Uphill Into A Headwind
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intoaheadwind.bsky.social
Uphill Into A Headwind
@intoaheadwind.bsky.social
71 followers 1 following 380 posts
No matter which way I go,
Conditions change to make it so;
I’m going uphill or into a headwind.
🚵🏼‍♂️

#BicycleTravel focused account of @bioalex.bsky.social.

Support my journey:
https://ko-fi.com/bioalex
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intoaheadwind.bsky.social
Uphill Into A Headwind @intoaheadwind.bsky.social · 29d
In mid-2025, I quit my job & set out on yet another long haul bicycle journey, my 6th so far. This account is to document that journey as I explore western North America up to Alaska in 2026. And then…🤷🏻‍♂️😉

If you wish to support my journey, I have a Ko-Fi. All help is greatly appreciated.🥰🙏🏼
Support Alex Samaras
Support Alex Samaras
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intoaheadwind.bsky.social
I am sick & fucking tired of getting run off the road on 2 lane roads with little to no shoulder by oncoming drivers passing oncoming traffic while I'm there. Doubly so when there is a fucking double yellow line!🤬

This is happening way too often, you impatient fucks! SLOW DOWN!

#BikeSky
February 13, 2026 at 8:23 PM
intoaheadwind.bsky.social
So, yesterday morning I had to turn east-northeast through Morongo to Yucca Valley. Wind out if the east. Afternoon, I went north out of Yucca Valley & then northwest into Johnson Valley. Wind out of the north. Today, I go west to Apple Valley. Wind out if the west.

Aeolus hates me. 😭

#BikeSky
February 13, 2026 at 5:13 PM
intoaheadwind.bsky.social
Well it seems I got excited too soon. I guess #UPS is unaware of the concept of general delivery or unable to deliver to a US Post Office, b/c, w/out even attempting to contact me, they decided to return my order to the sender. 😡

So, fuck anyone who doesn't have a proper mailing address, I guess.
intoaheadwind.bsky.social Uphill Into A Headwind @intoaheadwind.bsky.social · 4d
I've done 6 (including this one) long haul #bicycle tours in my life & I've only just figured out (by being told by a potential #Warmshowers host that I can use "General Delivery" at a US Post Office to receive packages on the road.😅

#BikeSky #BicycleTravel
February 12, 2026 at 9:33 PM
intoaheadwind.bsky.social
Anyway, had to stop earlier than I wanted to today, because next up is a 400m ~6% climb followed soon after by another ~100m 6% climb (those are elevation gain, not distance) & I just don't have the strength for it today.

Here's some views of the San Jacinto Mountains near Desert Hot Springs.
Wide angle photograph looking south along the Coachella Valley with the San Jacinto Mountains rising on the opposite side of the creosote filled valley under a grey cloudy sky. Photograph of San Jacinto Peak shrouded in clouds with some snow on the upper slopes from looking across the Coachella valley floor covered in blooming creosote bushes. The sky is grey with many clouds Photograph looking along a two lane road towards the foothills of the southern end of the San Bernardino Mountains from the northern end of Coachella Valley near Desert Hot Springs, under a grey sky with clouds hugging the mountains
February 12, 2026 at 12:14 AM
intoaheadwind.bsky.social
With as much joy as there is in #BicycleTravel, sometimes you just have miserable days.😓

Along those lines, I have composed a Haiku in English. Those with delicate sensibilities my want to skip.

...

...

Fuck you, wind, fuck you
Fuck you, fucking wind, fuck you
Fuck you, winter wind.

#BikeSky
February 11, 2026 at 11:56 PM
intoaheadwind.bsky.social
I know it's my user name and all, but...

Few things are as disheartening & demoralizing as a headwind. Especially when it's a headwind that Windy insists shouldn't be happening. 😭

Really living up to the name today, looking at 600-900m of ascent depending on when I stop, all into a headwind.😓
February 11, 2026 at 9:47 PM
intoaheadwind.bsky.social
Well, I'm back in the NCR.

