Getting Your Parents’ Permission To Go On A Bicycle Tour

No matter what your age, telling your parents that you are leaving on a bicycle tour can be a difficult and scary task. Your parents surely care about you and worry about your safety, so when you fill them in on your plans for traveling long distances on your bicycle, your overall well-being is going to be one of the first things that pops into their minds.

I was seventeen years old and a senior in high school when I first told my parents about my plans of cycling down the California coastline. As you can imagine, they were less than thrilled. They probably thought I was crazy… and I know they were hoping I would forget about the idea in a couple months. But I didn’t forget about the idea! In fact, my dreams of cycling from Oregon to Mexico became that much stronger as the months progressed.

So how did I go about convincing my parents that I could not only make my bicycle tour happen, but also convince them that the ride would be a good idea? And how can you do the same? Read the story »

An Interview With The Crazy Senior Citizen & Hearty Heart Attack Victim Who Rode Their Bikes Around The World

In 2002, Pat and Cat Patterson (age 62 and 48) left their home in Oxnard, California and spent the next four years riding their bicycles around the world. When they completed their tour in 2006, they had ridden through four continents and 57 different countries.

Pat and Cat met in 1993, later married, and ran a real estate company in Southern California. Then, in 2000, Cat suffered from a heart attack. But rather than play victim, Cat’s heart attack only pushed her more to get out on her bike and ride.

The plan for the big bike tour was born and rather than tell the rest of the story myself, I’ve gone ahead and asked Pat and Cat to share their story with you. Read the story »

My Interview With “Bike Friday”

I recently had the pleasure of traveling to Aruba with a Bike Friday New World Tourist folding bicycle. I posted a few short articles (here, here, here, and here) about my new bicycle and received quite a bit of feedback.

Some people wrote to ask me about the bike and how it handled. Others wrote to tell me that they already owned a Bike Friday and that they absolutely loved it! Some even sent me pictures!

Read the story »