Bike Life

What do you get when you combine a love for adventure and cycle touring with a passion for nature conservation and awareness?

Hanna Ollos and Jonas Sommer embarked on an epic cycling journey from Germany to Southeast Asia, with the goal of promoting nature conservation and raising awareness about the biodiversity crisis. Little did they know that their one-and-a-half-year journey would take unexpected twists and turns, pushing them to their limits and teaching them invaluable lessons about flexibility and going with the flow.

As Hanna and Jonas navigate through different terrains, climates, and encounters with local communities, they share their firsthand experiences of the challenges and rewards of long-distance cycling. From extreme droughts and scorching temperatures to the hospitality of the South Asian people, they paint a vivid picture of their journey that is both awe-inspiring and humbling. Their insights provide a unique perspective on the interconnectedness of humanity and nature, and the urgent need to protect biodiversity.

If you've ever dreamed of embarking on your own cycling adventure or simply want to learn more about the importance of nature conservation, this episode is a must-listen. Hanna and Jonas offer practical advice for starting small and gradually building up to bigger trips, encouraging everyone to connect with nature and make a difference in their own communities.

Learn more about Hanna and Jonas at Biking4Biodiversity.org and follow them on Facebook and Instagram @Biking4Biodiversity.

Join our community at Warmshowers.org, follow us on Instagram @Warmshowers_org, and visit us on Facebook. Contact Tahverlee directly at [email protected].

Theme Music by Les Konley | Produced by Les Konley

Happy riding and hosting!

For 25 years, Dan Schmitt dreamed of taking a solo bikepacking trip across the northern tier of the United States into Canada. After retirement, his “Kontiki Dream” finally came true.

Dan shares his 4800-mile bike trip, where he encountered numerous challenges, and heartwarming moments, making many meaningful connections with people along the way. He believes in the importance of human connections, the power of being kind, and the fulfillment that comes from embracing challenges on an adventure like his.

Join us as we dive into Dan’s unforgettable journey and discover the transformative power of embracing the unknown.

Six big lessons Dan learned on his epic journey:

1.      Human connections happen more easily by being nice first.

2.      There is great value in going slower.

3.      Solo travel can be highly fulfilling.

4.      Sometimes, the greatest experiences come from spontaneity.

5.      The real joy is in the journey.

6.      Humanity is truly good.

Follow Dan’s adventures on Instagram at @kontikic2c. Get your copy of The Kontiki Dream by Thor Heyerdahl.

Join our community at Warmshowers.org, follow us on Instagram @Warmshowers_org, and visit us on Facebook. Contact Tahverlee directly at [email protected].

Theme Music by Les Konley | Produced by Les Konley

Happy riding and hosting!

Stewart Clark and his wife Nancy (the stoker) have been tandem cycling for almost 20 years. They have been all over the world on their tandem and are members of several tandem touring clubs, including the Tandem Touring Club of France.

Whether you're an experienced tandem cyclist or just starting, there are many benefits to tandem cycling with a partner. Building community, staying active, and staying connected to your spouse are just a few. When Stewart retired, he turned their tandem into an eBike and has some great tips for hassle-free and budget-friendly eBike conversions.

Join Tahverlee and Stewart for this fun fireside chat about wine, food, friends, routes, wives, ants, and tandem bikes!

Join our community at Warmshowers.org, follow us on Instagram @Warmshowers_org, and visit us on Facebook. Contact Tahverlee directly at [email protected].

Theme Music by Les Konley | Produced by Les Konley

Happy riding and hosting!

Tadeo Pueyrredon has always had a love for nature, but it was his father’s passion for cycling that inspired him to take up bike touring. His dad bought his first bicycle and began touring at the young age of 72! After hearing about his dad’s adventures, Tadeo decided it was his turn.

He has since cycled in many countries, including Cuba, Spain, Chile, Patagonia, Uruguay, and his home country of Argentina. At the age of 40, Tadeo took his dream journey and biked the entire Argentinian Route 40 from La Quiaca to Cabo Virgenes, a trip of 5200 km that took him four months to complete.

As much as Tadeo loves touring, he also loves hosting cyclists and experiencing new adventures with them at his home in Argentina. He has made lifelong friends from all over the world and has encouraged other family members to become Warmshowers hosts.

Tadeo believes nothing is impossible when you set your mind to it and says, "If I did it, anyone could do it! Believe in yourself and think positively. Life is short; the time is now.”

Learn more about Tadeo and follow his adventures on Instagram at @planr40, Facebook, and YouTube.  

Join our community at Warmshowers.org, follow us on Instagram @Warmshowers_org, and visit us on Facebook. Contact Tahverlee directly at [email protected].

Theme Music by Les Konley | Produced by Les Konley

Happy riding and hosting!

Sara Qiu Ruan has embarked on a life-changing adventure, conquering her fears and cycling with the profound purpose of helping people.

Sara’s solo cycle tour has taken her across 7500km and into 10 countries – and counting. She has overcome her fear of asking for help, adjusted to wild camping, and stepped out of her comfort zone by connecting with people she meets along the way.

But her journey isn’t only about personal growth; she is on a mission to make a difference. While in Turkey, Sara experienced the devasting effects of the recent earthquake firsthand. She received warm hospitality from many families who lost everything and has dedicated her trip to helping. Sara is cycling with the purpose of raising 50.000 € for earthquake relief in Turkey and Syria.

Taking the first step was the hardest, but she learned more about herself in the first 9 months of her tour than in the first 30 years of her life. The best things that happen in the journey are not planned; they are the adventures and people we meet along the way.

Learn more about Sara and her efforts to help earthquake survivors on her Journey From the Road website. Follow her adventures on YouTube at Journey From the Road and on Instagram at @journeyfromtheroad.

Join our community at Warmshowers.org, follow us on Instagram @Warmshowers_org, and visit us on Facebook. Contact Tahverlee directly at [email protected].

Theme Music by Les Konley | Produced by Les Konley

Happy riding and hosting!

Four years ago, Tyler Diedrick had never cycled more than 10 miles at a time and didn’t even know that bike touring was a thing. Then he was gifted a book called To Shake the Sleeping Self by Jedidiah Jenkins, and it changed the course of his life.

Tyler quit his job, sold a majority of his belongings, bought a bike off of eBay, flew to Sacramento, CA, to pick it up, and set off for Alaska! What followed next is an epic tale of a sometimes funny, sometimes scary, but always adventurous bike tour.

Inspired by the many stories he has heard from our community on Bike Life and the quote from our long-time member Ken Francis who says, “We don’t stop cycling because we get old; we get old because we stop cycling.” Tyler knows now that a vagabond life spent exploring by bike is for him.

Follow Tyler’s adventures on YouTube at A Story to Remember, on Instagram at @tylerdiedrick, and Facebook. 

Join our community at Warmshowers.org, follow us on Instagram @Warmshowers_org, and visit us on Facebook. Contact Tahverlee directly at [email protected].

Theme Music by Les Konley | Produced by Les Konley

Happy riding and hosting!

For many years, Jo Davies harbored a natural yearning for adventure. When her US work visa was about to expire last year, she could have just flown back to the UK. But this adventurer decided to take the “scenic route” and ride her bike home instead.

Currently in Panama, Jo shares her incredible experience of leaving Boston for Vancouver, turning left, and heading down the Pacific coast into Mexico, learning Spanish on the fly. She shares her approach to planning long-distance cycling tours, how she became more relaxed about planning as her trip progressed, and the importance of unpredictability on an adventure.

Five fun facts about Jo’s Adventure:

• One of her favorite overnight stays was camping in a barn with a team of paleontologists in eastern Montana, where they were digging up a Triceratops!
• Jo enjoys keeping a log of various statistics about her trip, such as accommodation sources and types, along with all her cycle-related statistics.
• She’s made many great connections, met so many ace people through Warmshowers, and even found a host to teach her Spanish as she rapidly approached Mexico.
• She has kept her favorite traditions throughout her trip, celebrating milestones with espresso martinis and croissants, calling home with family every Sunday afternoon, and stopping for surfing lessons wherever possible.
• After staying at so many splendid bike camps, hostels, and casas de ciclistas during her trip, she dreams of opening a bike camp someday.

Follow Jo’s adventures on Instagram at @gojodavies.

Join our community at Warmshowers.org, follow us on Instagram @Warmshowers_org, and visit us on Facebook. Contact Tahverlee directly at [email protected].

Theme Music by Les Konley | Produced by Les Konley

Happy riding and hosting!

Is this a joke? That’s what retired fireman and professional grandpa Steve Diaz said when he found out that he won the Warmshowers 2022 Bike Giveaway.

Steve and Cindy, who live in beautiful Mt. Shasta, CA, heard about Warmshowers 4 years ago and set up a profile. They were excited to get their first guest soon after, who turned out to be Ken Francis! For those of you who don’t know, Ken is a Warmshowers OG and a former board member. Listen to his most recent Bike Life episode here.

Steve entered the Bike Giveaway via postcard and was shocked when he won! He chose a Dolan GXC Titanium Gravel Disc Bike, and we want to extend huge thanks to Dolan Bikes for their help and special attention. Of his new bike, Steve says, “The freewheel makes a kind of purring sound. It shall be called Kitty!!”

The 2023 Bike Giveaway will run from May 15th – June 25th and is open to all registered Warmshowers users. Get more information on how to enter here.

Join our community at Warmshowers.org, follow us on Instagram @Warmshowers_org, and visit us on Facebook. Contact Tahverlee directly at [email protected].

Theme Music by Les Konley | Produced by Les Konley

Happy riding and hosting!

What do you get when you combine a historian interested in learning about people and a love of bicycling? A 12,000-mile, 420-day perimeter trip around the USA.

When Anne Winkler-Morey and her husband set off, she thought they might only make it through Wisconsin. But pedal by pedal, they made it all the way around the perimeter of the United States.

They stayed with 143 hosts during their trip; many of them were Warmshowers connections. Along the way, Anne learned that radical hospitality could be a possible antidote for the political divide and how trust in others we fear can actually make us safer.

Here are a few interesting facts about Anne’s trip:

• She and her husband biked over 12,000 miles, taking fourteen months, and collected stories from hundreds of individuals.
• Anne has a Ph.D. in history and is able to place stories in a historical context.
• They experienced two major hurricanes, a major drought, months of headwinds, temperatures over 105 degrees, and snow drifts over 30 feet high.
• Anne doesn’t believe in ghosts, but she believes in history and felt haunted during the trip.

Learn more about Anne and get her book, Allegiance to Winds and Waters: Bicycling the Political Divides of the United States, on her website, Anne Winkler-Morey. Read her Life stories through a social justice lens for the Minneapolis Interview Project and follow her on Facebook and Twitter.

Join our community at Warmshowers.org, follow us on Instagram @Warmshowers_org, and visit us on Facebook. Contact Tahverlee directly at [email protected].

Today’s episode of Bike Life was guest hosted by Jerry Kopack, Warmshowers Board member and finance chair.

Theme Music by Les Konley | Produced by Les Konley

Happy riding and hosting!

Sanna Ghotbi and Benjamin Ladraa are bike travelers and activists from Sweden, who are on an epic 2-year, 48 000 km journey through 40 countries to Western Sahara. By the time they are done, they will have traveled more than the length of the equator!

This epic trip is not just for fun; they are dedicated activists raising awareness about human rights worldwide. Hundreds of thousands of refugees live in the African desert awaiting a UN referendum that is very slow to happen. Western Sahara is one of the worst areas for human rights violations, second only to North Korea.

This genuinely inspiring couple has already gotten many heartwarming messages from Sahrawi refugees who are following their journey. Sanna and Benjamin have taken on an immense challenge but hope to raise enough awareness to make at least a small impact.

5 Interesting Facts about Sanna and Benjamin’s Solidarity Rising tour:

• They are traveling through densely populated cities such as New Delhi, Beijing, and Tokyo, as well as the harsh Sahara Desert (2000 km in the desert, to be exact).
• By the end of their tour, they will have ridden up and down the equivalent of 27 Mount Everests!
• They will meet with human rights organizations in all 40 countries they visit to learn about critical global issues.
• They are filming a documentary series about their journey and the amazing people they meet.
• Their trip will take them to refugee camps in Tindouf, Algeria, where around 150 000 refugees have little to no access to food and water.

Learn more about Sanna & Benjamin on their website, Solidarity Rising. Follow them and their cause on Instagram at @solidarityrising and on Facebook.

Join our community at Warmshowers.org, follow us on Instagram @Warmshowers_org, and visit us on Facebook. Contact Tahverlee directly at [email protected].

Today’s episode of Bike Life was guest hosted by Jerry Kopack, Warmshowers Board member and finance chair.

Theme Music by Les Konley | Produced by Les Konley

Happy riding and hosting!