We kick off the year with a question people ask me before every trip – are you riding your bike to the airport? On this episode… tips on how to do it! Plus – a major tour announcement, a gaggle of Pedalshift winter meetups and the next live show announcement! Read more
The annual Pedalshift Holiday Spectacular is a year-end chat with Aaron and Guthrie from The Sprocket Podcast on the best things in biking and the podcast, a chat about traversing the Darien Gap plus looking forward to 2019. Read more
My adventure bicycling crossing Missouri – 6 days, 300 miles from Lees Summit, MO to Kirkwood, MO in May 2018. This is a four-part video series that complements the audio journals in The Pedalshift Project 118-126. Read more
So it’s your first bike tour and you have no idea where to begin… that’s where the Pedalshift Beginners Series comes in! On this edition, we cover training (especially when you’re off the bike) plus raising funds if your ride has a charitable component!
It’s the end of the year and that means it’s time for the Pedalshift Holiday Spectacular! Join Shifty the Elf, new friends and Tim for a showcase of the best of Pedalshift in 2017!
Have some bike touring or overnight stories to share? Send your pics, audio or a quick tweet – all welcome. Email the show at pedalshift@pedalshift.net or call the lightly-used Pedalshift voicemail line at (202) 930-1109.
The Pedalshift Holiday Spectacular 2017
Special thanks to obscure British author Charles Dickens for inspiring this year’s show!
MARK VAN RAAM, ghost of Pedalshift past (episode 090)
BROCK DITTUS, ghost of Pedalshift past (episode 093)
CAT CAPERELLO, ghost of Pedalshift past (episode 100)
Music
You’ve been hearing about Jason Kent and his music for many fine episodes. I got news for ya. New. Sunfields. Album. Is. Out. I’ve heard it. It’s top notch. Go get it.
We gather together some great bicycle touring minds for the 100th edition of The Pedalshift Project! On this edition, it’s a roundtable talking about bicycle touring stories, and even touch on the future of bicycle touring. Read more
My fall 2017 Pacific Coast bicycle tour ended in San Francisco last week… On this episode, part two of my big tour bicycling Oregon to San Francisco featuring all the highlights, lowlights and takeaways from a really fun trip. Read more
My fall 2017 Pacific Coast bicycle tour ended in San Francisco this week… On this episode, an interview with Daniel, the guy who ended up bicycling Oregon to San Francisco with me! Read more
My fall 2017 Pacific Coast bicycle tour kicks off in less than a week! On this episode, a tour preview plus tips for working remotely on bike tour! Read more
On this episode, after a weekend overnight in triple digit heat, we cover some hot weather bicycle touring tips. Plus, followup, a tour to follow and more!
Have some bike touring or overnight stories to share? Send your pics, audio or a quick tweet – all welcome. Email the show at pedalshift@pedalshift.net or call the lightly-used Pedalshift voicemail line at (202) 930-1109.
The Journal: hot weather bicycle touring tips + more
How’d that #heatindex ride go?
Heat index when I left was 104F!
Rode really strong out there. Not tempted to stop at MM16 campsite when in past heat index rides, I usually caved.
Collapsable cooler full of good stuff – never did this before, but will absolutely do it again for hot rides. More weight, but to have cold drinks and food when I arrived, it was so worth it.
Rain cooling me down but made things wet – how I handled it.
Camping and hammocking
Let’s be cool with each other when we share campsites?
Hot weather bicycle touring tips
Time your riding (early AM or even night riding where appropriate)
Hydration + electrolytes (my NP suggested Hammer Nutrition, but these by Lyte Fuel are similar, although with a slightly different balance.)
snoringyogi on Instagram… he’s a buddy from DC who’s touring Scandinavia right now on a fat tired Surly. Looks like a great ride and I hope to get him on the show later this summer or fall to talk all about it. By the way, this is his first really big tour, so for all of you who are new to this, know you don’t have to be some pro-level tourer to do big things!
Flying with your bike
Alaska Airlines appears to be the best US carrier with its new $25 policy for sporting equipment – we covered that last week. There was an open question about Virgin America’s policy since they’re about to merge with Alaska… answer:
Virgin America for the moment has a $50 fee (previously amongst the lowest and still a good deal) but will presumably drop to $25 once the merger with Alaska happens.
Emergency items
From FOTS and PSS member Ethan Georgi:
EMS (& I imagine REI etc) have pre-packaged First Aid Kits with everything you need. This way you don’t have to figure out what to put in it & assemble all the stuff yourself: done for you. They come in various sizes depending on the number of people in your party. I’ve been carrying mine for years.
ICE card: RoadID (dot com) has a ton of great options. Most importantly they are easy to find by First Responders. Expecting anyone to dig through your panniers while you’re bleeding out sounds like an unnecessary hassle.
Another thing I’d add as a “varsity” level comms device beyond the SPOT is the Garmin inReach… added bonus of having the emergency call is the ability to send text messages via the satellite network that’s a little more robust than the minimal messages for the SPOT.
Connections
You were *busy* people!
Check out Matt’s blog at 4ranges.wordpress.com. A lot about finding time to bike when you can, especially in cool places he travels to for work!
Pedalshift Society
Help support the show and join the Pedalshift Society with monthly or one-shot contributions!
Ethan Georgi
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Marco Lo
Terrance Manson
Noah Schroer
Harry Telgadas
John Sikorski
Richard Killian
Chris Barron
Scott Taylor
Brian Hren
Mark Van Raam
Brad Hipwell
Paul Mulvey
Stuart Buchan
Todd Stutz
Mr. T
Roxy Arning
Nathan Poulton
Harry Hugel
Ferguson Meek
Stephen Dickerson
Vince LoGreco
Ruth DeVorsey
Michelle Miller
Matthew Lewis
Michael Baker
Billy Crafton
Paul Culbertson Scott Culbertson Matt Perry
And all anonymous and past contributors for helping make this show happen!
Music
You’ve been hearing about Jason Kent and his music for many fine episodes. I got news for ya. New. Sunfields. Album. SEPTEMBER 15th. I’ve heard it. It’s top notch.