tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-85932709413834528012024-03-04T00:00:30.927-07:00The Dusty MusetteVal Garouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04959290175163378739noreply@blogger.comBlogger451125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8593270941383452801.post-33206446760851027752023-08-23T12:54:00.004-06:002023-08-23T12:54:44.331-06:00Cyclettes In this wonderfully quirky assemblage of 189 “cyclettes”--think cross between cycling and vignettes–designer and visual artist Tree Abraham offers little postcards, ranging in length from a paragraph or two to a couple of pages at most–loosely connected by her experience of, and thoughts about, cycling and cycles.Much of it is personal: some memoir, some travelogue. But just as much is Jasper Gateshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12595817497741389369noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8593270941383452801.post-86561274206456412852023-06-09T15:04:00.001-06:002023-06-09T15:04:08.145-06:00The Man Who Loved Bicycles This year, 2023, marks the 50th anniversary of the publication of an underappreciated gem in the canon of cycling literature: The Man Who Loved Bicycles: Memoirs of an Autophobe by American writer Daniel Behrman. This little-known book, published in 1973 by Harper’s Magazine Press, is an eccentric but compelling work of nonfiction–part scathing polemic, part cosmopolitan cycle-travelog, andJasper Gateshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12595817497741389369noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8593270941383452801.post-85658821041782025772023-04-11T13:06:00.002-06:002023-04-26T19:49:55.023-06:00Easter Eggs Cycling in April in central Alberta is both glorious and depressing. We’re outside again–experiencing wind and sunshine, hearing birds, not staring at a screen. All this is a win.But the sights? Well, that’s not exactly pretty. As the annual mini ice age recedes, it leaves behind a glum palette of brown-yellow hues, with only the occasional skiff of dirty snow and trash for contrast. Jasper Gateshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12595817497741389369noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8593270941383452801.post-43412391493549964832023-02-28T10:08:00.002-07:002023-02-28T10:08:57.122-07:00Bicycling with Butterflies Call it the butterfly-book effect. I recently re-read Barbara Kingsolver’s still-excellent 2012 novel Flight Behavior, which imagines the monarch migration gone amok due to climate change. (The book holds up remarkably well, and is rightly now considered a classic text of climate fiction.) So I think I had butterflies on the brain when I happened across Sara Dykman’s cycle-travel book Jasper Gateshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12595817497741389369noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8593270941383452801.post-47395177932898037022023-02-27T10:35:00.007-07:002023-05-30T13:31:03.452-06:00Dusty 100--2023 EditionCome out for a day of classic Alberta gravel riding that kicks
off with a bugle blast, includes a short stretch on the challenging Iron Horse
Trail and a longer one on the scenic, historic Victoria Trail, and sends
someone home with a coveted Surprise Bag.
Oh, and dust. We all go home with dust.
No registration fee. All are welcome: gravel lovers, the
gravel-curious, and anyone up for a dusty Jasper Gateshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12595817497741389369noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8593270941383452801.post-54356586388144573622022-11-24T13:31:00.000-07:002022-11-24T13:31:09.696-07:00The Wind at My Back“Cycling is about mapping the small worlds that are always around us.”This 2018 literary cycling memoir by British writer Paul Maunder, a self-described “failed bike racer and failed novelist” (though since the publication of this book he has published a novel, The Atomics) who is best known for his non-fiction writing in magazines like Rouleur and Peloton, is right up my alley. It’s a Jasper Gateshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12595817497741389369noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8593270941383452801.post-3986649251807301702022-09-14T09:38:00.003-06:002022-09-16T12:31:17.399-06:00Cynthia LodgepoleWhen the protagonist of Heidi Jacob’s lovely, very funny, and deeply literary debut novel Molly of the Mall (the perfect gift for that English major in your life) mentions adopting the pseudonym "Cynthia Lodgepole" for publishing her “gothic bodice-rippers,” it’s a wink and a nudge to anyone who’s ever noticed this road sign on the Yellowhead Highway between Edmonton and Jasper.The names of theseJasper Gateshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12595817497741389369noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8593270941383452801.post-15679276373875838312022-08-19T10:05:00.004-06:002023-04-23T20:06:49.068-06:00Manitoba Outdoor