The Hole in the Head Gang Returns!

Nom de guerre: Katio the Radio
The rig: Ex-roommate’s Miyata mountain bike. Hand-drilled mounts for yard-saled Old Man Mountain racks.
Weapon of Choice: Fishing rod.

Nom de guerre: “Pedro” the Kinnetic
The rig: Surly Long Haul Trucker. Front rack is a Pedro original. Notice cantilevered double 2 liter bottle carrying system, machined out of solid aluminum.
Weapon of Choice: Computer Numerical Control.

Nom de guerre: Adam Shap
The rig: Dahon folder with Xtracycle. First-generation Xtracycle bags.
Weapon of Choice: The Spoke Cyclery.
Pant-size: Women’s Medium.

Nom de guerre: Vajda
The rig: Manual four-speed Cannondale Hooligan. In front: porteur rack with shopping basket from Andronico’s. In back: Arkel trunk bag and drain pipe rear “panniers”.
Weapon of Choice: Jet-puff marshmallow creme.

Nom de guerre: GNGR (The Flaming Bike)
The rig: Miyata 610GT steel touring bike outfitted bikepacking style with a Revelate underseat bag and homemade Cordura frame bag.
Weapon of Choice: Nikon D3100 SLR.

Nom de guerre: Clark Kent aka “Superman”
The rig: Jersey pocket.
Weapon of Choice: Superpowers.

First Leg: Portland to Klamath Falls, Oregon

Half the gang started the ride at Pedalpalooza, the annual celebration of pedal-powered mayhem in Portland, Oregon. Vajda and Adam rode the inaugaural Disaster Relief Trials, taking 2nd and 6th in the race. Noakland represent! Check out photos of Adam with 100lbs of emergency preparedness equipment on his Xtracycle + sidecar in this blog post by the Prudent Cyclist, and their excellent rider bios at Transportland.

On the first leg of the journey, the Hole in the Head Gang rode along the Clackamas River to Bend, OR. Past that, their adventures, as related to me, included:

• Fording a glacial lake while literally being eaten alive by the mosquito armageddon on Windigo Pass.
• Arriving at Crater Lake as a snowstorm hit. The rangers closed the road and waved the cyclists through. The Hole in the Head Gang rode Crater Lake under 8ft of snow and descended through a hailstorm, but at least there were no RVs!
• Pedaling to Klamath Falls sans breakfast to catch Pedro and GNGR off the 7am morning train.

Second Leg: Klamath Falls to Sacramento

We crossed the Modoc Plateau on the edge of the Basin and Range Province. Arriving in the high northern Sierras, we paid our due respects at the ancestral homes of Katio and Pedro, first in Greenville and then Quincy. Following the Yuba River, we descended back into the Central Valley and raced along the American River to return to Noakland by the Capital Corridor Amtrak.

A full accounting with maps and narrative is in progress. For now, check out our photos, which include several NSFW pics of Vajda sans shirt and pants. The turd is not a Vajda original. We suspect Sasquatch.