What's that? It's not the NCR yet? Well, #California, if you were to secede, I'd take it as a kindness if you'd do so while I'm in you. 😝

Decided to go around Joshua Tree NP, b/c I didn't feel like making climbs on National Park roads w/ no shoulders & plenty of RVs.😅
Selfie of me on my bicycle wearing a yellow green helmet, clear cycling glasses, a black tank top, and a backpack holding up one hand making a peace sign in front of a sign near interstate 10 saying Welcome to California.
February 11, 2026 at 3:47 AM
intoaheadwind.bsky.social
I don't know which of the many blossoming desert plants are causing it, but the air in the Colorado Desert in southeastern #California smells delightfully sweet and fragrant tonight. #Camping in the #desert in late winter? Can recommend!🥰👍🏼
#BikeSky #BicycleTravel
February 10, 2026 at 4:01 AM
intoaheadwind.bsky.social
I've done 6 (including this one) long haul #bicycle tours in my life & I've only just figured out (by being told by a potential #Warmshowers host that I can use "General Delivery" at a US Post Office to receive packages on the road.😅

#BikeSky #BicycleTravel
February 10, 2026 at 1:38 AM
intoaheadwind.bsky.social
#Cycling along US60 west from Wickenburg #Arizona is one of the the more pleasant rides through the desert I've been on. Decent shoulders (though careful of shredded tire debris—I did get a puncture) lined with blooming brittlebrush & a lot of gorgeous desert.

Ended today off I-10 near Blythe.😎👍🏼
Photograph of the cockpit view from my bicycle looking along US60 in Arizona showing the road stretching to the horizon with yellow blooming brittlebrush along the right shoulder, and creosote and palo verde trees in the desert along the road under a clear blue sky Photograph of the purple flowers with yellow stamen of Notch Leaf Scorpion Weed growing at my campsite Photograph of an olive green tent with a bicycle next to it on a mostly barren rocky plain with mountains on the horizon under a clear blue sky Photograph of a bicycle with green panniers parked next to an olive green tent alone on a mostly barren rocky plain with mountains in the background under a clear blue sky
February 8, 2026 at 11:30 PM
Reposted by Uphill Into A Headwind
intoaheadwind.bsky.social
Photo thread from this little slice of #desert paradise near Granite Wash Pass on US60 in #Arizona. I'll move on tomorrow, but this has been a truly spectacular place to camp out. 1/5
#BikeSky #BicycleTravel
Photograph of an ocotillo growing among creosote bushes with mountains in the background under a clear blue sky Photograph of a desert landscape of creosote bushes and scattered saguaro with mountains in the background under a clear blue sky Photograph of the bright sun causing a lens flare over a desert landscape of creosote bushes and scattered saguaro with a palo verde in the center and mountains in the background Photograph of a desert landscape with boulders the the foreground of a plain of creosote bushes, palo verde trees, scattered saguaro, and a yellow flowered brittlebrush, with mountains in the distance under a clear blue sky
February 8, 2026 at 1:57 AM
Reposted by Uphill Into A Headwind
bioalex.bsky.social
Post your steed.

