We're only a couple of months into prime touring season ? and the weather's been less than hospitable for bicycle touring, at least here in the Northwest.
Yet, still they come ? journeying across the country, stopping in at Adventure Cycling world headquarters to visit with staff and eat ice cream (although we've been offering fresh-baked cookies instead, due to the chilly and wet weather).
For the past five years, I've offered my guest room or porch to traveling cyclists through WarmShowers.org. It's been a great opportunity to get to know adventurers from all over the world. We've hosted retired pro football players from Maine, a world traveler from Switzerland, an organic farmer from California, and a husband and wife from Kangaroo Island, Australia, just to name a few. My family and I love hearing their stories ? not just about their trips, but the experiences that have brought them from their regular lives to our front door.
You can host traveling cyclists, too. Just go to www.warmshowers.org and create an account. You can set the parameters for whatever works best for your situation ? indoor guest room, yard camping, dinners or not, a day's notice or a month's ? but remember, the constant is that you offer the traveler a warm shower!
This week, I will host Mike from The KICKS Project (The Key to Implementing Change begins by Kicking a Soccerball). He's riding the TransAmerica Trail from Oregon to Virginia. And I'm really looking forward to learning about his journey.
Photo by Allee der Kosmonauten on flickr.
--
CONNECTIONS is posted by Ginny Sullivan, Adventure Cycling's special projects director and features the cultural, historical, geographical, and human connections created through bike travel. Find out about our award-winning Underground Railroad Bicycle Route.
Source: http://blog.adventurecycling.org/2011/06/warm-showers-why-i-host-and-you-should.html
No comments:
Post a Comment