Warmshowers Blog
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Whether it’s local rides or epic tours, get the guidance, tools, and stories to explore and connect with the community that travels with you.
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COVID-19: Wrenches, Waiting, and Back on the Road
Contributor: Vaegabond (Meli & Dani) **COVID-19: Wrenches and Waiting** The coronavirus took the world by surprise. We never imagined it could spread so fast or cause so much damage. We first heard about it in January 2020, while we were still cycling through Morocco. Then, barely three months later, the situation has changed dramatically. We’d…
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3 Months Cycling Morocco: From the Atlas Mountains to the Sahara and Everything In Between
Contributor: Vaegabond (Melli & Dani) Our Start in Fascinating Morocco Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, France and Germany again. Those were the countries we’d already ticked off on our bicycle world tour. Next up: Morocco. It was early November. If you’ve seen our videos from the Netherlands or Belgium, you’ll know exactly why we’d had…
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Music Meets Adventure: The Inspiring Cycling Journeys of Singer & Songwriter TOZ Antonio Piretti
Contributor: TOZ Antonio Piretti What happens when you pack your entire life, your live-performance equipment (including a speaker and cables), and an acoustic guitar onto a touring bicycle? You get the inspiring reality of Antonio Piretti, known to the music world as “TOZ.” Years ago, the Italian-Canadian artist made a radical choice: he left his…
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When the Route Becomes the Destination — Start of our World Tour by Bicycle
Contributors: VAEGABOND (Melli & Dani) We’re Melli and Dani, two adventurers from Bavaria who quit our jobs, gave up our apartment, and set off to chase a dream that had been quietly brewing for years. The spark came from different directions — a shift in family life, Dani’s year abroad in India in 2013, and…
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The Road Less Traveled: An Ode to Warmshowers
Contributor: Karen Carter Often on road trips, my husband and I like to turn on Google Maps’ “no tolls” feature. We prefer the less direct route: the two-lane roads that wind over a mountain, skirt along a river or a rugged shoreline, meander through a dense forest, or glide past acres of farmland with herds…
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The 2026 Warmshowers Bike Giveaway is here!
Win $2000 USD for Your Dream Bike As we celebrate Earth Day, we are thrilled to launch the 2025 Warmshowers Annual Bike Giveaway! Warmshowers is more than just a network; it is a global community of cyclists and hosts who believe that kindness has no borders. Every shared meal and story reminds us why this…
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5 Years, 55,000 km, 27 Countries – From Germany to the World — Meet VAEGABOND
Contributor: VAEGABOND (Melli & Dani) We’re Melli & Dani — long-distance bicycle travelers, storytellers, and the people behind VAEGABOND. Since 2019, we’ve been cycling around the world, and we’ve been wanting to properly introduce ourselves here for a while. So here we are. The short version: we left Germany in 2019 with two bikes, one…
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Building Lasting Connections: The Power of Your Profile and Honest Feedback
At Warmshowers, the magic of our community isn’t just in the free bed or the hot shower; it’s in the unique human connections made between peddlers and hosts. Whether you are opening your home to a weary traveler or pedaling toward your next destination, the success of these connections rests on two essential pillars: communication…
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How Stories Inspire the Very First Journey for Many
Contributor: Fiera del Cicloturismo Team Behind every cycling journey, there is a story. Sometimes it’s a story told around a table, sometimes one shared online, sometimes one casually mentioned during a ride. What we see, year after year, is that personal stories and lived experiences have a powerful effect: they inspire others to imagine themselves…
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Aussie Mid-50s Woman Takes a Gap Year For Her First Bicycle Tour
Contributor: Tiffany Sharp I have one week to go, and I will have completed a 14-month ‘Gap Year’ in Europe/UK. I started out with a dream to cycle the Eurovelo 6 route from the Atlantic in France, following the rivers Loire, Rhine, and Danube for 4,000 km to the Black Sea in Romania. The trip…
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Spokes and Oms
A reflective travel memoir by Joel Schaefer Edinburgh to Paris (2 Aug – 2 Nov 2025). The first push on the pedals always began the same way. Bags packed and balanced, water bottles filled, the Garmin fully loaded and glowing faintly. I’d raise the kickstand, feel the weight of the bike settle beneath me, and…
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2025 Italy & France Solo Cycling Adventure
Contributor: Barry Ridout Day 1 We left Milan after a nice macchiato and croissant for breakfast, Ria was going on her organized trip, and I headed for the station to catch the train to Turin for the start of my solo cycling adventure. Arrived in Turin and had to hunt down a local bike shop…
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Lessons From My First Summer as a Warmshowers Host in Croatia and What We Created
Contributor: Livio of Realworld Adventures Let me start by saying that I’ve been running a trekking-centric hobby blog for more than 20 years, and only occasionally brought a bicycle into my adventures. Sure, I’ve cycled across Tibet, southern France, and a few other places over the years, but those rides were just impulse trips I…
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Lost in the Grandes Causses: Hospitality on a Medieval Cliffside
Contributor: Yoann Rogalski In May 2025, I set off on a solo cycling trip from Figeac to Marseille—a ride that promised wide horizons, steep climbs, and the quiet kind of introspection that only long days in the saddle can bring. I didn’t know exactly what I was looking for on that trip, but I knew…
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A Symbol of Hope
Contributor: David Chermushenko In these tumultuous times, when selfishness and fear of strangers—particularly “foreigners”—seem to be on the rise, I have just published a book (Standing with Underdogs) which includes a chapter on my experience with Warmshowers. I use this community as a symbol of the kind of goodness that still exists and which we…
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A long climb, but worth the sweat!
