The Accidental Bicycle Tourist
Episodes
ABT055. Maps and Miles: Connections Beyond Borders
03 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Israel or Palestine? Damascus, Syria or Damascus, Virginia? West Virginia or Western Virginia? To David Landis, all are points on a map. David has mad...
ABT054. How to Choose a Bicycle for Touring and Bikepacking
20 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
If you are feeling overwhelmed by the vast array of choices when selecting a bicycle for touring or bikepacking, this episode offers essential guidanc...
ABT053. The Continental Cyclist
06 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
At age 70, most people are perfectly happy to take up golf or knitting. Not Canadian Tom Perlmutter. After accidentally agreeing to a weeklong cycling...
ABT052: No Plan, No Problem: Biking the World by Chance
22 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
In this laugh-out-loud episode, discover how New York City native Judi Desire went from sending a mass guilt-trip email asking for help to learn how r...
ABT051. Heinz Stücke: The World by Bike (Part 2)
06 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Fifty-one is the number of years that Heinz Stücke spent on a bicycle away from home. Fittingly, Episode 51 provides the finale to the Heinz Stücke ...
ABT050. Heinz Stücke: The World by Bike (Part 1)
24 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
What do you do if you absolutely, positively do not want to work as a toolmaker with a wife and 2.4 kids in post-World War II Germany? If you’re Hei...
ABT049. Queen of the Ice
10 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
In the Season 3 premiere, you’ll meet Antonella Giacomini, an Italian mountaineer and adventurer who has been called the Queen of the Ice because sh...
ABT048. 2025 Holiday Special
26 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
It’s time to celebrate another memorable season of the podcast! During the 2025 Holiday Special, Sandra and Gabriel reveal the top three episodes of...
ABT047. Travels with Dexter
12 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode, you’ve got a front-row seat to one of the wildest rides of the year. Follow the story of Ana Carmen Navajas as she evolves from an ...
ABT046. Work/Ride Balance
28 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Ever dream of telling your boss, "I'll be back in six months... or a year," and pedaling off into the sunrise? Mike Vermeulen didn&apos...
ABT045. Pedaling for Peace: How a World Bike Trip led to a new Visual Language
14 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Imagine setting out on a bicycle tour for world peace, only to be chased by machine-gun-toting militias in Syria, get dangerously ill from rancid kidn...
ABT044. The Biking Viking
31 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What kind of travel club demands that you visit a number of countries at least equal to your age? Welcome to the world of De Berejstes Klub (DBK), Den...
ABT043. Tour d'Afrique
18 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
“Just Do It” is Henry Gold’s motto for life. (In his mind, at least, he beat all famous athletic footwear companies to this slogan). Henry’s s...
ABT042. The Accidental Origins of Bicycle Touring
03 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Ever thought your daily commute was tough? Try cycling around the world on a high wheeler in the 1880s! Our guide to these incredible-but-true stories...
ABT041. 3 Wheels, 2 Seats, 1 Goal
19 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What's the best way to cycle 20,000 miles from the top of Alaska to the tip of Argentina? Probably not on a tandem bicycle pulling a trailer - by...
ABT040. Commit. You'll Figure it Out!: The Pan-Mass Challenge
05 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Ever wondered what it's like to be part of a massive, two-day cycling event that has raised over a billion dollars for cancer research? In this e...
ABT039. Connecting Africa with Purpose
23 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Get ready for an inspiring adventure as Ellie Mitchell-Heggs shares her incredible plan to pedal 10,000 kilometers across Africa. As of this episode, ...
ABT038. A Bear of a Ride: From the Canadian Wilderness to the Tour and Back
09 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
From dropping out of high school to go mountain climbing to becoming a world-class professional cyclist, Svein Tuft's journey is anything but ord...
ABT037. Open Source, Open Roads: The Hacker Bikepacker Story
18 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What happens when a Spanish software developer who loves open-source technology and an Austrian biomedical scientist who didn’t always love bicyclin...
ABT036. Finding a Place in the Wild
01 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What if you could reframe your greatest fear not as a barrier, but as an invitation? Join Laura Grace on her incredible journey from being too afraid ...
ABT035. Bitten and Back: Overcoming Fear After a Dog Attack
13 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
For cyclist Julia Esser, a dream journey through South America turned into a nightmare when she was brutally attacked by three dogs in a remote Colomb...
ABT034. Alpine Escapade
02 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Join me and my old buddy Jason Ruhl as we spend a week pedaling through the stunning landscapes of Southern Switzerland and Northern Italy, from Luzer...
ABT033. Zigzagging Across the Americas
18 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Ever dreamt of dropping everything to cycle across continents? Meet Yann Tourman, who did just that, embarking on an epic bicycle adventure in 2018 th...
ABT032. Touring with Type 1: A Journey of 10,000 Miles
25 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Join Erik Douds, as he shares incredible stories from the road, starting with a spur-of-the-moment decision to join friend Annalisa on a TransAmerica ...
ABT031. Into the Unknown
11 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Meet Giacomo Turco, an aerospace engineer from Italy, who on this episode shares his thrilling bikepacking adventures across Iceland, Mongolia, and So...
ABT030. Diving into the Silk Road Mountain Race
28 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Alden Roth shares his thrilling experience in the Silk Road Mountain Race, a grueling, mostly unsupported, two-week cycling event through the mountain...
ABT029. Bicycle Frame of Mind: Portland. Film Festival. Community.
14 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Ayleen Crotty, founder of the prestigious Filmed by Bike movie festival, joins us for a captivating conversation about the fascinating origins of this...
