Mysterious Oregon Coast 2025 Part 5
The Pedalshift Project: Bicycle Travel Adventures
Release Date: 09/25/2025
The 2025 Holiday Spectacular
The Pedalshift Project: Bicycle Travel Adventures
Shifty the Elf returns for the annual holiday spectacular! 2025 was... a year. And as Shifty and I pack up for Seattle, there's a bunch of things we're going through and boxing up as we bid adieu to the year! Happy Holidays and see you in 2026!
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Honolulu and Seattle
The Pedalshift Project: Bicycle Travel Adventures
A walk along Elliot Bay to discuss the short trip to Honolulu and more on the transition to Seattle and all the bikey adventures to come. Honolulu and Seattle A walk along Elliot Bay Honolulu thoughts More Seattle impressions N+1 thoughts on bikes
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Pedalshift's New Basecamp
The Pedalshift Project: Bicycle Travel Adventures
Big news for the show: The Pedalshift Project is setting up camp in a new city! This episode breaks down what that means for future tours, how this opens up brand-new riding possibilities, and why the destination may be a bit of a surprise and also not a surprise at all. My new home: Seattle! Why? This move is all about geography, access, and expanding the Pedalshift touring sandbox. Seattle places world-class touring terrain right outside the door and increases the show’s ability to cover more routes, more often. And yes—this is a return to the broader PNW. Think of it as a new...
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Best of Pedalshift 291: Working Remotely on Bike Adventures
The Pedalshift Project: Bicycle Travel Adventures
It used to be that a bike adventure meant taking paid time off or quitting your job. Now that remote work is a reality for many of us, there’s a new option. But is bike travel while working remotely right for you? Originally podcast July 28, 2022.
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Thanksgiving Eve Live
The Pedalshift Project: Bicycle Travel Adventures
A repodcast of our Thanksgiving Eve live show: following up on your comments on the state of bicycle touring, plus a bunch of great questions in an Ask Me Anything segment! Followup: Is Bicycle Touring in Decline? More emails on this than any topic in a while. Some selected thoughts from listeners: Regarding ACA Multiple listeners: Could ACA be losing older members in its attempts to expand into younger audiences, but worse… might not be succeeding on either front? It’s hard to do both, and that’s the challenge… you need to find what drives your constituencies and sometimes you...
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Is Bicycle Touring in Decline?
The Pedalshift Project: Bicycle Travel Adventures
Bicycle touring numbers feel like they’re down—fewer loaded panniers on the road, Adventure Cycling Association facing major financial headwinds, and a lot of long-time tourers quietly aging out. But is touring actually in decline, or is it just shifting into something that looks different—like bikepacking, gravel, and shorter, more flexible trips? In this episode I dig into Adventure Cycling’s recent membership and financial update, talk through generational and economic trends, and explore whether we’re seeing the end of an era… or just the end of one version of it. Is Bicycle...
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Bike Adventure Goals Scorecard
The Pedalshift Project: Bicycle Travel Adventures
Way back in January - and what feels like ten years ago to me - I set out a bunch of bicycle adventure goals for me in 2025. In a challenging year, I wasn't sure how I'd measure up but as I always like to do, I gave the goals a once over to see how I did. So on this episode we give it a scorecard treatment, but also a sneak preview of the final piece of 2025 adventuring that manages to check one of the boxes! 2025 Bike Adventure Goals Scorecard Celebrating plans already made, and taking care of yourself Sort of? A big ebike trip – maybe two. Taking the bike on a ride only the ebike can do…...
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Best of Pedalshift 249: Solo Touring Women
The Pedalshift Project: Bicycle Travel Adventures
A chat with Sylva Florence, an experienced bicycle tourist and author of many things (including her blog The Sylva Lining) on touring as a solo woman, how people who want to be allies to solo women touring can do that without being creepy, and some of her favorite adventures. .
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The Ultralight Challenge
The Pedalshift Project: Bicycle Travel Adventures
What if you could tour with just what fits in a single dry bag? No panniers. Just the essentials. On this episode, we take this as a challenge - borrowing from the ultralight backpacking folks, we cut off our toothbrush handles and weigh every gram for the ultralight bikepacking challenge! “What if you could tour with just what fits in your handlebar bag? No panniers. No rack. Just the essentials.” Why: curiosity, simplicity, nimble handling, testing limits for overnighters or credit card touring. Rules: one mid-size drybag (say 10–12L). No extra frame or seat bags. Trip assumptions:...
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A Game of Chance Revisited
The Pedalshift Project: Bicycle Travel Adventures
We're bringing back one of the wackiest ideas in Pedalshift history — the Game of Chance! Using random number generators and the excellent Adventure Cycling Association routes, it's an unpredictable coast-to-coast bike tour from the Pacific to the Atlantic. When every turn is determined by chance the results are... surprisingly awesome? In This Episode: Revisiting the “Game of Chance” touring experiment from 2021 Using randomness to pick routes across ACA’s national network Riding (and re-riding) the Pacific Coast, Northern Tier, Lewis & Clark, TransAm, and more ...
info_outlineA well-rested morning in Lincoln City spawns what seems like a reasonable plan to salvage the cursed tour, but James's borrowed bike has other ideas entirely. But with tubleless tire disasters forcing yet another major pivot, will this newly condensed coastal adventure finally find its groove or continue spiraling into beautiful chaos?
The New Plan (Before It All Changed Again)
- Today: Lincoln City to South Beach State Park via Newport
- Tomorrow: South Beach to Yachats for hotel exploration
- Final day: Yachats to Honeyman State Park near Florence
- Split: James continues south, Tim buses north to Eugene for flight home
The Reality Check
James's tubeless rear tire completely fails outside Bike Newport, requiring conversion to tube setup. Tire damage deemed too severe for continued long-distance touring, prompting complete itinerary overhaul.
Key Highlights
- 5 AM Red Bull run - James's thoughtful breakfast procurement while Tim sleeps in
- Equipment curse continues - Second bike, same problems for James's borrowed setup
- Bike Newport saves the day - Last major bike shop on coast provides crucial tire conversion
- Strategic retreat activated - Both riders pivot to Eugene ending for maximum certainty
- Financial silver lining - Trip changes actually save money on cancelled Medford logistics
Route Details
- Lincoln City to Newport: ~25 miles through official bike route (hilly and exhausting)
- Extended stop at Bike Newport for mechanical crisis management
- Final 4 miles to South Beach State Park
- Tomorrow: Abbreviated plan toward Florence before Eugene bus
Mechanical Drama Timeline
- Morning discovery: Slow leak confirmed in James's tubeless rear tire
- Newport arrival: Tire immediately starts "spitting sealant"
- Shop diagnosis: Tire damage too severe for tubeless repair
- Solution: Convert to tube in rear, maintain tubeless front ("mullet setup")
- Reality check: Tube setup is temporary fix, not permanent solution
Cultural Observations
- Newport bike route: Scenic but punishing for loaded touring
- South Beach State Park: Tim's favorite coast campground (tied with Cape Lookout)
- Yachats mystique: Tim's long-desired exploration of this coast town finally abandoned
- Eugene adventure: First-time visit for longtime Portland resident Tim
Food & Beverage Strategy
- Breakfast: Red Bulls and bananas (James's 5 AM procurement mission)
- Newport: Extended hydration break during mechanical crisis
- Dinner: Beer One brewery (skipped lunch strategy)
- Evening: Junior Rangers fire ecology program spotted but not attended
The Ship of Theseus Situation
James notes he'll return a completely different bike to his friend after replacing virtually every component during the tour - a philosophical equipment conundrum.
Statistics
- Miles Biked: 25
- Original plan survival rate: 0%
- Hours spent at Bike Newport: 1.5
- Ounces of tubeless sealant sacrificed: 6
- Tubeless fails: yes
- Nontubeless flats: Zero