CURRENT MISSION

See places, do things, meet people, eat food, have experiences, make the best of whats around

ABOUT ME

I love biking, food and learning about new cultures and people. I just graduated from college and now spending my time traveling, cooking and racing bikes. I am planning to go to the Culinary Institue in NY somewhere in the near future, but for now, I just want to learn as much as I can about food and cooking on my own, while racing bikes in the spring and summer. The combo works perfectly as you might imagine, I bike so that I can eat.

Other than those two, I've recently found myself reading lots and looking to learn as much as I can about everything. I miss college in the sense that the super density of learning as been toned down a bit I'm managing. I'm very interested in the cultures of different people and especially their food.

I am a big fan of organized chaos.

PHILOSOPHY

"Life is lived forwards, but understood backwards" - Kierkegaard

"A ship in the harbor is safe, but thats now what ships are for"

I'm lucky enough to be at a point in my life where I don't have any real commitments or responsibilities so it's easy for me to say..."yes" to just about anything. I think while it's still possible you should experience as much of what the world has to offer before the reality of making money and providing for others comes into play. There hardly comes an opportunity these days that I can come up with a legitimate excuse to turn it down.

I'm also a big fan of being happy. As Bourdain likes to say often, "At this moment, life does not suck."

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I hosted and met up with some surfers while I lived in Iowa City and I've been hosted by some fantastic people while on some of my travels.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Always amazing. Besides the fact that I've (almost) always been given a great, safe place to sleep, I've gotten to learn about the places I've traveled by people who actually live there. It's amazing, I've learned so much and some of my favorite travel experiences ever have involved CSers or their recommendations. I'd like to keep that trend going and I'd like to give others the same great experience I've been given.

Interests

Biking - racing, exploring gravel roads on my bomb proof cross bike and occasionally venturing on the single track.

Food- eating it, cooking it, learning about all the sorts of things we eat; how its made, how people use it around the world. Food culture.

Other outdoor sports including skiing, backpacking, scuba diving, trail running, rowing.

Religion, the sciences, health, nutrition, beer and wine, bread, coffe and coffee shops, journaling.

• culture
• dining
• cooking
• wine
• beer
• coffee
• running
• reading
• traveling
• eating out
• socializing
• outdoor activities
• cycling
• backpacking
• scuba diving
• skiing
• trail running
• sports
• track and field
• rowing
• religion

Music, Movies, and Books

Little Miss Sunshine, Jack Nicholson, Pulp Fiction, Motorcycle Diaries, Slumdog Millionaire, City of God, One Flew over the Cuckcoos Nest, No Reservations, 30 Rock, Dexter, No Reservations, Californication, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Entourage, Good Eats

I love lots of music. If you put my iPod on shuffle you'd hear a mix of folk, bluegrass, jazz, blues, gangster rap, hip-hop, indie, punk, classical, funky stuff, afro.

Gangleader for a Day, Million Little Pieces, My Friend Leonard, Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, Down and Out in Paris and London, Kitchen Confidential,

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I recently returned from Uganda with one of my best friends in the world and it was amazing. We did medical clinics there and had a chance to hang out with lots of kids. It changed my life and the way I see things, we worry too much about stupid shit here in the states and it gets to me sometimes.

Woke up at 3am to run with a loaded backpack to the Sun Gate of Macchu Picchu to see it at sunrise, before the hords of tourist came in. I saw it and it was amazing. I was also beat out of my mind.

Teach, Learn, Share

Say hello to everyone, the nice people that work behind the counter know lots of things, ask them. In general i've found that people are nicer than they appear to be, there are a lot of dumb jerks, but in general, it can be pretty easy to make a friend with a stranger.

When you're hurting or suffering, know that others are as well. It's your ability to suffer longer and harder that makes you the winner over everyone else.

Countries I’ve Visited

Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Costa Rica, Honduras, Italy, Peru, Sweden, Turks and Caicos Islands, Uganda, United Kingdom, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States