Bike Life

Latest Episodes:

The Cyclonaute May 30, 2022

Show notes

Meet Claude Marthaler – a self-described Cyclonaute. For Claude, traveling by bike is a way of life. He has spent the past 16 years biking around the world and has authored 11 books and bike travelogues.

From 1994 to 2001, Claude spent an incredible seven years on a solo bike tour traveling through 60 countries and biking over 122,000 kms. He loves the mountains and hiking and has spent a lot of time crisscrossing the Himalayas by bike, concentrating on Tibet, the very center of his inner geography.

Claude says he needs to move to be able to write, so that's why he is always on his bike. He believes it is a privilege to travel by bicycle, without walls and in closer contact with nature. Bike travel is very slow and has great purpose and intent.

Claude lives by the motto of "pouring kindness" on others and giving back more than you have received along the way.

Five things Claude wants you to know:

People's kindness, helpfulness, and hospitality in poor countries are heartwarming.
Many things are possible to realize, many more than one believes.
Being open to the world in terms of time and attitude allows things to happen naturally.
The Internet has reshaped our ways of bike traveling and looking at the world, not always for the better.
Traveling and taking time on the road makes us creative and introduces us to interesting people. Time spent on a bicycle belongs entirely to us; we can be in the here and now, remaining empty and dreaming.

You can learn more about Claude and follow his adventures on his website at Claude Marthaler- Cyclonaute.

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

Theme Music by Les Konley | Produced by Les Konley

Happy riding and hosting!

Celebrating the World's Best Bike Movies May 16, 2022

Show notes

Storytelling, adventure, love of cycling, human to human connection . . . that’s what bike touring is all about. And that’s precisely what you’ll see in the “world’s best bike movies” presented at the Filmed by Bike Annual Film Festival.

Filmed by Bike is celebrating 20 incredible years of bringing bicycle stories from all over the world to the silver screen. Festival Creator and Director Ayleen Crotty shares how Filmed by Bike started with a group of people who understood the desire to ride bikes simply for fun. What began as a small fundraiser 20 years ago has grown into a movement.

The film festival in Portland, OR, June 9-12, 2022, features a broad mix of movies, everything from comedies to documentaries, from wild mountain bike rides to tales of adventure on the open road. It brings people together to watch award-winning movies from all over the globe made by amateur and professional filmmakers to celebrate their love of cycling in all shapes and forms.

If you cannot make it to Portland, Filmed by Bike is available online through August. A shorter film program also hits the road starting in July to visit cities worldwide. When we travel by bike, it gives us a beautiful opportunity to connect with others. The world needs more of that, now more than ever.

Tickets are on sale now! Learn more and purchase tickets for the 20th Annual Film Festival at Filmed by Bike. Follow Filmed by Bike on Instagram at @filmedbybike, Facebook, and YouTube.

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

Theme Music by Les Konley | Produced by Les Konley

Happy riding and hosting!

Biking for the Future May 02, 2022

Show notes

What do you do when you are a 71-year-old retired grandmother concerned about climate change, and you want to make a difference? You hop on your pink bike and ride 2500 km from your hometown to the COP26 Summit in Scotland!

Meet Dorothee Hildebrandt. She is so passionate about stopping climate change that she spent six weeks cycling alone from her home in Katrineholm, Sweeden, to the COP26 Summit (UN Climate Change Conference) in Glasgow, Scotland. Her trip started on September 1st, 2021, and culminated when she pedaled into Glasgow for the start of the summit in November.

Biking for the Future recounts what motivated Dorothee to take this ride, the many Warmshowers hosts she stayed with, and the incredible people she met along the way.

Why pedal all this way alone at her age? Simply put, Dorothee hopes to make a difference. She wants the world's political leaders to understand that we must act now to stop climate change. She says, "I know it is a dream, but sometimes dreams come true, and if I do not try, I can never change anything."

Dorothee's reflections:

She is grateful to all her Warmshowers hosts. Without them, the trip would not have been possible.
She hopes that she can be a good example for others.
She wishes for better infrastructure for cyclists around the world. (It would be good for the environment as well.)
She thinks this trip was once in a lifetime! But the COP27 is coming up in Egypt, and maybe . . .
She wants you to know, "It is never too late!"

