Cyclists looking to adorn their wall with bicycle photography still have some time to check out Tucson cyclist Martha Retallick’s Bike-tography Show at Borderlands Brewery.

Retallick is a regular here at Tucson Velo and comments over on our Facebook page. In addition to cycling in all 50 states and not owning a car, she’s a darn good photographer.

Here is what she says about the show and bike-tography:

I was introduced to bike-tography after deciding to pedal through all 50 of the United States back in 1980. Accomplishing this goal only took 12 years – and 15,000 miles.

Traveling without the protective bubble of a vehicle provides a wonderful opportunity to see, hear, feel, and smell the world around you. You can see things that are way off in the distance. Like those towering tornadoes of dust that I saw in New Mexico. They were at least 20 miles away. You can also enjoy the scenery up close. Like the grasshopper that landed on my spokes in Ohio.

How about total silence? In the Nebraska Sandhills, that’s exactly what I heard. And you know what ? Total silence hurts. It feels like a giant “Whoom!” in the ears!

Feeling? When you’re out there by yourself, you will experience every emotion that exists. The terror that comes when you miss being hit head on by inches. The delight of reaching mountain peaks under your own steam – and the exhilarating downhill ride that follows. The boredom of plodding through mile after mile through plains and forests that never seem to change.

You also feel the weather – all of it. Hundred-plus degree heat greeted me in rural Virginia. And freezing temps made camping in Utah a memorable experience. Did you know that’s impossible to sleep when your feet are like blocks of ice?

Your sense of smell will also get quite a workout. I’ll never forget those blooming roadside wildflowers in Texas. And that other aroma from the Lone Star State. Believe me, there’s nothing that stinks worse than a dead armadillo.

Add to this the minimalist nature of bicycle travel. Having limited carrying space forces you to rely on as little photographic equipment as possible. On my bike, I only had room for one camera body and one lens. So, that’s what I worked with.

And I still do.

That’s because I have never owned a car. I’ll be sharing images from my car-free photographic career during the Bike-tography Show. The show is part of Borderlands Brewing Company‘s ongoing Borderlands Arts series.

Retallick’s show is open Wednesday through Saturday from 4 p.m. – 9 p.m. at Borderlands Brewery located at 119 E Toole Avenue. It runs through Nov. 9, 2013.

Check out the coverage of the opening weekend.

Tucson News Now