Contributor: Joe Diomede This past autumn, my wife and I were on a cycle tour in southern France. We live in the foothills of the Pyrenees, so we are so lucky to have such wonderful cycling roads, almost literally, in our backyard. We are Warmshowers hosts and have been for over ten years. We have…
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Frances Kiser – Hosting Legend
Contributor: Kevin Kiser Cookies, Combines, and a Welcome in the Middle of Nowhere If you pedal the Northern Tier route long enough, you might eventually reach a quiet country road a few miles from Royal Center, Indiana. At the end of that road is a farm with a small sign by the driveway. It doesn’t…
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A Historic Dutch Sculpture’s Journey to Japan
When my girlfriend and I were planning our cycling trip to Japan in 2024, some things connected in my head. My girlfriend, a sculptor, creates artwork from the stone released during the recent renovation of our Dom Tower in Utrecht (NL). Secondly, I knew that in Japan, there is a Dutch-themed park with a copy…
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Cycling 14 Countries in 3 Months: My #14in3 Challenge
Contributor: Daniel Baines Hello everyone, my name is Daniel Baines. I’m originally from Lincoln in the UK, and I’ve recently set out on a solo cycling adventure across Europe. I’ve given myself the challenge of cycling through 14 countries in 3 months, which I’m calling #14in3. The idea came to me while I was in…
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A Historic Dutch Sculpture’s Journey to Japan
Contributor: Koen Rijnsent When my girlfriend and I were planning our cycling trip to Japan in 2024, some things connected in my head. My girlfriend, a sculptor, creates artwork from the stone released during the recent renovation of our Dom Tower in Utrecht (NL). Secondly, I knew that in Japan, there is a Dutch-themed park…
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A hope-filled story!
Contributor: Scott and Sarah Dontanville My wife and I embarked on an unforgettable journey along the TransAmerica Trail a couple of years ago, a 4,200-mile tandem bicycle tour stretching from the rugged coasts of Oregon to the historic shores of Virginia. This cross-country route, primarily designed for slow travel adventurers, winds through backroads, national forests,…
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How Cycle Touring Builds Global Community
Cycle touring is more than just a mode of travel — it’s a way to engage with the world slowly, intentionally, and personally.
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The Joy of Hosting Cycle Tourers
Opening your home to cycle tourers can be a uniquely rewarding experience. These travelers often arrive with stories from the road, a deep appreciation for kindness, and a light footprint.
