Bike Life

We are joined today by Quintin Reich. Quintin is a cyclist and longtime Warmshowers.org host located on the Pacific Coast route.

During college, Quintin worked for a bike equipment manufacturer and developed a keen interest in bike touring. In 1991, he took an extended tour through Europe and was profoundly affected by the experience. The concept of complete strangers offering help, hospitality, food, and fellowship was amazing to Quintin.  The connections he made, random acts of kindness he received, and the freedom and sense of adventure he felt on that trip totally changed him.  

Over the years, his busy career as a mortgage broker curtailed his bike touring. It has been 30 long years since Quintin took that first bike tour, and he still dreams of touring again someday. In the meantime, Quintin hosts cyclists as much as he can. Both through Warmshowers.org and by introducing himself to cyclists passing through the area. Offering hospitality is Quintin’s way of repaying the help and fellowship he received during his bike tour in the 90s.

Quintin has made lifelong friends while hosting and loves that he has been able to stay in touch with many of the cyclists he has hosted. In fact, his family took a trip to Europe a few years ago and connected with a former guest of his. Although there have been times when Quintin felt burned out on hosting, he has never said no to a guest. His guests’ stories and adventures have enriched his life so much he feels he gets more out of the experience than they do.

If there is one lesson Quintin has learned over the years, it’s that the freedom of bike touring is all about connection. His advice is to stop, slow down, open yourself up, and really participate in the experiences and people you meet along the way.

Join our community at www.warmshowers.org, or you can reach Tahverlee at [email protected].

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We are joined by Harry Shepherd, a cyclist and environmental campaigner from England. 

Today, Harry talks about what got him into cycling, his passion for the natural world, and an eventful journey across Europe during 2020. The trip formed part of the Team Townend Challenge, an annual cycling sportive held in the Lake District in memory of Niggy and Christian Townend, two cycling brothers who were killed on their bikes in 2010. Harry helps to organize the event with friends of the brothers each year. 

When not on the bike, Harry works in environmental communications, promoting the work of organizations dedicated to protecting the natural world.

You can learn more about Harry on his website at FollowTheShepherd.uk or Instagram at HarrySheph.

To learn more about the Team Townend Challenge or make a donation, visit their website HERE.

Join our community at www.warmshowers.org or you can reach Tahverlee at [email protected].

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We are joined today by Josh Garman. Josh is a touring cyclist who lives in the U.K. and recently cycled 600 miles across England ~ with E.T. as his co-pilot!

Josh is an accidental touring cyclist who started his first tour with no prior cycling experience. He had spent time in Australia as a barefoot long-distance walker but had never considered a bike tour. When Josh returned to England, he learned about Chris Brannigan, a father who walked across England barefoot to raise money for his daughter’s medical treatment. Josh was captivated by this unique story and decided right there and then that he would do something to help.

He came up with the idea of doing a cycle tour to raise funds for Chris’s charity, Hope for Hasti. While planning his trip on a gloomy, rainy day, the scene from the movie E.T. where Elliot rides across the sky with E.T. on his bike came to him. The vision brought such a simile to his face, and he decided that he would take E.T. along with him to bring attention to his fundraising cause. In 2 short weeks, with very little planning, a small budget, and way too much gear, he set off. 

Josh spent a total of 23 days on the road. It was very slow going at the start, and he quickly realized that a mountain bike loaded down with gear is not the right way to travel on the English roads! Having E.T. along brought him tremendous attention. Josh spent the first night sleeping in a small tent, but people started offering him shelter after news of his tour got out. He spent 21 of the 23 nights on the road staying in people’s houses, some of which were Warmshowers hosts. Josh was overwhelmed by the kindness he received from total strangers on his journey. 

On the second last day of Josh’s tour, he and Chris Brannigan from Hope for Hasti finally got to meet. His trip was such a magical experience for him that he knew he would do it again. For his next challenge, he plans to cycle 5000 miles around the coast of England, towing a bicycle camper he built to resemble a school bus while raising money for charity.

You can learn more about Josh on Instagram at ExpeditionJosh, on Facebook, on Patreon, YouTube, or his website ExpeditionJosh.com. 

