3500 miles - and here are my fantastic hosts.

Juan and Edie - my hosts in San Fran. Edie picked me up at the airport, asked me what I wanted to do first, and of course I said I wanted to go get my bicycle. Within no time she had taken me to the SF Cyclery. How easy life is when you have someone like Edie taking care of you! :-) Oh, and when she realized I was concerned about cycling through San Fran to get to the ferry that would take me to Vallejo, she and Juan decided to drive ahead and show me the way. That was just so much fun! Thank you Edie and Juan! I couldn't have had a better start in the US.


John - my very generous host in Vallejo. I haven't been able to get the Iphone to work yet (but I will) but how I have enjoyed the music you gave me! Thank you!


Oh Peggy, how happy I am that I could come along with John and stay with you and your husband. ALL my hosts have been amazing, but there is something special about meeting other long distance bicyclists. Thank you ever so much for helping me out with my things and for your postings.


We were so lucky to find Dan. What a helpful and easy going guy! I needed to get to a sports store and he drove me, and then we went for some REALLY good pizza. Too bad I cannot remember the name of the place (it seemed to be a chain)...


This guy really saved me. I was cycling in the Sierras and it had gotten dark and I hadn't found anywhere to stay or to camp (everywhere I looked there were fences and hostile signs...), and Rusty, on his way home from a meeting, stopped his car and invited me to his and his wifes place. Oh, and she made the best BLT sandwich I have ever had plus made sure I had some sandviches for next day's bicycling too.


This is not a host. This is the guest room I was invited to stay in after having asked if I could pitch my tent in a garden. I cannot for my life remember what this couple was called, but I sure am grateful to them!


This is Donna. She is not a member of Couchsurfing, but her daugher is, and that's how it came that I stayed at Donna's and her husband Glen's impressive house just outside Fallon. I loved Donnas cooking! Then I was invited to go with Don to Las Vegas, where he had a business meeting, and so I did. I remember that my knees were really happy to get this break. I got to see Las Vegas and I also went on a very touristic tour to the Grand Canyon. Then Don took me back to Fallon, and the following morning, I went to Carson City, where I stayed with Mike - where is my picture of him??? I will post it here when I find it...


After having cycled for too long in the sun, I decided to stay in Minersville. Unfortunately, this place had no motels or camping sites, but I could pitch my tent in this couples garden. Skip also served me a fantastic meal (LOTS of food) and his wife came home a day earlier than planned just so that she could meet me. I was amazed. The next morning they left the door open so I could go in and help myself to breakfast. Sometimes you just don't know what to say.


Half an hour, and we were chatting like old friends. I stayed with Renee for two nights in Cedar City, and even though both of us had plenty of things to take care of during my stay, we could still fit in hours of conversation. On the morning of my departure, she made me pancakes - my first American pancakes with maple syrup, but certainly not my last...


More girls' talk with Molly, who invited me to dinner at a local restaurant, which served great food and where I went the following morning for my biggest breakfast ever. I enjoyed this stay. I loved the dogs and the cats, but the frets kind of scared me :-)


I had made plans to stay with a Warmshowers member, but something went wrong in our communication and found myself outside an empty house one night... However, their neighbour Gloria invited me to stay with her instead, and I was very happy to.


The communication with this Warmshower host went better - even though I never managed to reach him on his cell phone. People working in a cycle store knew him, and started talking to about him, and one of the customers in that store who had overheard the conversation came out to me and said she'd call Matt for me. They worked together. Tiny little world. Matt came to pick me up and then made me a great dinner with plenty of veggies. The next morning we cycled back to town together. Thanx Matt for a great stay!


This family is very special to me. First of all, because I was invited to them even long before I got on the plane to the states. Canon City was not on my route, but I made it be on my route, and I certainly do not regret that. I stayed with Steve and Joyce, and they had invited their daughter Valerie and her four kids to come and meet me. The deal was: You come and tell our grandkids about your travelling, and we'll provide you with a warm bed and some good food. Now, that was a mighty good deal. These grandkids, Jake, Julia, Quin and Eve, have stayed with me in my heart during my entire trip.


