Buffalo Soldiers

Bikes, Buffalo Soldiers, Cycling, Denali, Diversity, National Geographic, Outside Magazine / 08.07.2024

In the run-up to the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, I suddenly find myself thinking about the international cycling scene. Forty years ago, I bought my first new racing bike, a Raleigh Super Course, inspired in 1984 by the silver medal finish of Nelson Vails at the games in Los Angeles. As the first Black American to podium in Olympic cycling, Vails was a personal hero and I peddled that bike through a modest career in several triathlon races from the mid 80s into the early 90s. Though...

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An American Ascent, Black In National Parks Week, Blackwaters, Books, Buffalo Soldiers, Denali, Expedition Denali, Fly Fishing, Madison, National Geographic, National Monuments, National Parks, Outdoors For All, The Adventure Gap, The Joy Trip Reading Project, Unhidden / 22.04.2024

Recently I had the pleasure of welcoming two special guests to Madison, Wisconsin. As we’re entering the last two weeks of instruction in my online course at Western Colorado University, one of my students, Melanie Hardin, reached out to let me know that she would be passing through town. Coincidentally, Brian Shellum, a renowned author of several books on the Buffalo Soldiers, happened to arrive on the same day. On a beautiful spring afternoon, I was excited to meet with them both in person for coffee and lunch...

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#BlackLivesMatter, Black Lives Matter, Buffalo Soldiers, Diversity, National Parks, Podcast, Public Land, Yellowstone / 18.04.2023

For those of us who really love bicycles, I think what we enjoy most is the sense of freedom we get from travel on the open road under our own power. This mechanical device allows us to engage both our minds and bodies to pedal long distances on just two wheels so that we can explore the landscape of the modern world. But through our journeys over lightly trafficked rural roads, as we roll past obscure old towns and villages, we can also reveal the compelling memories of...

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