Adventure Guide “The possibilities of gravel road riding in Manitoba are limitless.”This old book was my favorite find from our most recent annual summer trip to Manitoba. In a little museum in Carberry, near Brandon, I spied this anachronistic cover on a shelf of books for sale. The color scheme, fonts, and, most of all, the photograph–of two rigid-fork mountain bikes being ridden across what appears to Jasper Gateshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12595817497741389369noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8593270941383452801.post-10820784845169905852022-07-27T21:40:00.006-06:002022-08-03T16:36:17.871-06:00Battle River BadlandsI first heard about the Battle River Badlands via the Alberta Gravel Cycling Facebook group. Back in January, a Battle River-valley resident named Forrest Hagen posted a gravel route near the town of Donalda, south of Camrose. Then in April, Edmonton gravel gurus Greg and Aaron rode that very route and posted a glowing review of the area along with some impressive photos. I was intrigued. Why hadJasper Gateshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12595817497741389369noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8593270941383452801.post-33810180231114240122022-07-18T23:22:00.000-06:002022-07-18T23:22:03.747-06:00Victoria Day: Birthday Girl Happy 60th to the Musette's number-one reader: the stylish and elegant Victoria Day--long-time commuter, recreational cyclist, recent e-bike convert, general bike enthusiast, and, now, gravel dabbler!Jasper Gateshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12595817497741389369noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8593270941383452801.post-43438002951311556512022-07-04T15:15:00.007-06:002022-07-06T10:43:49.611-06:00Vuelta Skelter We’ve had to wait a while for the final installment in Tim Moore’s Grand Tour trilogy that began with French Revolutions: Cycling the Tour de France (2001) and continued with Geronimo! Riding the Very Terrible 1914 Tour of Italy (2014). A book from Moore about La Vuelta a España was inevitable, and highly anticipated by many, including me, but the timing of when he finally undertook the Jasper Gateshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12595817497741389369noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8593270941383452801.post-86176374338120288712022-06-06T17:03:00.002-06:002022-06-06T17:03:35.093-06:00Wind wind etc. etc.I’ve been trying to think of the best word to describe yesterday’s wind: Brutal? Ferocious? Punishing? Merciless? Soul-crushing? In the end, I think I’ll settle on “traumatizing.” As in, this is a wind that will leave a permanent, if small, impression on my psyche, haunt me in some minor way. This wasn’t how it was supposed to go. Traditionally, at the Dusty 100, the wind is from the west, Jasper Gateshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12595817497741389369noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8593270941383452801.post-81689114134519760342022-04-14T09:52:00.003-06:002022-04-18T20:38:25.026-06:00Conquering the Borderlands Two things attracted me to this little-known self-published 2009 cycle-travel book that I first heard about on BicycleTouringPro.com: 1) the age of the author (Lorraine Veisz doesn’t say exactly how old she was when she did this trip but I’m guessing, from clues in the book, such as her mention of having done a bike trip with her husband in Maine in 1971, that she was around 60 years old) ;Jasper Gateshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12595817497741389369noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8593270941383452801.post-46699301903178352662022-03-02T15:20:00.000-07:002022-03-02T15:20:58.783-07:00Dusty Lens: Near Beaver Mines, July Jasper Gateshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12595817497741389369noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8593270941383452801.post-40303744852602381662022-02-19T12:12:00.002-07:002022-02-19T15:59:32.774-07:00The Dusty 100 Gravel Challenge 2022 June 5, 2022The Dusty 100 Gravel Challenge--Alberta's bugliest gravel event.Come join us for a day of classic Alberta gravel riding that includes a stretch along the scenic Victoria Trail, exquisite gas-station cuisine, and copious amounts of dust. No registration fee. All are welcome: gravel lovers, the gravel-curious, and anyone up for a dusty adventure.We have two route Jasper Gateshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12595817497741389369noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8593270941383452801.post-21311110867443495232022-02-14T17:12:00.004-07:002022-02-15T12:25:39.454-07:00Nice Road“Nice road,” said Val, with approval, as we–Val, Penn, and
I, the Dusty triumvirate–headed up Range Road 20, just north of Township Road
512, southwest of Edmonton. It was an unusually warm winter day, and the roads
were nicely packed snow-over-ice. Perfect winter gravel-riding conditions.
