TrekJeni
11-09-2008, 05:53 PM
We had our first WarmShowers experience. The Warm Showers List is a list of Internet cyclists who have offered their hospitality towards touring cyclists. The extent of the hospitality depends on the host and may range from simply a spot to pitch a tent to meals, a warm (hot!) shower, and a bed.
Andrew called us Friday night to ask if we could host him for the following evening. With a tad bit of "oh gosh, I hope he's not an axe murderer" I said yes. He mentioned that he was traveling from Minnesota and had left the day before Halloween and was hoping to make it home (Greenville SC) by the end of the month.
He arrived Saturday late afternoon. His bike was loaded down front and back and he looked a tad bit cold. It was in the mid 50's. Geoff and I had an end of the season party to go to and asked if he'd like to tag along. We also told him he could stay home and relax (which was a little creepy in case he really was an axe murderer and we came home to an empty house!) :eek::D
We both race for Mercy Health Plex / Seven Hills racing in Cincinnati and love all of our teammates. We are an incredibly diverse crowd of people from all walks of life. Our primary focus is to be a family and have fun. There are no commitments to race, just enjoy riding. That's not to say that quite a few of us don't race but it's not a requirement.
Our new cross country cycling friend Andrew elected to go to our party. Our team loved him! It was a pot luck / pizza party (our team won the pizza from an earlier race). Andrew ate and ate and ate! The kid was never without food. I bet it was the best he's eaten in quite awhile. Our team took turns asking him questions about his adventures and treated him like one of us. I was so proud. I love my team.
Andrew is 26 and started school at a small college. He decided it wasn't for him and joined the peace corp for two years teaching Physical Science in Africa. He spent this summer interning (of sorts) at a small organic farm in Minnesota along with learning some blacksmithing techniques and timber framing. He was going back home to South Carolina where his parents live.
To top it off, we left early this morning for a cross race 2 hours away before Andrew hit the road. We left him with one instruction - let the foster dog out to potty as he hasn't been able to figure out the dog door yet. We came home from a very chilly cross race to a nice note on the table thanking us for our hospitality. It was a great expereince. We'll definitely do it again!
Andrew called us Friday night to ask if we could host him for the following evening. With a tad bit of "oh gosh, I hope he's not an axe murderer" I said yes. He mentioned that he was traveling from Minnesota and had left the day before Halloween and was hoping to make it home (Greenville SC) by the end of the month.
He arrived Saturday late afternoon. His bike was loaded down front and back and he looked a tad bit cold. It was in the mid 50's. Geoff and I had an end of the season party to go to and asked if he'd like to tag along. We also told him he could stay home and relax (which was a little creepy in case he really was an axe murderer and we came home to an empty house!) :eek::D
We both race for Mercy Health Plex / Seven Hills racing in Cincinnati and love all of our teammates. We are an incredibly diverse crowd of people from all walks of life. Our primary focus is to be a family and have fun. There are no commitments to race, just enjoy riding. That's not to say that quite a few of us don't race but it's not a requirement.
Our new cross country cycling friend Andrew elected to go to our party. Our team loved him! It was a pot luck / pizza party (our team won the pizza from an earlier race). Andrew ate and ate and ate! The kid was never without food. I bet it was the best he's eaten in quite awhile. Our team took turns asking him questions about his adventures and treated him like one of us. I was so proud. I love my team.
Andrew is 26 and started school at a small college. He decided it wasn't for him and joined the peace corp for two years teaching Physical Science in Africa. He spent this summer interning (of sorts) at a small organic farm in Minnesota along with learning some blacksmithing techniques and timber framing. He was going back home to South Carolina where his parents live.
To top it off, we left early this morning for a cross race 2 hours away before Andrew hit the road. We left him with one instruction - let the foster dog out to potty as he hasn't been able to figure out the dog door yet. We came home from a very chilly cross race to a nice note on the table thanking us for our hospitality. It was a great expereince. We'll definitely do it again!