By Willie Weir

As the tale of “The Extraordinary” Zeke Gerwein has unspooled in Volume 42 of Adventure Cyclist magazine, long-time columnist Willie Weir’s travels with the young bicycle traveler have often raised an important question: Who on earth would let their kid do this?

The answer is Joel and Katya Gerwein, Zeke’s incredibly grounded, incredibly thoughtful, incredibly...incredible parents, who have allowed their son to live what must be one of the all-time great childhoods. Willie traveled to their home in Berkeley, California, earlier this year to sit down with the couple and talk about how, in a world of fear and bad news, they let their young son strike out on his own to find adventure.

Photo by Kat Marriner