This year broke the seasonal rhythm of the last stage of my life – the school year divided in two parts, and then the summer, when I would uproot and spend a few months traveling in the field. Maybe that’s why I’ve been in a wandering state of mind lately. I wind up reading about incredible bike adventures all over the planet, which makes me increasingly hungry for one of my own. Since that’s not going to happen very soon, reading’s about all I can do for now.

If you hang around certain corners of the internet, you get the sense that we are in the midst of a glorious era of long-distance bike travel, made possible in part by creatively designed bikes that can handle whatever you throw at them, a DIY spirit that’s given rise to a new generation of equipment makers, and an enthusiasm for stepping over traditional boundaries separating different outdoor pursuits. Want to take your bike camping in the mountains for a few days? Steal some moves from ultralight backpackers and voilá, now you’re bikepacking.

As I learned more about where people are going on bikes these days, I started wondering how long all of this has really been going on. I mean beyond the panniered bike tourists on the ‘70s, when did people first try to go really far on a bicycle?

Now I have at least one answer, and it’s much more exciting than I expected. More to come about that.