My "Critter" is now over 9000km on the current trip and ~22,000km total since I got it.💪🏼😎🚵🏼‍♂️
#BikeSky #Bicycle
Photograph of a fully loaded up Surly Long Haul Trucker with green front and rear panniers, a brown leather Brooks saddle, a camera bag atop a tent and thermarest on the front rack, and a solar panel over the sleeping bag on the rear rack. Leaning against it is a backpack with a bicycle helmet sitting on top. In the background is desert and mesas of Petrified Forest National Park.
February 8, 2026 at 4:37 AM
intoaheadwind.bsky.social
Photo thread from this little slice of #desert paradise near Granite Wash Pass on US60 in #Arizona. I'll move on tomorrow, but this has been a truly spectacular place to camp out. 1/5
#BikeSky #BicycleTravel
Photograph of an ocotillo growing among creosote bushes with mountains in the background under a clear blue sky Photograph of a desert landscape of creosote bushes and scattered saguaro with mountains in the background under a clear blue sky Photograph of the bright sun causing a lens flare over a desert landscape of creosote bushes and scattered saguaro with a palo verde in the center and mountains in the background Photograph of a desert landscape with boulders the the foreground of a plain of creosote bushes, palo verde trees, scattered saguaro, and a yellow flowered brittlebrush, with mountains in the distance under a clear blue sky
February 8, 2026 at 1:57 AM
Reposted by Uphill Into A Headwind
bioalex.bsky.social
No way! I cycled through there on my 2021-22 bicycle trip & completely missed it! Maybe I should return to the coast & head up 101 again on my current bicycle trip as I make my way up to Canada & then Alaska. Yes, mainly just to visit this! Hiker/Biker camps in OR state parks are a nice bonus.😎
whereisyvette.bsky.social Yvette Cendes @whereisyvette.bsky.social · 6d
I will never tire of this spot on our visits to the Oregon coast! 🐳💥

(In Florence, OR)
Sign for exploring whale memorial park
February 7, 2026 at 8:05 PM
intoaheadwind.bsky.social
This BLM land near Granite Wash Pass on US60 is the most #RedDeadRedemption I've felt across the Sonoran #Desert of New Mexico & Arizona. What a beautiful place!
#BikeSky #BicycleTravel
Photograph of the Sonoran Desert near Granite Wash Pass showing rocks and boulders among creosote and other desert plants with mountains in the background under a clear blue sky Photograph of a short young Saguaro growing among burrobush with creosote and other desert plants scattered towards mountains in the background under a clear blue sky Photograph of a bicycle with green panniers parked next to an olive green tent among rocks and surrounded by scattered desert plants as the sun sets in a clear sky with a single arc of wispy clouds Photograph of a bicycle with green panniers parked next to an olive green tent among rocks and surrounded by scattered desert plants, including a yellow-flowered blossoming brittlebrush in the foreground, as the sun sets in a clear sky with a single arc of herringbone pattern wispy clouds
February 7, 2026 at 6:37 PM
intoaheadwind.bsky.social
A few shots of crossing the Salt River from the Tempe side to the Scottsdale side as I crossed the greater Phoenix area. I'd stayed with a lovely #Warmshowers host in Tempe & was on my way to visit my cousin in Surprise #Arizona.
#BikeSky #BicycleTravel
Photograph of the dam across the Salt River from downriver on the Tempe side showing the pedestrian bridge over still water beyond the dam, under a clear blue sky Photograph of the Salt River from the Tempe Arizona side between the dam and the pedestrian bridge looking across the still water to the far shore under a clear blue sky Photograph from the "cockpit view" from my bicycle looking along the pedestrian bridge across the Salt River from Tempe City to Scottsdale Arizona under a clear blue sky Photograph looking across the Salt River towards the buildings of Tempe Arizona under a clear blue sky with a bright sun
February 7, 2026 at 6:13 PM
intoaheadwind.bsky.social
A few scenes from the frontage road along I-10 between Tucson & Phoenix #Arizona near Picacho Peak.
#BikeSky #BicycleTravel
Photograph of the "cockpit view" from my bicycle looking along a two lane frontage road through the desert along Interstate 10 on the left and a railroad on the right. On the horizon Picacho Peak is on the left and Newman Peak is on the right. The sky is blue with wispy white clouds Photograph of Picacho Peak rising above interstate 10 in Arizona under a pale blue sky with thin white clouds Photograph looking along a frontage road of Interstate 10 through the desert with Picacho Peak on the horizon on the left and Newman Peak on the horizon on the right under a blue sky with white clouds Photograph looking across Interstate 10 showing Picacho Peak slightly silhouetted against a blue sky and bright white clouds
February 5, 2026 at 6:27 PM
intoaheadwind.bsky.social
Creosote blossoms (yellow) and Coulter's Globemallow blossoms (orange) on the BLM land I camped on between Tucson and Phoenix.

