I am interested in hearing from people who have used www.warmshowers.org?
I have been a member for 5 years, both when I lived near the Southern Tier route in La. and here in Colorado. I've hosted 4 cyclists and have been priviledged to be hosted by 4 families while on separate tours of Ontario and the US. All were amazing encounters with people I never would have met except for the warm showers list. Some interesting encounters I've had using the list:
- A few years ago, while in Louisiana we hosted **** and Els from the Netherlands. They zigzagged across Mexico and, after hearing that we'd hosted a friend of theirs, made it a point to visit us in La. before heading to Graceland to visit the home of the King. Well, they ended up staying a week with us and Els sure could cook!!!, on two occasions cooking up Dutch fare that had our mouths watering after a hard day at work. Their visit ended with a quick trip down to New Orleans to catch Snooks Eglin perform at the Rock-in-Bowl. I wonder how they're doing raising money for that school house in North Africa...
- This past summer was a life changing experience when my teenage son and I rode 1,000 miles of the TransAm trail from Carbondale, IL to Pueblo, CO. We weren't just riding to ride, but were in the process of moving to Colorado to settle down after Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Carolyn (my ex). The word on the road was...this incredible lady named Gillian Hoggard would put you up for free. So we stayed in town an extra day to visit Gillian, only to learn that she'd been hospitalized after her tractor's hydralics shot fluid into one of her fingers. She would later loose the finger, but insisted that we stay and rest at her place along with another family bicycling from Virginia. She insisted that we drop in again. And we did on our way back to La. to move our belongings to Colorado. It was at this point that we learned the extent of her incredible generousity when she loaned us her truck to move our things - from La. to Colorado! !
Does anyone out there have any similar stories to tell re Warm Showers members or others willing to lend a helping hand to touring cyclists???
I have been a member for 5 years, both when I lived near the Southern Tier route in La. and here in Colorado. I've hosted 4 cyclists and have been priviledged to be hosted by 4 families while on separate tours of Ontario and the US. All were amazing encounters with people I never would have met except for the warm showers list. Some interesting encounters I've had using the list:
- A few years ago, while in Louisiana we hosted **** and Els from the Netherlands. They zigzagged across Mexico and, after hearing that we'd hosted a friend of theirs, made it a point to visit us in La. before heading to Graceland to visit the home of the King. Well, they ended up staying a week with us and Els sure could cook!!!, on two occasions cooking up Dutch fare that had our mouths watering after a hard day at work. Their visit ended with a quick trip down to New Orleans to catch Snooks Eglin perform at the Rock-in-Bowl. I wonder how they're doing raising money for that school house in North Africa...
- This past summer was a life changing experience when my teenage son and I rode 1,000 miles of the TransAm trail from Carbondale, IL to Pueblo, CO. We weren't just riding to ride, but were in the process of moving to Colorado to settle down after Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Carolyn (my ex). The word on the road was...this incredible lady named Gillian Hoggard would put you up for free. So we stayed in town an extra day to visit Gillian, only to learn that she'd been hospitalized after her tractor's hydralics shot fluid into one of her fingers. She would later loose the finger, but insisted that we stay and rest at her place along with another family bicycling from Virginia. She insisted that we drop in again. And we did on our way back to La. to move our belongings to Colorado. It was at this point that we learned the extent of her incredible generousity when she loaned us her truck to move our things - from La. to Colorado! !
Does anyone out there have any similar stories to tell re Warm Showers members or others willing to lend a helping hand to touring cyclists???
