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] 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] 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] 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]’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]’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!