This guest post was written by two experienced long-distance bicycle tourists and long-time friends of the Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin.

Marti and Dave leaving Culver City, CA on the first day of their cross country tour,

By Dave and Marti Fine

We are not new to cyclotouring.   Our past trips were 7-10 days long in the summertime and were ‘credit card’ tours.  We each carried one bag, one change of clothes and we used our credit card to pay for the evening accommodations. These trips took us to the Oregon coast, the Natchez Trace, around lake Michigan, from Montreal to Quebec City, Nova Scotia, and the Outer Banks, just to name a few.  During the day we would experience all the adventures, views, joys and struggles that occur while in the saddle.   At the end of the day we would retire to a hotel or B&B.

Recently we returned from our most exciting bicycle trip so far; this was a fully-loaded cross-country bicycle tour.  We left Los Angeles the day after the Packers won the Super Bowl, cycled down the coast to San Diego, then followed the Adventure Cycling Association’s southern tier route that goes through California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida.  Our 3185 mile ride took 70 days, averaging just over 50 miles per riding day.

If you want to read all the gory details, take a look at www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/myfinecycle.  We used Crazyguy to journal our daily adventures and post our pictures.The biking was incredible and challenging, and the scenery amazing.  However,  when we evaluate what most impressed us,  it was the people we met along the way.  Of all those whom we encountered though, besides our fellow cyclotourists, it was our Warmshowers hosts who could really appreciate our adventure and share its ups and downs.  As enjoyable as all of our previous bicycle tours were, we now know the one thing they were missing.

Dave in the Texas Hill Country

Warmshowers.org is an on-line hosting organization.  Members, almost all bicycle riders in our experience, open their home to touring bicyclists. Warmshowers.org presents themselves as a “community of bike tourists” and “hospitality for touring cyclists.” Briefly, after contacting a prospective host via email or phone, the cyclist finds out if this host is available; the host is not obligated to accept.  At minimum, the host provides some type of sleeping accommodation; this can range from a spare bedroom to a place to pitch a tent in the backyard.  In our experience, the host almost always provided supper, breakfast, laundry facilities, route or locale information, and incredible friendship and conversation.  When we could we also liked to cook for our hosts.  Asking guests to pay for the evening is against Warmshowers.org rules.

Marti on a nice road

Of our 70 days, twenty five were spent with Warmshowers hosts.  They were couples, families and single men and women of varying ages and backgrounds.  The joy of bicycling was the one common interest that we always shared.  During our conversations we learned about their bicycling interests, professions, family and their views on current events.  Remember, our trip was during the time that Madison was going though a tremendous amount of political upheaval following Governor Walker’s announcement about collective bargaining.

Dave with our first Warm Showers hosts from Lakeside, CA who drove to meet us at end of the day, to make sure we got up the hills

Our accommodations ranged from sleeping on the floor in our own sleeping bags, to having exclusive use of a small cabin with beer in the fridge.  As incredible as it might sound, at least 4 of our stays included actual, or the equivalent of, B&B accommodations. In one case,  a host actually built a guest house because she receives so many Warmshower guests and enjoys their visits!  We could go on and on about some of the people we met.  But they include a few people/families who have taken long distance tours; there were attorneys, a retired military person, a border patrol officer, a teacher at a prison, and a retiree, to name a few.  All of our hosts were engaging and opened our eyes to their world and experiences.

As we encourage fellow cyclists to join Warmshowers, especially for the purpose of hosting, the question of personal safety inevitably comes up. While you won’t know your Warmshowers guest, you can read their brief profile on the Warmshowers.org website. Of course, while avoiding becoming a crime victim is always wise,  it does seem that disguising oneself as a Warmshowers guest and arriving on a bicycle is an unlikely way to commit a crime. Guests we have hosted in our home and fellow touring cyclists we met on this trip included, for example, a policeman, fireman, student, and business person. In fact, several of our hosts gave us keys to their house and/or left earlier than we did in the morning, requesting that we lock up after our departure. We have also done the same with our guests, with no ill effects.

Dave climbing another Texas hill.

Dave grilling at home of hosts in Pensacola, FL

It would be great to see Wisconsin take another step forward in its bicycling efforts and lead the country in Warmshower hosting locations for touring cyclists. It’s as simple as going to the Warmshowers.org website and signing up.

Wisconsin is not on any of the Adventure Cycling’s major routes, but we certainly get our share of bicycle tourists, so it would be nice if more people here would we support the program.

Take a look at the Warmshowers.org website and see if it is right for you. We truly enjoyed it and think you will too.

Dave and Marti at the end of their trip on the beach in St. Augustine, Florida.

If you have a great bicycling story to share, submit it to Dave Schlabowske, our Communications Director via email.  Submissions should be 300 to 1,000 words and include some graphic element, such as photographs, illustrations, charts, maps, etc.