Pedaling and Podcasts: how to banish boredom from bicycle touring

 

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Flickr Photo by TheFriendlyFiendBicycle touring is, without a doubt, meaningful and challenging.  It’s a test of your physical limits, an opportunity to venture into uncharted territory and expand your worldview.

Yet bicycle touring is full of monotony and mundane moments.  Times when the sameness of the scenery could lull you to sleep.  Long, straight highways that stretch out into eternity. 

That’s when I like to plug into a podcast.  Learn a new language, let short fiction transport me into another world, get entertained with stories about life, catch up on the world of science, discover new music, and even dream about other bicycle touring destinations.

Podcasts cover every imaginable topic.  Plus they’re free. And they’re easy to download.   Here are a few of my favorites:

The Moth The Moth features people telling true, engaging, funny, touching and eye-opening stories from their lives. Hailed as "New York's hottest and hippest literary ticket" by the Wall Street Journal, The Moth has been producing sold-out storytelling shows for over ten years. Stories are told without notes to a live audience by a wide range of people. The best have been captured here.
Radio Lab Podcast

 

Radiolab believes your ears are a portal to another world. Where sound illuminates ideas, and the boundaries blur between science, philosophy, and human experience. Big questions are investigated, tinkered with, and encouraged to grow. Bring your curiosity, and we'll feed it with possibility.


This America Life

Official free, weekly podcast of the award-winning radio show "This American Life." First-person stories and short fiction pieces that are touching, funny, and surprising. Hosted by Ira Glass, from WBEZ Chicago Public Radio. In mp3 and updated Mondays.

Fresh Air Fresh Air from WHYY, the Peabody Award-winning weekday magazine of contemporary arts and issues, is one of public radio's most popular programs. Hosted by Terry Gross, the show features intimate conversations with today's biggest luminaries
Selected Shorts It's story time for adults with PRI's award-winning series of short fiction read by the stars of stage and screen. Recorded live at Peter Norton Symphony Space in NYC and on tour. A co-production of Symphony Space and WNYC, New York Public Radio.

TED Talks
Each year,  the TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) conference hosts some of the world's most fascinating people: Trusted voices and convention-breaking mavericks, icons and geniuses. These podcasts (also available in audio format) capture the most extraordinary presentations delivered from the TED stage.

Travelling Two Podcasts Friedel from travellingtwo.com puts together great interviews with all types of folks on bicycle tours.

Join the conversation.  Please share in the comments section below.

If you enjoyed this post, give these posts and videos a try:

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Bicycle Touring inspiration
The Bests: part one

The Bests: part two


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