Joyride012: Meet bicycle touring spinster Gretchen Howell

Meet Gretchen!

Mei Mei at Mt. Rushmore // Photo Credit: Gretchen Howell

Howdy Joyriders!

On this week’s episode I chat with Gretchen Howell, a lifelong travel junkie, currently on a solo bike tour of the US and Canada and visiting writing workshops along the way.

Her first bike tour was from Seattle to San Diego. Her longest tour lasted 2 1/2 years through 11 countries in Asia, mostly solo and unsupported.

Make sure you check out Gretchen’s blog – Spinstera. She’s a talented writer, and it’s fun to follow along on her journey.

On this episode we’ll chat LIVE from an RV park in Hill City, South Dakota about the touring obsession, free camping and random acts of kindness.

Home, sweet home. // Photo Credit: Gretchen Howell

Here are the timestamps to some of the things we chat about:

1:39 The touring obsession

2:51 First bike

7:38 Crazy Guy on a Bike, Adventure Cycling Association (Pacific Coast Maps 1, 2, 3, 4, 5), Bicycling the Pacific Coast, Gone Coastal trip journal

8:50 Best day, Free camping, George Mickleson Trail

12:35 The case for hills

17:50 Map nerds

24:30 Things that go bump in the night

27:15 Cycle-touring Asia

30:48 The bright side & random acts of kindness

37:40 Snack time!

38:33 Fantasy Ride

41:06 Shifty in Gilroy, Gearheads in Moab

45:35 Travel bug & Gretchen’s little sister Mei Mei

48:00 Words of wisdom

Connect with Gretchen at her blog or via Facebook. Click here to buy her a coffee.

Next week on the show we’ll have a chat with bike racer and coach, Elisabeth Reinkordt from Team Laser Cats. Yeah, you read that right.

Be sure to follow me @girleatsbike on Facebook, the Twitter, Instagram – even Pinterest, where my new board called “Bike Snacks” is making me huuungry. Yeah, you know how I do.

I hope you enjoy the show! Let me know what you think at girleatsbike[at]gmail.com.

Joyride, on!

Think you – or someone you know – might be a good fit to be a guest on the Joyride? I’d love to hear from you! Click here and tell me more!