Warmshowers connects tired cyclists with local hospitality

 

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vy8U15sFom0&w=560&h=315]

It’s kind of like couch-surfing, but only for people on bicycles.

Nothing beats a home-cooked meal and a warm shower at the end of a long day in a bike saddle. For most bike travellers, these are rare luxuries, hard to find in a roadside campground. That is why an organization called Warmshowers was created. The online community connects weary cyclists with friendly hosts who know what it’s like to feel worn out and in need of a little comfort. The hosts are able to travel vicariously through their visitors’ experiences, bringing the world to their own doorstep.

Warmshowers has been around since 1993, so it’s not surprising it was covered on TreeHugger more than 10 years ago. At the time, Christine called it “couch-surfing for bicyclists,” and that remains an apt description. The organization has grown immensely since then, although some rules remain the same. Hosts cannot be paid for their hospitality, although it is understood that guests provide a thank you gift of some kind in return or, at the very least, pay the favor forward.

Read Warmshowers connects tired cyclists with local hospitality by Katherine Martinko at Treehugger.