The Pedalshift Project: Bicycle Travel Adventures
A podcast about bicycle touring, bikepacking, bike camping... any way you describe adventure travel by bike, it's covered here! From tips and tricks to ideas on how to ride your ride. Let's shrink the world by bike.
Episodes
Having said adieu to the C&O, let's revisit the spring 2023 ride of the C&O towpath for the next few months? Back then we had stellar conditions for riding. But with the Paw Paw tunnel closed, the trail posed a hefty challenge for someone with a fully loaded bike to push. But the Park Service said there's a shuttle, right? Originally podcast May 18, 2023.
The C&O has been a recurring spine of the show for years, from early episodes with zeroes in front of the numbers through bigger runs like DC to Cincinnati, and C&O But Slow. The show is now pointing toward Seattle, rightsizing bikes, and the new basecamp but I have one more ride on the C&O and one more ride on a special bike that I've pedaled all over the country.
Continuing more discovery of the Seattle area by bike and transit… this time it's a completely new to me place in Bainbridge Island! The real feature of course is the ferry, since we all know I love me a ferry. Some aquatic guest stars followed by Brompton riding in the town by the ferry terminal was a nice introduction, all shared here on the pod!
The weather is getting better, and I have bikes on hand... it's time to explore more of Seattle by bike! On this edition we start kind of big - crossing Lake Washington via the floating bridge by bike. Plus bonus Lunar New Year festivals!
Lake Washington Crossing
- Mercer Island to Pioneer Square
- Floating bridge and testing light rail
- Bonus lunar new year soundscapes!
The bike is in Seattle safe and sound, but the adventure getting it here? We have things to talk about! On this episode the takeaways from Minimal California!
Takeaways
- I really really like going with less
- Panniers have their place
- Riding in the rain can be fun, but not if it weren't planning for it
- Try the random cantina every time
- Bike bags are great but they have an expiration date
Hey we have some production delays on the latest episode, so look for that within the next few days... but to ensure your earballs get a regular Thursday listen, here's a special best of that goes ALL the way back to the leading 0 era!
Look, we all know there's some inherent risk in bikepacking, bike touring and even bike commuting. Between bad infrastructure and inattentive drivers, we assume some degree of risk every time we're in the saddle. But as with anything, there are things we can do to make our bicycle adventures safer than by doing nothing. On this episode, some thoughts on all the things you can do to have a safer ride! Originally podcast October 19,...
A fun night adjacent to the Happiest Place on Earth, but work to do on the final day of the adventure. A scouted ride to Orange County airport seemed easy, then challenging, then maybe easy again. But there's been a peculiar lack of drama on this podcast that tends to have unnecessary drama in the trips. I wonder… could we find some?
Statistics
Miles biked 27
Zippers broken 2
Yards of tape used by SNA TSA to seal the bike bag 3
...A flight to San Diego and operation get my bike to Seattle begins! Sunny Southern California lures me in with perfect… wait, what's that? Rain all day? In San Diego?
Statistics
Miles biked 25+2=27
Busses 1
Trains 1
Water bottles needed to wash sand off bike brak...
Welcome back from Winter Break! I was busy while we revisited some classic adventures, and went off and had a brand new one. On this edition, we preview Minimal California, a pared down adventure with a purpose, a destination, and... would you believe things that went awry?
I should have shownotes but I'm still on winter break mode... it's a good episode and you should listen to it!
Enough of my tour journals, let's shake it up and bring in special guest star and longtime friend of the show, Pedalshift Society member Brock Dittus in on a tour of not the Oregon coast! Brock travels solo through some of the steepest riding in the state, fueled by fried spicy goodness. Would that be enough to handle the climbs and our old nemesis, wildfire smoke? Originally podcast July 13, 2023.
With my proper trail bike in the shop but a real need to get out for an overnight, I turned to a C&O newbie… my trusty 12″ wheeled, very orange Brompton as my chariot to an urban(ish) stealth camping overnight. Would the trail chew up the Brompton? Would my orange gear prove too, well, orange for stealth camping? If you can't get your adventure by the liter these days, may as well do it in sips… Originally podcast July 16, 2020.
In the second of a two-parter, it's Pedalshift Tour Journals: Vol. 9: Olympic Peninsula! Join me and my trusty Brompton for 4 days of transit-aided bicycle touring from Washington, DC to Seattle to the Olympic Peninsula and wrapping things up in Astoria, Oregon. This week features a more-challenging-than-expected short mileage day, a visit to Kurt Cobain's riverfront hangout, and a long bridge serving as a finish line. Originally p...
In the first of a two-parter during winter break, it's Pedalshift Tour Journals: Vol. 9: Olympic Peninsula! Join me and my trusty Brompton for 4 days of transit-aided bicycle touring from Washington, DC to Seattle to the Olympic Peninsula and wrapping things up in Astoria, Oregon. This week features the machinations of getting from DC to a tent in the shadows of the Olympic Mountains (if there were, y'know… sun) and the first very ...
Every once in a while it's nice to look back on where it all came from – on this edition, we explore the evolution of bike touring gear from the beginning of the modern era in the 1970s through today's high tech enhancements to bikepacking and more. Plus, a nod to what the future might hold with new materials and tech to make bicycle adventuring more fun and accessible! Originally podcast June 22, 2023.
One more episode before we take a little winter break (with some great best of's!) we do our annual setting of goals. This year we mix in one non-cycling goal on top of the others. Hey if I hit all of these it's going to be a great year!
Adventure Goals for 2026
Continued fitness upgrades
Oh Canada!
New bike(s)
Ultralight gear and ultralight tours
A Brompton adventure
Seattle S24Os
Big toe dip: backpacking… Hoh Rainforest?
...Our very first live show of 2026 is also the inaugural live show from Seattle! On this episode we chat more in depth about Seattle biking adventures to come, both locally and launched from here, give a quick Brompton update, an even briefer ACA update, and then a bunch of questions in the live show AMA!
Live from Seattle
Thoughts on Seattle as a bike launching point
Local trails
Gateway to multiple adventures
Vancouver cro...
We've often talked about how slow travel by bicycle helps you see your adventure with far more detail than by car. But can we slow it down even more and reinforce that lesson? On this episode, exploring the parallels of exploring a city by foot and how that proves the point!
All Who Wander...
- Exploring Seattle without a car
- Using walking as a way to scope neighborhoods
- Slow travel lessons from bike touring, applied to everyday...
So you've decided to relocate - congratulations! Now you have to figure out what to do with all of your bikes. Do you just move them all or is it time to rightsize your fleet? On this edition, we take a long hard look at my situation with a cross-country move. Do I move them all or is there a better solution?
• Moving long-distance as a forcing function for downsizing
• Applying "does this still serve me?" to bikes
• When sentime...
You know you've got a bike tour coming up this year, so you want to make sure you're ready for it. What are some things to do to make that easier in the bike touring offseason? On this episode, some insight into my plans this offseason plus tips from ACA, REI and other experts!
ALSO... Pedalshift SEATTLE Live will be Friday January 16 at 5pm PT/8pm ET. Check out the details in your email, YouTube and pedalshift.net/live.
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