The Pedalshift Project: Bicycle Touring Lifestyle

Revisiting my never-released 2015 bike tour journal of the Erie Canal Trail through western and central NY with some perspective from 2020. In part two we kick off actual trail riding in my hometown of Fairport and ride through the heat to my college town of Syracuse, NY. News & Housekeeping FsOTS Annalisa van den Burgh and Erik Dowds are back from their adventure in India juuuust under the wire before all this went down and I'm hoping to get them on a show this spring to chat all about it. In the interim they're running a contest over at milesofportraits.com/readandride with giveaways of books, films, cycling gear and more to keep everyone inspired in our less bike travely state. Go check it out!   Just chatted with Brock Dittus this week and I think we're looking at a SprocketShift Happy Hour soon... details will be at pedalshift.net/happyhour and in the newsletter. Tour Journal: The Erie Canal Trail Revisited Since bike touring adventures are on pause, but the desire to be on them isn't, the Pedalshi

Revisiting my never-released 2015 bike tour journal of the Erie Canal Trail through western and central NY with some perspective from 2020. In part one we set the table with some history (personal and the canal) plus kick off with the pre-canal ride entries from Batavia to Rochester, NY. News & Housekeeping The C&O campsites are still closed as I sit here, but I went out for a mini Mother's Day hike with Kimberly and the pups and it all looks great. It'll be there for us!   Speaking of... great news! The new surfacing is still going down, and the expansion will connect up Swains Lock with White's Ferry which means (a) the cruddiest stretch of the trail will be fixed and (b) that means MM 17-72 will be smooth riding, representing about 1/3 of the total trail. Great stuff and yet another reason to ride the trail when we can!   Hey, the SprocketShift happy hours continue! We've done four live shows and the date of there next one is posted at pedalshift.net/happyhour. Check it out... a tight 40 minutes on

This episode we talk about bike touring music. It’s such a personal thing, music… but we thought we’d take the time to chat about musical tastes, its role in our bike tours, and then build a cool Spotify playlist for your next tour, or to inspire you to build a new one for yourself. This special mega-sized pod features our friends from the Land of Sunshine and Bunnies™️, Brock Dittus and Aaron Flores of The Sprocket Podcast. Originally podcast March 3, 2016.

My five takeaways from social distance bike touring in the age of coronavirus and what I can figure out is the near term future for bike touring in 2020. Tour Journal: Social Distancing on the C&O Towpath This was a no-contact, self-supported, self-contained ride of the C&O that didn't stick to plan, had a low point or two, and if I'm being honest probably won't end up on my list of all time tours... but I have to wonder if it won't be amongst the most memorable. Check out Pedalshift 199 for the initial plan (spoiler: I did not stick to it),  Pedalshift 200 for Day 1, and Pedalshift 201 for Day 2, and Pedalshift 202 for Day 3. 5 Takeaways Expectations are hard to shake   Bike touring is more mental than physical   I like familiar tours but I’m missing new routes   I think backcountry rules are pretty easy to add on to a typical tour mindset   More and more I’m liking less and less mileage per day   What’s next for the rest of spring? I think bike touring can happen, maybe soon? Maybe not.    My per

This episode covers my third day riding the C&O on my no-contact, self-supported, self-contained ride. After a night of thunderstorms would a soggy trail slow me down on my return trip home or did I get my biking legs back? Tour Journal: Social Distancing on the C&O Towpath This was a no-contact, self-supported, self-contained ride of the C&O that didn't stick to plan, had a low point or two, and if I'm being honest probably won't end up on my list of all time tours... but I have to wonder if it won't be amongst the most memorable. Check out Pedalshift 199 for the initial plan (spoiler: I did not stick to it),  Pedalshift 200 for Day 1, and Pedalshift 201 for Day 2. This covers my third day riding the C&O on my no-contact, self-supported, self-contained ride. A few things I want to mention at the top of the show: At the time I was on the C&O, the campsites were officially open even though the water pumps and bathrooms were all closed (indeed strapped shut!). Since then, the Park Service

This episode covers my second day riding the C&O on my no-contact, self-supported, self-contained ride. This was a weirdly rough day of riding for me. Solitude was fleeting and it took making an early camp to get that and I think it made things a lot better. Tour Journal: Social Distancing on the C&O Towpath This was a no-contact, self-supported, self-contained ride of the C&O that didn't stick to plan, had a low point or two, and if I'm being honest probably won't end up on my list of all time tours... but I have to wonder if it won't be amongst the most memorable. Check out Pedalshift 199 for the initial plan (spoiler: I did not stick to it) and Pedalshift 200 for Day 1. This covers my second day riding the C&O on my no-contact, self-supported, self-contained ride. A few things I want to mention at the top of the show: At the time I was on the C&O, the campsites were officially open even though the water pumps and bathrooms were all closed (indeed strapped shut!). Since then, the Park

