Why I Bike

From the beginning he realized that this adventure, starting in Thailand and ending in Spain was going to define his life. Yet he never realized just how defining this journey would become. Living in the moment of a day, and not planning the next, was an unlearning experience for him. Steeped in Western culture and myth, he quickly learned that people are kind, good, and giving to all others. And that media mindfeed has defined the Western image of these countries incorrectly. These people are good.

The genesis of his passion for cycling was a high school graduation gift from his parents -  a biking tour throughout France. Little did he realize how immersed his life would become with the bicycle. After traveling the world by bicycle, he is still passionate about bike touring. His humble footprint on social media hides the vast experience, the tens of thousands of miles biked over 37 years, and his thirst for more - more bike tours, more bike group interactions, just more life on a bike.

Talking about making a difference and actually making a difference is something else entirely, as she found out. Or more exactly, called out, by her primary aged students to go into the world and create solutions. Using her bamboo bike named, Sunny, of which she built, both are on a quest to rid the planet of single use plastics. Starting the quest in New Zealand, she and Sunny have already enlightened thousands of people, both young and old.

Driven by his fiercest competitor - himself, he strives to reach that image in his mind's eye of who he might become. Who he must become. It’s not an ideal that’s unreachable. Everything he does, every mile pedaled, every body weight carried, is simply another step towards that image. Modeling his career after the late great Jack LaLanne, he plans to be breaking records and being noticed for his athleticism, like Jack, well into his 90’s. With the bi-product of his labors being inspiration for others - to get on a bicycle, walk a distance, swim a length, whatever, just do something for your health and fitness as a lifestyle.

Immersed in the bicycle lifestyle his entire life in the Netherlands, he knows little else. Having a bicycle nearby, his own or a shared bike, is the easiest way to travel. Using these natural instincts for cycling has brought him to places he has always dreamed about.   As a young man, traveling solo, he created a virtual business that follows him on the his bike tours. “When it’s raining, I’m working; when it’s sunny, I’m biking.” And that listeners is Paul’s life - past, present, and for the foreseeable future - amazing.

A wilderness guide in the Northernmost reaches of the Arctic is her day job, in between her usually epic bike travels involving thousands of miles of solo bike pedalling, Jenni Tuomivaara finds peace and fulfilment in both. As a bike traveler for the past 12-years, Jenni has made the bicycle a way of life both while traveling abroad and at home in Northern Europe, both Sweden and Finland. And she can mark the moment she was transformed during her 1-year tour through North, Central, and South America. Jenni is planning her 6000 mile tour across Russia.

With a quarter century of bike touring experience, Tony Ives has managed to do it all - a professional career (retired), a family, and extended multi day bike tours. His secret? Include family members (spouse) in as much of the tour as possible. And since bike tourist/travelers have multiple interests, music, literature, culture, and food, include those themes as well as you plan a bike tours. In a sharp humorous wit, Tony communicates his decades old passion for bike touring with ease and reassuring suggestions for others. At 63 years of age, his attitude towards life is his propellant to stay healthy and fit - and always, always, thinking about the next tour.

What does a 63-year old man have after bike touring for 31-years, 102 countries, 6 continents, 250,000 kilometers, and 60 triathlons - stories. Garth Riess has lots of interesting stories about life on a bicycle. He makes Forrest Gump look like an amateur traveler.   Yet, Garth is still at it with his trusty and beloved bicycle, the Nishiki Continental, bought in 1983. His upcoming tour being planned from South Africa to Egypt later this year will take him into the African wilderness like never before in his life.   He’s looking for a riding partner.

On and off bike tourist (mostly on) who started out riding in supported tours and now creates his own adventure tours, Dennis Ordiway is a poster child for older professional adults wanting to get back on the bike. Meticulously planned tours (sometimes painfully so) he enjoys the pre-tour research as much as the actual tour - not too uncommon amongst adventure bike tourists. His ultimate desire is to become an American Nomad, after he retires. A bicycle commuter, an adventure bike tourist, an at-home bike mechanic, Dennis is busy planning out his next adventure all the while still working full-time as a physicist. His next solo self-supported bikepacking adventure seems to be an extension of his previous tours - into Northern California’s Redwood Forests, and Oregon. If you want to know about these areas for bike touring, just ask him. He has a passion for sharing details.

