About

Years ago my partner Joy and I started cycling for pleasure and
exercise. We began with day trips, packing lunches for rides to interesting
destinations far enough for a challenge, close enough to be home by sunset.

The rides evolved into weekend getaways to fun places, then we successfully
organized long distance tours like: Pacific Rim National Park, The Oregon
Coast, The Big Island of Hawaii. These routes provided “world class”:
cycling, scenes, amenities and experiences.

Imagine pedaling skyward all day for 45km, sweating bullets to the summit of
the Kilauea Volcano, Hawaii. Somewhat painful pleasure turned into pleasing
pain as we overlooked the Pacific from 1400m.

Certainly a challenging and spectacular experience! Joy and I then set-up
camp and rode into a village called (you guessed it) “Volcano”. At the
local patio cafe we agreed, ” this is the best darn chilled beverage we ever
had.” It’s experiences like this, that make a person feel alive, like you have truly
arrived.

We sent Cliff Bar (the energy bar people) a photo from the top, and declared
to fuelling ourselves on their energy efficient bar. A few weeks later there
was a surprise box of Cliff Bars on our doorstep.

My previous experience includes The Pacific Coast Tour; a 2000km journey
through Pacific USA from Canada to Mexico. Everyday was pure adventure.
The scenes, villages, camps and beaches, were spectacular.

At first, the distance (60-120km/day) and enduring hills (200-600m) seemed
too much, but after experience and success in the saddle, the route became easier.
My muscles and mind grew to meet the challenge. As some of you may know, when
we “peak” during a physical challenge, it’s a wonderful satisfying experience, like
winning the lottery!

I was amazed how friendly and helpful the locals were. On occasion I was
invited to join a family for dinner. All along the coastal State Parks I
broke bread with cyclists from Sydney, Berlin, Los Angeles and London.

We would like to share our experience and provide this site as a resource
for interested bicycle people like yourself. The following pages are packed
with information and tips for the “beginning cyclist” and “touring expert”
alike. Check out the “recipes for camp”. Your tasty one-pan wilderness chow
will leave friends wondering when you snuck off to Paris for cooking class.

Michael McGarry
Vancouver, Canada