Destination Everywhere: Sonoma, CA.

I went on my very first Destination Everywhere from Oslo -> Copenhagen on a well-vetted journey with six Pas Normal Ambassadors, two employees, and a photographer. Ever since then I have wanted to do one again.

In 3 days we would ride 312 miles (500km) over 17 hours and 30 minutes, climbing 21,604 ft. (6590m). We would escape San Francisco, hit my favorite parts of Highway 1, climb some brutally steep roads in the middle of nowhere, and find solace with friends.

Road cycling is my truest love. Every different bike discipline has its allure but for me; tarmac, whether rough or smooth, captures me beyond words. Yet we are here, writing about the indescribable. The magic that a gentle hum of the gears has when all other noise has fallen away. The deafening clarity that a headwind can evoke when flat roads become like hills. The sensation of your weight growing with the pitch in the road.

Two wheels is the closest a human gets to flying under our own power. If I could be reborn as any animal, I would be a bird. I would soar up against the tarmac, the rivers, and near the tree tops. I would take to the routes the bike has taken me and let the wind carry me farther.

Some of us were new to each other, but you would never know if you saw us riding together. All united by the allure of the road, by pain and pleasure, by Pas Normal.

If there was one road worth all its pain, worth the desolation, it would be Skaggs Springs Road. Oh how treacherous, tumultuous, and terrific it is to ride. It is a relentless exploration of ups and downs and this time of the year; it is green as far as the eye can see. We saw smiles, grimaces, glasses of wine, delaminating rims, flats, broken derailleur hangers and yet, in the end, around the dinner table we all had a sense of peace in our eyes and hearts.