More touring stuff—I think the promise of spring combined with lots of time at home chasing kids across unseasonably icy ground has got me thinking about spending long hours on a bike . . . preferably somewhere warm.

First, a shout to the intrepid Heba and Richard of Shifting Gears again.  You can read their vivid account of their Western Europe-Balkans trip, which seems to have been by turns inspiring, harrowing, beautiful, and frustrating . . . and often damp. It's probably a useful thing to read if you are planning on doing that type of riding in the future. Great stuff.

Next, Scott passed along this gallery of loaded touring bikes photographed in situ, from Missouri to Mongolia. There's something for everyone—lots of Treks, LHTs, CoMos, and such, but also no shortage of tandems, recumbents, folding bikes, and even a penny-farthing. Also, look out for a loaded single-speed, a Da Vinci single, and other rare birds. There are scores of different bikes, but one thing that's consistent is a big sampling of Ortlieb bags.

Finally, a correction to my 2010 touring roundup which I made in the text but wanted to highight here: the 2010 Fuji Touring has changed cranks from a Truvativ 52-42-30 to a Shimano Sora that goes 50-39-30 . . . altogether friendlier but still probably too stout for some.