(IDs according to iNaturalist's Seek app)
#BikeSky #BicycleTravel #Flowers
Photograph of yellow flowers and white fuzzy buds amongst green leaves on a creosote bush against a blue sky Photograph of a couple of orange flowers of Coulter's Globemallow growing in an open area surrounded by creosote bushes under a clear blue sky Photograph of a couple of orange flowers of Coulter's Globemallow growing in patch of Globemallow next to a creosote bush under a clear blue sky Photograph of yellow flowers and white fuzzy buds amongst green leaves on a creosote bush against a blue sky
February 3, 2026 at 5:12 AM
Reposted by Uphill Into A Headwind
intoaheadwind.bsky.social
#SaguaroNationalPark East thread.🧵

As a preamble, let me just say how wonderful it was to see an area of Sonoran Desert ecosystem that hasn't been ravaged by cattle ranching. It was really stunning!

Settle in & enjoy the pictures of desert plants... 1/10

#BikeSky #BicycleTravel
Photograph of desert landscape full of creosote bushes, brittlebrush, and saguaro cactuses with a mountain in the background under a blue sky with wispy white clouds. Photograph of a desert landscape with prickly pear cactuses in a patch of bare rocky foreground with creosote, brittlebrush, and other desert scrub brush in the middle ground with a tall saguaro cactus. In the background are grey green mountains under a blue sky with wispy white clouds. Photograph of rocky ground with a few small boulders lined by desert plants including saguaro cactuses, creosote, prickly pears, and thurber's cholla, all under a blue sky with wispy white clouds Photograph of a Thurber's Cholla plant and a Ocotillo plant growing near some prickly pears and brittlebrush, with some saguaro cactuses and creosote bushes in the background under a blue sky with wispy white clouds
January 31, 2026 at 10:16 PM
Reposted by Uphill Into A Headwind
intoaheadwind.bsky.social
🎶Well I've been from Tucson to (almost but not quite) Tucumcari,
Tehachapi to Tonopah,
driven every kind of rig that has ever been made.
Driven the back roads so I wouldn't get weighed.
AND IF YOU GIVE ME...
WEED,
WHITES,
AND WINE
And you show me sign.
And I will be willin'
To be movin'🎶
#BikeSky
Selfie of me on a bicycle wearing a lime green helmet, a forest green buff, and a black long sleeve shirt on a bike path near the river on the way north out of Tucson. Behind me the sun shines brightly through the branches of a tree. There is text on the picture that reads, "I couldn't find a Welcome to Tucson sign on my way in or out, so bear with me that Tucson is behind me" Selfie of me on my bicycle holding my fingers as a peace sign in front of a Welcome to Roswell sign on the way into Roswell, New Mexico. There is text on the images that reads, "I couldn't get to Tucumcari, so I hope Roswell is good enough!" Selfie of me on my bicycle wearing a lime green windbreaker in front of a sign which reads Historic Downtown Techachapi with an arrow pointing back towards town. Selfie of me on my bicycle wearing a lime green windbreaker in front of a sign reading Welcome to Tonopah.
January 31, 2026 at 10:41 PM
Reposted by Uphill Into A Headwind
bioalex.bsky.social
Better late than never, but here's a thread of my visit to Saguaro National Park. 😎👍
intoaheadwind.bsky.social Uphill Into A Headwind @intoaheadwind.bsky.social · 13d
#SaguaroNationalPark East thread.🧵

As a preamble, let me just say how wonderful it was to see an area of Sonoran Desert ecosystem that hasn't been ravaged by cattle ranching. It was really stunning!

