The Pedalshift Project 206: The Erie Canal Trail Revisited – Part 3

Revisiting my never-released 2015 bike tour journal of the Erie Canal Trail through western and central NY with some perspective from 2020. In part three we wrap up the tour with some of the best riding of the entire trip, and a fantastically comical ending because I taunted the bike touring gods.
http://traffic.libsyn.com/pedalshift/psp206.mp3

The Pedalshift Project 206: The Erie Canal Trail Revisited - Part 3

Hey it’s the direct download link for  The Pedalshift Project 205: The Erie Canal Trail Revisited – Part 3 (mp3).

Subscribe/Follow The Pedalshift Project:
RSS – iTunes – Overcast – Android – Google Podcasts – Stitcher – TuneIn – IHeartRadio – Spotify

Reach out to the show via email, Twitter and Instagram. Don’t forget to join the newsletter too.

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

News & Housekeeping

Breaking news! Great news for you C&O heads… the campgrounds on the northern/western end of the trail are OPEN. (Frederick, Allegheny and Washington counties). Look for another socially distanced, responsible Pedalshift tour in June! Details on the C&O conditions page.
 
Hiker-bike Campsites – open in Frederick, Washington, and Allegany Counties (Calico Rocks mm 47.6  to Evitts Creek near Cumberland). Please bring your own water as pump handles will not be replaced and turned on at this time. Restrooms may be open and will be cleaned twice weekly. Please bring your own hand sanitizer, soap, and toilet paper as these items have been the subject of theft.
 
Amazing news. I plan to do a tour in the next few weeks that loops from my cabin in WV to the Cumberland end of the trail and back. More to come!
 
This week… the thrilling (and frankly, hysterical) conclusion to the 2015 Erie Canal adventure. Next week’s best of will be the wrap up episode from the ride just to tie a ribbon around things.
 
We have amazing stuff coming in June… a new tour it looks like, some interviews and more. Stick around!

Tour Journal: The Erie Canal Trail Revisited

Since bike touring adventures are on pause, but the desire to be on them isn’t, the Pedalshift Project is proud to dust off never-releases tour journals of past rides! For the next several weeks we’ll be revisiting my 2015 tour of the trail that started it all for me… the Erie Canal Bike Trail.
 
I’ll pop in from time to time to give a little 2020 perspective on the ride. I’m going to be listening to this for the first time in years, so in some ways it’ll be like riding it all over again.
 
In part 3 we wrap up the ride through the rest of central New York and wrap up on the east side in Albany.
 














As always we like to close out the show with a special shoutout to the Pedalshift Society! Because of support from listeners like you, Pedalshift is a weekly bicycle touring podcast with a global community, expanding into live shows and covering new tours like The Kessel Run and The Missing Link bike tours! If you like what you hear, you can support the show for 5 bucks, 2 bucks or even a buck a month. And there’s one-shot and annual options if you’re not into the small monthly thing. Check it all out at pedalshift.net/society.

Kimberly Wilson
Caleb Jenkinson
Cameron Lien
Andrew MacGregor
Michael Hart
Keith Nagel
Brock Dittus
Thomas Skadow
Marco Lo
Terrance Manson
Harry Telgadas
Chris Barron
Mark Van Raam
Brad Hipwell
Stuart Buchan
Mr. T
Nathan Poulton
Stephen Dickerson
Vince LoGreco
Cody Floerchinger
Tom Benenati
Greg Braithwaite
Sandy Pizzio
Jeff Muster
Seth Pollack
Joseph Quinn
Drue Porter
Byron Paterson
Joachim Raber
Ray Jackson
Jeff Frey
Kenny Mikey
Lisa Hart
John Denkler
Steve Hankel
Miguel Quinones
Alejandro Avilés-Reyes
Keith Spangler
Greg Towner
Dan Gebhart
Jody Dzuranin
Lucas Barwick
Michael Baker
Brian Bechtol
Reinhart Bigl
Greg Middlemis
Connie Moore
William Gothmann
Brian Benton
Joan Churchill
Mike Bender
Rick Weinberg
Billy Crafton
Gary Matushak
Greg L’Etoile-Lopes
James Sloan
Jonathan Dillard
John Funk
Tom Bilcze
Ronald Piroli
Dave Roll
Brian Hafner
Misha LeBlanc
Ari Messinger
David Gratke
Todd Groesbeck
Wally Estrella
Sue Reinert
John Leko
Stephen Granata
Phillip Mueller
Robert Lackey
Dominic Carol
Jacqi McCulloch
John Hickman
Carl Presseault
David Neves
Patty Louise
Terry Fitzgerald