Learn more about Dorothee and follow her adventures on her blog, Biking for Future, on Instagram at @DorotheeHildebrandt, and on Facebook.

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

Theme Music by Les Konley | Produced by Les Konley

Happy riding and hosting!

Touring in Tandem Apr 18, 2022

Show notes

The story of Peter and Tracy Flucke is like a book with many chapters centered around bicycling, together and alone, for more than fifty years.

Their first tour in 1991 was one for the books; a multi-day fundraiser ride with Peter pulling their 6-month-old daughter in a trailer with his road bike. Changing diapers along the side of the road, warming bottles in gas station microwaves, what an experience!

In 1995 Peter & Tracy bought their first tandem bicycle to do longer rides with their two young daughters and realized they also liked riding as a couple. They purchased a road/touring tandem they named Violet six years later, and the rest is history. They like to say they bought their first tandem to make their family strong and bought their second to keep their marriage strong.

Bicycling, touring, and Warmshowers have introduced Peter & Tracy to a different way of looking at the world. Their mission is to help others see the world as they do; through bicycle and pedestrian eyes.

Five fun facts about Peter and Tracy:

They tour exclusively on a tandem bicycle.
Their first overnight stay was in Peter’s brother’s backyard, 60 miles from their home.
They bicycle tour for both pleasure and business (We Bike Etc).
They are still married. Ha!
They wrote a successful book about their first cross-country trip, “Coast to Coast on a Tandem: Our Adventure Crossing the USA on a Bicycle Built for Two.” (Get it here)

Learn more about Peter and Tracy on their website, We Bike Etc, and follow their blog. Check them out on Facebook at We Bike Etc or Coast to Coast on a Tandem and on Instagram at @webikeetc. Connect with Peter on Facebook, connect with Tracy on Facebook.

Get their book, Coast to Coast on a Tandem, here.

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

Theme Music by Les Konley | Produced by Les Konley

Happy riding and hosting!

Pedaling Through the Pandemic Apr 04, 2022

Show notes

Ken isn’t one to slow down. When the pandemic hit, he knew he had to find a way to continue touring and hosting his beloved Warmshowers family. It was time to get creative.

Ken Francis is a passionate and seasoned cyclist, a longtime Warmshowers user, host, volunteer, and former Board member. He began hosting cyclists through Warmshowers in 2013 and has welcomed more than 269 guests over the years!

In Pedaling Through the Pandemic, Ken recounts how he continued to tour while taking all necessary safety precautions. He checks the travel guidelines daily and always has a backup plan. Last year, Ken combined his love of cycling with his love of roller coasters and took a trip across the Midwest, visiting eight theme parks. He also toured in Germany and stayed with a wonderful couple he hosted in California years before.

Ken is grateful to be a “shelter in the storm” for folks cycling through California during this lockdown time. Even if we disagree on vaccinations, the virus, or politics, we all agree on the joys of cycle touring, being human, and helping each other out. Let’s focus on what brings us together, not what divides us, and keep pedaling!

You can follow Ken on YouTube at Ken Francis World and The Intimacy Gram. Find him on Instagram @Adventureman_lb and @The_Intimacy_Gram.

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

Happy riding and hosting!

It's All About Connections Mar 21, 2022

Show notes

Dave and Leo are not your typical Warmshowers hosts. In fact, there is nothing typical about this couple. They met on a scuba diving trip almost 26 years ago, and the rest, as they say, is history.

They first heard about Warmshowers through a camping forum, and in their thirteen years of hosting, this 62 and 66 years young couple have welcomed hundreds of cyclists to their Florida home. Dave and Leo are located on the Atlantic coast along the route to Key West, a very popular spot.

As an openly gay senior couple, they occasionally have concerns about hosting and touring, especially in certain parts of the country. But they are open and honest in their Warmshowers profile and have always had beautiful experiences hosting cyclists through our community.

Their love of hosting is evident. They believe it’s all about connections and building relationships with people. Warmshowers is the platform for cyclists looking for hosts, but for Dave and Leo, it’s also the platform for hosts looking for cyclists.

Get to know Dave Fletcher and Leo Ramos on Facebook; Dave, Leo. Follow Leo on Instagram @HandmadebyLeonardo. Join Dave’s Facebook group Kona Sutra Owners and Fans.