ABT028. Metal Cowboy
28 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Saddle up for an inspiring conversation with Joe Kurmaskie, the "Metal Cowboy." Joe recounts his incredible family-cycling-adventures-turned...
ABT027. Take the Long Way Home
15 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Eric Matthes, author of the bestselling Python Crash Course, embarked on a life-altering, year-long bicycle journey around the United States in the la...
ABT026. Tracking Lawrence of Arabia
01 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Journey to the Middle East with Miles Spencer as he unravels the fascinating story of T.E. Lawrence's early life and adventurous spirit. Discover...
ABT025. Cranking up the Challenges
17 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Meet Laura and Shaun, a Canadian couple whose cycling adventures began when the 2020 lockdown forced them to cancel their plans to spend a year travel...
ABT024. 2024 Holiday Special
30 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Ever wondered about the voice that welcomes you to The Accidental Bicycle Tourist podcast? In this special holiday episode, host Gabriel pulls back th...
ABT023. Salt Flat Tires: A Bikepacking Roller Coaster Ride
13 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Fueled by a quarter-life crisis and the desire to break free from routine, bikepacking newcomer Melanie Schautt embarked on a transformative half-year...
ABT022. Top 3 Touring Debates with Gemini AI
30 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This episode takes a highly experimental turn as Gabriel, your host, brings in not one, but *two* AI guests, Scout and Rambler – instances of Google...
ABT021. Big Hairy Audacious Goal
15 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Alan Gilbert has always been interested in long, challenging bicycle rides. For Alan, the chance to ride across the United States from Pacific to Atla...
ABT020. The Pedaling Polyglot
02 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Roger Levy, a professor of brain and cognitive sciences at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, considers himself a scientist of language and a ...
ABT019. Life is Wild (Part 2)
19 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Barbados. Dominica. Guadeloupe. Martinique. These are some of the exotic Caribbean islands visited by André Plumeau with his bicycle, Frieda. In Part...
ABT018. Life is Wild (Part 1)
05 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Imagine that you are walking down the road near your home town in France when a friend calls you and invites you to join him on a bicycle tour. Since ...
ABT017. Adventures of a High-Tech Nomad
20 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Steve Roberts is probably the world’s first high-tech nomad. For roughly a decade (1983 - 1993), Steve was either designing, building, or riding a c...
ABT016. Odisea Panamericana
06 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In 2009, Swiss graphic designer Martina Gees sold most of her possessions, flew to Buenos Aires, and started pedaling. She got as far north as Inuvi...
ABT015. Los Caminos de Santiago
25 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
With seven Caminos de Santiago by bicycle under his belt and an eighth one in preparation, Frank Foulon is uniquely equipped to inform us about this...
ABT014. Plan Your Own Damn Route! (In Approximately Seven Steps)
12 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Mimi Ji, a self-described map nerd and passionate cyclist, has turned her love for detailed route planning into a unique seven-step process. In this e...
ABT013. Another Long Blue Line: Cycling Four Rivers
28 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Listener Frédéric Dith alerted me that long blue lines mark long distance cycling routes, not only in Japan but also in Taiwan and South Korea. Duri...
ABT012. Hospitality on the Road
14 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
If you enjoy hearing about random acts of kindness towards cyclists, you'll love this episode! Belgian cyclist Kris Vlaeminck shares selected tal...
ABT011. AIDS/LifeCycle: The Best Week of the Year
31 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Imagine bicycling from San Francisco to Los Angeles in one week, not alone, but in a peloton of thousands. For 545 miles, a team of roadies dedicate t...
ABT010. Chasing Summer Around the Globe
17 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Suffering a heat stroke in the middle of Vietnam’s mountainous jungles was definitely not in the plans when Hannah Bowley decided to cycle from Hano...
ABT009. No Preparation, Some Improvisation - 10 Touring Tips for Beginners
03 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Inspired by a man who bicycled across France to attend a wedding, Simon Alfassa decided to organize his own solo bike tour from Berlin (where he resid...
ABT008. Long Blue Line: Cycling Shimanami
19 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
A long blue line runs 70 kilometers, across picturesque islands and over majestic suspension bridges, between Onomichi and Imabari in Japan. This is t...
ABT007. It Takes Two
05 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Ida Sigusch and Tilman Jiménez Reichow met and fell in love in Umeå, Sweden. A long bicycle tour through Europe, initially on a recumbent tandem, st...
ABT006. Get out of Your Comfort Zone
22 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
One of the hardest parts of turning a vision into reality is simply getting started. Professional photographer Christopher Briscoe has made a habit of...
ABT005. Two Canadians Rolling Through Cuba
08 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Cuba is a fascinating island nation whose beautiful beaches, diverse geography, tropical climate, relative safety, and less-traveled roads have made i...
ABT004. Bike Against the Wind
23 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Inspired by his mother and his acting professor, Mark Vashro began to dream of bicycling across the United States as a college student. In 2010, after...
ABT003. Touring with a Small Child
09 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Five-year-old Alix has already experienced more bicycle tours than many adults. In this episode, her parents, Mylène Lenzi and David Clément, share ...
ABT002. An Optimized Tour of New Churches
26 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
During the pandemic, Malte Bossert came up with the idea of a themed bicycle tour whose goal would be to visit all 46 places in his native Germany wit...
ABT001. Chile, Top to Bottom, Upside Down
11 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
When Michelle Savacool set out to cycle Chile, top to bottom, a distance comparable to crossing the United States, she worried most about the weather....