack?s Andreas Klöden was forced to abandon his Tour effort this year succumbing to numerous injuries from several bad crashes. With numerous bruises and bad scrapes the most serious injury was Andreas? back, which caused him severe pain. [...]

Source: http://www.teamradioshack.us/andreas-kloden-out-of-the-tour/

cycling bibs

The Ronde van Vlaanderen (Tour of Flanders), Sunday April 3, 2011

Warning: Cycle Crazy Week Ahead! A high of 13 degrees Celsius with showers in the morning becoming cloudy in the afternoon. That’s the forecast for Sunday’s Ronde van Vlaanderen (Tour of Flanders) on the ProTour circuit. One of the five so called “monuments” in the sport, this 95th edition of the race will see many [...]

Source: http://www.teamradioshack.us/the-ronde-van-vlaanderen-tour-of-flanders-sunday-april-3-2011/

tour de france route