i am passionate about bikes. not so much the object itself but the freedom, efficiency, empowerment and physically active goodness it provides to anyone who has ever had regular access to one. I have been working as a bicycle mechanic in community bike shops for the better part of the past 9 years. I no longer identify as an avid self-propelled cyclist, but due to injury i've had to give up this lifestyle and have resorted to an electric bike and more recently i've fallen in love with motorcycles.

I am in constant search of new challenges and adventures that are completely different from what i have experienced before, especially ones that enable me to instigate positive change in my life, my local community or different parts of the world. Some of my past adventures include time backpacking in europe, volunteering in hawaii on organic farms, working for an NGO in my community refurbishing and distributing computers to the needy, working in uganda as an IT specialist, living and cycling around for 4 months on the west coast of Canada with an Otesha bike tour where we educated youth about how our daily decisions impact our world environmentally and socially, going to school to learn about renewable energy and energy efficient build methods, opening and operating a non-profit community co-op bike shop.

i feel like i can mcgyver my way out of most situations, whether that means geeking out and recovering data from a crashed hard drive, building a deck or making a kickass dinner from leftovers in the fridge. i prefer to be hands on when it comes to taking care of things which are integral to maintaining the smooth flow of the river of my life. i like to spend time with people that value words, time, energy, laughter, good food and nature.

I'm a sensitive, soft spoken non-dudebro with gentle demeanor, dont smoke anything (420 friendly) and rarely drink.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

To connect with locals in a town i am visiting, make some new connections, find accommodations and to provide the same when able. I love hosting friends, family, musicians and random folks when i have the opportunity, and have done a lot of this in the past especially through warm showers (the cyclist version of couch surfing). I dont travel much any more but on the odd occasion i do, i'm hoping my hosting karma credit will be good with yall :)

Interests

• graphic design
• dining
• cooking
• potluck
• baking
• motorcycles
• politics
• board games
• traveling
• dumpster diving
• minimalism
• guitar
• cycling
• hiking
• backpacking
• bike polo
• table tennis
• archery
• volunteering
• social justice
• bikes
• star trek
• hugs
• scrabble
• sharing economy
• linux
• renewable energy
• communal living
• essential oils
• floating

Music, Movies, and Books

books: i'll read most anything as long as its well written. historical storytelling is what i'm into at the moment...a la...golden spruce, what the what, something fierce, red tent, etc

movies: for entertainment i lurv old sci-fi. when i'm feeling more pensive, a foreign pic, a documentary thats not spotlighting the impending doom of humanity (cuz i've seen or read about it already), or something by Vice.

Music: i don't keep up with the latest, and i really enjoy silence, but i do cherish so much music. the occasional guitar comes into my life, which i enjoy playing a bit better than a beginner. i have been toying with piano and ukulele lately too. I could listen to almost anything if it matches my mood but some consistent faves lately are m ward, tuneyards, king gizzard, black angels, cat power, hawksly, underworld, pomplamoose, shakey graves, chad van galen...

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

started up a non-profit community co-op bike shop on vancouver island that financially succeeded in less than 3 years of operation.

Countries I’ve Visited

Bahamas, Belgium, Croatia, France, Germany, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, Uganda, United States, Vatican City State

Countries I’ve Lived In

Canada, Uganda, United States