The wild man of thru-hiking has now become the wild(er) man of long-distance bikepacking.

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Tom Gathman blew the doors off the GearJunkie podcast back in 2020. Boundless energy, infinite ’80s movie references — obviously, we had to have him back on at some point.

But in the last 2 years, Gathman has made some major moves. In fact, the Hiking Viking managed a complete professional makeover (no, not the beard; he still has the beard).

Once an icon of thru-hiking, Gathman recently hopped in the saddle and became the Hiking Viking, Now Liking Biking. This year, he completed a 5,000-mile trek south to north, then south again, along the Great Divide.

Gathman sits down to describe how he went from walking to wheels, how he stays so muscley on trail, and what wild ideas he’s cooking up for the year to come.