Cycling with the Olympus Stylus Epic DLX

Last year I wrote about acquiring an Olympus Stylus Epic DLX. Because of the small size, I’ve been taking this camera with me on my many bicycle adventures. It’s a great camera that fits in the bag mounted to my seat, in my riding shorts, or the back pocket on my jersey. When I want to quickly capture an image, I can usually pull the camera out without getting off my bike.

In August of 2021, my wife and I traveled to Northern Idaho for a short vacation. We took our bikes and rode the Route of the Hiawatha. This trail is probably the most beautiful ride we’ve ever done. It’s 15 miles each way, you pass through 10 train tunnels and ride high above the trees on 7 train trestles. Instead of riding down the trail and taking a shuttle with our bikes back to the top, we decided to start at the bottom of the trail, ride to the top. Being in semi-shape, the 1.6% – 2% uphill grade wasn’t a concern to us. Our round trip was 30 miles, and we took our time, leisurely riding at our own pace and enjoying the scenery. The highlight of the trail is the Taft Tunnel. This 1.66-mile tunnel takes you into darkness and cool air. We stopped along several of the trestles, took photos, saw wildflowers and deer. There was some smoke in the air from neighboring wildfires that you can see in some of my images.

While we were in northern Idaho, we went to Silverwood Theme Park. With the Stylus in my pocket, I was able to ride all the roller coasters without worrying about it falling out of my pocket. And on our way back we spent a few days in Yellowstone National Park. Again, with the Stylus in my jersey pocket, we rode our bikes through the park. The park was incredibly busy, and I think I inhaled more car exhaust than mountain air.

Camera: Olympus Stylus Epic DLX (1997)
Film: Kodak Color Plus 200
Processed By: RepliColor SLC