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Austin Johnson, Warmshowers Global Ambassador
Get to know Austin Johnson of Canada, one of our 2025 Global Ambassadors A little bit about Austin in their own words… On a cross-continent bike ride in 2017, I fell in love with cycling. It was my first time riding something other than a child-size BMX or a hand-me-down hybrid that was older than…
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Normand Pion, Warmshowers Global Ambassador
Get to know Normand and Hélène Pion of Quebec, Canada, one of our 2025 Global Ambassadors A little bit about Normand and Hélène in their own words… Tandemists and full-time cyclo-travellers (6 months and more each year since 2013), Hélène and Normand have accumulated 2,206 overnight trips and over 100,000 km covered by bike in…
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A Bike, a Journey, and a Few Surprises
Contributor: Peter Emerson First things first: I pumped up the tires of my fold-up Brompton, bought a pair of dual-tone, all-weather, multi-purpose sandals (from the Oxfam shop), and learnt a little Chinese. The journey started in Shangri-La. Well, actually, it started last October from home in Belfast, from where I traveled overland to Azerbaijan to…
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Gabriele Bonuomo, Warmshowers Global Ambassador
Get to know Gabriele Bonuomo of Italy, one of our 2025 Global Ambassadors A little bit about Gabriele in their own words… Hi, my name is Gabriele. I am Italian, but sometimes I don’t feel I am 100% Italian! 😊 I enjoy meeting people from other cultures. Since I don’t have the opportunity to travel…
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Annika Spilker, Warmshowers Global Ambassador
Get to know Annika Spilker of Germany, one of our 2025 Global Ambassadors A little bit about Annika in their own words… I am Annika from Northern Germany, where I live with my Canadian husband, Liam. We are both avid travelers, and apart from cycling, we enjoy hiking, camping, canoeing, kayaking, and skiing. We’ve done…
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Claudio Cerasoli, Warmshowers Global Ambassador
Get to know Claudio Cerasoli of Italy, one of our 2025 Global Ambassadors. A little bit about Claudio in their own words… I’ve always been passionate about traveling, and through the years, I’ve had the opportunity to experience many different styles of it. However, it was not until my mid-40s that I tried bicycle touring.…
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Leading to the Start of a World Setting Attempt Cycling Cape to Cape
Contributor: Paula Ralph – The Long Ride C2C The Journey of a Lifetime: Cape to Cape – A Solo Endeavor to Break Barriers On 9th February 2025, a journey of extraordinary magnitude will begin. This is not just a cycling adventure; it is the culmination of four years of relentless training, unwavering determination, and overcoming…
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Filmed by Bike is Back!
Contributor: Alden Roth, Filmed by Bike Ride on over, grab some popcorn, and get ready to watch the world’s best bike films! After a short hiatus, Filmed by Bike is coming back to Portland, OR, for its 22nd Annual Film Festival this May. This festival will screen more than 30 bike-focused short films across a…
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The 2025 Warmshowers Bike Giveaway is here!
Ride into Sustainability with the Warmshowers Annual Bike Giveaway! As we celebrate Earth Day, Warmshowers is excited to kick off our 2025 Annual Bike Giveaway, championing sustainable travel solutions and reducing carbon footprints worldwide. Did you know that transportation accounts for 50% of global tourism emissions? Cycling offers a vital climate solution, promoting eco-friendly exploration…
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Alexander Millacaris Rozas, Warmshowers Global Ambassador
Get to know Alexander Millacaris Rozas of Chile, one of our 2025 Global Ambassadors. A little bit about Alexander in his own words (English translation)… 1) Do you have any project or social enterprise related to bicycles or the cycling world? Hello! Yes, both! We manage a small hostel called Michihouse Backpackers, known as the…
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Warmshowers User Transforms His Cycling Passion into a Travel Business
Contributor: Bruno Peelman Bruno Peelman, a 57-year-old cycling enthusiast from Belgium, has turned his passion for cycling into a travel business in Rwanda. In October 2024, Bruno cycled the Congo Nile Trail—a 5-day cycling journey along Lake Kivu in Rwanda. The name refers to the region’s water divide (Congo-Nile Divide), where rivers either flow westward…
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Ville & Kristen Jokinen, Warmshowers Global Ambassadors
Get to know Ville & Kristen Jokinen of our 2025 Global Ambassador Team! A little bit about Kristen and Ville in their own words… Hello, beautiful people of the Warmshowers community! Ville and Kristen here. After meeting on a scuba diving boat in Nha Trang, Vietnam, in 2008, Ville and I found in each other…
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Flexibility with Hosting Creates Friendships
Contributors: Steve and Judy York Since 2018, we have enjoyed being Warmdhowers hosts. Although we toured in our younger years, we now focus on road cycling and mountain biking. But we LOVE being Warmshowers hosts. We live in Sandpoint, Idaho, along the northern tier of the Adventure Cycling Association route. As you can imagine, we…
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Warmshowers Magic During the Colorado Trail
Contributors: Megan and Erin As two young, queer women bikepacking the Colorado Trail, we often commented on the assumed gender of other thru-bikers and hikers we encountered. While there are definitely women on the trail, sometimes it seems to be dominated by men. Despite this, one of the things we grew to love most about…
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Ken Francis, Warmshowers Global Ambassador
Get to know Ken Francis of the United States, one of our 2025 Global Ambassadors. A little bit about Ken in their own words… I have been actively bicycle-touring since my first multi-night ride when I was 13. Before Warmshowers and the internet, I used my knuckles to knock on farmhouse doors and churches as…
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Cycle Tourism Show: Inspiration for Your Next Holiday
Contributor: Pinar Pinzuti, Cycling Brainwasher When I began cycling nearly 20 years ago (oh, time flies), the bicycle quickly became more than a simple vehicle for me — it turned into a bridge connecting me and my partner Paolo. While he was passionate about rugby and photography, and I was drawn to yoga and writing,…
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In Lac Bouchette, Do Not Rely on Google Maps But Rather Jean Champoux!
