A Few Thoughts on Wise Living

Cycling Hero: Gino Bartali

Birthday Film Festival, Pedaling Edition

This year, I plan to watch these three films on my birthday:

(1) The Devils Climb (watch)

(2) The Engine Inside (watch)

(3) Beyond the Ashes (watch)

To get in the right mindset this winter, start with these:

MY BLOG POSTS:

• Honnold & Caldwell on the Devil’s Climb
• Cycling the World
• Two By Bike
• Lael Rides a Bike

VIDEOS ON YOUTUBE:

Touring

• Solo Biker Around The World in 1000 DAYS! Fredrika Ek (4:08)
• 3 Years on a Bicycle – Swedish Girl rides around the world (6:13)
• A Line In The Sand: Chris Burkard (16:48)
• “A Line In The Sand: Chris Burkard” Behind The Scenes (32:37)
• Cycling the Canary Islands | Two Girls. Two Weeks. Three Islands (37:10)
• Leave It Better – 4,700 miles By Bike (21:40)
• The Road from Karakol (24:59)
• The Balkans Mirage: A Journey on Wheels (11:24)
• The Balkans: A gravel cycling film (29:57)
• A bivvy, a phone and a drone: cycling home from China (29:25)
• The Red Rock Route: Cycling 700 miles across Utah in early winter (31:11)
• Curious Pedals — Cycling from Finland to Singapore (4K film) (01:11:08)
• 1 Year Cycling from Alaska to Mexico (36:34)
• TRANSPYRENEES | bikepacking 1000 km across the Pyrenees (29:38)
• The Present | Full Award-Winning Documentary (17:56)
• Vuelta de Vasco | Back on the Bike After 1,5 Years (14:27)
• Cycling the World, Trailer

Adventuring

• Ride to Ski – Bikepacking and Skiing Adventure Through the Dolomites (36:12)
• The Last Hill: Adventure Out Your Back Door (15:40)
• Bikepacking & Splitboarding in Norway’s Sunnmøre Alps | No Lifts, No Cars I Ride to Ride (30:08)
• Cycling from Chamonix to ski above the Arctic Circle | A Jean Rouaux adventure (13:41)

Humor

• Portlandia, Bicyle Rights (1:21)
• Monty Python – Bicycle Repair Man (3:41)

Random

• The 90 Year Old Cyclist (21:56)
• Switching Lanes: A short documentary about how a cheap bike changed a life. (6:51)
• The Invisible Medicine: Why Cyclists Thrive (10:50)
• A Change Of Pace (5:00)
• Becoming Ruby: Inclusion, Bikes and Hand-Drawn Heroes (18:41)
• North Shore Betty: You’re Never too Old to Send (12:10) language
• Accessible Mountain Biking with Adaptive All-Terrain Handcycles (7:35)
• Monte: Can’t stop. Won’t stop (19:42)
• REI Presents: Pedal Through (14:12)
• REI Presents: Cycle of Ancestry (9:49)
• Way Back Home w/ Danny MacAskill (7:43)
• Danny MacAskill: The Ridge (7:39)
• TWO WHEELS ONE JOB | a dublin bike messenger documentary (5:47)
• We Left Everything To Cycle The World (Full Documentary) (57:01)
• What 20 Years of Bikepacking Has Taught Me (9:33)
• THE BIKE COMMUTERS | Joy Ride (6:14)
• Commute (3:38)
• The Amazing Way Bicycles Change You| Anthony Desnick | TEDxZumbroRiver (17:17)
• Ride: A Short Film About Cycling (7:50)
• I cycled for 48 hours to get to work (30:33)
• Life of Pie: Pizza and Bikes Can Fix Anything (11:48)

BIKE FILMS:

• Rad | 4K Restoration Official Trailer
• A Rad Documentary | Official Trailer
• American Flyers (1985) Official Trailer
• Go Further – Woody Harrelson – Original Trailer
• More at IMDB

Two By Bike

I love these two cycling and adventure films:

BONUS

Lael Rides a Bike

I’ve written about a few riders and families of riders, and today I give a nod to Lael Wilcox, who has shared some really great rides online. She has set the women’s record for fastest pedal around the world, and now she’s going for the overall record.

Learn from her experiences here:

2026 Birthday Film Festival Planning

If we decide to host another film festival this year, as we have off and on for a few years now, I’ve been contemplating a few themes.

• Films by directors from Oregon: Gus Van Sant (Good Will Hunting, Milk, Don’t Worry He Won’t Get Far on Foot), Miranda July, Gary Graver, Joanna Priestley, David Fincher (Alien 3, Seven, Fight Club, The Social Network, Gone Girl, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button), Chris Eyre, Byron Haskin, David DeCoteau, Zach King. 
• Films shot (at least partially) in Oregon: Stand By Me, Call of the Wild, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Free Willy, Homeward Bound, Mr. Holland’s Opus, Short Circuit and… GOONIES!
• If I chose food/cuisine, you know it would include Jiro Dreams of Sushi. And maybe a few episodes of DIRT. 
• We could go meta and watch films about filmmaking.
• Or watch documentaries and feature films about media: Good Night and Good Luck, All the President’s Men, Control Room, Manufacturing Consent, The Post, Spotlight, A Mighty Heart, His Girl Friday, The Truman Show, Lee, Civil War, War Photographer, Love + War
• Plus some ideas left over from previous years (scroll down).
• Thanks to those who have been giving me these ideas as possibilities!

Honnold & Caldwell on the Devil’s Climb

I can’t wait to watch this documentary:

Japanese Wisdom and Creativity

Here are three videos I’ve appreciated that reference Japanese philosophy or wisdom:

Friends Matter, Community Matters

I’ve been reminded a couple of times lately about the importance of friends.

The videos with Robert Waldinger reminded me of the Blue Zones research, and it seems like those communities have pretty tight bonds.

Learn more about friendships/community/connection on YouTube here.

Disaster Style Parenting

Parent like you climb — disaster style! Patagonia has released the first three episodes of a series on parenting, featuring brand ambassador Zoe Hart and her husband and two boys. Hopefully there will be many more stories and reflections to come….