E-bikes—already a big deal—are bound to get bigger. Analysts expect the global market to grow by 60 percent or more by 2025, with at least one major European bike maker projecting that it will soon sell more e-bikes than regular bikes. Giant, the world’s largest bike-maker, expects e-bike sales to increase by 30 percent this...
Relaunching is hard, which is why the ocean floor is littered with the husks of Saturn rockets. So let’s begin with an easy link to a helpful article on backpacks…because ski season is over and it’s time to think of long hikes in high country. This is a great article for obvious reasons: it’s informed,...
A few years ago, on the recommendation of multiple friends and gushing book reviewers, I picked up Cheryl Strayed’s Wild. And I finished it. But I didn’t read it in the normal fashion. I hate-read it. I sat in my easy chair with a cup of coffee or herbal tea or small juice glass with...
They’re homebodies. And they’re affiliative, depending on social and emotional bonds to get through daily life…or so we assume, because when they travel they like to travel with others. And by they, we mean men. Editors for International Living—the on-line and print publication that encourages retirees to find new adventures and, crucially, save money by...
Notwithstanding the relentless self-promotion practiced by our sitting president, we think it’s unseemly to draw attention to one’s own nice touches. Unless we think they’re really pretty good and someone might miss that “Starting Over” is a John Lennon song and our last entry…four years ago…was about a John Lennon song. Four years later,...
This is way outside our wheelhouse, but nevertheless worthy of note. After years of uncritically embracing Beatles songs, it has been brought to our attention that occasionally, like all mortals, they could—and resoundingly did—suck. Here’s an example: a recording of John Lennon singing the (deservedly) rare “India India.” No complaints about the quality—it’s a...
There are many pleasing outdoor wonders to visit, and most them are closer to your home than the multicolored land formations of China’s Zhangye Danxia, where you’ll find what the Atlas of Wonders calls “perhaps the greatest gathering of different pigments in natural stone in the world.” But if you’re going to China anyway, shouldn’t...
Bill Clinton is a very persuasive man. He’s persuasive in the way every good salesman is persuasive, which is that you don’t know you’re being convinced of something until it’s all over. There’s a good chance you might not even know then. You might be pretty sure it was your idea all along. Case...
Human bodies age like a saddle: they get comfortable and develop character, but they also start to break down. The older they get, the more problems they have, one of which is Parkinson’s disease. An estimated one percent of people over 60 are affected by this degenerative nervous disorder. Those estimates vary because it’s...
You’ve been baking under the sun for a few weeks now. There’s more to come. Summer feels like an energy leech, sucking away your strength, your enthusiasm, your life force. You long for winter. So it’s time to remind everyone that cold, though attractive right now, can be as terrifying and lethal as fire. To...
Let’s begin at the end: you are screwed, regardless. That is the rational conclusion you can draw from a recent and huge (half a million participants) study in France. What the researchers found was that you have two life choices, neither of which is good for you. You can keep working. (This wasn’t addressed...
Twenty-five years ago, when Koreans were known for having the world’s longest work week (nominally six days, often longer), they still found time to get outdoors. Hiking clubs were a big deal. Camping was less popular because it requires a couple days of leisure in a row, but it was still popular. Over the...
Shoulder Season 2: (Supposed) Best Hikes in the U.S.
Mar 4, 2020
Shoulder Season 1: It’s soon time to hike
Feb 25, 2020
Klaus Obermeyer is a 100-year-old beast
Feb 22, 2020
The Soft Bigotry of Age Brackets
Feb 19, 2020
Ski North Korea! Also, Again: Climate Change
Feb 17, 2020
When obsessions collide: Pensions, skiing and climate change
Feb 15, 2020
Vail Speaks! Vail Speaks! (And More About Crowds)
Feb 14, 2020
Ski Passes Suck But Also Don’t
Feb 12, 2020
A mid-season reminder that (some) seniors ski free (or cheap) in (some) places
Feb 9, 2020
Every ski hill is Disney-fied
Feb 6, 2020