At this point in my life as a cyclist and a bike mechanic, there are very few bikes that truly catch my attention anymore. It’s really got to be something special, and even then, there’s usually at least one feature that bugs me or that I find missing from the design. Enter the Flaanimal.
Category Archives: Bikepacking
Fill Your Fork! (with the Wolf Tooth Double Bottle Adapter)
Not all of us are lucky enough to have the triple anything mounts on our forks. Some of us are stuck with regular old double bosses on our fork blades, giving us space for one lowly water bottle cage on each side.So, how do you make the most of your space and carry all of the things that you want without resorting to using an entire roll of electrical tape and a bunch of zip ties?
Palouse To Cascades Trail: Rock Lake
Rock Lake is an enigma of the Palouse To Cascades Trail. It is by far one of the most scenic sections of the entire trail, and yet information about it remains elusive. The trail requires a detour around the lake, making it difficult to get to, but it’s totally worth it.
The Renslow Trestle
The last time a train rumbled over the Renslow Trestle was in 1980. Today, this bridge is part of the Palouse to Cascades Trail, and up until today, this span was one of the few major barriers left on the west side of the Columbia River. It is now open to the public.
Family Friendly Gravel
If you’ve read my writeup on the Palouse To Cascades Trail, then you know that the stretch between Cle Elum and Thorp is one of my favorites. It’s a great experience for riders of all ages and skill levels, as long as they have a bike that is capable for the surface and you prepare them ahead of time for what to expect.
Intro to Capitol Forest
Capitol State Forest is an absolute wonderland of gravel. The nearly one hundred thousand acres of land is managed by the Washington State Department of Natural Resources, and contains almost six hundred miles of gravel roads. It is a destination for hikers, horseback riders, campers, and dirt bike enthusiasts. It is also home to some amazing single track for mountain bikers.
The Palouse to Cascades Trail: Cedar Falls to the Columbia River
The entire Westside on the Palouse To Cascades Trail- Rattlesnake Lake to The Columbia. How to plan and what to expect when you ride the Palouse to Cascades Trail.
The Elbe Multi Strada
Back in May of 2015, a friend invited me to a self-supported gravel ride in the hills around Elbe and Eatonville put on by a local frame builder. The ride was in its second year, and looked like it would be a fun chance to explore some places that I had never been on a bike. I figured that forty-ish miles with 4k of vertical would be hard, but well within my limits.
I was wrong of course..
How it All Began
What began as a seemingly ridiculous plan over beers at a dining room table in 2014, has grown into an annual ride across the cascades filled with gravel, good beer, and great friends.
Washington Gravel 