Music

You’ve been hearing about Jason Kent and his music for many fine episodes. Sunfields’ latest album may be their best yet. Go get it.

The post The Pedalshift Project 206: The Erie Canal Trail Revisited – Part 3 appeared first on Pedalshift.

The Pedalshift Project 205: The Erie Canal Trail Revisited – Part 2

Revisiting my never-released 2015 bike tour journal of the Erie Canal Trail through western and central NY with some perspective from 2020. In part two we kick off actual trail riding in my hometown of Fairport and ride through the heat to my college town of Syracuse, NY.
http://traffic.libsyn.com/pedalshift/psp205.mp3

The Pedalshift Project 205: The Erie Canal Trail Revisited - Part 2

Hey it’s the direct download link for  The Pedalshift Project 205: The Erie Canal Trail Revisited – Part 2 (mp3).

Subscribe/Follow The Pedalshift Project:
RSS – iTunes – Overcast – Android – Google Podcasts – Stitcher – TuneIn – IHeartRadio – Spotify

Reach out to the show via email, Twitter and Instagram. Don’t forget to join the newsletter too.

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

News & Housekeeping

FsOTS Annalisa van den Burgh and Erik Dowds are back from their adventure in India juuuust under the wire before all this went down and I’m hoping to get them on a show this spring to chat all about it. In the interim they’re running a contest over at milesofportraits.com/readandride with giveaways of books, films, cycling gear and more to keep everyone inspired in our less bike travely state. Go check it out!
 
Just chatted with Brock Dittus this week and I think we’re looking at a SprocketShift Happy Hour soon… details will be at pedalshift.net/happyhour and in the newsletter.

Tour Journal: The Erie Canal Trail Revisited

Since bike touring adventures are on pause, but the desire to be on them isn’t, the Pedalshift Project is proud to dust off never-releases tour journals of past rides! For the next several weeks we’ll be revisiting my 2015 tour of the trail that started it all for me… the Erie Canal Bike Trail.
 
I’ll pop in from time to time to give a little 2020 perspective on the ride. I’m going to be listening to this for the first time in years, so in some ways it’ll be like riding it all over again.
 
In part 2 we actually get on the Erie Canal Trail, covering my ride from my hometown of Fairport, NY winding through my college town of Syracuse over a couple of sultry western and central NY days.
 


























As always we like to close out the show with a special shoutout to the Pedalshift Society! Because of support from listeners like you, Pedalshift is a weekly bicycle touring podcast with a global community, expanding into live shows and covering new tours like The Kessel Run and The Missing Link bike tours! If you like what you hear, you can support the show for 5 bucks, 2 bucks or even a buck a month. And there’s one-shot and annual options if you’re not into the small monthly thing. Check it all out at pedalshift.net/society.

