In 1972, fifteen‑year‑old Cyndy Schlaepfer‑Youker had barely bicycled beyond her hometown of Ithaca, New York. In 2020, fifty‑six‑year‑old Teri M. Brown hadn’t bicycled in four decades. Neither woman fit the profile of someone poised to pedal across the United States. Yet both did, tracing remarkably similar routes nearly fifty years apart. Cyndy joined her father and three brothers on an adventure supported by a VW bus that carried the rest of their family of eight. Teri rode a tandem with her husband Bruce, towing a trailer packed with camping gear. Their experiences differed in era, equipment, and circumstance, but each discovered the same truth: crossing a continent by bicycle reshapes one’s sense of possibility. For Cyndy, the journey revealed a strength and capability she had never imagined. For Teri, it offered a way to rebuild confidence and launch a new career after a difficult period in her life. Along the way, both discovered the power of pushing beyond perceived limits, ultimately finding renewed clarity about the direction of their lives.

Cyndy's account of her journey can be found here.

Teri's blog of her journey can be found here.

Don’t forget to vote for your favorite episodes from this past year and give feedback on The Accidental Bicycle Tourist Podcast 2026 Survey.

For links to podcast platforms, feedback via email, the podcast website, and Instagram:
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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 traffic, met curious locals, and taught students almost his age geography and astronomy. His journeys eventually led to Sri Lanka, where he studied human–elephant conflict and community‑driven solutions such as citrus buffer zones. Alex finds meaning in motion and wonder in short bicycle excursions close to home. Across these experiences, Alex champions journaling, mindful travel, and a minimalist approach to moving through the world. His stories simultaneously remind us that adventure isn’t confined to far-flung destinations and invite us to slow down, look closely, and rediscover the wonder of the everyday ride.

You can find Alex Leonard Media on Instagram.

You can watch Alex’s film (Humans and Elephants) and his TED Talk on YouTube.

Alex offers a Green Video Essentials: Production Course and Roadmaps (use the code"creativesforclimate" for 50% off all products)

Don’t forget to vote for your favorite episodes from this past year and give feedback on The Accidental Bicycle Tourist Podcast 2026 Survey.

For links to podcast platforms, feedback via email, the podcast website, and Instagram:
https://linktr.ee/accidental_bicycle_tourist

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 States by bicycle and kayak. In 2014, she conquered the Seven Summits, the highest mountain peaks on each of the continents. Renata reflects on the values that guided her expeditions, including the power of preparation, resilience, and living without shortcuts. This conversation celebrates courage, love, and the drive to transform passion into purpose. As Renata says, adventure isn’t about avoiding risk; it’s about embracing life fully and discovering what you’re truly capable of.

Photo credit: Kaj Bune @kaj_bune_photography

For links to podcast platforms, feedback via email, the podcast website, and Instagram:
https://linktr.ee/accidental_bicycle_tourist

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 Summerfield did. After designing and constructing his own custom penny-farthing, Joff departed Greenwich, England, in 2006, coming home two and a half years later. Five years after his return, he set out to do it again in the opposite direction, though that effort ended in tragedy. Joff’s mechanical ingenuity, while impressive, was nothing compared to the resourcefulness he needed on the road. His travels required constant improvisation, from overcoming dysentery in Turkey to navigating Tibet without a visa to subjecting himself to DIY dentistry in California. In this episode, Joff joins us to share the unexpected challenges, remarkable encounters, and sheer determination behind his journeys on two highly unequal wheels.

You can watch Joff's daring Death Valley descent, as well as many other videos, on his YouTube channel.

For links to podcast platforms, feedback via email, the podcast website, and Instagram:
https://linktr.ee/accidental_bicycle_tourist

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 Adventure Cycling Association) in a local bike shop, they decided to swap calorie-counting for a 4,252-mile journey across 11 states on a tandem bicycle. Their 93-day trek was anything but smooth. The couple folded a wheel on railroad tracks, hitchhiked with their tandem to make scheduled TV interviews, and survived mosquito swarms in Montana and Wyoming. Following a terrifying crash in Kentucky, Jim was inspired to propose, and they finally pedaled into Jamestown, Virginia, for a colonial-themed costumed wedding. Jim and Linda’s legendary test ride did more than just help map a historic route for future generations of cyclists—it proved that the road to happily ever after is best traveled on a bicycle built for two, even if it takes 120 flat tires to get there.

For links to podcast platforms, feedback via email, the podcast website, and Instagram:
https://linktr.ee/accidental_bicycle_tourist

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 Ushuaia, Argentina. Then, hear Lys and Dan Burden tell how they proposed the idea of a massive, transcontinental bicycle ride to established cycling organizations, all of whom flatly rejected it. Instead of abandoning the dream, Lys and Dan built their own organization, starting from a small apartment room with an electric typewriter and a telephone. Tune in to discover how a few young dreamers on two wheels quietly laid the foundation for modern bicycle touring in the United States by organizing Bikecentennial '76 (now the Adventure Cycling Association).

For links to podcast platforms, feedback via email, the podcast website, and Instagram:
https://linktr.ee/accidental_bicycle_tourist

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 Bikecentennial, the four were active members of the Columbus, Ohio, chapter of the American Youth Hostels. It was during these early years that Greg Siple and his father founded the Tour of the Scioto River Valley (TOSRV), an event that eventually grew to attract thousands of riders and established the logistical blueprint for modern, multi-day supported bicycle rides. Eager to extend their horizons, the two couples embarked in 1972 on the audacious Hemistour, a historic expedition to cycle from Alaska to Argentina. The first leg of this monumental journey earned them a feature in the May 1973 issue of National Geographic. Titled “Bikepacking Across Alaska and Canada,” the article is widely recognized for introducing what may be the earliest use of the word "bikepacking" in print. Part 1 explores the origins of the group’s ambitions, the creation of TOSRV, and their grueling months riding together on Hemistour from Anchorage, Alaska, to Salina Cruz, Mexico. Part 2 will cover their lives after the group parted ways. While the Siples pressed onward to Ushuaia, Argentina – making June Siple the first woman to bicycle the entire length of the Americas – the Burdens returned to the United States to begin the monumental work of organizing the improbable Bikecentennial ’76 (now known as the Adventure Cycling Association).

For links to podcast platforms, feedback via email, the podcast website, and Instagram:
https://linktr.ee/accidental_bicycle_tourist

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-altitude mountain passes, and overcoming language barriers, Tom discovered a beautiful truth: when you allow yourself to be vulnerable, the world steps up with incredible warmth. From Romanian farmers sharing sausages and homemade wine to well-meaning Tajik hosts clearing away his dinner just to cook him yet another fresh batch of plov, this conversation is a reminder of our shared humanity. Now a physics teacher, an author of six books about his bicycling adventures, and a bikepacking event organizer, Tom reflects on his round-the-world journey as a life-changing event, a testament to the power of letting go of rigid plans, trusting the kindness of strangers, and discovering that the world is far more generous than we are often led to believe.

Tom's books, including his best-selling Every Inch of the Way: My Bike Ride
Around the World, are available on Amazon.

For links to podcast platforms, feedback via email, the podcast website, and Instagram:
https://linktr.ee/accidental_bicycle_tourist