Singletrack/MTB
Gravel/All-road
Dirt-road Touring
Fat-bike
In a personal reflection detailing his history with bikes, Michael Portugal speaks to how he won the 2026 Swift Summer Campout video competition. From early days riding bikes through the eyes of a hurricane to a long shot he didn’t even realize he’d hit, read more on Michael’s journey below…
Words, photos, and video by Michael Portugal
I’ve always loved riding a bike, but it was never a consistent part of my life. Some of my favorite memories as a kid living in South Florida are of riding bikes in the eye of Hurricane Katrina with my brother. I remember trying to avoid loose branches and twigs falling from the trees above us as we rode in circles in the vast parking lot of our apartment complex. Riding through massive pools of water that collected in the parts of the lot that didn’t drain well.
Our parents created boundaries for us within the apartment complex so we wouldn’t wander too far from home, but it was our bikes (blue Mongoose mountain bikes from Toys”R”Us) that allowed us to break through the boundaries and explore the world past our home. We were so curious to see something new and experience freedom to explore, and bikes were the vehicles that brought us that freedom.
When I was 18 or 19 years old, I had an all-white fixie that I would use to commute to work at Ramp 48, the indoor skatepark I grew up going to. Late one night, I decided to ride north on A1A along the beach. I rode about 40 miles through the night, running into my drunk cousin at 2 a.m. and having to explain to him, “I’m not high! I swear! My eyes are red because I’ve been riding my bike all night, and my contacts are dry.”
Eventually, I found a bench in Boynton Beach to lay my head and watch a lightning storm over the water as I drifted off to sleep, with only a hoodie for a pillow. At 20, I decided to leave home with nothing but my backpack and a curiosity for what was out in the world. I hitchhiked, walked, rode freight trains, and even skated for transportation. Somehow I had forgotten that bikes existed.
Fast forward a decade, and I remembered. Earlier this year, I decided to buy a bike. My friend Joseph built me a 1991 KHS Cross Comp, and I started riding every day. I realized I could take everything I’ve learned from years of travel, hiking, and riding my bike through storms as a kid, and I began planning a bikepacking trip. I started to train every day, riding between 20 and 50 miles. I was getting stronger, but I was realizing this bike wouldn’t be ideal for the trip.
I met my new friend Steve-O to ride his usual 18-mile loop. During the ride, I vented my qualms with the KHS, and he said, “I think I have the perfect bike for your trip,” and he gave me a Mosaic GT-2 AR, which opened up a whole new world for me. I didn’t know bikes could feel this smooth and fast! Man, this bike is fast! So I started training on the Mosaic. It’s my favorite bike, but it still didn’t feel ideal for my trip. Every time I ride that bike, I just want to go fast. So, I started going back and forth between the KHS and the Mosaic, like picking which candy bar to buy with the $1 weekly allowance I got as a kid. Back in the 90s, that was a lot of money.
Eventually, I saw that Swift Industries was hosting a video contest. They had me hooked on $1,000 worth of bags. But then, I realized that Wilde was giving their bikepacking-specific bike, the Supertramp, to the winner. I thought, “Maybe this bike can solve all my bike problems. I at least need to try to win this.” Here in Bowling Green, Kentucky, there isn’t a lot of gravel to ride, but I knew I needed to find some gravel for the video I wanted to make, because just like when I was a child, it had to be an adventure. I wanted to capture the freedom that riding a bike can give you, without the focus being on the gear or the bike itself, so I chose to ride the KHS. I used my iPhone 15 with a little tripod, and I brought my drone (which I never use) for that one shot from high up.
I didn’t expect to win, but I went for it because it was a great excuse to find a place I hadn’t been to before and spend some time alone in the woods, riding my bike, and being creative. A week or two later, I was on a road trip to Colorado with my friends, and I got a message from the hosts saying I’d won. I had my friend stop the car because I couldn’t believe they had picked my video. I was shaking. I’m still waiting for the bike to get built and shipped to me, and I still haven’t picked out the bags I want because I can’t decide between the colors they have. But I’m so excited to get everything.
I’m planning to do my 1,000+ mile bikepacking trip in about a month. I will be starting in the Northwoods of Wisconsin, riding to Grand Portage in Minnesota. Then, I will catch a ferry to Isle Royale, followed by another ferry to Copper Bay in the UP of Michigan, where I will ride to Munising, then loop back to Wisconsin. I can’t help but to think that the young version of me would be so excited that I’m still aiming to break past the boundaries with a bicycle.
For more from Michael, find him on Instagram.
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