Hello there! I'm a 31 year-old female who loves cycling and being active! In the summer of 2015, I quit my comfortable job in analytical chemistry to cycle as far as my meager savings account would take me. I started cycling in Helsinki, Finland and ending up in Japan before a family wedding called me back to North America in the fall of 2016.

During the summer/fall of 2017, I cycled from Niagara Falls up to Newfoundland and then back towards Michigan.

When I'm cycle-touring, I have a vague outline and time-line of where I'm going and when, but it's always up for revision! I've primarily used the warmshowers community to meet occasional hosts, but I've also had some truly lovely experiences with couchsurfing hosts as well.

I'm an eternal optimist who smiles constantly, laughs often, and loves to goof off. I sing Abba while cycling through the country side, stop for picnics when it's sunny, dance like nobody's watching, wear socks with my sandals, try to talk to every cycle tourist I see (although they don't always seem to want to talk to me!), do my dishes in gas station bathrooms, curse the rain, enjoy my own company, talk about my bike like she's a person, and am always on the lookout for wifi and a shower.

I'm very easy-going and am not easily offended. I'm a non-smoker and an occasional drinker; I'm pretty ambivalent about other people's smoking/drinking habits. I've spent most of my life as a vegetarian, but I do eat meat when traveling and enjoy trying new things. I am lactose intolerant, however, so I do make a habit of avoiding dairy products.

My life in a nutshell if you're still interesting in scoping me out more:
My earlier days were spent in Rhode Island where I learned to talk like an East Coaster. When I was 8 years old, my family moved to the Indiana, the great Midwestern state of corn and basketball. I spent the rest of my childhood in Carmel, Indiana (a suburb of Indianapolis) in constant squabbles with my two rambunctious brothers (we're all best friends these days). Luckily for you, upon arriving in Indiana, I spent a lot of time in speech therapy until my harsh New England accent was replaced by the neutral accent of a proper Midwesterner. I have always loved traveling, playing sports, being outside, and watching insects.

As a kid, the majority of my traveling consisted of visiting relatives and going to soccer tournaments. In 2006/2007 I spent a gap year living with host families as a Rotary Youth Exchange student in Bydgoszcz, Poland, and have been on the lookout for new adventures ever since.

I fell in love with road cycling while in college in Bloomington, Indiana. Since graduating and starting my career, I desperately missed getting to spend hours outside on my bike every day, so for the last third of my twenties I decided to hit the road. My older brother's wedding called me back to the States in 2016, and he followed that up with having a baby in 2017, which has given me a few reasons to stay within cycling distance of Indianapolis for now.

Warum ich bei Couchsurfing bin

As a solo-traveling cycle tourist (who is mostly camping and on a budget) getting an occasional shower, couch to sleep on, and some human interaction is very much appreciated. I'm primarily looking for an indoor location to lay my head for a night and some running water (if I'm lucky). If lousy weather, tired legs, pleasant company, or an adventure I just can't pass up arise (and both of our schedules allows for it), I may be able to move some things around and stay a little longer in a single location. Since I am on a budget, going out on the town isn't really my style these days.

I'm endlessly fascinated by other people/families/lifestyles and I love getting glimpses of what life looks like for people in other cultures. One of my favorite ways to surf is getting to observe/experience your regular day-to-day life. If you like to talk, I'm game for conversation! If you've got a lot going on and don't have much time to spend with me, but still have a couch available, I'm cool with that, too.

I also like having the opportunity to talk through some of my travel plans and to get advice from people that know an area better than I do.

Interessen

Outside of cycling and traveling, my hobbies include: meeting and connecting with new people, food/cooking/baking, crafts, reading, biology, nature, laughing, goofing around, running, being outside, dancing (poorly), and smiling

• insects
• culture
• dancing
• dining
• cooking
• recipes
• baking
• running
• crafts
• trivia
• reading
• traveling
• cycling
• camping
• soccer
• biology
• science

Eine tolle Erfahrung, die ich gemacht habe

I met Santa!

Lehren, lernen, teilen

I really like random facts and science, so I'll be happy to teach you any useless bits of trivia that I've picked up.

I'm also a native English speaker, so I'm more than happy to speak English with anyone that wants practice. (Let me know whether you want your grammar corrected...I won't do it unless you ask!). If you want to learn anything about American culture or what life is like in Indianapolis, I'd be happy to tell you about my experiences as well.

I've been teaching myself bike mechanics (kind of a necessity these days). I'm no pro, but if you need some basic bike maintenance, I may be able to help.

I also really enjoy doing the dishes...not a crazy overflowing sink-full that's been festering for 2 weeks, mind you, but if you have just a normal day or two's worth of dishes that need to be washed, I'd be more than happy to help you out...you just may have to help direct me on where things go when they're dry! After traveling and living out of my panniers for awhile, cleaning and doing dishes offer a surprisingly therapeutic sense of normalcy to my life.

Was ich mit Gastgebern teilen kann

I really enjoy conversing and getting to know people! I can share conversation (...only if you're interested of course!)

I'm also really into food. Due to the nature of my travels (and sometimes visa deadlines) I'll often be stopping for less than 24hrs (and will probably be a bit tired). If I'm staying with you for longer, though, I'd enjoy to cook or bake something with you or for you...and even if I'm only with you for an evening, I love cooking with people, talking through recipes, and seeing how others cook. If you want an extra set of hands in the kitchen, I really want to help!

Länder, die ich besucht habe

Albania, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Belgium, Belize, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada, Cayman Islands, Costa Rica, Croatia, Czech Republic, Egypt, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Honduras, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mexico, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Slovakia, Spain, Tajikistan, Turkey, Ukraine, United States, Uzbekistan

Länder, in denen ich gelebt habe

Poland, United States