Settle in & enjoy the pictures of desert plants... 1/10

#BikeSky #BicycleTravel
Photograph of desert landscape full of creosote bushes, brittlebrush, and saguaro cactuses with a mountain in the background under a blue sky with wispy white clouds. Photograph of a desert landscape with prickly pear cactuses in a patch of bare rocky foreground with creosote, brittlebrush, and other desert scrub brush in the middle ground with a tall saguaro cactus. In the background are grey green mountains under a blue sky with wispy white clouds. Photograph of rocky ground with a few small boulders lined by desert plants including saguaro cactuses, creosote, prickly pears, and thurber's cholla, all under a blue sky with wispy white clouds Photograph of a Thurber's Cholla plant and a Ocotillo plant growing near some prickly pears and brittlebrush, with some saguaro cactuses and creosote bushes in the background under a blue sky with wispy white clouds
January 31, 2026 at 10:18 PM
intoaheadwind.bsky.social
🎶Well I've been from Tucson to (almost but not quite) Tucumcari,
Tehachapi to Tonopah,
driven every kind of rig that has ever been made.
Driven the back roads so I wouldn't get weighed.
AND IF YOU GIVE ME...
WEED,
WHITES,
AND WINE
And you show me sign.
And I will be willin'
To be movin'🎶
#BikeSky
Selfie of me on a bicycle wearing a lime green helmet, a forest green buff, and a black long sleeve shirt on a bike path near the river on the way north out of Tucson. Behind me the sun shines brightly through the branches of a tree. There is text on the picture that reads, "I couldn't find a Welcome to Tucson sign on my way in or out, so bear with me that Tucson is behind me" Selfie of me on my bicycle holding my fingers as a peace sign in front of a Welcome to Roswell sign on the way into Roswell, New Mexico. There is text on the images that reads, "I couldn't get to Tucumcari, so I hope Roswell is good enough!" Selfie of me on my bicycle wearing a lime green windbreaker in front of a sign which reads Historic Downtown Techachapi with an arrow pointing back towards town. Selfie of me on my bicycle wearing a lime green windbreaker in front of a sign reading Welcome to Tonopah.
January 31, 2026 at 10:41 PM
intoaheadwind.bsky.social
#SaguaroNationalPark East thread.🧵

As a preamble, let me just say how wonderful it was to see an area of Sonoran Desert ecosystem that hasn't been ravaged by cattle ranching. It was really stunning!

Settle in & enjoy the pictures of desert plants... 1/10

#BikeSky #BicycleTravel
Photograph of desert landscape full of creosote bushes, brittlebrush, and saguaro cactuses with a mountain in the background under a blue sky with wispy white clouds. Photograph of a desert landscape with prickly pear cactuses in a patch of bare rocky foreground with creosote, brittlebrush, and other desert scrub brush in the middle ground with a tall saguaro cactus. In the background are grey green mountains under a blue sky with wispy white clouds. Photograph of rocky ground with a few small boulders lined by desert plants including saguaro cactuses, creosote, prickly pears, and thurber's cholla, all under a blue sky with wispy white clouds Photograph of a Thurber's Cholla plant and a Ocotillo plant growing near some prickly pears and brittlebrush, with some saguaro cactuses and creosote bushes in the background under a blue sky with wispy white clouds
January 31, 2026 at 10:16 PM
intoaheadwind.bsky.social
I know I've fallen a little behind again. I've since visited Saguaro National Park, stayed in Tucson, and made my way up to the Phoenix area. I promise photodumps coming soon, as I steel myself to write all that alt-text.😅

Look forward to more desert pics coming very soon.
#BikeSky #BicycleTravel
January 29, 2026 at 7:22 PM
Reposted by Uphill Into A Headwind
bioalex.bsky.social
I am so sad that while I am in the right regions to ride my bicycle up to some of these, my timing is off. 😭 I'll be in Phoenix this weekend, no way I could get to Irvine by the 7th, San Jose is off my route, & April 4 is too early for me to be cycling to Seattle. The curse of being IRL Crusty Sean😭
splatoontourney.bsky.social SplatoonTourney @splatoontourney.bsky.social · 19d
Here is the coverage map for all qualifiers for the LAN Championship 2026!

Which LAN is closest to you?
January 26, 2026 at 10:11 PM