Welcome to the Bicentennial edition of the Pedalshift Project. Whether this is your 200th listening or your first, THANK YOU for being a part of this adventure. I cannot think of a better way to celebrate 200 episodes than by kicking off an extra long first part to a new tour journal. I ended up calling this Social Distancing on the C&O for all the obvious reasons. SprocketShift Happy Hour Hey, let’s have a drink together! The next SprocketShift Happy Hour is Friday April 10 at 9pm ET. More information on how to join here and watch the last two we've done. Tour Journal: Social Distancing on the C&O Towpath I cannot think of a better way to celebrate 200 episodes than by kicking off an extra long first part to a new tour journal. I ended up calling this Social Distancing on the C&O for all the obvious reasons. As I go to the mic now, we're entering a difficult and dark time in the US and I hope these episodes give a little bit of a break from all of that (although I obviously mention the pandemic

Since my Brompton California bike tour last month got scuttled by forces beyond my control (and yours too), I thought it would be good to share my takeaways from my 2016 adventure! Originally podcast April 28, 2016.

With the current global circumstances, I'm doing a different tour than I originally planned - a solo, non-contact, self-supported, socially responsibly distanced tour of the great C&O towpath. This is probably the solo bike tour that makes the most sense, and might be the most important one I've ever needed. In this episode, the preparation! A Solo Bike Tour of the C&O Towpath Going fully self-supported on the C&O Intention is to carry everything I need for 4 full days Round trip to my cabin in WV and back - about 65 miles per day Will have a roof over my head for night 2 Why this? I had previously scheduled vacation for 3 days, but I'm going to knock it to 2 and go into the weekend I will be starting in DC and given a few factors, ending in DC is easier on family dynamics than ending in WV and having Kimberly drive out herself with all the dogs and cat We've been doing essentially long weekends at the cabin, but are looking to shift to be in WV more than DC for the near term... and this helps fac

Orange Pedal Award Winner™ Maggie Lonergan joins us again to tell us Maggie Lonergan joins us again to tell us her tale of bicycle touring Norway (plus a little Finland... it has trees) last summer.  Sure we mention that pesky virus, but it's mostly touring talk, including some of the type II variety! Housekeeping Yeah, I won't be going to CA as planned, and The Missing Link tour is postponed (but will happen eventually). Pedalshift 199 will include the process that brought me to this decision and reveal my plans for that time. I think there's a responsible bike touring alternative, and if it's happening I'll reveal it on that episode. SprocketShift Happy Hour Hey, let’s have a drink together! The next SprocketShift Happy Hour is FRIDAY 3/20 at 8pm.ET/5pm PT. More information on how to join here. The Interview: Maggie Lonergan on Bicycle Touring Norway Check out our first chat about bike rafting in Ep 164.   Maggie Lonergan lives in San Francisco, still holding onto her New England ways. She's spent the last

Sunday March 15, noon PT, 3pm ET... Hey, let's have a drink together! Join Pedalshift and The Sprocket Podcast LIVE on Zoom and we'll try to figure all of this craziness out. Details at pedalshift.net/happyhour.

Ever wonder what's it's like to strap your kid to an Xtracycle and bring them along for one of the more scenic tours in the San Francisco Bay Area? On this episiode, veteran podcaster and tech reporter Cyrus Farivar shares his experience bringing his daughter on a tour from the East Bay to Half Moon Bay on his trusty ride. Xtracycle touring—it's a thing! Housekeeping Hey, event-cancelling-virus-willing, I'm presenting at the National Bike Summit's Active Transportation Leadership Retreat March 14th. National Bike Summit is the biggest collection of bike advocates and it happens in DC. This will be the first time I'm lawyering it up in the bike advocacy space, so it's going to be fun. Fellow Star Wars nerds! I have the Disney audio but need some time to distill it. Look for that in March. The Missing Link bike tour Hey, tour-cancelling-virus-willing, I'll be flying to southern California with my Brompton to ride the one piece of the California coast I missed in my 2014 tour! Possible meetup opportunity in San

How do I class up this podcast? Easy… ask my better half to come on the show and chat up how great yoga is for bike touring! On this episode of the pod, we discuss yoga for bike touring with Kimberly Wilson, founder and past owner of Tranquil Space yoga studios in Washington, DC. Originally podcast March 16, 2017.