To learn more about Hope for Hasti, or make a donation, visit their website HERE.

Join our community at www.warmshowers.org, or you can reach Tahverlee at [email protected].

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We are joined by Josiah Skeats. Josiah is a people-focused author whose 3 year journey taught him to be a slow traveler.

While studying law at university, Josiah came across an article about someone who had cycled around the world. The light bulb went off, and even though he was not a cyclist, he immediately started planning a solo trip. After graduation, he set out for his grand adventure to travel from England to Australia. Along the way, Josiah has fallen in love with bike touring, the experiences it brings, and mostly, with the people you meet.

Josiah didn’t do much training to prepare, but he did tons of planning. He wrote a list of every obstacle he thought he would encounter on the trip and then tried to solve it. He laughingly recalls that a week after he set off, all his carefully made plans were discarded, and he decided to just wing it.

A big turning point came for Josiah about a month into his trip. After rushing his way through Europe and central Asia, he met two fellow cyclists in Bosnia that significantly impacted him. They taught him it wasn’t about how fast you are going, but rather how slow. After this encounter, Josiah slowed way down, and his trip went from a planned one-year journey to three years. His goal became to seek adventure and learn about the people he met along the way.

So many fantastic experiences came from that one decision back in university to cycle around the world. Looking back, Josiah is amazed that he dared to believe that a trip like this was possible. He urges everyone that if bike touring is something you are interested in, it is worth pursuing, even if you don’t have cycling experience.

Josiah’s advice is to always be curious and open to the unexpected. Let your gut instincts guide your path, and you will be amazed at what opportunities arise. 

You can reach Josiah on his website where he blogs about the projects he is working on at JosiahSkeets.com or follow his posts on Facebook at Josiah Skeets and Instagram at josiahskeets.

Join our community at www.warmshowers.org or you can reach Tahverlee at [email protected].

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We are joined by Mike Dits. Mike is a corn-fed Indiana Hoosier and adventurer who now lives in Colorado. He is extremely passionate about clean energy and sustainability.

Mike had his first bike touring experience as a sophomore in college when he spent a summer working with a non-profit organization called Bike and Build. After touring the country helping to build homes for those in need, he knew that a solo bike trip was in his future.

After graduation in August of 2015, Mike set off for a 4-year solo trip around the world. The theme of his journey was promoting sustainability and renewable energy. He spent his time learning about clean energy and helping install solar water systems for families in Africa.

After visiting 63 countries and 5 continents, Mike returned home in October of 2019. You can tell how impactful this trip was on him by the enthusiasm in his voice when he recalls the amazing people he met along the way. He says nothing is better than traveling on two wheels to take in the world's beauty while learning about diverse cultures.

Mike's advice for anyone planning a long-term trip is to put yourself in the proper mindset. His motto for life is simple; look around, smile, and keep your hands open. Don't just look ahead or behind but look all around and be totally present. Smile to bring a positive energy, an energy with respect and humility to everyone that you encounter. Keep your hands open, to receive but also to give.  

You can reach Mike on his website, Renew Ride, where he blogs about the projects he is working on at RenewRide.com.

Join our community at www.warmshowers.org or you can reach Tahverlee at [email protected].

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We are joined by Anastasia Bouzdine. Anastasia is a 25-year-old woman on a mission to connect with humanity on a bicycle.

Anastasia is an engineer, working in a male-dominated field and surrounded by men who do many sport challenges. She decided that if the men could do it, so could she. After trying a few short cycling trips, Anastasia made her first solo trip in September of 2020.

She set off on an exhausting 10-day journey across the Alps with the end goal of taking a little swim in the Mediterranean Sea. Anastasia says that when she started, the trip was all about how far or how fast she could travel in a day. But after a few days, she realized that the trip was more about the experiences and the people she met along the way.

Every day, the Warmshowers community welcomed and supported her. She was so encouraged by all of her hosts' warm hospitality, some of whom have become lifelong friends. The relationships she made prompted her to become a host herself.

Anastasia loves cycling through the mountains, so she is planning on crossing the Dolomite Mountains in Italy for her next trip.