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

Happy riding and hosting!

Two Wheels One World Mar 07, 2022

Show notes

Adam Swanson has virtually grown up on a bike. He was just an infant when his family took a bike tour across Mexico, and now, at 18 years old, he is on his first solo worldwide tour. After graduating high school last year, he set off for a gap year traveling the world with the full support of his family who are longtime Warmshowers hosts.

Adam believes that long-term travel at his age makes you a more open-minded person and is the perfect way to get to know the world. Bike touring before college can also spark interest in a field of study you would never have thought of if you started classes right out of high school. Adam has already developed a desire to attend college abroad instead of returning to the United States as he had initially planned.

Adam brings a very unique perspective to what’s possible for young tourers. His advice to any young person considering a tour is to go solo. People feel more comfortable approaching a solo tourer, plus it also makes you more outgoing. He has met so many more people traveling solo than he ever met when traveling with a group.

Adam is making connections to last a lifetime on his tour across the world, helping him mature into a well-rounded individual ready for the next stage of his life. You can learn more about Adam on his blog at Two Wheels One World, on Instagram at @acrosstheworldbybike, and on TikTok at adamswanson067.

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

Happy riding and hosting!

Nourishing Body and Soul Feb 21, 2022

Show notes

Bike touring helps us check in with ourselves and our needs. It teaches us how to nourish ourselves appropriately, how to trust the signals our bodies are giving us, how to understand and navigate our fears and anxieties. It helps us develop a deeper relationship with ourselves, our needs, and our capabilities that carry into all aspects of our lives.

What started as a bit of a fantasy for Sheelagh Daly turned into reality when she took the leap and set off on a solo cycle trip across Europe. With the help of Warmshowers' hosts, she overcame her fears and gained the confidence she needed to keep going.

Sheelagh uses her knowledge as a Registered Holistic Nutritionist on bike tours to help her feel and ride her best. It isn't always easy when you're on the road, but she shares some nutrition strategies that can go a long way. There is no right or wrong way to tour; it's just about checking in with yourself, what excites you, what pushes you outside your comfort zone, and what feels like fun!

You can learn more about Sheelagh on her website at Sheelagh Daly, follow her on Instagram at @sheelagh.daly, and YouTube at Sheelagh Daly, Stay Curious. Get Sheelagh's 5 Favorite Bike Touring Nutrition Tips HERE.

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

Happy riding and hosting!

A First Time for Everything Feb 07, 2022

Show notes

Nate was biking cross country on his first long-distance tour. Augusta (Gus) was on a 2 ½ month ride from Washington through Canada to Maine. Two people from different parts of the country on independent trips and different routes. How did they come together? They crossed paths on the same evening in Midland, MI, and became Matt and Kathy’s first-ever Warmshowers’ guests.

Nathan Babb, Gus Klein, and Matt and Kathy Rassette might have met by chance, but they all share a deep love of life, adventure, and cycling. In A First Time for Everything, hear how although they spent just 14 hours together last summer, the connection they made will last a lifetime.

As Matt puts it, hosting is fun, and life is short so laugh much, ride far and stay tuned in! You can follow Nate’s adventures in his Bike Journal and meet Augusta and Matt on Facebook.

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

Happy riding and hosting!

Wheels of Fortune Jan 24, 2022

Show notes

A night in a Texas jail . . . a stay with a Canadian Mountie and an opera singer . . . an unforgettable party with a local mayor in a tackle shop. What do these things have in common? They are just some of the incredible times that Chris and Ties experienced on their 14,000-mile bike tour across the US and Canada.

Meet Chris Fieldsend, who, after careful planning, set off on a yearlong tour with his partner Ties Benguedda. They stayed with over 70 Warmshowers’ hosts during their tour, who provided a place to stay and took them on fantastic adventures like kayaking with manatees.

Chris wrote a book called Wheels of Fortune recounting the many lessons learned along the way and encouraging all cycle tourers to host and be hosted. Proceeds from the book are being donated to World Bike Relief, changing the lives of people in need by providing bicycles. You can follow Chris and Ties on Instagram at @CyclinkTheWorld and find his book, Wheels of Fortune, on Amazon.

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

Happy riding and hosting!

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected