In a few days, I leave on my “big tour” of the year, and one that is a bit of an experiment from the PedalShift point of view.

My ride starts with a quick jaunt by bus to Tillamook, Oregon. From there, I’ll point the bike south along the well-regarded (because it’s awesome) Pacific Coast route down to San Francsico. It’s about 16 in-saddle days with camping adventures all the way down.

But here’s where the experiment kicks in: I plan to remain connected to all of my work projects while on tour. In the past, tours were my sole opportunity to totally unplug. Doing it this way, however, allows me to do a longer tour. Lots of questions…

• Will working on tour spoil or lessen the experience? Don’t know. We’ll see!
• How does this “work”? Let’s just say I need to tip one back for Steve Jobs. The iPhone allows me to manage my AirBnB places, handle all emails, even do face to face video meetings with my staff at the studio back east.
• So, you no worries about signals? Oh there’s plenty of worry about that. Lots of empty signal days on the coast! I’m planning some zero mile work days in towns I know there’s connectivity.
• What about juicing up that iPhone? I have a dynohub setup that I am hacking to make work on my bike. More to come on that, because I think a big part of being able to work remotely is ensuring power for devices. This is one way.

Have you ever worked on tour? While I know completely unplugging is preferable, I’m actually a little excited to see this work. It’s a core principle of what I’d like to develop… being able to work remotely, particularly while on tour, so I can do more of it. If it doesn’t… well, I suppose this website might have a short shelf life 😉

More to come…