Loretta Henderson was born in Cobourg Ontario, moved to the US in 1986 and graduated from Ridgefield High School in 1990. She graduated from the University of Western Ontario in 1995 and began teaching outdoor leadership programs seasonally in Rochester, NY and Lake George, WI for the Outdoor Wisconsin Leadership School. After graduate coursework in Outdoor Recreation and Leadership at Aurora University, on a quest for wilderness exploration, Loretta moved to Alaska for 10 years and began skijoring in the Arctic and working for the Galena School District doing Grant Management and Program Development. Ten years of educational contract based employment led Loretta to develop programs for school districts statewide including matching Yurt Construction to 9th grade algebra and geometry standards for the Kenai School District. Other contracts and programs include Recycling and Youth Development Manager for 52 schools statewide (YITWC). Loretta also served the role of Boys and Girls Club Youth Center Manager which included physical building construction, operation manager and program development. She was also an Outdoor Wilderness Survival Skills Instructor, Suicide Prevention Committee Member, Radio Show Host, Lifeguard, Ski Coach, Cross-Country Running Coach, Science Club Coach, Earth Day Manager, CPR-First Aid Instructor, and Vocational Programs Coordinator.
In 2009, Loretta, having never cycled before, set off to cycle around the world alone on a route she believed had only been traversed by men. This journey was completed after a 5 continent, 41 country effort covering Africa, Asia, Middle East, South America and Europe. Loretta is the founder of the WOW (Women On Wheels) Wall on her website, www.skalatitude.com, which profiles 245+ colorful pioneering women. The WOW Wall, ranks first on Google for numerous search terms including women’s bicycle touring, tents for bicycle touring, and solo female cycling, with 62,000 unique visitors (website readers) last year alone.
Her story has appeared in the LA Times, Chicago Tribune, Calgary Herald, CBS News archives library (Travel Tips), the Orlando Sentinel (articles written by MyschaTheriault), and Pedal Magazine. She has been featured on CJSR radio broadcasts, I-tunes and Touring Talk and on South African Broadcast Company and Geo News of Pakistan TV broadcasts. She was also the subject of a documentary about Tourism in Kashmir produced by India National Television. Her online articles have been picked up by over 100 bicycle touring blogs in 14 countries and 5 languages. Loretta Henderson is an adventurer, speaker and author. She is currently writing a book and planning her next big book plus bicycle tour for Spring 2016.