As with most global bike travelers, they wing it, they go with the flow, and they are grounded lower than most of us - a sense of presence is strong with these people. This describes Ulrike Rodrigues approach towards her bike travels. As an experienced traveler writer, she also has the ability to verbally paint a beautifully scenic landscape in your mind that is irresistible - be warned. Based in Canada when not solo bike traveling, Uli recently finished a four-week solo experience that most mere mortal bike tourists only dream - or maybe read about. She has discovered that her travels in India, Australia, Europe, Thailand, and South America, have made her humble. With increased humility came the need to trust people more than before for her basic needs - eat, sleep, bathroom. Uli makes it a point to converse with others while traveling - the result, lasting friendships. Because she believes that the solo bike traveler’s eyes are always open and looking outward.

Her known address is the perpetual motion machine she sits on - a ICE Adventure Recumbent Trike with a Rohloff Hub. You can see where this is going already. After raising two daughters and living what most would consider a full life, Kathryn Zimmerman, a.k.a the BagLady, sold her house and most of her belongings. She then started to ride her trike, "Blaze" and she never looked back. While she keeps in touch with her family, regularly, she is also an American Nomad. Trike traveling, not touring, from place to place, purposefully, to squeeze the most joy out of living every single day.

Dr.Tom Seabourne, professor at Northeast Texas Community College, is successful at what many people would consider "extreme activities". From the Race Across America (RAAM), an ultra marathon bicycle race across the United States, to breaking the Guinness World Record for indoor cycling, Tom succeeded at it all. Tom is also a failure. And in his new book, "Glitches into Gold: Live like a Champion" his story is about overcoming these heartbreaking, ego smashing, and health frightening events. He joins us to share his story and to talk to us about his love for cycling.

Nicole is the quintessential Northern Californian the rest of us read about in awe. She has shaped her entire lifestyle around her utmost passions with uncompromising exactness. The bicycle is one of her passions. When older Americans are considering retirement into an assisted living high-rise, Nicole is planning her next multi month’s travels on her trusted friend - her bicycle. Fully loaded with her possessions in panniers, she leaves Northern California in July to ride the “Southern Tier”. A bicycle route that stretches from San Diego, California to St. Augustine, Florida, 3110-miles, the Southern Tier will be her Universe for four-months - maybe longer.  Since Nicole goes totally dark, electronics-free, (not even GPS), “I use people-GPS”, during her travels, hopefully she will update us when she returns, in 2019.

Matthew's first ever tour abroad in 2015, he tackled the Permian Highway, Kurdistan Region of Iraq for two months. In July 2018, he begins another adventure frequented by nomads - a 30-day tour in the High Atlas Mountains near Marrakech, Morocco. Matthew talks to us about preparations, riding solo, and why he does it, why he rides his bike into adventure. While Matthew doesn't have the usual broad spectrum of social media outlets, you can follow his adventures through his blog site and Facebook page: Blog: Crazyguyonabike.com, a public bulletin board where many cyclists post bicycle touring journals, forums and resources. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/matthew.newton.14203

Andrea Freiermuth has already completed numerous solo multi day international bicycle tours when I caught up with her at her home in Zürich, Switzerland. She is now planning possibly her greatest adventure yet, cycling from Zürich, Switzerland to Beijing, China, July 2018. The twist - she is using an electric bicycle (ebike). I ask her why she does it - why does she bike? Andrea is also known in the bicycle community as She-bike-rider. She will be updating her blog and other social media during her 4+ months on the road. Website Blog - https://shebikerider.ch/ Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/shebikerider/ Twitter - https://twitter.com/shebikerider Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/shebikerider

Near 10-years ago, Scott Slingerland sold his car and started to use his bicycle and mass transportation exclusively. And in the Northeastern United States, that means harsh winters and wet springs. I asked Scott why does he do it - Why does he bike? Scott Slingerland is the Executive Director of CAT - Coalition for Appropriate Transportation. CAT improves mobility, celebrates our community and the environment, through education about safe pedestrian access, bicycling, public transportation, trail systems and ride sharing in Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania.