Freeman has years of touring experience that has informed how he travels through some of the most remote and challenging parts of the world. Recognizing the special needs presented by a combination of his co-pilot Mira, their gear, terrain, and minimal support access to support, Freeman approached Xtracycle to produce the ideal, purpose-engineered cargo bicycle to traverse some of North America's most epic terrain.  

"To access to the places Mira and I share in my content, you are experiencing the full range of climates, elevations, and temperatures around the world. Through that, I've developed very specific needs for our transportation," said Freeman. "The bike I ride is my most essential tool, and it needs to be durable to handle everything from remote mountain trails, deserts, snow covered terrain and even urban centers, while still remaining agile for oru gear and technical riding. Xtracycle's deep expertise in cargo bikes made them the obvious partner,
and there is no better place to launch this bike than on the Tour Divide.”

Freeman, a world traveller and the visionary behind adventure travel YouTube channel OmniTierra, has been documenting his global journey with his 7-year-old Border Collie-Heeler mix, Mira. His desire to share the different facets of global culture, explore nature around the world, and show the power of doing challenging things requires extensive gear, supplies, and equipment for both himself and his companion across diverse and often technical terrain.

Xtracycle was introduced to John & Mira through their partner company Priority Bicycles, who have a long-standing relationship with fellow adventurer Ryan Van Duzer. Priority's experience with Pinion and Gates technologies for years in the adventure space, paired with Xtracycle's 25 years of cargo bike utility was a perfect skill set for creating the OmniTierra bicycle.

"It’s an exciting challenge to design a bicycle for such a specific use case," said Steve Zourntos, General Manager at Xtracycle. "It gets us back to our roots of solving transportation challenges in demanding environments. John's requirements pushed our design capabilities and reminded us why we got into this business in the first place – to create bicycles that truly expand what's possible on two wheels."