Pedal-Powered Connections, Endless Stories

Jerry Kopack [00:00:01 - 00:00:54]

Welcome to Bike Life, a podcast from the Warmshowers Foundation. Here we celebrate our global community of touring cyclists and hosts who make life on the road unforgettable. Through stories, insights, and shared experiences, we explore the connections that fuel every journey. Whether you're pedaling across countries or welcoming travelers into your home, you're part of a movement Rooted in generosity and adventure. Discover more and join the community at warmshowers.org. Now let's hit the road together. Hey everyone, this is Jerry Kopec, the host of Bike Life, coming to you from the Rocky Mountains of Breckenridge, Colorado. Veronica Rodriguez knows what it's like to welcome touring cyclists into her home and what it's like to knock on a stranger's door after a long day in the saddle.

Jerry Kopack [00:00:55 - 00:01:05]

Today we'll talk about her journey through the Warmshowers community, a solo ride from Canada to Mexico, and what she's learned from both sides of that experience. Hey, Veronica, welcome to Bike Life.

Veronika Rodriguez [00:01:06 - 00:01:09]

Hi there. How you doing, Jerry, and everybody out there?

Jerry Kopack [00:01:09 - 00:01:17]

Doing so well. I want to start from the beginning because you're both a host and a bicycle traveler. Which did you do first?

Veronika Rodriguez [00:01:18 - 00:01:19]

I began hosting.

Jerry Kopack [00:01:21 - 00:01:21]

Okay.

Veronika Rodriguez [00:01:21 - 00:02:17]

And yeah, I began hosting. That really piqued my interest with the first couple that came to my home. And yeah, it was really intriguing to me. I first heard about Warmshowers when I met this gal on Strava. I had never really met her in person, and I had noticed that she had been in Italy And then next thing I know, she's in Colombia and she was on Strava and I knew her from there because of the same biking club we belonged to in Southern California, but I'd never met her. So I just had friended her and/or started following her on Strava. And I noticed that she got around. So I reached out to her and I said, hey, when you come back to the States, I'd like to take you out for coffee and hear about this biking that you're doing.

Veronika Rodriguez [00:02:19 - 00:02:41]

And she says, okay. But then she wrote me back and said, better yet, why don't you just come down to Colombia? And I said, are you serious? Because I'll do it. And she said, yeah. She goes, come on down. I'm down here with this gentleman, a friend. And I said, okay. And he wrote to me. I ended up going 2 weeks later.

Veronika Rodriguez [00:02:41 - 00:02:56]

I packed my bags and I went down there for 6 days. And I speak Spanish. I'm fluent in Spanish. So I felt comfortable going to Colombia. And they seem to have a lot of experience. So I thought, all right, I'll take a gamble. It's only 6 days. We'll see how I do.

Veronika Rodriguez [00:02:57 - 00:03:59]

And also gelling well with other people, right? That's another thing that I'll touch on as we chat. And so I went, and on one of his emails, he had shared what their experience is like and how they get around and where they stay. And he included sometimes hotels, Warmshowers. And at first I just thought, okay, Warmshowers, what's that? Like, what's he talking about? Hot springs? That's what came to my mind. Like, they camp at hot springs and take showers there? And then I found out what Warmshowers was when I asked, and I was really intrigued. I said, what? There's a website like that? So I went online after I got back And I looked it up and it took me about a year or 2 to really decide to do it. And I had to ask my partner. I said, honey, there's this website and I'm wondering if you would be okay if we host people on bicycles.

Veronika Rodriguez [00:04:00 - 00:04:40]

And at first he was like, what do you mean? I said, well, we let people into our home that are traveling by bike and I'm not sure, but I think we offered them a shower or if they want to stay and maybe they can. Maybe they can camp out, or what about the couch? And he's like, okay, I guess so. And he's not the road cyclist and the bikepacker like I am. We do mountain bike together. And he thought, all right, we can try it. So that's how I got introduced to Warmshowers and I signed up for it. I made an account, I became a host, and I thought, we'll see where this takes us and what kind of people we meet.

Jerry Kopack [00:04:41 - 00:04:53]

I don't know if you could see me on camera, but I was laughing when you were telling me that story because I'm picturing his face. Because I'm guessing he didn't go to Colombia with you, so he didn't have that experience, right?

Veronika Rodriguez [00:04:54 - 00:04:55]

No. Yeah, he didn't.

Jerry Kopack [00:04:55 - 00:05:06]

Of basically traveling with someone or visiting somebody in a foreign country that you really didn't know. So he didn't have that sort of, uh, warm intro to this experience.

Veronika Rodriguez [00:05:07 - 00:05:32]

Yeah, no, he didn't. And we didn't use Warmshowers in Colombia. We stayed in hotels. And the couple I was with, the gal, she, she was— she needed a shower and a place to stay. She wasn't as much of a camper, which I love camping, and I'll, I'll touch on that later. But let me tell you, that first experience in Colombia was amazing, and I loved it. I loved the people. I felt very connected, and I felt safe.

Veronika Rodriguez [00:05:32 - 00:06:20]

I remember it was one of the days— it was Christmas Day, we— Christmas Eve, we had gone into this, into this valley called El Valle de Leyva, and they were having this celebration. Small little town in the mountains, they were having this Christmas celebration. We stayed there the night, and the next day, um, the guy goes, okay, we're going to be doing a lot of climbing. It's like 5,000 feet of climbing, and we're gonna meet at this place called, uh, El Capo de Boyocá, the bridge, El Puente de Boyocá. He says, so we're going to meet there in case we get separated. And so we took off and then within a few miles he goes, okay, well, he goes, we're going to flag somebody down and we're going to give them our bags. And I was like, what? Yeah.

Jerry Kopack [00:06:21 - 00:06:21]

What?

Veronika Rodriguez [00:06:22 - 00:06:42]

Yeah. So they do this all the time and they keep an AirTag in their bags. He goes, yeah, don't worry. He goes, just make sure you have everything that's important, like your money and your passport. that on you in your small backpack. But our heavy stuff, don't worry. So he flags this car down and this truck stops. It was like a little truck.

Veronika Rodriguez [00:06:42 - 00:07:16]

And he says, and I speak Spanish, but I let him do the talking because he wanted to practice. And he asked him, hey, is that okay? Where are you going? And the guy says, well, we're going this way. He goes, where are you going? By the Puente de Boyacá? And the guy goes, yeah, we're actually going to be going right by there. Okay. Do you mind taking our bags? He's like, no, he goes, just drop them off there. Yeah, just drop them off right there with the entrance, or just put them somewhere on the right side of the building. And I'm like, wow, this is really trusting. But yeah, sure enough, we get there and I had gotten separated from them and our bags were there.

Veronika Rodriguez [00:07:17 - 00:07:54]

And another thing, I was last because they had been biking. I learned when you bike every day, you get really strong. Like by day 5, 6, you're pushing it. So this couple was, they were just way in front of me and I'm struggling. I'm going up the hill and it was so beautiful 'cause I had this car of gals came up from behind me and they were like, woo! And I started crying. Like I got so emotional that they were giving me props and they handed me a Gatorade or some kind of drink. And I was just like, I totally started crying. I'm like, this is so wonderful.

Veronika Rodriguez [00:07:54 - 00:08:17]

I'm like, I couldn't believe it. And then I get, to the destination and they're like, yeah, our bags were right here. And I'm like, really? And they said, yeah. And I was just like, no way. This is crazy. And in South America. And then, we got back to Bogotá where I was getting ready to leave. Oh, another thing was we met this gal out on the road, a road cyclist.

Veronika Rodriguez [00:08:18 - 00:08:42]

She took us into her home. We met her husband, her baby, and we started chatting with her. We had a blast. She made us a little breakfast lunch thing and gave us coffee and drinks. And we were just like, I was just floored. I was like, what hospitality? And it was just so nice and so grateful. And that's when I fell in love. I said, I got to figure this out.

Veronika Rodriguez [00:08:42 - 00:09:09]

And that's when I decided to get into Warmshowers. Because even as we were going into Bogotá, there was so much traffic and this guy was leading the way, the male cyclist that I went down there with, and he was just parting cars. We were going in the middle of cars in traffic. And, They were all totally— I felt safe. And I'm just like, what the heck? Like this, it was just a whole different experience for me. Um, and that's when I got hooked.

Jerry Kopack [00:09:10 - 00:09:46]

Yeah, that is— I'm getting emotional hearing you tell that story. That's incredible. I, I've had friends who have also traveled to Colombia and they've had similar amazing experiences. I think there's a bikepacking.com route called Oboyaca. That kind of goes along that same region. And it's definitely something that's been on my list for a long time. But I find it interesting because, I don't know, it seems like for years so much of the news or the media has said that Colombia is dangerous. And I'm sure it's like any countries.

Jerry Kopack [00:09:47 - 00:09:56]

There are places in the US that are more dangerous, other places that are not. But it sounds like you didn't have any of those experiences of danger or caution through Colombia.

Veronika Rodriguez [00:09:57 - 00:10:24]

No, I didn't. Yeah, you know, no, we did fine and everybody was very kind and welcoming and the vehicles, I didn't feel— one time we got, it was late, we actually were riding in the dark and that was a little scary, but nope, it wasn't. It was my mind that made it scary. But as we were riding, I was like, oh, this isn't bad at all. So yeah, that was my first experience. It was great and it was just, I was hooked.

Jerry Kopack [00:10:24 - 00:10:33]

Now, I'm curious, did you employ this tactic about handing off your bags to other people more times, or was it just a one-time deal?

Veronika Rodriguez [00:10:35 - 00:11:10]

It was a one-time deal for us there. And I've considered it several times, well, a few times since then on other bike tours, you know, to have people do that. Just recently on one of my tours, I was ready to flag a car down, but I thought, I can do this. It's not that big of a deal. But I wouldn't hesitate if it was really that bad or even hitching a ride. I actually hitched a ride once and it was fine. I needed a ride over a bridge that I couldn't bike on. And yeah, someone stopped immediately, threw my bike in the back of his truck, took me across the bridge.

Veronika Rodriguez [00:11:10 - 00:11:44]

So maybe I'm a little trusting, but I haven't felt any— I've only felt love and— just kindness from people. So it really makes me happy to see that side of the world because there's so much bad. Yeah, there's so many people always ask me, I do this by myself too, and they're like, aren't you afraid? And I'm like, no. I mean, you wouldn't believe the generosity that's out there. But anyways, yeah, that's what I love. And it's just the world's a good, safe place. Trust me, it is.

Jerry Kopack [00:11:44 - 00:11:45]

Yeah. I know.

Veronika Rodriguez [00:11:45 - 00:11:47]

And on a bike even more.

Jerry Kopack [00:11:47 - 00:11:53]

Yeah. Have you done any other international tours besides this one in Colombia?

Veronika Rodriguez [00:11:54 - 00:12:26]

After that, I actually, about a year later, the gentleman, he goes to Italy a lot. So what his thought was, he was going to do tours in Italy and tours in Colombia. So that's why they were there. So about a year later, he asked, hey, why don't you come to Colombia? I have a friend with a bikepacking— no, a bike hotel. In the mountains. Okay. And so I told my partner, I said, Mark, I said, would you like to go to— it's kind of by this place called the Dolomites, Lake Garda in Italy. And he goes, I don't want to go to Italy.

Veronika Rodriguez [00:12:26 - 00:12:54]

Now, my love, he's a paraglider, so he flies above me while I'm biking in a lot of places. And I wish I could say he throws water down at me, but he doesn't. It'd probably hurt. And so he's like, no, I don't think I want to go. Then he looked up the place we were at and it turned out there was paragliding. And he's like, this is like the biggest paraglide, like the mecca. And I'm like, well, he's like, I wanna go. And I said, okay.

Veronika Rodriguez [00:12:55 - 00:13:20]

So I reached out to the gentleman, his name was Brian, is Brian. And I said, okay, yeah, we wanna go. And he says, all right, come to the biking hotel. It was like $79 a night with meal, breakfast and dinner included. It was like a no-brainer. So he provided, he got me a bike there. I rented a bike in Italy. What he didn't tell me was that the bike hotel to get to it, it was 3,000 feet of climbing.

Veronika Rodriguez [00:13:21 - 00:13:34]

So every day to get back to my hotel. Yeah, exactly. And so it was great. So we met up with Brian. He's amazing and he just travels the world on his bike. So that's another thing that really got me going. I said, okay, I gotta do this. Yeah.

Veronika Rodriguez [00:13:35 - 00:14:03]

So I did that in Italy. I did the Dolomites. I did a lot of Lake Garda, that area. Every day I'd go out and ride and sometimes he'd go with me and other times I'm just like, no worries. go out on my bike and they have bike trails there with BC Cafés, they're called. So, out in the middle of nowhere, you have to be on a bike to get to it. Yeah, you're biking and all of a sudden, there's this café with great food and drinks and people and most of them are all cyclists.

Jerry Kopack [00:14:04 - 00:14:20]

So, I find it fascinating that these 2 trips that you did were to essentially bicycle meccas, bicycle heaven. Colombia is a huge bicycle country, as obviously as Italy, the Dolomites, the Giro d'Italia goes through there.

Veronika Rodriguez [00:14:20 - 00:14:20]

Yes.

Jerry Kopack [00:14:20 - 00:14:49]

I had the opportunity probably 10 years ago to spend some time in the Dolomites with some friends. And I live in Colorado, we have mountains in Colorado, and I think they're pretty impressive, and they are, but when you're in the Dolomites, it's different. It's almost like the mountains are sketched in a comic book. They look fake because they're so dramatic. Did you get to ride any of those classic routes through the mountains?

Veronika Rodriguez [00:14:50 - 00:15:37]

Yes, I did the— yeah, so I did the 4 different Valles. Why can't I think of the name of it right now? Gosh, I can't think of the route I did. It was about 50 miles, and I would ride every day, and I'd ride around the place that we were at. And the funny story about that is we were driving— what we loved was the green. the pastures, everything was so green and beautiful. And the mountains, just the backdrop of the gray with the green and all the wildflowers and the small mountain towns. Then Mark was going out and paragliding and there was a paragliding launch site right outside our back, right next to our hotel. So it was like, okay, I don't even need to go anywhere.

Veronika Rodriguez [00:15:37 - 00:15:57]

And there was so many ski resorts and we're big skiers. We met on a ski, actually we met on a ski chair in our local mountain. And yeah, it was great. So, so it was cool so that we got to see all the ski resorts and everything. And one of these years we're going to go back and ski the Dolomiti Superski.

Jerry Kopack [00:15:58 - 00:16:00]

Okay. I think that sounds like a cool trip too.

Veronika Rodriguez [00:16:03 - 00:16:03]

Yeah.

Jerry Kopack [00:16:04 - 00:16:42]

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Veronika Rodriguez [00:16:42 - 00:16:42]

Correct.

Jerry Kopack [00:16:43 - 00:16:43]

Okay.

Veronika Rodriguez [00:16:43 - 00:16:44]

Yes, in Long Beach.

Jerry Kopack [00:16:45 - 00:16:51]

Yeah, tell me about the bicycle travelers that you see. Do you see a fair amount of people coming through your area?

Veronika Rodriguez [00:16:52 - 00:17:26]

I do because we're in Long Beach, California, which is about— on a bike, it's about 25 miles south of LAX. So it's— and we're right— we're 3 miles from the beach. So people come through off of Highway 1, Pacific Coast Highway, which is, you know, a bike mecca. So yeah, so my first experience was really cool. All of a sudden I get a request and it's this couple from France. And I'm like, oh honey, we got a couple that wants to come stay. And he said, okay, well, that's fine. I said, okay.

Veronika Rodriguez [00:17:26 - 00:17:36]

I wrote them back and WhatsApp and I said, all right, come on by. And they said, we're a couple biking from Quebec to Patagonia. And I'm like, what?

Jerry Kopack [00:17:36 - 00:17:36]

Ooh.

Veronika Rodriguez [00:17:37 - 00:18:00]

What's going on with that? Yeah. So that was my first experience. Great couple. Sweet, sweet couple. They were from Normandy, I think, France. And they had started out in the Calgary area and they had gotten to Long Beach and they were just telling me their experience and it was wonderful. They were like, oh, it's been great. They stay with Warmshowers.

Veronika Rodriguez [00:18:00 - 00:18:27]

I offered them, there's restaurants, but I think because of their budget and they were going to take a couple years to do this ride, they said, oh, we got beans and rice if we could just use your kitchen. And I'm like, yeah, of course. So they stayed in our living room. I went to work. work the next day and they left. But, that really got me motivated and I said, okay, this is really cool. I like hosting. Marc enjoyed it.

Veronika Rodriguez [00:18:27 - 00:19:04]

He said, yeah, it was great. He's like, I really like listening to their stories. And, they were just kind of telling us the different areas they liked because the one area they really liked was the San Juan Islands up in the Washington area. So I had no idea. So that had been their very first experience that they liked, really liked. And yeah, so I just got to realize that this is doable, it's possible. And I just got it. After that, I've hosted probably about 10 different people now in the year and a half that I've been doing it.

Veronika Rodriguez [00:19:05 - 00:19:36]

And Mark, That was us as a couple. And then Mark, when I was gone doing my trip from Canada to Mexico, he hosted, I think, 3 or 4 couples. So I would just send him the email. I say, hey, do you mind? There's a couple that wants to come by, or there's a guy or whatever. And he's like, yeah, sure. And so he started enjoying the hosting too. And we've had people stay in our backyard and camp out, put up their tents. We've actually set up tents for people like, hey, why don't you just leave your tent? And this one's a pop-up.

Veronika Rodriguez [00:19:36 - 00:19:44]

Don't worry about it. It's big. Okay, perfect. And yeah, and so we've gotten into hosting people from China.

Jerry Kopack [00:19:45 - 00:19:45]

Wow.

Veronika Rodriguez [00:19:47 - 00:20:11]

Japan. Yeah, Japan. And China was really cool. So we've had 2 people from China, one young man who told us— he took us out to eat, so we got to chat with him. Yeah, it was cool. It's cool. We went out to eat with him and he says, you know, my parents, my parents were very scared. They said, oh, if you go to America, you're going to get mugged and they're going to give you drugs and you're going to be Addicted to drugs.

Veronika Rodriguez [00:20:12 - 00:20:49]

And he's like, I haven't found that to be the case at all. Everybody's been wonderful. And then he shared with me that he actually had somebody from Warmshowers pick him up from one of the airports because he was just going from San Francisco to San Diego. And then he was riding back up and he was going to leave out of LAX. But he said his first host went to the airport and picked him up. And so he was really surprised. He put his bike together there and the guy came and picked him up. And then he says, then I had another guy, I met him and he says, well, here's the keys to the house.

Veronika Rodriguez [00:20:50 - 00:21:24]

I need to go to a conference for the weekend, so enjoy. And I thought that was really strange. I'm like, oh. He goes, yeah, but I just locked the door when I left, left the keys somewhere. And I thought, that's weird. But it's true because I've had it. In my experience, I had one host in the Hood River area was like, you know what? I'm not going to be home, but I'll leave the side sliding door open and just pick up in the backyard, use the bathroom, come on in. And I thought, that's very trusting and I'm very grateful for that.

Veronika Rodriguez [00:21:24 - 00:21:29]

But I ended up choosing another family that was going to be home to stay at that experience.

Jerry Kopack [00:21:29 - 00:21:29]

Wow.

Veronika Rodriguez [00:21:29 - 00:21:57]

But yeah, I've just found it. I don't know. I love Warmshowers. I love hosting. I love hearing the experience. And, I understand what it's like to be out there biking. And when you find friendly folks, it really makes a difference. And Warmshowers has completely, I think, changed the world for a lot of us and how we feel and bond with other people, people out in the world.

Veronika Rodriguez [00:21:57 - 00:21:57]

Yeah.

Jerry Kopack [00:21:57 - 00:22:17]

Yeah. God, so many good things to key in on that, the trust and experience, the community that's created. Do you remember when you were early on in your hosting, was there a particular guest that maybe lit a fire under you to inspire you to set off on your own tour?

Veronika Rodriguez [00:22:19 - 00:23:03]

I think it was the first couple. Really? From France? Yeah, yeah, from France. Because I was chatting with them and thought, wow, these young people come here and they trust us and they're going. And I followed them on a blog. They were just a little bit south of, I think, Panama. Last month was the last time I looked them up. But, the person that really, really— it wasn't Warmshowers but told me about Warmshowers as well and he's used it. So, a few years after, about a year and a half after we had gone to Italy, Marc decided to go to Oaxaca to paraglide.

Veronika Rodriguez [00:23:04 - 00:23:29]

And, he asked me, would you like to go to Oaxaca? I said, oh, there's some juicy mountain bike trails, you bet. So, I took my bike, my mountain bike, and I packed it up with bikepacking stuff. And, I said, honey, while you're out paragliding with people, I'm going to go spend the night up in the mountains. And, the people that met me were like, oh my gosh, you're going to let her go by herself in Mexico? And, he goes, well, I can't stop her.

Jerry Kopack [00:23:30 - 00:23:30]

Wow.

Veronika Rodriguez [00:23:30 - 00:23:58]

This is what she loves. So, I took off to the mountains by myself. And, I went to this place called Siete Venados. And, I didn't estimate the climbing and the time. And, it was my first real out of the country by myself biking. And, it was 4,000 feet of climbing on a heavy dual suspension mountain bike with all my gear to camp. And, I was going to these little cabañas. There's a long story in this, but I'm going to keep it short.

Veronika Rodriguez [00:23:59 - 00:24:17]

It was getting really dark. I flagged down a car. This truck. And I said, I told him, I said, you know what, señor, I have 200 pesos. Can you please give me a ride to the cabañas? I know it's probably like 5 kilometers, but it's dark. She said, sure. So they gave me— her son put my bike in the back of his truck. They— I sat in the back.

Veronika Rodriguez [00:24:17 - 00:24:36]

They took me to the cabañas. My backpack, I took it off. I left it in the back of the truck. I get to the cabaña. I'm gonna go pay the guy because I decided not to camp. I decided to stay because it was so cold. I decided to stay in a cabaña. But right when I got there, I meet this guy who had his tent pitched, and he was from Switzerland.

Veronika Rodriguez [00:24:39 - 00:25:14]

And I said, I have to go find my backpack. This gentleman, this old man says, I know where your backpack is. I know where those people live. We went through the woods to this house where there was indigenous Oaxacan people, women with their traditional garments sitting by a fire. And, he says, can you get your husband to see if he can give her a ride? This guy comes out with just one leg. He drives me to this house and the car was there with my backpack. Anyways, he was driving a stick with his crutch.

Jerry Kopack [00:25:16 - 00:25:17]

Wow.

Veronika Rodriguez [00:25:17 - 00:25:39]

I find my backpack. I pay the gentleman for my cabaña. I meet this guy from Switzerland. And we meet up in the morning and he's who really convinced me. We ended up biking back to Oaxaca together, but he says, why don't you get into bikepacking? He's like, my whole life is right here on my bike. He says, I don't need anything else. And it just like—

Jerry Kopack [00:25:39 - 00:25:41]

Wait, this was your first bikepacking experience?

Veronika Rodriguez [00:25:42 - 00:25:43]

By myself.

Jerry Kopack [00:25:43 - 00:25:43]

Okay.

Veronika Rodriguez [00:25:44 - 00:26:01]

In Oaxaca. Yes. By myself. And he's like, dude, He goes, you'll like it. And he says, you know, and I just, oh my God. And there was so much emotion there that happened to me. And I got really into it. We biked back to Oaxaca together.

Veronika Rodriguez [00:26:04 - 00:26:12]

That was in November. June of the next year, he came to my house. He arrived because he was on his way to the Yukon.

Jerry Kopack [00:26:13 - 00:26:13]

Okay.

Veronika Rodriguez [00:26:13 - 00:26:46]

And he stayed one night at my house. So that was my first real bikepacker that spent the night. And that's what really got me going with Warmshowers. And Mark says, yeah, I think I want to. He was like, yeah, he had that experience with that guy and he was telling us all about his travels through Mexico. And then he invited me, do you want to come up? Why don't you meet me and we can do some more bikepacking? And I said, okay, maybe I'll meet you in Oregon. He gave me some trails. I thought, I looked at the trails on bikepacking.com and I love the mountains.

Veronika Rodriguez [00:26:46 - 00:27:13]

And I told him, yeah, I'll come up and meet you. I wrote to him. I said, we're doing this trail, right? And he says, no, we're doing this other trail. And I looked looked at it and it was desert and ugly on the east side. To me, it wasn't what I would like, or I shouldn't call it ugly, but it wasn't something I would enjoy. And, it was funny because then when he got back to Switzerland, he sent me a picture of where he lives. He lives in these beautiful mountains with green. So, he wants the desert.

Veronika Rodriguez [00:27:13 - 00:27:14]

He loved the desert.

Jerry Kopack [00:27:14 - 00:27:14]

Yeah.

Veronika Rodriguez [00:27:15 - 00:27:24]

And yeah. So, after that, that was kind Yeah, that solidified it for me when he said, you'll love it. This is my whole life's on my bike.

Jerry Kopack [00:27:25 - 00:27:54]

Yeah, I, uh, I have friends from Switzerland who I've toured with as well, and they too have— I mean, they live in the most beautiful mountains, I think, anywhere in the world that I've seen. And when they tour, they like to go to places like Morocco and Jordan and where there's long deserts, right? Because it's so different for them. So, I can totally understand that. Was this the start of your ride from Canada to Mexico?

