Karl Freitag
Tour Guide
Who is Karl?
Karl grew up in Sparks, NV and Leipzig, Germany. Cycling became a regular form of transport while living in Leipzig which is known for its “green belt” of parks throughout the city. Somewhat surprisingly, his love for it grew out of theft, which rendered a previous bike useless. This forced him onto a 50s vintage Bauer bike from a flea market. The simple, maneuverable bike suited the local terrain far better and rode faster than the poorly maintained mountain bike he was attracted to as a teen and renewed a child-like sense of joy in cycling. During this time, he also enjoyed tandem trips, bike tag-a-longs by longboard and was introduced to fixed gear conversions with his friend Thomas (son of a Paris-Brest-Paris finisher). Eventually the Bauer bike was built up as a fixed gear and shipped off to be his first bike for exploring Portland!
Moving from Germany in 2015, he selected Portland because of its bike and transit infrastructure, and because it offered a lovely urban campus at Portland State (BFA in Studio Arts and minored in Philosophy). It was important to him to live in a place that offered culture and a city to explore outside of the university. He discovered Pedalpalooza, Portland’s summer bike festival, as well as weekly group rides and has become involved in the local cycling culture. Since 2021, Karl leads quarterly long format rides to mark season changes at Solstice and Equinox. Most exciting is the all-night Summer Solstice Ride which rides from sundown to sunup on the shortest night of the year!
On his birthday in May 2026, Karl set out on the PSP Fixed 400, a fixed gear time trial race from Portland to Seattle and back. Due to inclement weather, injuries and mechanicals this year, only 2/10 riders returned to Portland. Karl was one of the survivors, taking second. While this was certainly a “type 2.5 fun” event, Karl has a relish for adventure. He enjoys long rides and bikepacking because of their ability to allow riders to tap into endurance; a human quality modern life tends to avert. Through cycling, wants are reduced to basic needs and movement is a medium for experience. Experience of the body, the bike, and our surroundings and roll within our environment and the planet we inhabit.
The Bauer bike is now the top frame on Karl’s tall bike build!
Q&A
Q.
Cycle Hero:
A.
Joshua, a friend who has been cycle touring for three years (on a DIY 80s Stumpjumper setup) and is now headed back north after travelling all the way down the Americas. He is currently on the boarder of Argentina and Paraguay.
Q.
Favorite Vacation Destination:
A.
Anywhere in the saddle! I already want to go bikepacking again; Oregon Cascade Volcanic Arc was such an incredible route.
Q.
If I had a superpower:
A.
Probably time travel, so I could experience places in different eras hopefully with the ability to bike around. I'd love to see Portland (and other US cities) with excellent Trolly networks before the car took over. Maybe I'd roll along for Tour de France back in the day when everyone was riding fixed gear!
Q.
Where will find me when I not working/guiding:
A.
On one of five bikes off exploring or on a local group ride or resting in my backyard hammock; Gardening and cooking seasonal foods; Listening to local and international radio programming, playing drums; Spending time with my gray tabby Peewee.
Q.
If I could have coffee or beer with anyone, who would it be:
A.
Jimi Hendrix...or Friedrich Nietzsche!?