I nodded. It was a nice road, at least at that particular
spot, and I half-remembered picking it for a Jasper Gateshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12595817497741389369noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8593270941383452801.post-20616270197193404392022-01-30T15:52:00.001-07:002022-01-30T15:52:58.713-07:00Dusty Lens: North Saskatchewan River from Victoria Trail, July Jasper Gateshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12595817497741389369noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8593270941383452801.post-30610002097931859682022-01-25T16:12:00.005-07:002022-09-18T08:47:20.085-06:00A Vagabond's Note-Book “Of late years I have cycled much and read little.”--KuklosW. Fitzwater Wray (1869-1938), who went by the pen-name “Kuklos” (Greek for circle or wheel), was one of the most prolific and accomplished cycling journalists (and cycling personalities, if such a thing can be said to exist) in England in the first three decades of the twentieth century. His cycling columns in Jasper Gateshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12595817497741389369noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8593270941383452801.post-31257477193171485772022-01-11T20:32:00.006-07:002022-01-11T20:33:43.805-07:00Dusty Lens: Near Beauvais Lake, July Jasper Gateshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12595817497741389369noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8593270941383452801.post-56670566980219849322021-12-22T11:19:00.002-07:002021-12-22T11:19:22.587-07:00Higher Calling “There is nothing that improves a mountain view more than a nice bit of squiggly road going up it.” --Max LeonardHigher Calling: Road Cycling’s Obsession with the Mountains (2018) is the kind of wonderful book idea that I almost wish I had thought of myself: exploring the rich tradition and magic associated with ascending mountains on bicycles. Previous booksJasper Gateshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12595817497741389369noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8593270941383452801.post-23864573549457962922021-10-29T15:50:00.002-06:002021-10-29T15:50:15.098-06:00Graminia Crackseal I’m
embarrassed to admit that I didn’t notice them myself, even though I’ve cycled
along that road dozens of times and like to think of myself as having an
observant eye. It was actually my dentist pal Joe who pointed them out one day
on a road ride: swooshy lines of black tar all along the road surface of
Graminia Road, southwest of Edmonton.
This is a
favorite route for Edmonton Jasper Gateshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12595817497741389369noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8593270941383452801.post-23248277985410716222021-10-12T19:10:00.006-06:002021-10-13T19:48:59.066-06:00Cowspiracy at Cooking Lake-Blackfoot Central Alleyway Trail, heading east It took me a while, but I finally figured out that the best
time to take your gravel bike out to Cooking Lake-Blackfoot (CLB) is October.
This provincial recreation area east of Edmonton and directly south of Elk Island
has long featured plenty of intriguing roads and trails that, theoretically, should
be of great interest to gravel cyclists. In Jasper Gateshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12595817497741389369noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8593270941383452801.post-89407994778344140092021-09-23T12:09:00.001-06:002021-09-23T12:10:11.644-06:00The Joyous WheelHappy is the cyclist.James
Arnold’s The Joyous Wheel (1940) is pretty much the perfect embodiment
of the literature of the cycling-rambler tradition which was popular in Britain
in the first half of the twentieth century. Two-wheeled ramblers like the great "Kuklos" (W. Fitzwater Wray) and Edward Thomas traveled the
countryside at a modest but steady pace, seeking out experiences in nature,
Jasper Gateshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12595817497741389369noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8593270941383452801.post-48786600695576513852021-07-31T11:20:00.003-06:002021-07-31T11:20:37.416-06:00The Buddha of Westlock You can see it from several kilometres away, the giant golden Buddha, towering above the fields of green south of Westlock, Alberta. If you didn’t know to expect it, I can see how you might be startled at the sight. It doesn’t seem an obvious location for a 50-foot Buddha.So what's the story? The big Buddha resides on the grounds of the Tay Thien Monastery aka Westlock Jasper Gateshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12595817497741389369noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8593270941383452801.post-87879861444475657772021-07-17T12:27:00.001-06:002021-07-22T10:11:02.925-06:00We Were Young and Carefree Laurent Fignon, the bespectacled, pony-tailed French champion, nicknamed “The Professor,” whose palmeres include two Tours (1983,1984), a Giro (1989), and a couple of classics, is probably best known now to a generation of cycling fans as the guy who lost the 1989 Tour de France by 8 seconds to Greg Lemond on the final day’s time trial.I remember watching this on tv. Even to my 13-year-old Jasper Gateshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12595817497741389369noreply@blogger.com1