The Pragmatic Cyclist

Welcome to The Pragmatic Cyclist

  • Since the temperature’s plummeted and my bike has been relegated to the basement, I haven’t posted much. But lately I have the itch to plan the coming season’s adventures. Much to my surprise, Mrs. Pragmatic expressed that she was a little envious of my trips in 2024 and might like to try coming along! She’s […]

  • So let’s talk about gearing for a bit. I got back into cycling this year after a long absence, and really wanted to try camping and longer tours. I researched touring/adventure bikes and settled on the Kona Sutra. This bike shipped with a Shimano GRX-shifted 2×10 (2 gears in the front and 10 in the […]

  • My first season is winding down. I have one more overnight this weekend to round it out. I have built up a decent checklist for all the gear this year, which has been invaluable in not forgetting stuff! I keep it in Google Sheets, so I can fill it in on my phone, plus reuse […]

  • OK so this journey started in March with a new bike and a commitment to get out of my chair and back on the road. Tomorrow morning starts the first real ride, 230-ish miles through The Driftless, southeast Minnesota and western Wisconsin. I won’t post during the trip, but I hope to take a great […]

  • This chair is so popular and so heavily reviewed it’s almost a cliche. I can’t really say more than others have about it. It’s a luxury to have a chair on the trail, but at my age it’s really nice to be able to sit down and relax at the end of a long day, […]

  • As I researched bikepacking the folks with a lot of miles and a lot of nights behind them would often say “you can economize in a lot of ways, but if you have a little money put it in your sleeping gear.” Whether backpacking or bikepacking, it rings true that in order to have a […]

  • Overtaking walkers and joggers is constant activity on cycling paths, and not all of them are paying attention. You can holler, which works, but I figured a bell would be a convenience. I found a very small one in the Spurcycle Compact Bell, which was important because I don’t have a lot of space left […]

  • I am so stoked about my frame bags that even my stoke is stoked. Frame bags are definitely in fashion, but to be honest I hesitated a little on this purchase. They are perhaps the most expensive per liter of volume of any bag, for someone short like me. The problem is I like having […]

  • The one big miscalculation I made on my first two overnights was a simple one: I underestimated the terrifying and relentless onslaught of mosquitos*. There where hundreds, or thousands, and for some reason they insisted on attacking my ankles. Then I discovered I don’t sleep well at all when my feet itch. Go figure. * […]

  • My home on the road is the Nemo OSMO Dragonfly 2 Person Bikepacking tent. I had to buy this based on reviews but I am not sorry – this is a wonderful, easy, fun tent that lets me look at the stars on a clear night but has also protected me in an all-night torrential […]