1000 Americans: Alan Arvidson, Otis, Oregon

Alan had grown up in the Otis, near the Salmon River estuary and knows the area as the back of his hands.

He is in doubt which direction his life should take, but likes to show visitors his part of the world…

1000 Americans: Linda & Gilbert Lopez & Sissy & Boy, Waldport, Oregon

Linda & Gilbert are wonderful people with a great sense of humour. They are much younger than their calendar indicates and are enjoying their house near the beach as well as their two ‘young ones’, cats Sissy & Boy!

1000 Americans: Andy “Schock” Schocken, Seattle

Andy is a filmmaker, having worked on several documentaries, usually with a social or environmental character.

Raised near Seattle, he knows the mountains and loves to hike them. This is a rare photograph of Andy, as he is not carrying his camera 🙂

Thanks Andy, for your hospitality, friendship and patience.

1000 Americans: Carol, Mike & Ben

We already had met Ben in Northern Alaska and had the pleasure to meet his family Carol & Mike and to spend Thanksgiving with them.

Even though life has not always been easy on them, they are positive and have faith in the future and each other…

1000 Americans: Joe ‘Metal Cowboy’ & Beth Kurmaskie

Joe Kurmaskie is a famous cyclist as he has written and published many stories about his travels, very recommended for cyclists as well as couch potatoes with a sense of humour and adventure.

He got the nickname “The Metal Cowboy” from a blind person he met on the way… He also met his wife Beth on one of his trips, and it is very nice to see them and their family (3 boys) together now!

Joe is trying to get 1000 1000 Americans to (re)start cycling again before August 9, 2009, see also the news announcement on BikeTravellers.com.

1000 Americans: Tom & Sandy Hubbard, Vancouver, WA

When I found out that Tom Hubbard and his wife Sandy were living on our path, I wanted to meet them.

As a photographer, it is a pleasure to talk to Tom, who has decades of experience as a photographer and has worked with all the other great photographers during his work as Director of the Time-Life Photo and Digital Image Lab. Most recently, he was the Pro Photo Business Development Manager for Hewlett Packard’s new line of professional photographic pigment printers in North America.

Currently he is looking for new challenges. I told him that he should either start writing (e-)books or teach as he is filled with valuable information for beginning as well as professional photographers.

He has a –slightly confusing mix of- very useful websites, which are useful for BikeTravellers and other photographers:

• http://www.hubbardcamera.com/ with great tips for starting photographers,
• http://hubsidarkroom.blogspot.com/ about digital processing,
• more general photography tips in http://hubsphotographytips.blogspot.com/ &
• inspirational interviews at http://www.visionaryphotographers.com/.

And he is not finished, having many more ideas to share the wonderful world of photography.

He also finally got me to start organizing thousands of photos and was kind enough to give me a legal copy of Adobe’s LightRoom, which after some learning curve already is making my photo life much easier and my images much more interesting 🙂

Thanks Tom & Sandy, for your hospitality and sharing your knowledge!

1000 Americans: Dave & MC, Vancouver, USA

Sometimes you know people for a long time, and are friends, even though you have never met in person. MC had been a true fan of our 7summits Expeditions and even became a client, when she asked me to organize her climb to the summit of Kilimanjaro through 7summits.com.

She hikes, composes & plays music, sells art and does many other creative things; Dave likes to design and build things, which will come in handy in their new home :).

It was so nice to be able to meet her and Dave in person and spend some time together.

1000 Americans: Dan & Nancy Nelson, Olympia, USA

Dan & Nancy are a great couple who enjoy life. They live in the dark woods South of Olympia, but spend the coldest time of the year in Costa Rica. They both love cycling and almost have finished their trip across the USA, even though Nancy has lost a large part of her leg in a motorcycle accident several years ago.

They have prepared a special type of tandem, with one recumbent part and one regular part and have done 3 of the four parts so far, hoping to finish next summer!

In their spare time, they both play the ‘Irish Fiddle’, though they actually master a range of instruments. If you are ever in the Irish pubs in Olympia, check them out during one of the great ‘sessions’ they have there!

It was a pleasure to spend some time with them, thanks Dan & Nancy!

1000 Americans: Gerrit Nyland, Tacoma, USA

Gerrit Nyland has Dutch ancestors, though he does not speak the language. His wife is a doctor and Gerrit is now a full-time home-dad, creating wonderful meals (!) and taking care of the household and kids.

Thanks Gerrit!

1000 Americans: Officer Kyle Bear, Auburn, WA, USA

It was great to meet somebody who works on a bike! Officer Kyle was patrolling the interurban trail in Auburn, Washington State, South of Seattle.

He was very friendly and interested in our trip. We were jealous of his light bike, especially when he tried to lift mine and couldn’t 🙂

See also the tripreport about the speed ticket he gave me!

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