Madeline Hryse is a 28-year-old traveler, climber, and cyclist who spent four years moving overland across Latin America and Asia—sometimes alone, sometimes with friends and strangers she met along the way—before cycling 14,000 kilometers from China to Sweden. (@very__odd)

Madeline grew up in a family that treated adventure as a normal part of life, but her father was the biggest influence. A mountaineer, bicycle tinkerer, and dirtbag before dirtbagging had a name, he spent his youth hitchhiking to the Rockies and disappearing into the mountains for weeks at a time. Although he died when Madeline was sixteen, she reflects on how much of her own wandering life feels connected to his example.

After studying fashion merchandising and selling women’ ...