Lots of people and ideas have inspired us to try this adventure. For one thing, we’re always curious, and we’ve found that traveling by bicycle is a great way to satiate some of our curiosity. We like to meet people, learn about local cultures, compare similarities and differences of the environments we experience. Another inspiration is our love of food. We love to eat, but we don’t need much inspiration to do that on a bike trip. It’s just that on a bike trip we can consume thousands of calories with impunity.

Vagabond Summer by Anne Emery. Now out of print, this 1953 pre-teen novel made a big impression on Alice when she was an adolescent (a long time ago). She always wanted to go on a bike trip like the girl in the book had done.

Full Tilt by Dervla Murphy. It, too, is out of print, along with her autobiography, Wheels Within Wheels, but both are beautifully written adventure tales. Her account in Full Tilt of her trip to India in 1963 on a three-speed is unequaled in bicycle lore. Many of her travel books are still in print; these two should be also. Murphy is Irish and continues to write engaging travel books, the most recent of which is her account of her bicycle trip across South Africa after independence (South from the Limpopo).

Fred Gooding: Fred was the Sierra Club tour leader of the first week-long bike trip that Alice went on in 1982. Alice was never the same.

Curt Miller: Curt introduced Bobbi to Alice on a bike trip in Nova Scotia in 1987. Neither Bobbi nor Alice were ever the same.

Bob and Booth: Bobbi’s partner and Alice's husband are extremely supportive of this adventure. It’s not that they want to get us out of the house; it’s that they encourage our independence. We love them. They will visit us along the way, and we’re looking forward to hiking with them and exploring various regions for a few days here and there without our bikes.