When people hear the phrase bicycle touring, they often imagine someone pedaling across a mountain pass with fifty pounds of camping gear strapped to their bike.
That certainly counts.
But lately I've been thinking bicycle touring starts much earlier than that.
Sometimes it starts with joining a community ride across your own city.
That's exactly what happened when I rode the Slauson Rail to Rail Pathway with a Metro Bike Share group ride. We weren't trying to set distance records or prepare for an expedition.
We were simply exploring.
And that's what bicycle touring is really about.
You Don't Need to Leave Town to Be a Tourist
One of the things I love most about living in Los Angeles is that there's always another neighborhood to discover.
Even as a local, there are streets I've never ridden, parks I've never visited, murals I've never noticed, and conversations I've never had.
Slauson Rail to Rail Pathway during sunset. | photo: AROUNDwithTK
The Slauson Rail to Rail Pathway reminded me that adventure doesn't always require a passport—or even a hotel reservation.
Sometimes all it takes is deciding to explore your own city from a different perspective.
Whether you're visiting Los Angeles for the first time or you've lived here your entire life, a bike lets you experience neighborhoods at exactly the right speed.
Fast enough to cover real distance.
Slow enough to actually notice what's around you.
My Favorite Kind of Travel
I recently returned from a week-long journey across the country on Amtrak.
One thing struck me over and over again as I looked out the window.
America is full of small towns.
When we fly, we mostly experience airports and major cities. But traveling by train reveals places we'd otherwise never know existed—communities with their own history, personality, and rhythm.
That trip made me think about what comes next after stepping off the train.
The answer, for me, is increasingly becoming: a bicycle.
Train travel and bicycle touring feel like natural companions.
One helps you cross great distances.
The other helps you truly experience the place you've arrived.
Together, they offer a completely different way to travel.
Inspired by the Great American Rail Trail
Recently, I've found myself learning more about the Great American Rail-Trail and the vision behind it.
The idea is wonderfully simple: connect communities across the United States through an expanding network of multiuse trails, making it possible for people to travel farther by foot, wheelchair, or bicycle while experiencing places that highways often bypass.
Whether or not someone rides the entire trail isn't really the point.
The vision itself is inspiring.
It's about making exploration more accessible.
It's about connecting communities instead of dividing them.
It's about giving people another way to experience America.
Projects like the Slauson Rail to Rail Pathway feel like they're part of that same movement.
They may serve local neighborhoods today, but together they become pieces of something much bigger.
A Bicycle Is Just the Vehicle
One thing I've realized recently is that I don't think I'm actually becoming a bicycle fanatic.
I couldn't tell you much about cranksets, gear ratios, or the latest high-end components.
I'm not the person comparing wheelsets on internet forums.
What excites me is something much simpler.
People.
People for Mobility Justice and TRUST South LA, with support from Metro Bike Share, hosted a Rail to Rail Ride along Slauson in South L.A. | photo: AROUNDwithTK
Communities.
Stories.
A bicycle just happens to be one of the best tools I've found for discovering all three.
When you're riding, you're approachable.
You stop more often.
You notice the neighborhood bakery.
You hear conversations in parks.
You meet people you never would have encountered behind a windshield.
The bicycle isn't the destination.
It's the invitation.
Travel That Gives Back
There's another reason bicycle touring appeals to me.
When you move through places at a slower pace, you're much more likely to spend time—and money—in local communities.
You stop for coffee at the independent café.
You grab lunch from the neighborhood restaurant.
You browse the local bookstore.
You chat with someone running a family-owned shop.
Instead of speeding past communities, you become part of them, even if only for an afternoon.
That's the kind of travel I want to support.
Travel that spreads opportunity a little more broadly and encourages us to appreciate places that aren't already famous.
Looking Ahead
This season has already been full of inspiration.
A cross-country Amtrak trip reminded me how much of America exists between the major cities.
I was also incredibly grateful to receive a new bicycle from RideOn Bike Co-op, and it's already encouraging me to dream a little bigger about future adventures.
Not because I want to ride farther for the sake of distance.
Because I want to see more.
Meet more people.
Spend more time in places that don't usually make travel guides.
Enjoy a peaceful ride, roll or run across South L.A. on a car-free pathway. | photo: AROUNDwithTK
More Than a Ride
The Slauson Rail to Rail community ride lasted only a few hours.
But it reminded me why bicycle touring has captured my imagination.
It's not about conquering miles.
It's not about expensive equipment.
It's not even about bicycles.
It's about believing that travel can be slower, more human, and more connected.
I hope one day traveling by train and bicycle feels as ordinary in America as it does in so many parts of Europe.
Until then, I'll keep exploring one ride at a time—starting right here in Los Angeles.
Because every great bicycle tour begins with a simple decision to see what's around the next corner.
Mm. I despise artificial intelligence, I do… but the system has a point here, when I typed in my unorganized thoughts to get a blog back, it said to “consider renaming the category from ‘Bicycle Touring’ to ‘Slow Travel by Bike’ or ‘Travel by Bike’ at some point.” Hm, I thought. When I created this biker babe section of the site a couple of years ago, I used whatever language I’d seen. Now, I realize why I slick hated it — it wasn’t me. Truly, idgaf about the technicalities of cycling, that one would see on GCN. “Bicycle touring tends to attract readers looking for gear reviews, route maps, and technical advice,” and that’s most definitely not what I’m trying to give.
I got a habit of writing about tragic shit
I think I’m just passionate
It’s never been about a bicycle itself for me. It’s being present in my body, connecting with myself, connecting with others, even in merely passing. It’s avoiding my feelings because when you’re flying over 15 miles per hours on a little frame with nothing truly protecting you and two-thousand-pound lumps of metal passing beside you, your focus is consumed with staying alive. It’s also getting into my feelings though, by slowing down, taking in what I’m AROUND, bringing back emotions of the past or inspiring a new mood to brew.
It’s never been about the bicycle. The bicycle is only a vehicle.
(My little AI assistance took those exact words from me. It’s kinda freaky… Cool that I could train a language model to replicate my writing style and word choices, but would be absolutely enraging if someone else used the same tool to imitate me. I’m knowing plagiarism is going crazy in the age of AI. Ugh, real writers rise up! Does that make me a hypocrite? That I use AI sparingly for occasional filler content while also not wanting AI to take opportunities from real writers? Ion know.. Maybe I have a big head. If a b*tch could never be me, and that’s what I know, I know FO’ DAMN SHO a robot could possibly never, you uh-gah-lee bit-chah! See what I’m saying? AI isn’t about to seamlessly integrate a YouTube classic from my childhood that I’ve never mentioned. AI, same as any human on this earth, can’t live my entire human experience, therefore, it nor anybody could create what I could create. Plus, when it comes to this writing and storytelling shit, I’m HER fr, foh! Bye bye, B. Simone and other plagiarizing ass hoes!)
In regards to creating content about bicycle touring, ChatGPT told me, “What you're building is much broader—a philosophy of exploration centered on people, place, and community,” and me oh my, it did not lie. Indeed, that’s “much more aligned with the heart of AROUNDwithTK.”
What I’m building is much deeper than a cool ride or an enviable trip. It’s a journey of discovery. It’s what I’ll be on whether or not you stick AROUND, but I hope you do, as this could be helpful for you too!