Kimberly Wilson
Caleb Jenkinson
Cameron Lien
Andrew MacGregor
Michael Hart
Keith Nagel
Brock Dittus
Thomas Skadow
Marco Lo
Terrance Manson
Harry Telgadas
Chris Barron
Mark Van Raam
Brad Hipwell
Stuart Buchan
Mr. T
Nathan Poulton
Stephen Dickerson
Vince LoGreco
Cody Floerchinger
Tom Benenati
Greg Braithwaite
Sandy Pizzio
Jeff Muster
Seth Pollack
Joseph Quinn
Drue Porter
Byron Paterson
Joachim Raber
Ray Jackson
Jeff Frey
Kenny Mikey
Lisa Hart
John Denkler
Steve Hankel
Miguel Quinones
Alejandro Avilés-Reyes
Keith Spangler
Greg Towner
Dan Gebhart
Jody Dzuranin
Lucas Barwick
Michael Baker
Brian Bechtol
Reinhart Bigl
Greg Middlemis
Connie Moore
William Gothmann
Brian Benton
Joan Churchill
Mike Bender
Rick Weinberg
Billy Crafton
Gary Matushak
Greg L’Etoile-Lopes
James Sloan
Jonathan Dillard
John Funk
Tom Bilcze
Ronald Piroli
Dave Roll
Brian Hafner
Misha LeBlanc
Ari Messinger
David Gratke
Todd Groesbeck
Wally Estrella
Sue Reinert
John Leko
Stephen Granata
Phillip Mueller
Robert Lackey
Dominic Carol
Jacqi McCulloch
John Hickman
Carl Presseault
David Neves

Music

You’ve been hearing about Jason Kent and his music for many fine episodes. Sunfields’ latest album may be their best yet. Go get it.

The post The Pedalshift Project 205: The Erie Canal Trail Revisited – Part 2 appeared first on Pedalshift.

The Pedalshift Project 204: The Erie Canal Trail Revisited – Part 1

Revisiting my never-released 2015 bike tour journal of the Erie Canal Trail through western and central NY with some perspective from 2020. In part one we set the table with some history (personal and the canal) plus kick off with the pre-canal ride entries from Batavia to Rochester, NY.
http://traffic.libsyn.com/pedalshift/psp204.mp3

The Pedalshift Project 204: The Erie Canal Trail Revisited - Part 1

Hey it’s the direct download link for  The Pedalshift Project 204: The Erie Canal Trail Revisited – Part 1 (mp3).

Subscribe/Follow The Pedalshift Project:
RSS – iTunes – Overcast – Android – Google Podcasts – Stitcher – TuneIn – IHeartRadio – Spotify

Reach out to the show via email, Twitter and Instagram. Don’t forget to join the newsletter too.

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

News & Housekeeping

The C&O campsites are still closed as I sit here, but I went out for a mini Mother’s Day hike with Kimberly and the pups and it all looks great. It’ll be there for us!
 
Speaking of… great news! The new surfacing is still going down, and the expansion will connect up Swains Lock with White’s Ferry which means (a) the cruddiest stretch of the trail will be fixed and (b) that means MM 17-72 will be smooth riding, representing about 1/3 of the total trail. Great stuff and yet another reason to ride the trail when we can!
 
Hey, the SprocketShift happy hours continue! We’ve done four live shows and the date of there next one is posted at pedalshift.net/happyhour. Check it out… a tight 40 minutes on one topic and we always get kicked off Zoom in a comical way.

Tour Journal: The Erie Canal Trail Revisited

Since bike touring adventures are on pause, but the desire to be on them isn’t, the Pedalshift Project is proud to dust off never-releases tour journals of past rides! For the next several weeks we’ll be revisiting my 2015 tour of the trail that started it all for me… the Erie Canal Bike Trail.
 
I’ll pop in from time to time to give a little 2020 perspective on the ride. I’m going to be listening to this for the first time in years, so in some ways it’ll be like riding it all over again.
 





As always we like to close out the show with a special shoutout to the Pedalshift Society! Because of support from listeners like you, Pedalshift is a weekly bicycle touring podcast with a global community, expanding into live shows and covering new tours like The Kessel Run and The Missing Link bike tours! If you like what you hear, you can support the show for 5 bucks, 2 bucks or even a buck a month. And there’s one-shot and annual options if you’re not into the small monthly thing. Check it all out at pedalshift.net/society.