For Anastasia, what started as a sport challenge to prove herself, turned into an extraordinary trip of transformation. In the end, it was the connections she made along the way that made the trip such a fantastic experience.

You can learn more about Anastasia on her YouTube channel, Anastasia Bouzdine. 

Join our community at www.warmshowers.org or you can reach Tahverlee at [email protected].

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In this episode, Andrew Lee joins the show to discuss awakening through bike touring. Andrew describes how he felt like he'd had some amazing life experiences that had led him to a spiritual awakening. He decided to have one last adventure and undertake a cycling tour across Canada to consolidate his experiences and inspire others before returning to his community to give back and make a difference in the lives of others.

Andrew cycled across Canada following the acronym of H.I.L.L, which stands for Hope, Inspiration, Love, and Let Go.

Andrew created the H.I.L.L acronym while tackling the tough hills of British Columbia. He describes how he thinks that there is something that happens to us when we overcome big challenges, or we take steps to push ourselves into uncomfortable places where you can learn resiliency, which can help us in every aspect of your lives. 

We learn about Andrew’s experiences with wild camping and the challenge and excitement of trying to find free places to stay.

Read Andrew's blog at http://allineedismy2barefeet.blogspot.com/

And follow him on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/my2barefeet/

Join our community at www.warmshowers.org or you can reach Tahverlee at [email protected]

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On the show this week Tahverlee is joined by Jérôme Pilette. Jérôme had suffered from depression for many years, despite attempts to remedy it with a healthier lifestyle. In 2017 he decided to travel from Montreal to Chile by bike to gain perspective and work on himself.

Jérôme talks about the challenges he faced along the way, the difficult biking conditions, and a particularly intimidating experience while traveling through Mexico. 

He also talks candidly about depression and how you can let it defeat you or you can find your strength in the difficult moments and carry yourself forward.

You can reach Jérôme on Facebook where he posts about the projects he is working on at https://www.facebook.com/jerome.pilette

Join our community at www.warmshowers.org or you can reach Tahverlee at [email protected].

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Tahverlee is joined today by Seth Davidson, a recovering lawyer who has spent his life racing bikes since 1984 and now seeks to be a beacon for truth and introspection. In recent years Seth has concluded that there is a better life available so much so that over the coming years he seeks to spend zero time practicing law and all of his time on his bicycle supporting himself with his writing.

We talked about the idea of desperation and how often, the thing that connects the

creators of the greatest works, is a need and having their back against the

wall. When Seth set out on his 3600-mile bike tour he found that through

encountering hardship, he rediscovered his creativity and gentleness along with

meeting incredible people along the way who have changed his outlook on life.

We talked about how by getting rid of belongings and ‘things’ we can experience a new

kind of freedom as we become untethered from the emotional bonds that connect

us to them.

Seth plans in the next 5 years to be an itinerant minstrel on a bicycle reciter of

medieval Chaucerian poetry. He has already memorized 4000 of the 17000 words

Canterbury tales by Geoffrey Chaucer in Middle English

Read Seth’s Blog Cycling in the South Bay at www.citsb.com

Quote: "writers are desperate people and when you stop being desperate, you stop being

a writer" - Charles Bukovsky

Join us at www.warmshowers.org

This episode is brought to you by bikeflights.com. Go to bikeflights.com/warmshowers

to find out more information and to book your shipment.

Adam Lineberry, who has just completed a tour riding from Seattle to key West Florida, joined the show on day 86 of his journey.

Adam tells his incredible story of being saved by god after being an IV Cocaine and Opiate user then starting his own Rehab center to give his life to other people.

He had no funds to get the rehab started and needed to get to Tennessee to make it work so he had no choice but to start from scratch using donated equipment and a Walmart bike to ride there! 

Along the way he raised awareness about addiction and recovery to the people he met. His journey is documented on his YouTube channel ‘Redeeming Eden’.

This episode is brought to you by bikeflights.com. Go to bikeflights.com/warmshowers

to find out more information and to book your shipment.

Tahverlee can be reached at [email protected] 

Join our community at www.warmshowers.org