Veronika Rodriguez [00:27:57 - 00:28:40]

So, what got me going on that was I became a randonneur. I heard about these people, these randonneurs, and I said, what's that? But, I like their philosophy because they do long bike rides and I'm talking 200 kilometers, 300K, 600K, 1,000 kilometers, 1,200 kilometers. But, the cool thing about them is they give you a route and you all start at the same time and they give you a certain amount of time. And, sometimes you're riding at night and you're just riding, but you're self-sufficient. If something happens, you have to fix your bike or you have to figure out how to get back to the start. There's no sag. And, I thought, this is what I want to do to prepare me. And, that's what I did.

Veronika Rodriguez [00:28:40 - 00:28:56]

And, it really did prepare me to ride at night or just be aware of time and just situations. And so, I got into that and I did a really long bike ride that really pushed me to my limits, like 243 miles.

Jerry Kopack [00:28:56 - 00:28:57]

Over how long?

Veronika Rodriguez [00:28:59 - 00:29:02]

20 hours. Took me 20 hours to do that. Yeah.

Jerry Kopack [00:29:02 - 00:29:02]

Okay.

Veronika Rodriguez [00:29:03 - 00:29:42]

But, here's the kicker. The rest of the people, and they were much more mature than I in age, They got up the next day and did another 125 miles. And I was literally in tears. I was like, oh my God, these people are doing this for nothing. I'm like, they're just getting up and riding their bikes. I'm like, I was floored that these people were doing this. So I said, okay, now I need to figure out, do I want to be a randonneer and do these crazy long rides and put my body through this? Or should I get into the bikepacking? That was in April of last year when I did that. And I said, I'm going to go bikepacking and I'm going to ride from Mexico to Canada.

Veronika Rodriguez [00:29:42 - 00:30:01]

And I told Mark, I said, I'm going to ride from Mexico to Canada. And he says, okay. And I said, and I'm going to leave probably in May or June, I'm not sure. And I'm just going to ride. And he's like, by yourself? And I said, uh-huh. And I went out and bought a bike like 3 weeks, 2, 3 weeks before. And it was just a $600 bike, a Trek FX.

Jerry Kopack [00:30:02 - 00:30:02]

Uh-huh.

Veronika Rodriguez [00:30:02 - 00:30:45]

And, I got my saddles, I got everything, I got my camping gear, and the day came and I went. And, the cool thing was that one of the cities I was— okay, so I didn't just come straight down the coast because I like mountains. So, south of Bellingham, I went east through Washington Pass and through a town called Chelan. They were having a big paragliding competition for a week and they needed volunteers. And Mark looked it up. He said, you know what? I can go volunteer. I can meet you. So one day before I got to Chelan, he drove up to meet me in Winthorpe, and then I stayed with him in Chelan.

Veronika Rodriguez [00:30:46 - 00:31:25]

And then from there, he met me again near Eugene, Oregon. And I had told him, I said, okay, if if this doesn't work out, I'll come back with you in Eugene and I'll pack up my bike and I'll fly home with you. And when he met me in Eugene, he goes, how are you feeling? You ready to go home? I said, mm-mm. I said, this is what I want to do. And at that point I thought, I want to do this for the rest of my life. I'd like to live on my bike because it's so simple and there's no waste. I wasn't creating trash. I wasn't polluting the air, and I was finding the most amazing people.

Veronika Rodriguez [00:31:25 - 00:31:57]

My first night at the campground in Hamilton, Washington, these people came over to me and they said, are you by yourself? And I said, yeah. And they said, come on over and have dinner with us. We just have some pasta and blah. And I'm like, okay. So I went over and I met them and we kept in touch. They were from Newfoundland and from Tennessee, and they were RV people. And, we kept in touch text messaging and I still text message with them. They were on their way to Alaska.

Jerry Kopack [00:31:58 - 00:31:58]

Hmm.

Veronika Rodriguez [00:31:59 - 00:32:48]

And then, yeah, they were just checking in on me the whole time on my bike ride, which I loved. And then, when I got to Massama in Washington, this mature gentleman comes up and he's like, hey, you got everything on your bike? And, he took a picture of me and I called him my road angel because for 2 days, He would see me as he was traveling back to California. He was from San Diego and he would stop and I would see him on the side of the road and he would be like, hey. He'd stop and chat for a little bit. He's like, how you doing? He's making sure I'm okay. And yeah, and I still keep in touch with him too in San Diego. So he was my road angel. And from there I got— so my first Warmshowers experience was on this ride.