Contributor: Luc Dupont I was looking for a place to spend my summer vacation and get away for a week. Newfoundland tempted me, but its elevation and sometimes isolated roads convinced me that cycling alone there wouldn’t be wise. I settled on the Tour du Lac St-Jean, where Vélo-Québec was planning a guided cycling trip.…
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An Unlikely Journey: Lessons from Cycling Solo Across a Continent
Contributor: Sahir Permall People like me—brown, single mothers in their mid-30s—don’t do this kind of thing. Neither did I, until I did. On a cold and wet morning this spring, I left home in Glasgow on my old touring bike and pedaled nearly 3,000 miles until, exactly two months later, I reached Asia. Pushing off…
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Simon Jones, Warmshowers Global Ambassador
Get to know Simon Jones of Ireland, one of our 2025 Global Ambassadors. A little bit about Simon in their own words… I’ve been touring around Europe and living out of panniers while working remotely for the last three years. In early 2025, I’ll start riding full-time and attempt to go around the world. I…
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South Korean International Cycling Gang
Contributor: Doris Tuck On Thursday evening, August 1, 2024, I received a Warmshowers message from Veronica Lee requesting an overnight stay in San Jose for Saturday and Sunday nights. I’m 88 years old, and by the afternoon, I’m often tired. It took me a while to consider her request. I spoke with my boyfriend of…
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Experiencing the Magic of Warmshowers
Contributor: Erik and Courtney Olson Warmshowers is the epitome of a built-in community—a community that shares a love of travel, bicycles, and curiosity. When you’re out on the road, sometimes the thing you need most is a warm smile, a hot shower, and meaningful conversation. Our hosts all over the United States gave us this…
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Cycle Touring Books
Great Reads Authored by the Warmshowers Community! Cycling the World: The Ultimate Guide to Bicycle Touring for Beginners and Experienced Riders (Die Welt im Sattel) by Daniel Alexander KastWhat does it actually take to cycle the world? Not the Instagram highlights — the real stuff. The freezing nights at -20°C, the 50°C desert heat, the…
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The Unicycle Story
Contributor: Dylan J. Cole I had just arrived in Rochester, New York, and my Warmshowers hosts and I were sitting around a home-cooked meal, swapping stories from the Erie Canal Trail. One host shared a story that I found most memorable: One day, close to downtown, she had been unicycling along the canal while juggling…
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Hosting Solar Cyclists
Contributor: Jeff Balch Twenty minutes of comfortable pedaling on Monday, Aug. 27, brought me four miles from south Evanston to Wilmette, where I met Megan Routbort and Thomas Polo – a pair of adventurers who, at that point, had pedaled roughly 750 times farther than I did that day. They were easy to spot near…
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1,000 Welcomes: Celebrating a Warmshowers Host’s Journey of Community and Connection
On a side street in the heart of Shkoder, Albania, through a door next to an unassuming two-car garage, you could easily miss the entrance to a unique and wonderful Warmshowers hosting experience. Warmshowers hosts play a vital role in creating a sense of community and connection among cyclists from all over the world. Today,…
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Refuge in Romania and Abducted in Switzerland
Contributor: Bruce Nikolai During our 2,400-mile ride across Europe on the EV6, we had two wonderful Warmshowers stays that stood out. Our first was in Romania. I reached out to our host, who happened to be living in Belgium, and he arranged for us to stay with the woman taking care of his home. She…
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Nordic Dream
Contributor: Nicola Inversi I have had a big dream since I was a child: Reaching North Cape. From Rome, where I live, to North Cape, the northernmost point of Europe—from the Mediterranean Sea to the Arctic Ocean, crossing almost all of Europe. It’s not an easy journey. But I made it even more challenging because…