I Am Not Alone. There Are Many Of Us. Part 3

-


 



This series started out with a less than a couple of handful of "Hams on a Bike". Word got around the world and I've been pleasantly introduced to more and more Amateur Radio operators who in one form or another use bicycling for their Parks on the Air, Summits on the Air, World Wide Flora & Fauna and portable operations.  

Here are links to the first two parts of this series.
I Am Not Alone! There Are Many Of Us. Part 1
I Am Not Alone! There Are Many Of Us. Part 2
 

Our hobby is SO GREAT that it has so many sub hobbies. I've come to know ham radio operators who hike with their rigs, kayak with their gear, fish with their gear, fly with their gear, ride in balloons with their gear and even jump out of a perfectly good airplanes with their gear and make QSOs while doing these other hobbies.

By now I'm sure you have come to understand that, I Am Not Alone! There Are Many Of Us.


Here is one of my favorite SOTA operators. The Ham Ninja - N1CLC Chris. Chris hikes, walks, drives, free solos and bikes to some of his Summits on the Air activation zones and most of the time he's accompanied by his companion Rae.  He uses all of his pilot skills to plot paths to many SOTA sites all over the western U.S.  This MTB climb up to Cowles Mountain was a smashing success. 

QRZ - N1CLC


The mountainous region of the west coast is prime real estate for Summits on the Air by bike. This multi-mode Ham on a Bike, Mark - KD7DTS transverses the peaks of San Gabriel's Vetter Mountain with ease.   Would you believe Mark took a ski lift part of the way to his SOTA activation zone? Would you also believe that Mark, ARA - N6ARA and others hauled some 10Ghz disks and equipment up a SOTA peak to test equipment? Southern California has its' Extreme operators too.



Here's a California "Ham on a Bike" who put it so eloquently on his QRZ page where he wrote, "Not sure if I will end up a Mountain Biker with a HAM problem or a HAM with a mountain biking problem.  Either way I'm having fun along the way."  Ride along as Bill - N6MTB has a windy climb up a summit in the northern part of San Diego County, California.





Mike - KB1UM  is a lot like me in that most of his Amateur Radio gear is old but as we've both say, "It still works". However, Mike's Ham on a Bike arrangement is new refreshing, RARE and UNIQUE!  View in more detail of Mike's FT-817 setup on his Giant Revive Semi-Recumbent Bike on his QRZ page. 



QRZ - KB1UM







In 2010 this Mike - K3BOC was inspired to pickup Ham on a Bike by an operator we'll look at later.  Mike has made more DXCC entities by bike than I have from my shack.  And Mike has a WAS and WAC operating from his bike. Talk about a HERO. You bet Mike is MY Han on a Bike Hero. Additionally, Mike does Pedestrian HF Ham Radio.
Find out more of all of Mike's Mobile and Ham on a Bike adventures on his QRZ page.

QRZ - K3BOC










Another operator Steve - G4NVF was inspired to pickup Ham on a Bike by an operator we'll look next.  Steve ventured into mobile Ham Radio first with a Golf Trolley.



Steve had heard about a local ham in his Blackpool, England community used his ham radio equipment on a bike.  After this ham displayed his Ham on a Bike setup at a ham club meeting, Steve was hooked. And as the saying goes, "The rest is history" . Steve started out with a Trike to operate but has since upgraded to an e-Trike. No matter; he's still a Ham on a Bike.








This is a HARD CORE Ham on a Bike is responsible for the previous two hams introduction into operating by bicycle. Although I've Biked To Work in sub zero temperatures; I'm not brave enough to operate ham radio from my bike in minus 5 degrees Celsius like Dave - G4AKC. Read more of how Dave dressed and operated for these cold EXTREME temperatures.





If you never heard of "The Load Out", be prepared to take notes from this high school teacher from Washington State, USA. who explains this term.  Josef - KD7QCW states he got jealous of the CW folks with their luxurious operating space and superior propagation which lured him into learning to learning Morse Code. When biking up a summit space is always at a premium.  "THE LOAD OUT" explains this superbly.

QRZ - KD7QOW



Now here's a Summits on the Air activator who was on the fast track in becoming a G.O.A.T  Bill J. - WJ7WJ . Bill started his SOTA activation journey in May 2019 and by July of 2022, he achieved his 1st G.O.A.T award. I'm sure Bill J has another G.O.A.T. in his SOTA bike bag. You can read about his detailed Summit on the Air activations at : WJ7WJ - Blog

QRZ - WJ7WJ



There is something in the water in the Pacific Northwest of the U.S. as I'm finding more operators who venture to Summits on the Air Activation zones via their bicycle and I think that's just fantastic.  This operator's callsign may be a give away as to what he sometimes uses to navigate to his Summits on teh Air activation zones.  W7MTB - Chris doesn't shy away from uses one of several QRP rigs during his Ham on a Bike SOTA activations. Read all abut the other vehicles Chris uses to the SUMMITS here:W7MTB Blog 




When I think of Puerto Rico, I think of Rum, sandy beaches and beautiful sunsets. However, La Isla del Encanto does have its share of Summits on the Air sites. Just south of San Juan is Cupey South. This 1 pointer SOTA site is an easy bike ride for Manu - WP4TZ.