Kimberly Wilson
Caleb Jenkinson
Cameron Lien
Andrew MacGregor
Michael Hart
Keith Nagel
Brock Dittus
Thomas Skadow
Marco Lo
Terrance Manson
Harry Telgadas
Chris Barron
Mark Van Raam
Brad Hipwell
Stuart Buchan
Mr. T
Nathan Poulton
Stephen Dickerson
Vince LoGreco
Cody Floerchinger
Tom Benenati
Greg Braithwaite
Sandy Pizzio
Jeff Muster
Seth Pollack
Joseph Quinn
Drue Porter
Byron Paterson
Joachim Raber
Ray Jackson
Jeff Frey
Kenny Mikey
Lisa Hart
John Denkler
Steve Hankel
Miguel Quinones
Alejandro Avilés-Reyes
Keith Spangler
Greg Towner
Dan Gebhart
Jody Dzuranin
Lucas Barwick
Michael Baker
Brian Bechtol
Reinhart Bigl
Greg Middlemis
Connie Moore
William Gothmann
Brian Benton
Joan Churchill
Mike Bender
Rick Weinberg
Billy Crafton
Gary Matushak
Greg L’Etoile-Lopes
James Sloan
Jonathan Dillard
John Funk
Tom Bilcze
Ronald Piroli
Dave Roll
Brian Hafner
Misha LeBlanc
Ari Messinger
David Gratke
Todd Groesbeck
Wally Estrella
Sue Reinert
John Leko
Stephen Granata
Phillip Mueller
Robert Lackey
Dominic Carol
Jacqi McCulloch
John Hickman
Carl Presseault

Music

You’ve been hearing about Jason Kent and his music for many fine episodes. Sunfields’ latest album may be their best yet. Go get it.

The post The Pedalshift Project 204: The Erie Canal Trail Revisited – Part 1 appeared first on Pedalshift.

Best of Pedalshift 044: Bicycle Touring Music

This episode we talk about bicycle touring music. It’s such a personal thing, music… but we thought we’d take the time to chat about musical tastes, its role in our bike tours, and then build a cool Spotify playlist for your next tour, or to inspire you to build a new one for yourself. This special mega-sized pod features our friends from the Land of Sunshine and Bunnies™, Brock Dittus and Aaron Flores of The Sprocket Podcast. Originally podcast March 3, 2016.

Best of Pedalshift 044: Bicycle Touring Music

The post Best of Pedalshift 044: Bicycle Touring Music appeared first on Pedalshift.

The Pedalshift Project 203: Social Distancing Tour Takeaways and What’s Next

My five takeaways from social distance bike touring in the age of coronavirus and what I can figure out is the near term future for bike touring in 2020.

http://traffic.libsyn.com/pedalshift/psp203.mp3

The Pedalshift Project 203: Social Distancing Tour Takeaways and What's Next

Hey it’s the direct download link for  The Pedalshift Project 203: Social Distancing Tour Takeaways and What’s Next (mp3).

Subscribe/Follow The Pedalshift Project:
RSS – iTunes – Overcast – Android – Google Podcasts – Stitcher – TuneIn – IHeartRadio – Spotify

Reach out to the show via email, Twitter and Instagram. Don’t forget to join the newsletter too.

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

Tour Journal: Social Distancing on the C&O Towpath

This was a no-contact, self-supported, self-contained ride of the C&O that didn’t stick to plan, had a low point or two, and if I’m being honest probably won’t end up on my list of all time tours… but I have to wonder if it won’t be amongst the most memorable.

Check out Pedalshift 199 for the initial plan (spoiler: I did not stick to it),  Pedalshift 200 for Day 1, and Pedalshift 201 for Day 2, and Pedalshift 202 for Day 3.

5 Takeaways

Expectations are hard to shake
 
Bike touring is more mental than physical
 
I like familiar tours but I’m missing new routes
 
I think backcountry rules are pretty easy to add on to a typical tour mindset
 
More and more I’m liking less and less mileage per day
 

What’s next for the rest of spring?

I think bike touring can happen, maybe soon? Maybe not. 
 
My personal choice: zero or very low contact touring until conditions change. At the moment, with campgrounds closed on the C&O and (I think?) the GAP, I’m on touring pause. For now.
 
