Ken makes it to his stop for the night and it’s still light.. Confident he’s in the right place…
Adults Only from Ken Roberts on Vimeo.
Ken chances on a sign for an Adults Only park. Cyclists welcome. Unable to resist, he goes off to investigate… and spend the night there..
How Linda kept track of everyone I never quite understood. There’d been over three hundred guests in the last year. One evening there were nine us all told, six visitors, her partner Angie and Lewis the lodger. This, she explained cheerfully, was a little more than the norm. Split between three tents in the garden and three bedrooms.
Warmly greeted by Linda as I’d emerged from Arrivals at Anchorage airport, I’d been dropped off at the house before the other guests had risen. Not yet seven. Lewis first to appear, disappearing off quickly to work. Then Christine, a robust but friendly German. And fellow cyclists, Amelia and Tracy, camped in the garden. Lastly, Chloe. Hers was an adopted name, which pleased me as her Taiwanese one was quite unpronounceable.
Hectic it might have been at times, chaotic it was not. For there was an order, gently imposed as befits someone with many years experience working as a nurse in Corrections. And never ceasing to give everyone her full attention, to make you feel like a long lost friend. An impromptu birthday party on evening. Cake and candles.
[Ken found Linda thorough very reputable US website www.warmshowers.org – a forum for hosting fellow cyclists]
For all the frustrations of airline bookings, there had at least been good news with finding somewhere to stay. In Anchorage at least. Overly so it seemed. A fellow cyclist had offered to put me up. Aspirations to cycle around the world. Keen to pick my brains. As I of hers. Local knowledge. And keen to pick me up from the airport. Flight lands around five am so trying to persuade her to pitch up at Arrivals at a more sociable time. After three days of travelling sure a strong coffee won’t go amiss.
Imagining Anchorage to have more than its fair share of long-haul cyclists – strikes me as a very natural starting point for riding across North America – I’d also contacted a local hostel. Just to check availability and price. Nothing more. No fishing. Pleasant surprise. John, the owner, offering free hospitality and the chance for some local PR.
I’d also discovered the US Adventure Cycling Association. Or, more to the point, my parents had. Great online resource. Potential for lots of contacts along the road. So, recognising I’d be spending quite a bit of time in North America, I’d signed up. Struck me as a particularly worthwhile investment.
[Ken uses a very reputable US based website – www.warmshowers.com – to seek hospitality with fellow cyclists]