CURRENT MISSION
Keep Learning.

PHILOSOPHY
Go for the gusto. I aim to squeeze every last drop out of this lemon and die with my boots on.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I'm a longtime member of Warm Showers, the Couch Surfing for bicyclists, and have hosted and visited many great people. I Couch Surf when traveling by bicycle or when "Driveway Surfing" in my classic VW Westfalia Camper.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE
My Couch Surfing experience has been 100% positive. I stayed with twenty or so Couch Surfing hosts, mostly Eastern European and Russian, on a 2012 Euro-Asian bicycle trip. And I've had quite a few visitors here at home. Very nice.

Interests

Many interests. Bicycles, skis, mandolins and guitars take up most of my attention. Travel. Writing. Camping. Lutherie. Alternative health. People. I read a lot, study history and politics, philosophy and classics.

I like to write, garden, sew, cook and make things.

I embrace minimalism in most things, overkill in some few things.

• humanities
• writing
• cooking
• gardening
• politics
• traveling
• music
• camping
• surfing
• history

Music, Movies, and Books

I've seen the first fifteen minutes of a lot of movies. If it doesn't grab me by then, I take my popcorn and go. The few that grabbed me: O Brother Where Art Thou, True Grit (all three!), the Wizard of Oz, The Road to Morocco, The Red Violin, Brazil.

Music: my tastes are limited to Jazz, Bluegrass, Country, R&B, Blues, Swing, Be-Bop, Ragtime, Classical, Opera, Rap and Hip-Hop.

Books by the armload, mostly non-fiction and classics. The Whole Earth Catalog was the book that influenced me the most. The beat poets and novelists informed my world view.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I crossed Siberia and the Gobi Desert solo on a bicycle.

A piece of cake, compared to raising a family the hard way: home birth, macrobiotic diet, family bed, homeschooling, self-employment and huge bicycle trips.

Which was actually easy compared to making a living as a steeplejack.

Which, hard as it was, was easier than making mandolins, which is what I do now.

Teach, Learn, Share

I know a lot about bikes, guitars, woodworking, philosophy, alternative health, politics, geopolitics, New York City, Vermont and a handful of other topics. I love to share; I try not to be too pedantic.

No bullshit, either. Well, maybe a little now and then, just for emphasis.

What I Can Share with Hosts

Music, stories, enthusiasm, time, REAL listening, whatever I have, my history, silence.

I'm not a foodie, yet I like to cook and share meals. It's simple food, but I get no complaints.

I have a complete bike shop in the garage. Repairs and adjustments are fun for me and I offer you my skills. It's also an excellent place to put your bike in a stand and give it a good cleaning (after which I won't be able to resist a thorough inspection).

The MAIN thing I have to offer is hospitality. I strive to provide the best you ever experienced. Let me know how I do.

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada, China, Croatia, England, France, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, Moldova, Mongolia, Netherlands, Romania, Russian Federation, Slovenia, Spain, Ukraine

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States