The Pedalshift Project: Bicycle Travel Adventures

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...

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...

The morning starts strong at Cape Lookout with perfect James and Tim weather, but what begins as a confident push toward Beverly Beach slowly unravels into mechanical mayhem and decision-making paralysis. But with the original plan officially in shambles and multiple escape routes beckoning, will we unleash a suffer fest or pivot to something unexpected?

Key Highlights

• Perfect weather conditions - cloudy and cool, exactly what...

Mysterious James and I emerge from our three-night Cannon Beach odyssey to accidentally unlock our cycling superpowers, turning a modest Tillamook target into a shocking 52-mile triumph. It's the usual stuff: ice cream as performance enhancer, and the stunning revelation that hydration might actually matter. But with tomorrow's weather turning and our schedule still behind, will this newfound confidence carry us forward or set us u...

Day two and three of the Oregon Coast tour evolve into an epic quest for an elusive bicycle part. Is this a mere repair mission or a saga worthy of Greek mythology with adaptive problem-solving, multiple contingency plans, long-distance bus adventures, heat stroke avoidance, and kind bike shop professionals who go above and beyond?

Day Two Morning - Plan Multiplication 

• Late wake-u...

Day one of an Oregon coast adventure - what could possibly go wrong? As Mysterious James and I began our journey from Astoria after navigating July 4th rental car details, we encounter (because of course) the first of many issues we'll encounter on the most mysterious of Oregon Coast adventures ever.

Mysterious Oregon Coast 2025 Part 1

Morning, Turned Afternoon Departure

• 1:00 PM start time after bike assembly and hote...

We are so back.... on the Oregon Coast with the Mysterious James for another round of two-wheeled mayhem. Ten days, 360 miles, zero expectations, and maximum potential for randomness. The Safari's ready, MJ is in, and we're about to find out if bike touring is really dying or just hiding. Spoiler alert: it's gonna be a wild ride.

Mysterious Oregon Coast 2025 Preview

Route Preview

•Start: Astoria, OR (mile marker 0 or 360, ...

Six days, two countries, multiple ferries, and one very stubborn e-bike brake magnet later, the Lake Ontario circumnavigation attempt has wrapped up in ways both expected and completely unforeseen. What started as an ambitious 540-mile loop around one of the Great Lakes became a masterclass in adventure adaptation, international border logistics, and the reality of shoulder season touring. On this episode, takeaways from a trip tha...

What was supposed to be a triumphant border crossing and final push from Niagara Falls back to the starting point became something entirely different when family health concerns required an immediate pivot. But sometimes the best laid plans need to be set aside for what actually matters, and day six became about completing the ride in the way it was always meant to end - with a proper beginning and a proper finish, both by bike, bo...

Transitioning from from the peaceful Toronto Island back into the  urban sprawl of southern Ontario is a bit of a record scratch I'll more thoroughly experience when I eventually ride this ride, but a fast forward to a stunning Niagara Falls hotel leads to an extensive e-bike exploration of the Niagara River and Falls area. But plans always have a way of changing and this day was no differ...