Adventures in House-sitting, 2024
In 2024 I decided to house-sit in three very different places: a remote wildlife ranch in the Arizona desert, a condo in suburban Michigan, and a large empty house in Colorado. In each place I challenged myself to seek out adventures large and small.
One special moment: Riding my bike down a three mile dirt road to get the mail each week in Arizona. (Photo on left.)
Read more:
2024 Adventures In House-sitting
How to Take Your Date on Their First Bikepacking Trip
Even Short Rides Can be Fulfilling Adventures for Mind and Body
A Little Loop in Michigan, 2024
In April 2024 I pedaled The North Country Route across interior Michigan. Then I spent a couple weeks camping and cycling in Manistee National Forest.
One special moment: Brewing hot chocolate on my twig stove on a freezing evening in the forest.
Read more:
Enigma’s Odyssey, 2023
In January 2023, I left on an eight-and-a-half month cycling odyssey on my bike, Enigma. I started in San Francisco, pedaled down the Pacific Coast, and spent a few months camping in the SoCal desert. Then I cut across the American Southwest and completed the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route from the Mexican border to Calgary, Canada.
One special moment: When my tent got eaten in the night by packrats!
Read or listen:
Through-hiking The Florida Trail, 2022
In winter of 2022, I through-hiked 1107 miles across Florida’s swamps, prairies, forests, and towns. This was a magical journey. The Florida Trail is one of the least-known long distance hiking trails in the US—I think it’s also one of the best!
One special moment: When a man named Doug hollered at me outside my tent until I came out and he gave me a sandwich.
Read more:
Biking 1000 Miles to the Spring Equinox, 2021
In 2021, with the pandemic still raging, I went on a stationary bike ride across time and space to the Spring Equinox.
One special moment: Hauling my bike to the ocean and stationary riding toward the waves.
Read more:
Tiny Trips to The Area Of Intrigue,
2020-2021
During the pandemic, I mapped out a ten mile radius around my house and called it “The Area of Intrigue.” I had tons of fun bikepacking around this area close to home.
One special moment: Taking my coworkers on their first bikepacking trip to one of our colleague’s backyards.
Read more:
How To Pack an Adventure Go-Bag (American Society of Journalists award for Best Content, 2022)
Cycling Eastern Canada and the US,
2019
In the summer of 2019 I pedaled 3700 miles across Quebec, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and the east coast of the US to Rhode Island. This was a strange and magical journey through bogs, forests, and the expanse of my own interior.
One special moment: Pulling a live maggot out of my arm.
Read more:
Section hiking the Appalachian Trail,
2014-Present
In the summer of 2014 I hitchhiked to the start of the Appalachian Trail and walked north for five weeks until I had to go back to work. Ever since then I’ve been doing a few hundred miles here and there, and hope to eventually complete the whole trail.
One special moment: When my toenails turned black and fell off.
Cycling around Costa Rica,
2013
My then-partner Scott, our friend Simon, and I, rode around Costa Rica to visit farms, learn about sustainable agriculture, and source plant genetic material for a seed lending library.
One special moment: Staying at a nudist colony for a night because it was cheaper than the regular hotel.
Cycling across Ecuador,
2010-2011
My then-partner Scott and I left from Bogotá and biked in the vague direction of Ecuador. We printed out maps at internet cafes along the way. We made it all the way to Volcán Chimborazo, the highest mountain in Ecuador.
One special moment: When a woman carrying a bag of live guinea pigs invited us to camp in her yard.
Read More:
Buy Less, Bike More: Packing Hacks For An Inexpensive Bike Tour
Cycling across Colombia,
2010
In 2010 I was living in a garden shed in Bogotá, Colombia, and decided to go for a bike ride to Venezuela. I was joined by a French mathematician named Mattias. I didn’t speak French and he didn’t speak English, but we both knew enough Spanish to basically communicate. The journey took about a month.
One special moment: When we accidentally entered the final stage of a bike race, and everybody cheered for us. The first and last time I’ve ever won a bike race!
Read More:
Buy Less, Bike More: Packing Hacks for an Inexpensive Bike Tour
Guiding Volcano Hikes in Nicaragua,
2009
While we were hitchhiking across Latin America, my then-partner Scott and I stopped in León, Nicaragua for four months and became trekking guides for a nonprofit called Quetzaltrekkers. We each led dozens of multi-day treks across some of Nicaragua’s most beautiful volcanos. All proceeds went to local schools.
One special moment: Cooking guests’ dinner each night over a fire.
Hitchhiking Mexico to Panama,
2009-2010
In 2009 I was working on a chainsaw crew for the Southwest Conservation Corps in Durango, Colorado. One night I met a cute guy at a party and asked if he wanted to hitchhike across Mexico. A couple months later, we left together. We spent the next year hitching across Mexico and Central America.
One special moment: After Scott’s backpack was stolen in Tabasco, a kind stranger gave him an old black briefcase. Scott continued hitchhiking with nothing but that briefcase.
Cycling Anchorage to San Francisco,
2008
When I was 23 I flew one-way to Anchorage, Alaska, with my bike and camping gear. I built my bike in the airport, pedaled out, and rode the next thirty-five hundred miles to San Francisco. It took about three-and-a-half months.
One special moment: Believing I’d never be able to cross the Rockies, and then looking at the map and realizing I’d already crossed them.
Read More:
Cycling around Iceland, 2007
I’d just finished college and was working at a nightclub in the city. One day after work I went home, opened my laptop, and looked for cheap flights to anywhere. The next weekend I flew to Iceland with my camping gear and bicycle. I spent the next month biking about a thousand miles around the whole island. It was the first time I’d ever pedaled more than 20 miles at a time.
One special moment: Pedaling at midnight under Iceland’s arctic sun, the ocean to my right and glaciers to my left. A boundless joy.
Read more:
How I Started Long Distance Adventure Cycling
Solo Cycling Iceland: My First Bike Tour
Solo Cycling Iceland: Inside the Story of Solitude
Solo Cycling Iceland: Lessons Learned From the Bleak and the Beautiful
Hitchhiking the US and Mexico,
2003-2004
When I was eighteen I took a Greyhound to Tucson, Arizona. I walked to the edge of the city, stuck out my thumb, and hitchhiked away. I spent the next year thumbing rides around the US and Mexico.
One special moment: Dancing in the rain with a Mexican shoe shiner I met in the town square in Mazatlán