Jeff in Pueblo at his neighbours cafe, where I had a meal twice - first because his neighbours invited me to it, and then Jeff took me to breakfast. Pancakes! More pancakes! This stay started out a bit awkward, with me trying to get in to Jeffs house and passed his dog. Didn't work. But with the neighbours help I could leave my panniers in Jeffs backyard and go explore Pueblo. I really enjoyed my stay with Jeff and the dinner at his mothers'.


This New Zeeland woman, Gillian, is famous amongst long distance bicylists and apparently also well known in her town. If you ever get to Ordway, CO (close to Kansas), ask for her and people will point in her direction.


This woman (her name has slipped my mind....) was the first of quite a few in Kansas to come up to me to invite me to her home. I was very impressed by that and then also by the number of flags in her house. I will post a picture later... Also, her husband was a former FBI agent (so they DO exist IRL and not only on TV!) and also an avid marathon runner, which was very exciting.


And this is Doris. She saw me outside the closed library, invited me first to use her computer, then to take a shower, and finally to stay for the number of nights I wanted. But even though the company was great, and the home made cake absolutely unforgettable, I stayed only one night.


Lester was the only guy to invite me to stay with him. I wish the afternoon/evening had been longer. We had such pleasant conversation and also, this guy had a whole fridge with Belgian beer! :-) I was also surprised but quite happy to hear that a single guy can actually adopt a child.


My youngest host, Kathleen, who impressed me plenty with all the things she had already done in life, like working and hiking in Alaska. Fantastic photographer too. Kathleen, I hope you soon get your journalist job at an adventure/nature/wildlife magazine (and they should be happy to have you!).


Ruth and her gang saw me pulling up on my bicycle outside the gas station/grocery store/cafe where they were having their girls talks meeting and she offered me a drink. I sat down with this cool bunch of ladies and it didn't take long before I was offered a place to stay. Ruth is 82 but that did not stop her from cooking for me and taking me for a quick walk (she was fast!). Fantastic lady. I hope I have that energy and that sharp mind when I am her age (or I wish I had it now...).


Ruth has a son, and this son has friends. Meet Rebecca and her daughter. They fed me and hosted me in Pittsburgh. Thanx guys!


It seemed like there was really no place to stay at all, and Mike also had no room to offer me at first. But when I was starting to pitch my tent behind his hotel, he decided to let me stay for free in a room with a malfunctioning toilet (I could use the one in the lobby, though). Thanx, Mike!


Herman the German - a bicyclists host from guess where. He had a sign on a lamp post or a tree or something saying "EU bicylists Willkommen" and within 10 minutes from having seen that sign I was sitting in his garden. It was great fun looking through his photo album of all the bicyclists that had stayed with him.


Oh my oh my, could this woman cook! I had a fabolous stay with Violet and her husband, Bob, who was also the pastor of the Baptist Church of Sebree where I stayed two nights (and had some wonderful meals). Thanx for your kindness to all of us long distance bicyclists.


In Berea, Kentucky, I stayed with these three women, Elizabeth, Amber and Kristine, each and everyone different from the others, but all with amazing personalities. I stayed for two nights, ate really well and had some really nice conversations. Thank you guys!!!

When I arrived in Hindman, KY, I went for some ice cream at a gas station, and when I came out again, this guy, David, stuck his head out of the car and said: Monica, are you looking for me? And I was. David provides camping spots for long distance bicyclists, and he is well known along the Transam route for feeding us until we almost explode. Eric, another bicyclist, had been his guest the day before and told him I'd probably be coming, but you can imagine my surprise when some stranger in a car calls me by my name... Anyway. Great stay. Loved the cats. Sorry, David, that I couldn't take on any of the kittens... I would have loved having them all...

And finally, my hosts in Washington DC! Candice drove the SAG wagon while Gwen and her father cycled across the country. Somewhere in the middle we met, but of course they were so much faster, going without panniers and stuff, so when I needed to stop for a drink, we parted. But some 30 minutes later, Candice called out for me from the SAG and gave me her phone number in DC. I've been very happy staying with them!