Chainwheel Diaries

Welcome to Episode Nine of the Chainwheel Diaries podcast. Stories about bike travel told by the travelers themselves. I’m your host Brian Berlin.

Today’s episode features an interview with adventure cyclist Tim Tower who has cycled thousands of miles through multiple continents and countries, including Latin America, South America, Greece, Europe, Africa, and the US.  

Tim documented his trip in journals he published on the crazyguyonabike website. Great reading for anyone considering long-distance bike travel. In fact the entire site contains hundreds of bike travel journals.

What I particularly enjoyed about speaking with Tim is learning about his other journey – learning Spanish and developing a love of Latin and South America and its people. 

And now, on to the show! 

Chainwheel Diaries is available on Spotify, Apple, Audible or wherever you listen to podcasts. If you like the podcast, please say so!

Welcome to Episode Eight of the Chainwheel Diaries podcast. Stories about bike travel told by the travelers themselves. I’m your host Brian Berlin.

Today’s episode features an interview with adventure cyclist Kevin O’Leary, who did an epic ride of 2900 miles from his home in Silver City NM to Cancun on the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico.

Kevin documented his trip in journals he published on the crazyguyonabike website. Great reading for anyone considering long-distance bike travel. In fact the entire site contains hundreds of bike travel journals.

Our listeners will enjoy hearing about Kevin’s journey and his approach to bike travel which I would characterize as more bike exploration. His philosophy is that the journey itself outweighs the destination. 

On to the show!

Chainwheel Diaries is available on Spotify, Apple, Audible or wherever you listen to podcasts. If you like the podcast, please say so!

Chainwheel Diaries Season Two Episode Seven features my interview with Fletch Dobbs, a bicycler from San Jose, California, who recently completed Adventure Cycling's Southern Tier route from San Diego CA to St. Augustine FL. Hear how Fletch overcame adversity on the route to keep on pedaling.

Chainwheel Diaries is available on Spotify, Apple, Audible or wherever you listen to podcasts. If you like the podcast, please say so!

Warmshowers is a non-profit organization that connects bike travelers with overnight hosts all over the world. I've been a member for over two years, and thought that a Warmshowers host would have plenty of good stories for the podcast. I posted on the site and got a response from Paul Tuke, who teaches English as a second language (ESL) in Kutaisi, Georgia. Not the Souther U.S. state, but the post-Soviet country. 

Paul explained that he gets lots of hosting requests, especially in the summer months, from bike travelers who are riding from Western Europe (Belgium, France, Germany) to Central and Far East Asia. And most, if not all, of these riders are hoping for a shower. Listen to the podcast to hear one of Paul's best stories about riders needing showers. 

Chainwheel Diaries is available on Spotify, Apple, Audible or wherever you listen to podcasts. If you like the podcast, please say so!

Welcome to the Chainwheel Diaries Podcast – stories about bike travel told by the travelers themselves. I’m your host, Brian Berlin. 

As I mentioned in Season Two – Episode 4.5 of the podcast, I discovered a site containing over 16,000 journals and articles, and three million plus pictures, all related to bike travel – called crazyguyonabike.

I read several of the journals and decided the authors would make good interviewees, so I reached out to a few and the first to respond was Chris Compton.

Chris is a relatively new bike traveler who journaled that he would attempt a corner-to-corner ride from Southern Florida across the U.S. to Seattle, Washington, starting in late May.

Chainwheel Diaries is available on Spotify, Apple, Audible or wherever you listen to podcasts. If you like the podcast, please say so!

Welcome to Season 2, episode 4.5 of Chainwheel Diaries, stories about bike travel, told by the travelers themselves.

Episode 4.5 is a different format as I take the podcast into a new season. No guests, just me, talking about my plans for the podcast, where I’ve been, and where I intend to go.

Chainwheel Diaries is available on Spotify, Apple, Audible or wherever you listen to podcasts. If you like the podcast, please say so!

 "Carbonated-Neutral": Bike Touring + Friendship + Beer = Fun

There's a new bike tour in town that emphasizes fun and friendship for riders of all ages and skills. I sat down with founders Jeff Thompson and Jason Lindgren to learn more about Craft Cycling Tours. 

Chainwheel Diaries is available on Spotify, Apple, Audible or wherever you listen to podcasts. If you like the podcast, please say so!

In 2012, John Nitti, newly graduated from college, undertook an epic bike ride across the United States and back, a total of 10,000 miles. He wrote a book about his adventure, "Sharing the Road: An Amateur Cyclist's 10,000-Mile Solo Bike Trip Across America".  It is a great story and well-written. I asked John to appear on the Chainwheel Diaries podcast and he graciously agreed.

Chainwheel Diaries is available on Spotify, Apple, Audible or wherever you listen to podcasts. If you like the podcast, please say so!

My guest in Episode 2 is Larry Loewy, a Long Island Native and regular bike traveler. I met Larry on an Adventure Cycling bike tour in Death Valley in 2021. Larry graciously agreed to appear on today's podcast episode. Listeners will be entertained by Larry's stories and inspired by his adventures.

Chainwheel Diaries is available on Spotify, Apple, Audible or wherever you listen to podcasts. If you like the podcast, please say so!

The Chainwheel Diaries Podcast is aimed at cyclists who are interested in hearing real-world stories told by ordinary people about their cycling adventures. My first guest is Colleen Ponzini, a bike traveler I met on a Death Valley Bike Tour in 2022. Here are some links to the tours that Colleen mentioned in this episode:

Intrepid Tours Best Small Group Tours & Adventure Travel | Intrepid Travel US

Learn to Tour: Educational Tours | Adventure Cycling Association

Adventure Cycling Death Valley Tour: Death Valley - Van | Guided Tours | Adventure Cycling Association

Chainwheel Diaries is available on Spotify, Apple, Audible or wherever you listen to podcasts. If you like the podcast, please say so!