Bicycle tourers

Adventures by bicycle aka bicycle touring and bikepacking. If you are a bicyclist, bicycle tourist or bikepacker submit your journey here. We also feature some stories about bicycle gear.

Crew of pirates

The pirates of Zanzibar

In this story, Cat & Pat accept a half-joking offer: a pirate boat to Zanzibar. With no ferry running, little money and no stamps in their passports, they accept. They depart at 4 AM as "illegal cargo" on a dhow (a traditional sailing vessel with a design that dates back thousands of years) with no safety gear, no radio and no engine.
Pat posing next to Russian tank

Cycling the heart of Africa

Pat & Cat Patterson share five intense days from their around-the-world bicycle journey. They pedaled deep into the West African jungle, navigating broken bridges, river crossings, border guards, firestorms, and moments of generosity that turned strangers into friends. A raw look at adventure at its most human and unpredictable.
Dennis Snader and Alicia kissing in front of a mural of giant faces.

What happened to Dennis after cycling the world?

If you've read Falling Uphill, you know that Dennis accompanied me halfway around the world on a bicycle. Many of you have wondered what happened to Dennis and if he found what he was looking for when he returned home. I'm honored that for the 25th anniversary of my website — a website Dennis helped build — he has written this wonderful story complete with important life lessons.
Over The Hills by David Lamb. Book resting on a wooden table.

Over the hills

Middle-aged reminiscing by some guys who rode a bicycle across the country.
Before and after picture of Tim and Sharyn with their loaded touring bicycles in the snow of Canada and in the sun of the United States.

From backpacks to panniers to housesits

Tim and Sharyn have spent nearly two decades redefining adventure, going from backpackers to bicycle tourists to housesitters in the world’s most beautiful and expensive cities. Read on to discover their inspiring midlife journey, lessons learned on the road, and how they’re teaching others how to housesit and save thousands while traveling the world.
Tripe and intestine soup Tanzania

What is the grossest thing you ever ate?

Here is a fun bonus chapter from Falling Uphill that I thought I would post online as part of my 25th-anniversary celebration. My book was getting long, so I cut this chapter because I didn't think it matched the tone I was going for. However, I do think it is one of my funnier stories, and it showcases just how odd we humans are.
Cycling up the Worlds Steepest Hill

Did you break a world record?

Many years later, this question is still one of the most common questions about my journey around the world on a bicycle. Did you break a world record? The short answer is yes and no. In this article, I'll explain the rules for circumnavigating the globe according to Guinness World Records, and, more importantly, how we are all setting our own personal records every day.
Grizzly bear Glacier National Park foraging for grub worms.

Going-to-the-Sun Road on a bike

In this adventure, I cycle the best road in the country, Going-to-the-Sun Road in Glacier National Park before the road opened to cars. I dodge a few bears and bear poops along the way. Not everyone is so lucky.
Rachel and Patrick's first day on the bikes

Another one for the bikes

After hunkering down for a year during the pandemic, at 71-years-old, Rachel begins her fourth bicycle tour with partner Patrick.
Reverend Johannes Myors 2020

The bicycling reverend

The bicycling Reverend Johannes Myors helps a stranded Marine suffering from Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
A packing list from a bicycle tour guide in 1897. See the article to read the complete list.

A bicycle touring packing list from 1897

Times have changed! Both culture and technology. How many of these items from the Victorian era would you include on your cycle touring packing list?
A photo of us mimicking the pose of the presidents on Mount Rushmore.

How to make a memorable moment

In celebration of my website's 20th anniversary and my 50th lap around the sun, I've written an extra-special story about how I live a life worth living, including making memorable moments and how friends shed new light on life.