Monday, April 25, 2011

Sans-Couch Surfing

Couch Surfing is a social networking site dedicated to the art of traveling and staying in really great places for free. Meeting new people and experiencing a little part of different lives near and far. It is a fabulous way to extend a generous hand and offer up empty spaces of our homes for others. I have had the great opportunity to take part in couch surfing twice while traveling across the US and this past weekend I had the great opportunity to host my first couch surfer. It was a great experience and I feel very blessed to have hosted a fabulous couch surfer. This couch surfer was a young man traveling via bicycle up the Chisholm Trail. Even though I am still without an actual couch in my apartment, he slept on the floor with his camping gear and then out at the farm for two nights. After a most pleasant Easter weekend in Abilene, Kansas he departed to travel to Lincoln, NE. His complete trip will be on a bicycle from Austin, TX to Lincoln. Amazing if you ask me.

I just may have been inspired to do more of this biking action. Today, after biking with Michael down to the Dickinson County Historical Society, I biked across town to Alco and Dollar General. Then I biked over to some friends' house. It was even a little wet and rainy but saving on gas and contributing a positive effect to my body and the environment are definitely worth a little moisture and cold.

3 comments:

  1. SO great, Amanda Sue! That's wonderful that he could spend Easter with you and the fam. And guess what - I'm getting ready to host my first couch surfers here in Santiago! Couchsurfing is one of the most simple, logical and fun ways to travel.

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  2. I was just talking with a friend about how I wanted to bike across a couple of states- I had never heard of Couch surfing before but it sounds like quite the adventure!

    Also, I want to start biking to work/running errands, but there are few sidewalks around here. Any tips for not getting hit by a car or feeling super awkward biking when noooo one else does?

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  3. Rainie- You definitely have to pretend like you own the road. I don't use sidewalks at all so just drive like a car. Follow the road signs and don't be timid. I like to think that somebody has to start trends so it might as well be me being the awkward trend setter. For the most part, drivers in Kansas are very kind toward even those random bikers on the road. Good luck! You can do it!

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