I’m also not planning a tour just yet. I assume the first one available will be a C&O or GAP tour, but who knows? 
 
I’m also intrigued with the possibility of getting a more backcountry bike and (finally) doing some bikepacking. But that’s all TBD.
 
For the pod? I’ll confess… after 203 episodes I am finally out of things to talk about (for the moment). Just so happens though, that I have a bunch of audio journals I haven’t shared yet… so I think for the near future… until things get a little more figured out, we’re going to replay those here with some 2020 commentary from me laid on top. 
 
Adventure is taking a bit of a pause, but if you’re anything like me, it’s on the mind!

As always we like to close out the show with a special shoutout to the Pedalshift Society! Because of support from listeners like you, Pedalshift is a weekly bicycle touring podcast with a global community, expanding into live shows and covering new tours like The Kessel Run and The Missing Link bike tours! If you like what you hear, you can support the show for 5 bucks, 2 bucks or even a buck a month. And there’s one-shot and annual options if you’re not into the small monthly thing. Check it all out at pedalshift.net/society.

Kimberly Wilson
Caleb Jenkinson
Cameron Lien
Andrew MacGregor
Michael Hart
Keith Nagel
Brock Dittus
Thomas Skadow
Marco Lo
Terrance Manson
Harry Telgadas
Chris Barron
Mark Van Raam
Brad Hipwell
Stuart Buchan
Mr. T
Nathan Poulton
Stephen Dickerson
Vince LoGreco
Cody Floerchinger
Tom Benenati
Greg Braithwaite
Sandy Pizzio
Jeff Muster
Seth Pollack
Joseph Quinn
Drue Porter
Byron Paterson
Joachim Raber
Ray Jackson
Jeff Frey
Kenny Mikey
Lisa Hart
John Denkler
Steve Hankel
Miguel Quinones
Alejandro Avilés-Reyes
Keith Spangler
Greg Towner
Dan Gebhart
Jody Dzuranin
Lucas Barwick
Michael Baker
Brian Bechtol
Reinhart Bigl
Greg Middlemis
Connie Moore
William Gothmann
Brian Benton
Joan Churchill
Mike Bender
Rick Weinberg
Billy Crafton
Gary Matushak
Greg L’Etoile-Lopes
James Sloan
Jonathan Dillard
John Funk
Tom Bilcze
Ronald Piroli
Dave Roll
Brian Hafner
Misha LeBlanc
Ari Messinger
David Gratke
Todd Groesbeck
Wally Estrella
Sue Reinert
John Leko
Stephen Granata
Phillip Mueller
Kevan Olhausen
Robert Lackey
Dominic Carol
Jacqi McCulloch
John Hickman
Carl Presseault

Music

You’ve been hearing about Jason Kent and his music for many fine episodes. Sunfields’ latest album may be their best yet. Go get it.

The post The Pedalshift Project 203: Social Distancing Tour Takeaways and What’s Next appeared first on Pedalshift.

The Pedalshift Project 202: Social Distancing on the C&O, Day 3

This episode covers my third day riding the C&O on my no-contact, self-supported, self-contained ride. After a night of thunderstorms would a soggy trail slow me down on my return trip home or did I get my biking legs back?
http://traffic.libsyn.com/pedalshift/psp202.mp3

The Pedalshift Project 202: Social Distancing on the C&O, Day 3

Hey it’s the direct download link for  The Pedalshift Project #202: Social Distancing on the C&O, Day 3 (mp3).

Subscribe/Follow The Pedalshift Project:
RSS – iTunes – Overcast – Android – Google Podcasts – Stitcher – TuneIn – IHeartRadio – Spotify

Reach out to the show via email, Twitter and Instagram. Don’t forget to join the newsletter too.

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

Tour Journal: Social Distancing on the C&O Towpath

This was a no-contact, self-supported, self-contained ride of the C&O that didn’t stick to plan, had a low point or two, and if I’m being honest probably won’t end up on my list of all time tours… but I have to wonder if it won’t be amongst the most memorable.

