A Grand Opening!

On March 9th and 10th, Escape Adventures and Las Vegas Cyclery will celebrate the opening of their brand new LEED Platinum certified building in Las Vegas, Nevada!

The old bike shop and tour center was in a cramped, dark strip mall on West Charleston, which was fine for awhile. But when LVC reached its max capacity for bicycles, our bosses Jared and Heather Fisher started dreaming big….Well they sure set the bar high! They are now  showing how even a small business can own up to their impact on the world (this is the first building of its type in the state of Nevada!).  This weekend event will showcase a wide variety of our passions from bikes, with stunt exhibitions and group rides to a green building expo.

We are also very excited about our new Escape Adventures Tour Center within this future forward building.  Its close proximity to the eco-friendly Element Hotel provides the pickup for our multi-day tour guests on Day 1 (ask about the Escape discount!) and is a nice compliment to our dedication to the environment.

The guides will be flipping pancakes in the morning and serving up our fresh made chips, salsa and guac in the afternoon to provide an EA Tour Experience for the festivities.

We welcome everyone to participate in one or all of these events.  Here’s a complete schedule for the weekend and a link lvcgrandopening.com:

Or stop by to see us anytime you’re in Vegas!

Travel and the Art of Being a Tourist

tour·ist (trst)   n.    One who travels for pleasure.

Anne, Merrick and Nancy climb Panama’s highest peak. (I’m looking rather German don’t you think?)

One of the most frequently asked questions as a guide besides “What’s for dinner?” is “What do you do in the winter?”  The short answer is that many of us travel.  In good years we can put aside enough to go backpacking or bike touring in places like Mexico, Central America or Thailand on a shoe string budget (in fact, it is often cheaper to go to a 3rd World country for a 2 months than to live in the states). Or other times we stay closer to home, taking a canoe trip down the Rio Grande or hitting the Arizona Trail for a week.  Either way this departure offers the guides a much needed perspective and a chance to reboot.

Jacques on Tonsai Beach, Thailand

These travels can influence anything from the music that you hear in the shuttle van to the food that is prepared for you.

Rachel in a decorative vegetable class in Pai, Thailand.

Blom goes to Canada! (he’s actually been to Egypt, Nigeria, Australia, Mexico…but I love this one)

It also offers us the chance to be the tourist for a change.  WE are the ones adjusting to new climates, elevations, and social patterns – the ones asking the questions, listening to directions, and experiencing new customs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I once had a waitress in Japan chase us down the street to give back the tip money we had left on the table!

Also for those of us who work at the bike shop as well, the off-season gives us a chance to be on the other side of the counter, asking about maps, trails and local knowledge.  Plus getting lost once in while isn’t bad for the soul either.

Rachel, Eric, and Anne on the Rio Grande, Texas

Actually, you’re not officially lost until they call search and rescue…..

Nancy in Kyoto, Japan. That trip cost me a mountain bike but it was worth it!

Nikki bike touring Vietnam and blending in nicely

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The longer that I do this the more I that everyone needs this allotted time off.   A time to regroup.  A time to put your sandal tanned feet is someone else’s shoes. We as a society tend to be overworked yet underwhelmed, which might explain reality tv’s popularity. We end up using media to distract and entertain us after a long day at work… but how much money could you save giving up cable for the year? Or recreational shopping?

 

Tim near San Gil, Columbia

Max on a Nicarguan microbus – say it “meecroboos”

 

While traveling if you don’t try to impose your experience and needs onto the place and you go with an open heart and mind, so much can be learned about humanity, empathy, and the fact that we as Americans have less to complain about than many others in this world.

Or at least made it waaay more interesting….

 

 

Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one’s lifetime.

–Mark Twain

An Introduction…

Your author riding at Barlett Wash, near Moab UT

This is my first time writing anything for the interweb so please bear with me over the first few weeks as I find my voice.  Escape Adventures would like you to get to know us better through a weekly blog session by yours truly.  We hope to entertain and inform you, the reader (and rider) with stories on and off the trail.

Then I suppose you should get a background and some sort of credentials on your author because not just ANYONE can post a blog, right? Well, I came to Moab in the fall of 2004 in my VW Fox searching for my dream job – mountain bike guiding.  I found that in Escape Adventures PLUS the added bonus of an instant family of friends in Nikki, Jacques, Marc (aka the Blom), Jonny and more to come.  I instantly felt welcomed.  Add that to the beautiful arena surrounding Moab, filled with world class trails and I had arrived Home.

   

Fast forward to 2013 and I’m still here but now guiding has taken me beyond Moab, to places like Bryce, Zion, the Grand Canyon, Idaho hot springs, Mt. St. Helens, Lake Tahoe, New Mexico, North Dakota and Maui.

The Grand Canyon

Bryce National Park

In fact, the first time that I scouted a Bryce/Zion tour (in Nikki’s car, she didn’t trust my VW and the gas it was leaking – thanks Nic!) I could not believe my good fortune of getting paid to go to these unbelievable places!

The high cliffs of Zion in the rain

Serving up my favorite appetizer-Bruschetta

I have now guided over 120 multiday tours, ridden thousands of miles, and served up at least a hundred of Enchilada Pies.

Eric stomps in the top bale

As a change of pace from the semi-nomadic life style, my co-guide and boyfriend Eric and I have built a permanent house (out of straw! look for a blog post to come…) here in Moab which is much different than the VW Fox that I moved here in

When I’m not on tour I get to work at Moab Cyclery behind the front counter giving out trail beta, answering phones, arranging inventory and getting people set up with their rental bikes.

Workin’ at the shop in Moab

A rare blizzard on the North Rim in June with co-guide Anne!

There are so many great stories that happen out in the field that I (and a little help from my friends) can’t wait to bring them to light.

Breathe in the future, breathe out the past.  More to come:)

Nancy

Mapping with the guests