Friday 7 October 2011

Michal, Martin and Magdalena

I went away for some time in August, and in that period I had two guests: Michal and Martin. They stayed her with some friends of mine. Unfortunately I wasn't able to be her so I missed out on my first Italian and Polish cyclists.
  I did, however, get to meet Magdalena, also from Poland. Magdalena stayed with me for some days to work on her bike and to heal an injured knee. We had some lovely days together, BBQ with a neighbour and worked on her bike.
Martin's blog: cyclo-mania.blogspot.com

Magdalena's page: www.RideTheLine.info

Wednesday 10 August 2011

"Life on a Bike"

Cari and Mike came to Cyclist's Home after 12 days of cycling without a resting day or a shower. My youngest daughter wondered why they didn't just take a bath in a river or a lake? Well, they did, but getting a warm shower was something very different.
   It wasn't just the riders who needed a clean up. The bikes were also dirty and "tiered". It was interesting to see how their bikes had held up through so many kilometres. Before they started on their way to North Cape, they had done South America and crossed over the USA. I have to admit, that made them special. It was great to watch Mike work on their bikes and to discuss different aspect of touring. Talking to them was inspiring, and with some help from Cari, I opened a new part of my blog: Maintenance. Her I'll give statistics over problems visitors have had with their bikes.
  Ben came together with them. He is from France, and started cycling without any previous experience. A friend of mine who came over while they were her, found Ben's story very inspiring. He could tell us about how he just  got the idea of touring, planed it and went. That was a lesson for both of us; we would love to go on a cycling tour, but we are too concerned with getting the right gear and preparing. If you want a "Life on a Bike" you should just sett out.

Wednesday 27 July 2011

Musical Bikes

Since I've not been on a long bike tour myself yet, I'm very curious about two things with my guests: 1. What do you need to bring? and 2. What are their bikes like. So far I've found that cyclists are very different, which shouldn't come as a surprise, and the amount of equipment on their bikes varies too, but so far none has had lightly loaded bikes.




  When I first saw Elisabeth and Tobias I was wondering what all their gear was. It turned out that they were musicians and that they had their instruments with them. I'm glad I can tell you that none of them plays the tuba. Elisabeth plays the violin and Tobias the flute. Together they filled our living room with beautiful music. Since my two daughters also play the violin we had a very nice time together. I believe they played together until three in the morning. Since the sun doesn't set at this time of year, it was a very nice experience. Unfortunately they had to leave, but they left behind great memories.

Monday 25 July 2011

Making a Bike Roll

The more I ride my bike, the better I understand how important maintenance is. It seem like all the moving parts on a bike will have to be replaced at some point. This understanding just became stronger when I met Sabina and Thomas. They came to stay with us at Cyclist's Home for a few days while they waited for some spare parts for their tandem. They had come all the way from Germany, and needed a new rear wheel. It was really nice having you her, and I hope you will let me know how far the wheel was willing to take you.

Follow their journey on: www.tandemtrotter.de

Friday 22 July 2011

Cyclist's Home's First Summer

The summer of 2011 will be the first summer cyclists on their way to North Cape will crash at The Cyclist's Home. Last summer I was inspired by Martin from Estonia to start my project. Before I met him I had toyed with the idea of hosting touring cyclists passing on their way to or from North Cape, or anywhere else, for that matter. But when I saw him standing outside the local grocery store trying to get out of the heavy rain, I realized I had my first guest.
  We ate together and talked for hours about cycling and hiking. He showed me some of his equipment, explaining that part of it was from his time in the former Sovjetunion army. Martin was now 70 and still fit. It was so much fun that I decided I had to follow through with my plans.

Monday 2 May 2011

warmshowers.org

Warmshowers.org is a place where touring cyclists could find hosts all over the world. You just need to register as a member, and you get access. This is a wonderful resource for cyclists who are planning trips around the world. If you check out the northernmost pin in Norway, you will find The Cyclist's Home!