This is the 436th issue of Bike Bits, Adventure Cycling’s twice-monthly bicycle bulletin. Bike Bits is delivered to you, and 68,994 other readers, because you’ve signed up for it at the Adventure Cycling Association website. We want to inspire you to dream and to live your own bicycle adventures.

“Most of what matters in your life takes place in your absence.”

Salman Rushdie

An Adventurer Nonpareil

Ian Hibell was the quintessential bicycle traveler. When others took the easy way around the Darién Gap — an undeveloped swampland connecting Panama and Colombia — Hibell waded right through the soggy mess. Read more

Zen and the Art of Bicycle Transcendence

Proof that the best way to see California — or anyplace else for that matter — is on a bike. Read more

Riding the Divide for Warriors

Next summer, two veterans will ride the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route from Jasper, Alberta, to Antelope Wells, New Mexico, to raise funds for Warrior Expeditions, a program that helps war veterans transition back into civilian life. Read more

From the Archive of Useful Things

Bicycle touring takes time, and you know what you need to schedule that time? A calendar. When you join or renew your Adventure Cycling membership at the Patron level or higher, you’ll get a free 2019 Bike Travel Calendar to help put your future cycling plans in motion. Read more 

The Right Way to do Summer Vacation

Instead of sitting on the beach sipping banana daiquiris, these two teachers from Montana spent their summer break riding the Northern Tier. Read more

Crossing the Globe by Accident

This man set off from home to see how far he could pedal and returned nearly three years later. Read more

Panamerica, Solo and Self-Contained

In August, Jonas Deichmann set off from north of the Arctic Circle for an unsupported solo attempt to break the world record for cycling the length of the Americas. (That would be over 14,000 miles in 100 days.) Follow his progress at the following link. Read more

Fake Plastic Streets

A plastic bicycle path in the Netherlands — where else? Read more

South America, Solo

Reading the poetry of the earth from the saddle. Read more

Adventure in Austin

Wanderfest is an annual retreat where inspired women from around the world gather together, share stories, and build community in the spirit of adventure, sisterhood, and travel. Wanderfest 2019 is at Casa de Luz in Austin, Texas. Bike Bits readers get 10 percent off tickets with the code CYCLE19. Read more

Until next time, click here for vicarious adventures in Idaho.

Adventure Cycling Association is North America’s premier nonprofit organization dedicated to inspiring and empowering people to travel by bicycle. Membership is open to anyone and includes a one-year subscription to Adventure Cyclist magazine and discounted pricing on maps from our Adventure Cycling Route Network, which now includes 47,283 miles. To join, go here.

Illustrations by Greg Siple