"The best part about bicycle touring is meeting interesting people along the way. We've met coal miners, Mormon
ranchers, feedlot managers, migrant workers, British motorcyclists, Appalachian Trail hikers, llama owners, bison breeders, firefighters,
and old hippies making it work in the-middle-of-nowhere, Colorado." -- Amanda Fisher, 23, student, Iowa City,
Iowa, riding the TransAmerica Trail
"We've experienced such great people. We've had several 'angels' who have helped us along. The trip is reconfirming our belief in the
goodness of most people." -- Bobbi Montgomery, 57, retired teacher, Maineville, Ohio, riding the Lewis &
Clark Trail and Northern Tier Route
"The route is filled with history of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. In a very few places you can stand where they stood, but you have to
imagine what they saw -- the people and the land have been changed forever since that time. Most interesting have been the ferry crossings
on the big rivers and the climbs to the mountain passes. We're seeing a lot of our country, enjoying our freedom to do something like this,
and looking forward to seeing our families and friends when we return to Indiana." -- Christopher Wray, 22,
student, Danville, Indiana, riding the Lewis & Clark Bicycle Trail
"There have been many interesting experiences, including staying with families in small towns who enjoy hosting cycling
travelers, meeting the Cookie Lady in Afton, Virginia, and meeting cycling hobos (slightly different than touring cyclists). This trip,
for me, was something of an attempt to escape from the nation's politics and tumult as I saw it from my everyday life. I was politically
disillusioned, and this has been a way for me to find America on my own terms, without gasoline or television or op-ed pages."
-- Dave Wagoner, 31, tech support analyst, Fairfax, Virginia, riding the TransAmerica Trail
"So far the most interesting experience of the trip has been when I was invited to an Indian powwow by the Red Elk
clan of the Assiniboine Indians which was put on in Poplar, Montana, to celebrate the end of the two-year no-dance period following
the chief's death." -- Andrew Holmes, 43, electronic technician, Santa Rosa, California, riding the
Lewis & Clark Bicycle Trail
"Don't believe the hype! America is full of kind, generous, and beautiful people!" -- Stefan Ivanoff, 25,
waiter, Charlotte, North Carolina, riding the TransAmerica Trail
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