We rode the entire Empire State Trail (Buffalo to NYC) while filming a PBS bikepacking travel show.
Went on production for this show at the end of summer 2025. It was an 11-day tour and we did the entirety of the Empire State Trail from Buffalo to New York City.
Full disclosure: it was a credit card tour. We stayed in hotels mainly because I had to offload media and we needed a safe place to store all of our camera equipment. We also had a support car meeting us from location to location, but it was kind of unique doing an entire bike tour mixed with a show. It worked like clockwork, we literally had to bike segment to segment, adding mileage onto the trip and making sure we hit those segments on time.
For this trip, we were averaging about 60 miles a day, and filming about four interviews per day. On top of that, we usually built in a mini segment (either a meal at a restaurant or, in each city, I organized a group ride with local cycling groups and we filmed those as part of the episodes. Syracuse had the biggest turnout with hundreds of people and Albany was a close second, so those gave us some really great visuals. Those are episodes four and six).
Rig-wise, I was riding my trusty All-City Space Horse with 34mm tires. Those are wide enough for the crushed stone on the trail. If we were doing more off-road I’d go wider, but this worked. I kept fenders on for all-weather since we were riding rain or shine to make interviews and production days.
The crew was small, just me and my cinematographer. He was riding a Dost Kope e-bike that we rigged out with cameras (Insta360 X5, DJI Action 4) and I had a GoPro 360. On the back rack of the e-bike, we also had DSLRs in our cam bag for interviews. We used digital lavs for audio to keep it light. Since this is a public media show, we also worked with PBS member stations across New York State for production support. In each region, we coordinated with the local station to bring on a videographer for a couple days as we rolled through, which helped a lot with coverage.
We took one lighter day around day six—we filmed some B-roll and scenery, but really it was to give us a bit of a break from racing interview to interview, so not interviews at all. That is actually where it felt like a real bike tour again. Mixing TV production with a bike tour honestly undoes most of the leisure part of touring. But we also wanted to present this as a way to take a trip, and the Empire State Trail is a really good entry point for that.
There are a ton of amenities - hotels, motels, public restrooms, canal towns spaced out well so you can stop, refill water, get food. It’s not that intimidating for a newcomer. You don’t have to do the whole thing, you can stop in Albany, Rochester, Syracuse, and hop on Amtrak back. I’m a longtime cyclist and have bike toured a bunch before. I did the Empire State Trail back in 2021 (Buffalo to NYC) plus weekend trips out to the Finger Lakes, Hudson Valley, Jersey, etc., but I really wanted this show to be an entry point for people to see and think "yeah, I could do that as a vacation", even if its an ebike or whatever.
For the show itself, we were working with a grant from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, so we focused on climate change solutions. Bike touring/bikepacking fits into that pretty naturally. We stopped at a lot of New York State Parks, talked to scientists and conservationists, and also hit restaurants to make it feel like a travel show. That was important to me, I wanted it to feel like a travel show, not just a doc.
We also worked in local music from different regions. I’ll sometimes ride with an earbud in when I tour, so having a kind of “soundtrack” felt right, and it gives each place a different feel.
I did a lot of outlining and scripting before production (questions, how segments would connect) but once you’re actually out there it’s a different game. Weather changes, delays, random stuff happens. We got caught in a pretty intense rainstorm, dealt with downed trees after a microburst, late summer heat, and just running behind because I couldn’t memorize stand-ups half the time.
I feel like the first episode gets at what the show is, but each episode has a different flavor. The next one in Rochester is a bit more humorous, with more natural moments and more riding footage to follow in the series.
Anyway, would love for folks here to check it out if you’re into it. Also can answer more questions! Please help public media! (We're in a tough spot now).