Our first live show of 2020 wraps up the Kessel Run tour with my ten takeaways. From there I announce the big spring tour—The Missing Link! Plus more on episode 200 and a west coast meetup in March. Originally broadcast February 21, 2020. Live Video Replay https://youtu.be/CQjg-8IbH74 Housekeeping Hey, I'm presenting at the National Bike Summit's Active Transportation Leadership Retreat March 14th. National Bike Summit is the biggest collection of bike advocates and it happens in DC. This will be the first time I'm lawyering it up in the bike advocacy space, so it's going to be fun. Fellow Star Wars nerds! I have the Disney audio but need some time to distill it. Look for that in March. The Kessel Run: A Central Florida Bike Tour Takeaways Reminder to check out part 1 in PSP 194 and part 2 in PSP 195. 1 - Central Florida doesn't expect a bike tour, but I've found it to be better cycling than its reputation 2- Urban riding is great training for bicycle touring amongst motorized vehicles 3 - Disneyworld and Ai

Day 2 of the trip began with sunshine and exotic birds as I rolled through strawberry country and transitioned from wide open spaces to industrial places to... well I got to Tampa in time to explore some beer! But would I be able to roll right up to Tampa airport or be forced to sheepishly hire a ride for the last 1/4 mile? Reminder to check out part 1 in PSP 194 and then again Friday 2/21 at 9pm ET for Pedalshift Live, the wrap up of the Kessel Run tour AND the announcement of the spring tour AND how that impacts Pedalshift 200. WOW! Statistics, Day 2   Miles biked: 33.6 miles Unidentifiable bird species: lots Rain: no! Lightsabers fastened to rear racks: still 1 Sweet paved trail miles: 0 Flats: zero Bars visited: 2 Beers imbibed: 1 pint, 1 flight 2021 Florida Trips planned: 1

Central Florida has a thousand personalities. Sure, we all know the theme parks, and the big cities of Tampa and Orlando, but there are also huge swaths of barely developed pastures, orange groves, irrigation canals and lakes to catch a cyclists' eye while pedaling the miles away. A lot of people come to Florida to escape the chill of winter and return with stories and surprises. Me? I went to go fly the Millennium Falcon, but that's another story. After that? I rode across Florida. This is the story. Reminder to come back next Thursday for check out part 2 in PSP 195 and then again Friday 2/21 at 9pm ET for Pedalshift Live, the wrap up of the Kessel Run tour AND the announcement of the spring tour AND how that impacts Pedalshift 200. WOW! The Kessel Run: A Central Florida Bike Tour, Part 1 The beginning of the trip began with getting myself and my Brompton to  Florida... always an adventure. Then an interregnum at Disney's Galaxy's Edge for a nerd out day. My childhood dream of flying the Millennium Falcon

You might not be riding through snow and ice, but winter is a time to take stock of your bicycle’s condition for future tours. On this episode of the pod, winter touring bike maintenance, including care after icy rides and some tips on keeping your drivetrain clean and happy during the harshest season! Originally podcast January 18, 2018.

The first Pedalshift tour of 2020 is nearly upon us! Whether you believe in The Force or prefer a trusty blaster at your side, this tour starts with a decidedly Star Wars nerdy beginning, but cycles through a Central Florida familiar to some, but not all. Meditate with me young padewans as we mostly not talk about Star Wars stuff, and focus all on my upcoming bike tour of Central Florida! Previewing the Kessel Run: A Bike Tour of Central Florida GREAT feedback on the month of MJ! I think the game format was a fun twist, so look for more of those down the line. Very open to rule tweak suggestions or even new formats. Lots of ways to run a draft and lots of ways to argue who won

The month of MJ concludes like all good trilogies must... with a bang! No Ewoks in part three, but rather a game of Pedalshift Bicycle Tour Route Poker! Each of us chooses five bike tour routes for our "hand," and then you get to choose who collected the best set. Bicycle Tour Route Full House with MJ Rules in a nutshell... each person picks once per round. We pick a "card" representing a bike touring route until we end up with a full house hand of 5 touring routes - 3 Adventure Cycling Association  routes and 2 wild cards, and you get to decide who drew the better hand.   Our Full House Hands TYPE James Tim ACA Great Divide Pacific Coast ACA ID Hot Springs TransAm ACA WA Parks Lewis & Clark Wildcard Caraterra Estral Paris to Brussels Wildcard PanAmerican Hwy GAP/CO   Your vote   You have the rest of January eastern time to vote... who has the better tour route hand? Coming up on the Pedalshift Project My next bike tour, the Kessel Run in central FL, gets a preview episode the

The month of MJ continues with the very first Pedalshift Bicycle Tour Draft! I explain the rules at the top, and we kind of make it up as we go along, but the essence is each of us chooses pieces of gear or other elements of a bike tour that the other person now cannot choose, and then you get to choose who wins. The Pedalshift 2020 Bicycle Touring Draft Rules in a nutshell... each person picks once per round. We pick an element of bike touring gear. The other person is no longer able to pick it! After 9 rounds we argue who has the better draft and YOU get to judge the winner!   The Draft results Cast your vote Vote here or at pedalshift.net/191 You have the rest of January eastern time to vote... who has the better tour setup? Coming up in January on the Pedalshift Project But it doesn't end there... it is the month of Mysterious James and we have one more episode coming at you featuring MJ. We continue  our competitive streak and choose a poker full house hand of 5 touring routes - 3 ACAs and 2 wild cards,