Yearly Archives: 2023

Filipe Masetti Leiti Rode a Horse 16,000 Miles. This is What he Learned.

“I’d never ridden more than 3 kilometers.” That’s what author, filmmaker, and Long Rider Filipe Masetti told me after riding 16,000 miles across North and South America. That quote will give you hope you can do whatever you’re dreaming of doing.

Long Rider Filipe Masetti Leite
Filipe on the trail
A boot to navigate by: Filipe’s route for the first leg of his trip, from Calgary, Canada to Barretos, Brazil, spelled out on one of his boots

Interview With Filipe… Continue reading

Crankin’: Long Distance Bicyclists Talk About Their Bike Journeys

Though I take most of my trips on the back of a mule, I always enjoy meeting long-distance bikers in my rambles. Here are the stories of three people taking long bicycle trips I thought you’d enjoy. They are Johannes “Hans” Myors, Sven Eckhard, and Ji Liong.

Johannes “Hans” Myors

Reverend Hans Myors (Southern Pines, North Carolina)

Reverend Hans’ story is one of stick-to-it-ness. As of the day I met him on the side of the road, he’d pedaled 168,000… Continue reading

Listen to the Creston Dinosaur on Atlas Obscura

In 2008, my mule Polly and I traveled from Canada to the Mexican border in a homemade mule wagon. I interviewed folks along the way, and one of the favorite characters I met wasn’t a person. It was a giant green cement dinosaur outside Creston, South Dakota.

Mule Polly and the Creston dinosaur (Creston, South Dakota)

Flash forward to now. Recently Atlas Obscura, the website dedicated to obscure Americana, contacted me about doing a story about the Creston dinosaur. I… Continue reading

The Long Ride: Melissa Priblo Chapman Discusses Her Book “Distant Skies” (Part 2 of 2)

In the early 1980s, twenty-three-year-old Melissa Priblo Chapman rode her horse Rainy 2,600 miles alone across America. She encountered rattlesnakes, thunderstorms and Great Plains busters, but she also encountered kind ranchers like the one who hooked her up with a pack mule. Almost forty years after her trip, Melissa wrote a book about her voyage called “Distant Skies”. I recently interviewed Melissa about her book and trip.

“Distant Skies: An American Journey on Horseback” by Melissa Priblo Chapman / published… Continue reading

“Distant Skies”: Melissa Priblo Chapman Discusses Her New Book (Part 1 of 2)

Melissa Priblo Chapman dreamt of “riding through some distant town on a trustworthy horse” in elementary school. It was the late 1970s. When she was 23, she saddled her horse Rainy, hauled her puppy Gypsy into the saddle with her and headed west to live her dream. This week, I interviewed Melissa about her new book “Distant Skies: An American Journey on Horseback”. Here is Part 1 of a two-part series of our conversation.

“Distant Skies: An American Journey on… Continue reading

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Happy Adventuring!

Bernie Harberts

Caution: sometimes I don’t get it right (Dannebrog, Nb)

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