Check out Pedalshift 199 for the initial plan (spoiler: I did not stick to it),  Pedalshift 200 for Day 1, and Pedalshift 201 for Day 2.

This covers my third day riding the C&O on my no-contact, self-supported, self-contained ride. A few things I want to mention at the top of the show:

  • At the time I was on the C&O, the campsites were officially open even though the water pumps and bathrooms were all closed (indeed strapped shut!). Since then, the Park Service has closed the campsites. Please do not camp the C&O until that closure has been lifted. I know I will not.
  • As I sit here toward the middle end of April, there’s a lot of mixed messages I’m receiving  on what 2020 feels like for bike touring. I know the pod will continue and I have some older tour journals that have never been featured  on the pod. So one way or the other, you’re stuck with listening to me talk bike touring! Next week… takeaways and thoughts on   bike touring this spring, this summer and beyond 
  • Hey, the SprocketShift happy hours continue! We’ve done four live shows and the date of there next one is posted at pedalshift.net/happyhour. Check it out… a tight 40 minutes on one topic and we always get kicked off Zoom in a comical way.

Statistics – Day 3

Miles ridden  64
Functional water fountains in Brunswick, MD 0
Functional vending machines in Whites Ferry, MD 1
Road routes considered then rejected 1
Beavers 0
Slow leaks 1

As always we like to close out the show with a special shoutout to the Pedalshift Society! Because of support from listeners like you, Pedalshift is a weekly bicycle touring podcast with a global community, expanding into live shows and covering new tours like The Kessel Run and The Missing Link bike tours! If you like what you hear, you can support the show for 5 bucks, 2 bucks or even a buck a month. And there’s one-shot and annual options if you’re not into the small monthly thing. Check it all out at pedalshift.net/society.

Kimberly Wilson
Caleb Jenkinson
Cameron Lien
Andrew MacGregor
Michael Hart
Keith Nagel
Brock Dittus
Thomas Skadow
Marco Lo
Terrance Manson
Harry Telgadas
Chris Barron
Mark Van Raam
Brad Hipwell
Stuart Buchan
Mr. T
Nathan Poulton
Stephen Dickerson
Vince LoGreco
Cody Floerchinger
Tom Benenati
Greg Braithwaite
Sandy Pizzio
Jeff Muster
Seth Pollack
Joseph Quinn
Drue Porter
Byron Paterson
Joachim Raber
Ray Jackson
Jeff Frey
Kenny Mikey
Lisa Hart
John Denkler
Steve Hankel
Miguel Quinones
Alejandro Avilés-Reyes
Keith Spangler
Greg Towner
Dan Gebhart
Jody Dzuranin
Lucas Barwick
Michael Baker
Brian Bechtol
Reinhart Bigl
Greg Middlemis
Connie Moore
William Gothmann
Brian Benton
Joan Churchill
Mike Bender
Rick Weinberg
Billy Crafton
Gary Matushak
Greg L’Etoile-Lopes
James Sloan
Jonathan Dillard
John Funk
Tom Bilcze
Ronald Piroli
Dave Roll
Brian Hafner
Misha LeBlanc
Ari Messinger
David Gratke
Todd Groesbeck
Wally Estrella
Sue Reinert
John Leko
Stephen Granata
Phillip Mueller
Kevan Olhausen
Robert Lackey
Dominic Carol
Jacqi McCulloch
John Hickman

Music

You’ve been hearing about Jason Kent and his music for many fine episodes. Sunfields’ latest album may be their best yet. Go get it.

The post The Pedalshift Project 202: Social Distancing on the C&O, Day 3 appeared first on Pedalshift.

The Pedalshift Project 201: Social Distancing on the C&O, Day 2

This episode covers my second day riding the C&O on my no-contact, self-supported, self-contained ride. This was a weirdly rough day of riding for me. Solitude was fleeting and it took making an early camp to get that and I think it made things a lot better.
http://traffic.libsyn.com/pedalshift/psp201.mp3

Hey it’s the direct download link for  The Pedalshift Project #201: Social Distancing on the C&O, Day 2 (mp3).

