The Accidental Bicycle Tourist

Alexander Leonard reflects on a life shaped by bicycles, from his long student commutes across Montreal to his two-wheeled explorations through Berlin in search of forgotten corners like an abandoned swimming‑pool complex. In 2013, 18-year-old Alex traveled to Cambodia, where his volunteer work at an orphanage reshaped his sense of the world. He pedaled through Phnom Penh’s swirling scooter traffi...

In this inspiring episode, adventurer Renata Chlumska recounts her time supporting Göran Kropp’s historic, self-powered ascent of Mount Everest in 1996 and how witnessing both tragedy (the disaster Jon Krakauer chronicles in Into Thin Air ) and triumph (Göran’s successful Everest summit) shaped her lifelong dreams and philosophy. In 2006, Renata followed the perimeter of the 48 contiguous United S...

Imagine visiting a museum to study a penny-farthing—a classic bicycle with a giant front wheel and a tiny rear one—not out of idle curiosity, but with the intent to build one yourself. Then, you decide to hop atop this contraption with no gears, solid rubber tires, and virtually no brakes and eventually take it around the world. It sounds nearly impossible, yet that is exactly what Joff Summerfiel...

How do two novice cyclists with almost no overnight trip experience wind up pioneering the TransAmerica Bicycle Trail in 1974? For Jim Richardson and Linda Thorpe, the journey didn’t begin on a grueling mountain pass or in a velodrome. In September 1973, they crossed paths in a Weight Watchers class in Garden Grove, California. After Jim spotted a poster advertising Bikecentennial ’76 (now the Adv...

What happens when you combine empty pockets, stolen bicycles, sheer determination, and a healthy dose of pure 1970s idealism? You get the parallel wild stories of riding the second half of the Hemistour expedition and organizing the landmark Bikecentennial '76! In this episode, Part 2 of 2, join June and Greg Siple as they recount the chaotic, beautiful journey of cycling the rest of the way...

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of Bikecentennial ’76, this two-part series tells the extraordinary story of four bicycle pioneers – Greg and June Siple, Dan and Lys Burden – who took a circuitous path from a shared dream to successfully staging a massive bicentennial event. Ultimately, more than 4,000 cyclists would ride their newly hand-mapped, 4,200-mile Transamerica Bicycle Trail. Before Bik...

What happens when you trade the comfort of a predictable life for an open-ended ride across the globe? You might just find yourself eating a whole lotta plov . In this episode, guest Tom Bruce recounts his journey pedaling across Europe, the Stans, China, and the United States with little more than basic gear and a healthy dose of curiosity. While navigating sweltering deserts, topping high-altitu...

Have you ever hitchhiked with a sack of pigs, used cheap construction goggles as rain visors, or slept in a room where an unknown mammal with really big eyes watched you from the ceiling? With a unique mix of grit and humor, Laura Killingbeck explores how thousands of miles on a bicycle helped her rebuild a vibrant identity from the ashes of her past. In fact, Laura’s life is a tutorial in the art...

Who needs a spoon when you have a wrench? Who needs a whole paddle when you have two blades and a firm, sturdy stick? Welcome to Roman Dial’s world. In this action-packed episode, the legendary Alaskan adventurer recounts some of the harrowing tales that led to the birth of "hellbiking" in the 1980s and eventual worldwide recognition for this type of travel in a 1997 issue of National Ge...

Jacqui Webster and Joe McNamara are a middle-aged Australian couple who in 2023 paused their sensible careers for one year to hop on heavily laden bicycles and pedal from England to Singapore. Except things didn’t go as planned and they ended up riding across Europe and Africa instead. Prior to this episode, I got a chance to read Jacqui’s entertaining book about the journey, Two Bugs on Bikes . I...

Dervla Murphy has long fascinated host Gabriel Aldaz, who years ago had picked up her first and most famous book, Full Tilt. The intrepid travel writer from Ireland died in 2022 at the age of 90, but Gabriel has remained curious to learn more about her. For this experimental episode, he goes into his laboratory and produces an AI-assisted retrospective on Dervla’s fascinating life. Dervla did not...

Israel or Palestine? Damascus, Syria or Damascus, Virginia? West Virginia or Western Virginia? To David Landis, all are points on a map. David has made it his mission to find shared humanity across borders, even in conflict zones like the Middle East, through hiking and bikepacking trails. Having first visited the Middle East for a semester abroad during his university studies, David returned ther...

If you are feeling overwhelmed by the vast array of choices when selecting a bicycle for touring or bikepacking, this episode offers essential guidance. In this lively discussion with Manuel Schürholz, co-founder of Bombtrack Bicycle Company, we systematically break down the confusing world of touring and bikepacking setups. You will gain valuable insights into choosing the right frame material, w...

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 trip in Patagonia because his friend essentially dared him, Tom found himself hopelessly addicted to long-distance bicycle touring. In this episode, hear how Tom went from having zero cycling experience to conquering entire continents on supported t...

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 ride a bike all the way to solo touring on six continents. Listen in as she recounts her chaotic method of bicycle travel, which intentionally leaves much up to chance. From completing the Camino de Santiago after hearing about it at a wedding in Spai...

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 saga, where more keywords are pulled from the Christmas cookie tin. Heinz recounts how he stumbled his way into an audience with Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie, accidentally fired a gun in a crowded Zambian bar, charmed his way into a Saudi Arabian v...

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 Heinz Stücke, you simply get on your bike and don’t come home for fifty-one years. In this landmark episode of The Accidental Bicycle Tourist , your host Gabriel Aldaz treks through a snowy German winter to find the man who cycled 648,000 kilometers acros...

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 she loves to traverse glaciers in remote corners of the world. A woman accustomed to skiing while pulling a sled across ice fields, Antonella recounts how she accidentally got into bike touring while trying to reach a glacier in Patagonia with her expedi...

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 the past season (as chosen by the listeners) and check in with each guest to hear the latest from their busy lives. Topics discussed include the 2025 Silk Road Mountain Race, a movie called Planetwalker, the graffiti on the roads of the Tour de France...

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 innocent 14-year-old who brought along a water pistol and a pile of CDs on her first group overnighter to a hardened road warrior. A critical moment in Ana’s adult life came when, while living in England, she rehomed a naughty, energetic dog named Dext...

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't just do this once; he made a habit out of it. Join us for a wild ride as Mike explains his genius strategy: work for five years, then take a personal leave of absence – or quit if necessary – to cycle across a continent. From flying over the handl...

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 kidney beans in the Sahara, and be forced by border guards to take a huge detour to Jerusalem, only to get tear gassed upon arrival. That was Alan Stillman’s reality. In the late ‘80s, Alan embarked on a wild 15,000-mile journey that was less about quiet...

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), Denmark's "Travelers' Club.” Meet Claus Andersen, "the Biking Viking," a man on a decades-long quest to keep his coveted DBK membership card! Journey with him back to Russia during the 2018 World Cup, where a tense encounter wit...

“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 story is a wild ride, starting with a childhood fascination with Africa sparked by a legendary barefoot marathoner. Henry moved from Czechoslovakia (via Israel) to Canada, where he studied engineering in college, which set him up perfectly to… co-found a non-...

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 of journeys sparked by sheer chance is Canadian author David Houghton, who has traveled to over eighty countries around the world, cycling most of them, and participated in the Tour du Canada, Tour d’Afrique, and the Race Across America. David intro...