Cyclists enjoy sharing stories, s’mores

Newlyweds Matthew and Shannon Vilhauer didn’t fly to Maui or Mexico for their honeymoon.

Battle Ground woman goes cycling, Italian-style

Instead, they attached “Just Married” signs and strings of tin cans to the back of their bikes and caught a ferry to Vancouver Island. They spent two nights in a Victoria hotel and about a week on their bikes touring the island.

Clark County bicycle groups

Learn about Bike Clark County at its website.

Learn about Vancouver Bicycle Club at its website.

Bike maintenance classes

For kids: Bike Clark County’s website.

For all ages: Offered at Gracie’s Wrench, 5050 N.E. Simpson St., Portland.

Contact: 503-839-1880 or visit its website.

Cycling maps including the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route

Adventure Cycling’s website.

Cycle Oregon’s website.

Vilhauer, 48, counts that August 2013 honeymoon trip as his favorite bike tour. Toward the end of their honeymoon, the Vilhauers traveled to Salt Spring Island and camped at Ruckle Provincial Park, where all campers gathered around a communal fire pit at night. They met campers from Korea, Australia and Germany.

“It had a real international feel to it,” said the lapidary artist who also works at Camas Bike and Sport. “Sharing travel stories and s’mores. People wandering the world and having fun.”

The Vilhauers are among a hardy breed of Clark County cyclists who go far beyond commuting by bike or taking long rides on weekends. They plan cycling vacations. They cycle over mountains, through deserts and every landscape in between. They cycle in scorching triple-digit temperatures and in drenching rain. They have become experts at repairing flat tires and bike chains on dark, rainy nights.

The sore muscles and hours in the bike saddle have a big payoff.

“The allure for me is the slower pace,” said Eric Giacchino, founder of Bike Clark County. “When you consider doing tours on a bicycle, you immerse yourself in the place where you’re touring. You strike up conversations with people you wouldn’t meet in a car.”

“You can drive down the Oregon Coast 100 times, but when you ride your bike, you are going to see more things, meet more people and have memories that will last a lifetime,” said Matt Ramp, 53, a firefighter.

Ramp and Giacchino’s next bike tour is from Durango, Colo., to Moab, Utah, a journey of more than 200 miles. With a group of friends, they’ll end each day’s ride in a hut supplied with bunk beds, sleeping bags, water and some food.

“We don’t have to take our camping gear this trip,” said Giacchino, 44, a Vancouver firefighter-paramedic. “We’re the last group of the season to go through before they close it up for winter.”

Joe Greulich, 72, has ridden every Cycle Oregon since its inception 27 years ago.

Last week, he emailed from the road while pedaling in Cycle Oregon: “Favorite Cycle Oregon ride: The four times C.O. has ridden the rim of Crater Lake.”

The Sept. 6-13 ride covered 402 to 498 miles, depending on the route chosen, with cyclists climbing from more than 30,000 feet. That’s higher than Mount Everest. You can be sure Greulich will be pedaling in the 28th Cycle Oregon next year.

Cost of touring

The biggest expense for most cyclists is their bike and camping gear. Vilhauer estimates he has invested between $4,000 and $5,000 for his bike, a single-wheeled cargo trailer and lightweight camping gear: a tent, sleeping bag, camp kit, and saddle bags to hold it all. Some routes require a filter and bladder to filter drinking water.

The cyclists we talked with mostly did what are referred to as unsupported tours. They haul their own gear and food, camp and cook their own meals. That’s the least expensive way to do it.

Some organized cycling tours include a shuttle vehicle and driver to transport gear and food from one night’s camp spot to the next. That’s sometimes called a SAG wagon, standing for support and gear.

Cycle Oregon, a 2,200-rider annual ride, just wrapped up Saturday. Cyclists roll into a large camp each night, with tents and cots already set up and a hot shower and hot meal waiting. Cyclists pay $925 to participate in the fully supported cycle tour.

“I think there is merit and adventure in both styles of touring,” Ramp said.

Tour plans

Planning the route takes the largest chunk of time. Helpful maps are available through Adventure Cycling, among others.

If the tour is unsupported, water is a big consideration. Where a water source has running water, they filter water through a charcoal filter into big bags called dromedaries.

On dry rides, such as through the Steens Mountain Cooperative Management and Protection Area in Southeastern Oregon, where precious water sources likely are stagnant, cyclists must bring enough water to pedal through the dry places, Vilhauer said.

Food is another consideration. Vilhauer packs flour tortillas, apples, honey, onions and peppers. When he can, he buys fresh eggs. Sometimes the only market open is a convenience store.

Conditioning

These cyclists ride so many miles regularly that conditioning for an extensive bike tour isn’t an issue.

Vilhauer bikes 100-150 miles a week around town and doing short rides, but sometimes he rides 200-300 miles a week. Before his wedding, he biked solo from Lewiston, Idaho to Missoula, Mont., and back, about 800 miles.

The Vilhauers are making plans to cycle The Great Divide Mountain Bike Route that crisscrosses the Continental Divide from Banff, Alberta, to Antelope Wells, N.M. They will bike the 2,765-mile route in sections as they have time.

“We’ll have to do it in chunks,” Vilhauer said. “It will probably take us three or four years. We’ll start in Montana.”

“It’s not a race, so the adventure and fun of it is in the journey, not necessarily the destination,” Ramp said. “Even in a group, you can go hard when you want and slow down or stop when you want to see something. The camaraderie of touring with friends on a bike is one of the best parts.”