Zero Day: Kelowna

Date: Tuesday, May 23, 2023

Cities are more difficult for finding camp grounds, and I'm not complaining...it makes perfect sense. But Kelowna was the first city where this reality was something I had to now live with. It was compounded by the fact that it was a holiday weekend and everything was either solidly booked or priced for profit. Running out of options, I turned to WarmShowers.org

Warm Showers is a network of cycle touring folks who agree to host one another on trips. You can request to stay with anyone marked available in the network when you're out, and you can host others when you're home. I'd read about it online and friend said they used it frequently when touring and never had a bad experience. And that's how I broke the cardinal rule that the early 2000s had taught us: I met up and stayed with some strangers I met on the internet!

I decided not to use their names, because I don't want other bike touerers to come knocking after seeing this. I'm also hesitant to share information about two people who shared so much with me. And so I won't. Out of respect for their privacy, and the trust and bond I formed with them while there, this story will remain mine.

I will give you an idea of who they were as human being though. They've traveled the world, lived in various places around the globe, gone on incredible adventures, been married for over 50 years, raised a family, and still managed to host many people on some very epic bike tours. I can't even do it justice with these vague descriptions. I kept thinking to myself "If I want to do half of what they've done I'm going to have to start getting up earlier..."

They took me in on short notice, treated me like family, offered to let me stay an extra night, fed me, made sure I had everything I needed, drove me around for supplies and services, shared their life experiences, advice and information for the trip that I'm currently on, and did it all with enthusiasm and without me having to ask for help. I never think I've done enough good in the world to be on the receiving end of it, and being treated with such love and respect based on nothing more than a shared mutual interest in cycle touring and a message over a website made me believe that there are still glimmers of hope for humanity in this chaotic world.

They fed me vegetables from their garden. Fruit from their apricot and plum trees. It was all spectacular. And we laughed and traded stories and experience and lessons. We had a lot in common but had gone so many different ways in life. I enjoyed every minute I spent with them, and find it difficult to believe that I'll find anyone else that will come close to matching them as human beings and kindred souls.

We took a picture just before I left the next day. I leave it here without their names.

Thank you both so much for everything you did for me. If the real adventure is the friends we make along the way, I could stop today and have found fulfillment. I hope we meet again and I'll do my best to stay in touch!