Circle the Zirkel

The premise was simple: with no wheeled vehicles permitted within the boundaries of the Wilderness Area, we set out to circumnavigate it instead.

Along the way we would encounter steep climbs with our loaded bikes, angry badgers running along the edge of the road after us, and long stretches of fast and smooth gravel. What made this trip particularly meaningful is the fact that it served as a reunion with a good friend of mine, Michael, who I hadn’t seen in over a decade. Back in the fall of 2012 Mike and I were part of a group that set off into the Amazon and the Andes of Peru and Bolivia for 3 months. Both of us were fresh out of high school, and this experience was life changing in many ways. It was amazing to see how we reconnected instantly, as if no time had passed at all. There was something quite fitting about having this reunion trip revolve around a challenging physical endeavor - just as things were when we first met.

DATE: JUNE, 2024