Subscribe/Follow The Pedalshift Project:
RSS – iTunes – Overcast – Android – Google Podcasts – Stitcher – TuneIn – IHeartRadio – Spotify

Reach out to the show via email, Twitter and Instagram. Don’t forget to join the newsletter too.

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

Tour Journal: Social Distancing on the C&O Towpath

This was a no-contact, self-supported, self-contained ride of the C&O that didn’t stick to plan, had a low point or two, and if I’m being honest probably won’t end up on my list of all time tours… but I have to wonder if it won’t be amongst the most memorable.

Check out Pedalshift 199 for the initial plan (spoiler: I did not stick to it) and Pedalshift 200 for Day 1.

This covers my second day riding the C&O on my no-contact, self-supported, self-contained ride. A few things I want to mention at the top of the show:

  • At the time I was on the C&O, the campsites were officially open even though the water pumps and bathrooms were all closed (indeed strapped shut!). Since then, the Park Service has closed the campsites. Please do not camp the C&O until that closure has been lifted. I know I will not.
  • The first segment of the journal here has some oddball audio artifacts I couldn’t scrub out, so bear with it a bit. For the journals I try to leave in as much ambient noise as I can with these so you can hear what I was hearing out there, so that’s the trade off. Thanks for understanding!
  • This was a weirdly rough day of riding for me, but I don’t think it comes across in the entries all that much. Solitude was fleeting and it took making an early camp to get that and I think it made things a lot better.

Statistics – Day 2

Miles ridden  27 (what!?)
Fires lit 1
Soft rants against passive aggressive bell ringers 1
Beavers 0
Mistaken classifications of turtles as amphibians (quickly corrected) 1
Flats 0

As always we like to close out the show with a special shoutout to the Pedalshift Society! Because of support from listeners like you, Pedalshift is a weekly bicycle touring podcast with a global community, expanding into live shows and covering new tours like The Kessel Run and The Missing Link bike tours! If you like what you hear, you can support the show for 5 bucks, 2 bucks or even a buck a month. And there’s one-shot and annual options if you’re not into the small monthly thing. Check it all out at pedalshift.net/society.

Kimberly Wilson
Caleb Jenkinson
Cameron Lien
Andrew MacGregor
Michael Hart
Keith Nagel
Brock Dittus
Thomas Skadow
Marco Lo
Terrance Manson
Harry Telgadas
Chris Barron
Mark Van Raam
Brad Hipwell
Stuart Buchan
Mr. T
Nathan Poulton
Stephen Dickerson
Vince LoGreco
Cody Floerchinger
Tom Benenati
Greg Braithwaite
Sandy Pizzio
Jeff Muster
Seth Pollack
Joseph Quinn
Drue Porter
Byron Paterson
Joachim Raber
Ray Jackson
Jeff Frey
Kenny Mikey
Lisa Hart
John Denkler
Steve Hankel
Miguel Quinones
Alejandro Avilés-Reyes
Keith Spangler
Greg Towner
Dan Gebhart
Jody Dzuranin
Lucas Barwick
Michael Baker
Brian Bechtol
Reinhart Bigl
Greg Middlemis
Connie Moore
William Gothmann
Brian Benton
Joan Churchill
Mike Bender
Rick Weinberg
Billy Crafton
Gary Matushak
Greg L’Etoile-Lopes
James Sloan
Jonathan Dillard
John Funk
Tom Bilcze
Ronald Piroli
Dave Roll
Brian Hafner
Misha LeBlanc
Ari Messinger
David Gratke
Todd Groesbeck
Wally Estrella
Sue Reinert
John Leko
Stephen Granata
Phillip Mueller
Kevan Olhausen
Robert Lackey
Dominic Carol
Jacqi McCulloch
John Hickman

Music

You’ve been hearing about Jason Kent and his music for many fine episodes. Sunfields’ latest album may be their best yet. Go get it.

The post The Pedalshift Project 201: Social Distancing on the C&O, Day 2 appeared first on Pedalshift.

