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
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.
Shifty the Elf returns for the annual holiday spectacular! 2025 was... a year. And as Shifty and I pack up for Seattle, there's a bunch of things we're going through and boxing up as we bid adieu to the year!
Happy Holidays and see you in 2026!
A walk along Elliot Bay to discuss the short trip to Honolulu and more on the transition to Seattle and all the bikey adventures to come.
Honolulu and Seattle
- A walk along Elliot Bay
- Honolulu thoughts
- More Seattle impressions
- N+1 thoughts on bikes
Big news for the show: The Pedalshift Project is setting up camp in a new city! This episode breaks down what that means for future tours, how this opens up brand-new riding possibilities, and why the destination may be a bit of a surprise and also not a surprise at all.
My new home: Seattle!
Why? This move is all about geography, access, and expanding the Pedalshift touring sandbox. Seattle places world-class touring terrain rig...
It used to be that a bike adventure meant taking paid time off or quitting your job. Now that remote work is a reality for many of us, there's a new option. But is bike travel while working remotely right for you? Originally podcast July 28, 2022.
A repodcast of our Thanksgiving Eve live show: following up on your comments on the state of bicycle touring, plus a bunch of great questions in an Ask Me Anything segment!
Followup: Is Bicycle Touring in Decline?
More emails on this than any topic in a while. Some selected thoughts from listeners:
Regarding ACA
- Multiple listeners: Could ACA be losing older members in its a...
Bicycle touring numbers feel like they're down—fewer loaded panniers on the road, Adventure Cycling Association facing major financial headwinds, and a lot of long-time tourers quietly aging out. But is touring actually in decline, or is it just shifting into something that looks different—like bikepacking, gravel, and shorter, more flexible trips? In this episode I dig into Adventure Cycling's recent membership and financial updat...
Way back in January - and what feels like ten years ago to me - I set out a bunch of bicycle adventure goals for me in 2025. In a challenging year, I wasn't sure how I'd measure up but as I always like to do, I gave the goals a once over to see how I did. So on this episode we give it a scorecard treatment, but also a sneak preview of the final piece of 2025 adventuring that manages to check one of the boxes!
2025 Bike Adventur...
A chat with Sylva Florence, an experienced bicycle tourist and author of many things (including her blog The Sylva Lining) on touring as a solo woman, how people who want to be allies to solo women touring can do that without being creepy, and some of her favorite adventures. Originally podcast July 15, 2021.
What if you could tour with just what fits in a single dry bag? No panniers. Just the essentials. On this episode, we take this as a challenge - borrowing from the ultralight backpacking folks, we cut off our toothbrush handles and weigh every gram for the ultralight bikepacking challenge!
"What if you could tour with just what fits in your handlebar bag? No panniers. No rack. Just the essentials."
Why: curiosity, simplicity, nimbl...
We're bringing back one of the wackiest ideas in Pedalshift history — the Game of Chance! Using random number generators and the excellent Adventure Cycling Association routes, it's an unpredictable coast-to-coast bike tour from the Pacific to the Atlantic. When every turn is determined by chance the results are... surprisingly awesome?
In This Episode:
-
Revisiting the ...
Stealth camping is a great skill to develop and a fantastic option to have for emergencies or maybe even your main overnight plan on a bike tour. But what if your tent is so bright it can be seen from miles away? On this episode, we talk about what worked for my last tent and what I'm trying on my newer one. Originally podcast September 8, 2022.
Making a Tent Stealthier
The old tent – ALPS Mountaineering Zephyr 2
...
The Mysterious Oregon Coast adventure is in the rearview mirror, but we always like to peek back before moving on. On this edition we marvel at the fun we had on a fairly cursed tour of some of our favorite parts of the Pacific coast!
- Bike prep is key — but stuff still breaks. Even a tiny crank arm pin can end a day. Know shops and backup transport.
- Have Plans A–F ready. Flexibility and quick pivots kept the ride alive when ...
A leisurely morning at South Beach State Park sets the stage for what should be the triumphant finale, but James's bike has one last surprise in store. Sometimes a cursed bike adventure is the best kind. But with tire splits threatening the final miles and Eugene's punishing heat waiting ahead, will we actually make it to the finish line or become stranded out on the coast?
Key Highlights
- South Beach State Park downgrade - C...
A well-rested morning in Lincoln City spawns what seems like a reasonable plan to salvage the cursed tour, but James's borrowed bike has other ideas entirely. But with tubleless tire disasters forcing yet another major pivot, will this newly condensed coastal adventure finally find its groove or continue spiraling into beautiful chaos?
The New Plan (Before It All Changed Again)
- To...
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