My name is Joel, I'm 26 years old, and I recently left my job in tech support to travel for a bit. I just finished riding my bicycle up the coast of California.

My dream is to take 3 months to ride my bicycle across the Australian outback, from Perth to Sydney

I love to travel, and my favorite part is meeting locals and getting to see and experience the city the way they do. I'm new to couch surfing, but I've stayed with friendly locals on my bicycle tours a number of times and always enjoyed it it so much. I'm hoping to experience it backpacking as well

Fully vaccinated + boosted

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

The best part of traveling is meeting locals and getting to experience and learn about the city the way they see it. It's always been a privilege to stay with friendly people that offer a bed or a couch on my bicycle tours, and I'm looking forward to a similar experience backpacking

Interests

• coffee
• hiking
• camping
• beaches
• mountains
• biking
• museums
• cafès

Music, Movies, and Books

Fiction: Harry Potter, Lord of Rings, or almost anything by John Greene

Non-fiction: Tribe (Sebastian Junger), Why Civil Resistance Works (Erica Chenoweth and Maria Stephan), It's What I Do: A photographer's Life of Love and War (Lynsey Addario), Meditations (Marcus Aurelius)

Music: I'm a sucker for the latest pop hits, but I also love Irish (High Kings), rap (Eminem), and whatever Taylor Swift is doing these days.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I raced 89 miles (143 km) between two cities on roller skates. It's the longest race of its kind in North America, and I did it in under 5 hours, to get 5th place. We raced in traffic, on rough, pothole filled roads, over speed bumps, and through towns. Some drivers loved us, some hated us. But it was an amazing 5 hours, and it's still, years later, the hardest 5 hours of my life.

Teach, Learn, Share

I do a lot of camping, bicycle touring, and I studied geology

I can tell you about wild camping, bike touring adventures and how to get started, bike maintenance, and all about rocks and the history of the earth. I might even know a little about your region

What I Can Share with Hosts

I can teach you about wild camping, bicycle touring and maintenance, rocks, mountains, streams, and the stories of the earth

Countries I’ve Visited

Australia, Austria, Canada, Denmark, Ireland, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Australia, United States