CURRENT MISSION

Don't fall off

ABOUT ME

I am a 31-year-old bike dude from Wisconsin. I will always be young at heart.
I am politically aware and globally conscious, though my opinions are not released lightly. I prefer to listen, and when I do speak I try to make it count.
I am interested in all fine arts and intellectual disciplines, but I've got some down-n-dirty rugged low-brow in me as well. I'm very polite and will do your dishes with a smile.
I've got a mother(physician) and a father(photographer) back home, and a sister(herbalist healer). I miss them very much!
I love cats so much it's embarrassing. I can fix your bike if it needs fixin'. I've got a lot of interesting little stories from the road so far, and it's only been... well I guess it's been long enough to stop counting the miles.

PHILOSOPHY

A long time ago I asked myself the big, important question: "What do you want?" I know I can do anything I put my mind to; the hard part, for me, was deciding what I wanted. I did come up with the answer, even though it was, as most profound answers are, enigmatic: What do I want?
Love. And Joy. Those two things.
That's what I live my life by; those are the things by which I make decisions. Love and joy, for me and for all those around me.
Beyond that, my philosophies are a jumble of peace-loving, Earth-healing, personally-elevating and human-race-uplifting fragments that I've picked up from here and there. "Balance in all things." Positive not negative... warm fuzzy tail-wagging affectionate licks meoww!

"Imagination is more important than knowledge."
"We did not inherit this Earth from our parents, we are borrowing it from our children."
"Do not be afraid to encounter loneliness - it is an opportuniy to become friends with oneself."
"To live is so startling it leaves little time for anything else."
"Fear is the mind-killer." Frank Herbert, Dune

There are three sides to every coin.

Misliti je drek znati
Željeti je drek imati

Writing is closer to thought than speaking.

SPEED KILLS!
It is simply unnatural to be able to travel so fast.

The industrial revolution was an aberration that is still spreading an unhealthy addiction to speed and convenience throughout the world. People say you can't stop evolution, and maybe dangerous technology like the automobile or the airplane is an opened box that can never be closed again, but the rate of technological advancement is not following a natural evolutionary pattern. It's excessive and damaging, and it really hasn't made us any happier - all it's done is make a certain few people richer.

Do you really trust the governments and scientists who give us our technology?

In the end, my philosophy of activism is defined by an unobtrusive example that yes, it IS still possible to live without cars and planes, even travel the world without them.

And one simple piece of advice: THINK FOR YOURSELF.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

Rubber to asphalt. People to people. And hopefully heart to heart!

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Couchsurfing has been amazing for me ever since I heard about it and signed up a few weeks after I left on the big bike tour. I've made so many friends and been privileged enough to be invited straight to the heart of the places I've visited. My heart is full of gratitude inexpressible in words. I hope to continue meeting folks on my way around the globe, and when I get back home, I'll be opening up my couch for everyone that needs a spot in Madison!

The hotel industry can go bankrupt if you ask me! Dirty and consumptive, who needs it?

Interests

BIKES! Bicycle riding, racing, and repair. Bicycle dream, bicycle brain. Bicycle heart!
Running, climbing, jumping, swimming, dancing. Martial arts. Gymnastics.
Cats! Big and small.
Camping, survival, toughness. Natural beauty. Spirituality, vision quests, meditation; perspective. Learning, teaching; knowledge & imagination.
Language as a part of culture and vice versa; cooking exchange: collecting recipes for the campfire or for the cooker. Baking bread, stirring teapots.
WRITING! Handwritten letters, travelogues, poems, stories, essays, articles. Photography. Reading. Collage art. Fiction, sci-fi, roleplaying, vampires, escape and fantasy.
Recycling books, binding, custom covers, journals with pockets and glue, origami, kirigami, x-acto by headlamp.
Travel by alternative methods. Sustainability, permaculture, social responsibility. Dumpsterdiving. Open-source anything.
Harmonica.
Love and Joy. Peace.

• cats
• arts
• culture
• humanities
• writing
• books
• poetry
• photography
• beauty
• dancing
• cooking
• recipes
• baking
• running
• meditation
• technology
• reading
• traveling
• cars
• origami
• survival
• outdoor activities
• cycling
• camping
• boxing
• martial arts
• rock climbing
• gymnastics
• swimming
• medicine

Music, Movies, and Books

I enjoyed "The Alchemist," a story of travel & adventure, soul-searching & heart-following. There IS magic in this world! I love all kinds of books, though I can only carry one at a time. I like almost all kinds of music; music with accordions in it is about the only kind I can't stomach. Ministry, Bob Marley, or Bob Dylan... I can dig it all.

I collect MP3s of music to share with the world as I travel - if you've got a favorite track to share please email me!

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Baby donkeys

Teach, Learn, Share

BICYCLES! Broad range of knowledge. I love to teach about bikes and I won't "do everything for you" so you actually learn something. I also have tools for this.
I can share my experience being "part of traffic." I have been known to discover the best cycling routes across town for people. If you'd like to ride a bike but haven't started for one reason or another, I can help!

Camping, outdoor survival. Cooking on a campfire.
Origami. Bookbinding. Spanish language. (Or English, of course!)

I've learned a lot and I love to teach! I've taught some and I love to learn! I maintain "the beginner's mind"; life's so much more adventurous that way.

I want to learn how to do a back flip.

Countries I’ve Visited

Algeria, Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Egypt, France, French Polynesia, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, Morocco, Netherlands, New Caledonia, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Tonga, Tunisia, United Kingdom, United States, Vanuatu

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States

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