Laura Killingbeck

I was working one summer in a crappy titty bar for a dude we called Big Louie. One Saturday night when I got home I realized I did not want to go back. So I went online and searched for cheap tickets to anywhere. Iceland popped up, and I bought the ticket for the following Friday. It was a month-long round-trip ticket, so it crossed my mind to ride around the island on my bike. I had once ridden about twenty miles on a bike path, but other than that had never really used the bike much.

Over the next week, I learned how to box it and change a flat, cobbled some camping gear together, and the following Friday instead of going back to the club, I was on a plane to Iceland for my first ever solo bike tour. I got into the airport at two in the morning, built the bike in the baggage claim area, and literally just biked out of the airport in the dark.

Over the next month I made it all the way around the island, camping each night wherever I landed. I was twenty years old. It was spectacular.
A couple years later I was living on a sailboat in the San Francisco bay, going through a big life change, and I decided to go for another ride. I bought a one-way ticket to Anchorage with the idea that I would “just head south” until I figured things out. About 3500 miles later I had made it back down to San Francisco, and had indeed lined up a new trajectory for myself. I did nearly all the trip solo, except for the last couple weeks when I traveled with a little pack of folks heading down the coast. One of them was Jenn Hopkins, an incredibly bad-ass woman who I will never forget. She had just raced the Continental Divide Trail on a single speed, and was cycling down the coast of the US as “a cool down”. She was still on her single speed, and none of us could keep up with her, even though by that time we were all in fantastic shape.


A few years down the line found me living in Bogota, Colombia, loving it but unable to renew my tourist visa. I hatched a plan to bike north to Venezuela to renew my visa at the border. I bought a used bike for $50, found a wonderful French mathematician who had never biked before, and the two of us went on a great adventure across the country. But when we got to the border, they did not renew my
visa! So I had to leave Colombia. My partner Scott flew in from Colorado, we got him another cheap bike, and the two of us biked south from Bogota to Quito. This was a special ride because he had just recovered from cancer and it was his first ever bike tour—over the Andes on a bike with a duffel bag for panniers!


The last ride I did was around Costa Rica with Scott and our good friend Simon. We had all been working at a sustainability education center there where Scott and I are now co directors. We biked around the country visiting farms, education centers, and agricultural research stations to learn more about plants and agricultural systems in Costa Rica. Biking was a great way to do that because we really saw and felt how changing landscapes affected plant morphology and agricultural techniques.



Earlier this year I injured my leg, tearing my ACL, menisuses, and tendon. Its a long recovery process and I am very overdue for a bike ride! I am hoping to head down to South America to bike the Peruvian highlands later this year as part of my rehabilitation.
 For me biking has always been about health—physical and mental. As you bike you get stronger in every way. You move yourself forward, and change in the process. Across gnarly deserts, windswept peaks, or winding roads, you have to keep moving and as you do, you change with the landscape. Any bad feelings you have get sweated out eventually. And you meet the kindest people in unexpected places. I am so happy to find other women cyclists who go for it, support each other, and continue to break down the barriers about what women can and can’t do!

– Laura Killingbeck


Jenn Tough

Jenn Tough

I met Jenn Tough in Cyprus… and a couple of Canadians enjoyed sharing stories late into the evening. Here’s some more information about author, adventurer Jenn Tough from her website. Jenny Tough is an endurance athlete who’s best known for running and cycling in some of world’s most challenging events – achieving accolades that are an inspiration to outdoor adventurers everywhere.

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Whether it be a race or a solo adventure, Jenn Tough’s desire to push her limits has led her to numerous corners of the world. In 2021 she completed a global challenge to run, solo and unsupported, across a mountain range on every continent, including three world-first traverses.

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Niki Rellon

Nikki try 2 crop (800x1024) (Small)

Niki Rellon is an author and inspirational speaker. We had a great chat the other night on a facebook phone call. As we laughed together about life on the road, I learned about Nikki’s list of mind blowing accomplishments. She is the first female to complete the entire Appalachian Trail on a prosthetic leg. In Niki’s memoir, Push On: My Walk to Recovery on the Appalachian Trail, she tells the story of her courage and resolve. Her journey will inspire you to never give in, even when it seems like you’re facing impossible odds. Niki hasn’t let her injury define her, and she continues to participate in numerous sports, always pushing the limits to what she can and will do. Niki is presently cycling across America on a bike tour where she is speaking to groups throughout the country. nikirellon.com

HAVE YOU READ THE BIG WOW BOOK?
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Solenn Guillou

“Thanks a lot for your website! It was great to find this community of female cyclists and see their achievements. My cousin Marine told me that it gave her courage to know that other women like her travel on their own in the world.  I’m trying to prepare for my next bicycle tour, but my problem is loneliness. I’m not really motivated, because the loneliness was the hardest part during my last tour. Especially at the end of the trip, when I didn’t meet anyone, just barking dogs. The south of France has a lot of guard dogs. Did you get used to the loneliness during your trips? Or is it something that never bothered you?”  Solenn Guillon (french and german blog, nice photos)

Follow the facebook and instagram discussions about loneliness while on tour! What a great question, do you ever get lonely?

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HAVE YOU READ THE BIG WOW BOOK?

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Serendipity On Wheels

I recently discovered your homepage and I congratulate you for such an awesome compilation of stories of women cycling all around the world!

First of all, I´d like to introduce myself. I am Marina Orin López, human rights lawyer and part of the amazing project “serendipity on wheels-(serendipiasobreruedas)”. We are three women on a journey by bicycle…over an 18 month period, we’re cycling around Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil and Colombia . Our objectives are….

1)To learn, contribute and give voice to the women associations in South America in the economic, political, social and cultural spheres. We will generate networks between these women to be able to share processes and mechanisms, and learn from each other.

2)To bring the message of the use of bicycle as a tool for social change and empowering woman.

Marina Orin López

Leader of Serendipity on wheels

Find us on
https://www.facebook.com/serendipiasobreruedas/
http://www.instragram/serendipiasobreruedas/

 

Serendipiasobrerueda

HAVE YOU READ THE BIG WOW BOOK?

 

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Imogen Pinckard

Imogen on cycle in Germany (1)
“I started cycling quite a few years ago and loved the ability to get away from the busy towns and just enjoy the countryside. For 2 consecutive  years I went on a fully loaded, fortnight camping holiday with groups of women. I just loved the freedom of it all but my adventurous spirit wanted more..I set off on a journey alone with no real plan other than to cycle and camp. This journey took me across 4 countries, 4000 miles and over 9 months . I loved the challenge and the experience. Since then I have completed a few more trips and am about to start another…The simplistic lifestyle and the need to explore is what drives me and I love it…” Imogen on cycling in her retirement

 

 

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Loretta Henderson: The Outspoken Cyclist Podcast

Check this out! I had a great chat with Diane Jenkins from The Outspoken Cyclist about The Big WOW Book: 100 Women From Around The World Travel Solo By Bicycle.  Running mountains, great food and excellent music choices also came up while we laughed about the mis-adventures that took place during my 5 year around the world bicycle tour! Our fun begins at 31:38.

HAVE YOU READ THE BIG WOW BOOK?

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