Hey there! I'm James a sightseeing guide based in New York City.

I'm not sure what's pertinent to people and what's not, so I'll just try to cover all the bases. I'm a white male in my early 30s originally from North Carolina who currently lives in Brooklyn and I work as a sightseeing guide in the city. I'm trying to get lots of references on this site, but I can also share my Facebook info with you as well as refer you to my business and social networks to help collaborate I'm real person.

I plan to mainly use this for bike trips through relatively populated areas. Other than a shower and a place to sleep I don' t need much. I've read in other accounts that people can sometimes be taken aback by touring cyclists so I'll say upfront that it's totally possible that I may show up to your place tired, sweaty and ready to pass out.

I don't want to take long rides just for the sake of cycling. I also really enjoy exploring new places and tooling around cool cites. I'm more of dive bar, relaxed conversation guy than a crazy night out on the town dude, but in general I'm pretty social. Totally more than happy entertaining myself though.

Drug free and non-smoker. I do drink socially.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

The main motivation to updating my profile is that I want to start going on long bike tours. I'm a pretty regular cyclist already, but I got the itching to get out of the city. My not too far in the future goal is to bike from Buffalo to New York City, but for the time being I'm trying to do two to three day rides probably mainly in the Northeast region. Hopefully I'll be doing some rides with my girlfriend, but for the time being it'll probably be me.

Interests

I'm pretty big into board games. I organize game groups with one I started currently having over 2,000 members on Meetup. I'm currently starting a new group in Brooklyn called Victory Pints which you're welcome to join if you're in the Brooklyn area.

I like everything from short filler games to long epic 7 hour sessions. More likely than not I'll probably have a few small card games on me if I'm visiting and am always down for a game.

I also enjoy history a fair amount hence my being a tour guide. Most of my travels involves seeking out a historic landmark or two.

Also as you may have picked up (despite my physique) I'm really into biking. It almost exclusively how I travel in New York and I love going for long day trips and exploring. Whether it's a long rails-to-trail or just tooling around a random neighborhood I'm usually down.

• partying
• drinking
• board games
• traveling
• socializing
• cycling
• business
• history
• tourism
• tours
• sightseeing

Music, Movies, and Books

Music: Modest Mouse, Tribe Called Quest, Joanna Newsom, Frank Ocean, early century Jazz, Os Mutantes. Honestly right now my habit is to find a new artist to listen to on Spotify and play them for about a month until I sicken of them. I'm sure many of you can relate.

Movies: All over the place.

Books: I read a lot of New York History. Occasionally spread out to other stuff. Right now I'm reading Native Son, The Collected Works of H.P. Lovecraft, and a lot of early Marvel Comics in addition to a biography of Stanford White.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Amazing huh? I dunno, I guess I've seen cool stuff and meet a lot of interesting people, but I guess the most amazing things to me are days where everything goes according to plan and are so busy I fall asleep almost as soon as my head hits the pillow.

What I Can Share with Hosts

A monkey's paw that grants three wishes.

On a more serious note while traveling I can share any games I brought with me and some conversation if you feel inclined.

If you visit New York City I can potentially offer free tours and socializing. I do everything from teaching croquet classes to giving tour of cemeteries to hosting game nights to having parties on my roof and for many of those things you would be welcome to join.

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States