QRZ - WP4TZ



This Hamberg, Germany "Ham on a Bike" Peter - DL6PL takes advantage of his city's network of Veloroutes which form the backbone of Hamburg's bicycle routes that connect different areas throughout the northern part of Germany plus routes to Parks on the Air and World Wide Flora & Fauna sites near Hamburg.  Below is his bicycle setup which is similar to what I have here in America.          Ritt auf Peter!








This "Ham on a Bike earned his Canadian Basic with Honours Amateur Radio License in February of 2022 as a retirement goal.  Rod -  VA3MZD who has four POTA sites located close to his home uses converted rail trails to bike to these is parks where he makes regular activations. Read about Rod's adventure into POTA from his Guest post on QRPer.com.

VA3MZD on QRPer.com


QRZ - VA3MZD



This last "Ham On A Bike" and I have the same taste in bicycles, QRP equipment and activating from local parks near our QTH. Jairus - N6ERS and I use Dahon and Tern Folding Bikes and activate Parks on the Air sites close to our QTH.  Here is one of Jairus'  POTA activations from US-0189 Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refugee near Fremont, California USA.



I thank all of the Ham Radio operators who have allowed me to share their "Ham on a Bike" setups, operating and experiences.  I know I have missed a lot of other Amateur Radio hams who do their operating with the use of a bicycle.  Each of us have our reasons, from being car-free, be it convenience, the challenge and/or adding exercise to their portable operating.

I've been made aware of a couple of internet sites which promote Hams on a Bike. 

Bicycle Mobile Hams of American is an organization which had a 29 year run at the Dayton HamVention until 2019. Below is the link to their website.

 Bicycle Mobile Hams Of America

The other is a Facebook group which has over 1500 members.

Real HF Mobile

I hope this series of posts will show that I am not unique in my portable Amateur Radio operating and if by chance you know of other Hams on a Bike not mentioned here, please leave a comment or send me an email. Later this year I'd like to revisit NEW Hams on a Bike.



Comments

  1. VA3MZDMarch 19, 2025 at 12:02 PM

    Thanks for this Jim! Great to read about all of these other likeminded hams out doing radio via bicycle. In my original QRPer post above from 2023, I mentioned a goal to activate all 5 POTA parks on my local rail trail in one day. I finally did it! Read about it here: https://qrper.com/2024/10/five-park-pota-rove-by-bicycle/

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

What Everyone Else is Reading

I Am Not Alone. There Are Many Of Us.

-
Image
If you look at the above photo, it may depict a lonely road. That is far from the truth.    BEHOLD!  I Am Not Alone. There Are Many Of Us. Its just another day in how I've done my portable ham radio activities for years. For various reasons I became Car-Free more than 10 years ago.  Bicycle transportation is widely more prevalent in countries outside of the U.S. However, that doesn't negate some of the U.S. Amateur Radio operators who participate in Parks on the Air, Summit of the Air,  World Wide Flora Fauna activities and others who provide VHf/UHF Public Service communications from using cycling to enjoy portable ham radio activities. For those Amateur Radio operators  outside of the U.S.  who use cycling in their portable operating, it seems to be second nature.  I get replies to social media posts and comments about my Ham on a Bike activities. All the comments have been positive. A lot of inquisitive questions about rigs, antennas, keys, bat...
Read more

I Am Not Alone! There Are Many Of Us. Part 2

-
Image
  This is the second of my series, "I Am Not Alone! There Are Many Of Us" about Ham on a Bike.  Here is the link to the first installment. Ham on a Bike - I Am Not Alone! - There Are Many Of Us, Part 1 In this post about "Hams on a Bike", I'll introduce you to those who not only push the bounds of portable Ham Radio operations but cycling as well. If you follow my Parks on the Air activations and think what I do is out of the ordinary or extreme, it does not hold a candle to these operators.  Some of them I call extreme "Hams on a Bike" operators. I consider this person to be an extreme Ham on a Bike operator.  Dugbo - KD7DUG, better known as  "Left Coast Ham Radio"; regularly takes his QRP Labs QMX rig, which he built; for his Summits on the Air activations. Dugbo shows what it takes to do a Mountain Bike SOTA activation this time while chasing Adam - K6ARK. QRZ - KD7DUG   There is only one word for this Amateur Radio Operator who takes his ...
Read more