The Pedalshift Project #200: Social Distancing on the C&O, Day 1

Welcome to the Bicentennial edition of the Pedalshift Project. Whether this is your 200th listening or your first, THANK YOU for being a part of this adventure. I cannot think of a better way to celebrate 200 episodes than by kicking off an extra long first part to a new tour journal. I ended up calling this Social Distancing on the C&O for all the obvious reasons.

http://traffic.libsyn.com/pedalshift/psp200.mp3

Social Distancing on the C&O

Hey it’s the direct download link for  The Pedalshift Project #200: Social Distancing on the C&O, Day 1 (mp3).

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SprocketShift Happy Hour

Hey, let’s have a drink together! The next SprocketShift Happy Hour is Friday April 10 at 9pm ET. More information on how to join here and watch the last two we’ve done.

Tour Journal: Social Distancing on the C&O Towpath

I cannot think of a better way to celebrate 200 episodes than by kicking off an extra long first part to a new tour journal. I ended up calling this Social Distancing on the C&O for all the obvious reasons. As I go to the mic now, we’re entering a difficult and dark time in the US and I hope these episodes give a little bit of a break from all of that (although I obviously mention the pandemic as part of the context of this ride). 
 
This was a no-contact, self-supported, self-contained ride of the C&O that didn’t stick to plan, had a low point or two, and if I’m being honest probably won’t end up on my list of all time tours… but I have to wonder if it won’t be amongst the most memorable.
 
Check out Pedalshift 199 for the initial plan. Spoiler: I did not stick to it.
 

Statistics – Day 1

Miles ridden  42
Fires lit 1
Muddy ruts dude, 50?
Beavers 1
Chains dirtied 1
Flats 0

 

As always we like to close out the show with a special shoutout to the Pedalshift Society! Because of support from listeners like you, Pedalshift is a weekly bicycle touring podcast with a global community, expanding into live shows and covering new tours like The Kessel Run and The Missing Link bike tours! If you like what you hear, you can support the show for 5 bucks, 2 bucks or even a buck a month. And there’s one-shot and annual options if you’re not into the small monthly thing. Check it all out at pedalshift.net/society.

Kimberly Wilson
Caleb Jenkinson
Cameron Lien
Andrew MacGregor
Michael Hart
Keith Nagel
Brock Dittus
Thomas Skadow
Marco Lo
Terrance Manson
Harry Telgadas
Chris Barron
Mark Van Raam
Brad Hipwell
Stuart Buchan
Mr. T
Nathan Poulton
Stephen Dickerson
Vince LoGreco
Cody Floerchinger
Tom Benenati
Greg Braithwaite
Sandy Pizzio
Jeff Muster
Seth Pollack
Joseph Quinn
Drue Porter
Byron Paterson
Joachim Raber
Ray Jackson
Jeff Frey
Kenny Mikey
Lisa Hart
John Denkler
Steve Hankel
Miguel Quinones
Alejandro Avilés-Reyes
Keith Spangler
Greg Towner
Dan Gebhart
Jody Dzuranin
Lucas Barwick
Michael Baker
Brian Bechtol
Reinhart Bigl
Greg Middlemis
Connie Moore
William Gothmann
Brian Benton
Joan Churchill
Mike Bender
Rick Weinberg
Billy Crafton
Gary Matushak
Greg L’Etoile-Lopes
James Sloan
Jonathan Dillard
John Funk
Tom Bilcze
Ronald Piroli
Dave Roll
Brian Hafner
Misha LeBlanc
Ari Messinger
David Gratke
Todd Groesbeck
Wally Estrella
Sue Reinert
John Leko
Stephen Granata
Phillip Mueller
Kevan Olhausen
Robert Lackey
Dominic Carol
Jacqi McCulloch
John Hickman

Music

You’ve been hearing about Jason Kent and his music for many fine episodes. Sunfields’ latest album may be their best yet. Go get it.

The post The Pedalshift Project #200: Social Distancing on the C&O, Day 1 appeared first on Pedalshift.