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.

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!   Pedalshift Society

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.

https://soundcloud.com/sunfields