Veronika Rodriguez [00:32:48 - 00:32:48]

Wait, your first ever?

Jerry Kopack [00:32:51 - 00:32:52]

Warmshowers experience?

Veronika Rodriguez [00:32:52 - 00:32:54]

Yeah, for me to be hosted.

Jerry Kopack [00:32:54 - 00:32:55]

Yeah, tell me about it.

Veronika Rodriguez [00:32:56 - 00:33:40]

So, um, I was in Hood River. I was approaching Hood River, and this is where the gentleman had said, if you'd like to stay at my house, I'll leave the side door open. And I decided to stay with this other couple, which was awesome. So I, I said I accepted their invite, their request, uh, to stay with them, and we chatted a little. And I was in, um, I was leaving Golden, Washington, and the gentleman said, there's been some wildfires, be careful. I said, okay. So, as I get closer to Hood River, he says, hey, you know what? There's a bridge. You might not be able to cross it.

Veronika Rodriguez [00:33:41 - 00:33:59]

And, I said, okay. I go, well, all right. He goes, why don't I come pick you up? I said, okay. So, actually, he came and picked me up. Which was really cool that he met me there. He drives me to his house. There was a little hill to get to his house. His wife gets home, and I decided to camp in their backyard rather than stay in the barn.

Veronika Rodriguez [00:33:59 - 00:34:26]

They had a beautiful, like, a barn with a loft on top, but I was like, I'm gonna rough it. Not thinking about the wind, right? There was a lot of wind there, and at night my tent would flap, but it worked out. They were so kind. They made me dinner. They had a bakery in town, so we had cookies from their bakery, and they were like, stay as long as you want. And I'm like, I'm like, oh, well, I'm kind of trying to get home. And they were like, no, stay, stay. And I'm like, okay.

Jerry Kopack [00:34:26 - 00:34:27]

And they—

Veronika Rodriguez [00:34:27 - 00:35:03]

oh my God, it was when I left, I stayed an extra night and I went rafting on the, I think the Salmon River. And they made me breakfast, they made me dinner. I got to hang out with them and just chitchat. And they were home a lot and they were just checking in on their bakery in the morning. And, the wife was so kind and they were just such wonderful people. And, that kindness, when I left, I gave the wife a hug and I said, this has been the most amazing experience. I said, I don't want to leave. And, she goes, oh.

Veronika Rodriguez [00:35:04 - 00:35:46]

And, I still keep in contact with them when I go skiing because they're big skiers. So, when we went to Japan last year, I texted them and told them, hey, I don't know if you guys want to go to Japan, but if you do. And so, we were sharing stories about About skiing, about just biking. The gentleman had done the Western Divide. Yeah, he had done that trail. And so we shared stories and their kindness and hospitality was unbelievable. And I just found that to be the case everywhere. And so I'm biking down and I'm about, let's see, I had left I can't remember.

Veronika Rodriguez [00:35:46 - 00:36:22]

Anyway, I was not too far from San Francisco. So, here's another story of kindness. I had left the campground and I was just in such gratitude because I had met this couple at this campground in Manchester prior to that. And, we were leapfrogging. I'd see them every once in a while at different campsites and we became friends. And I was just in such gratitude. And so they asked me to camp with them if they had gotten their own campground in Manchester, which had a jacuzzi and a pool. So I stayed with them on their campground, and I was so grateful.

Veronika Rodriguez [00:36:22 - 00:36:53]

And I remember riding, and throughout the day I was just loving life. And I said to the higher power of the universe, I said, thank you so much for everything you've given me and this experience and these people. I mean— Thank you. More of this, please. So I stop at this little store and I'm parking my bike and there's an ATM there. And this little old lady comes up and she goes, honey, are you going to use the ATM? And I said, oh no, I'm just leaving my bike. Let me move it over. She's like, oh, it's okay.

Veronika Rodriguez [00:36:54 - 00:37:30]

Well, I lost some sunglasses, so I bought some other ones at a thrift store for a buck. I just needed them for my mirror because I love having my mirror. And evidently, I took my hat off with my helmet with the brim, which I love to put it on my bike, which covers my electronics. And, I went into the store. And here, as I'm checking out, here comes a little lady and she's like, honey, honey. And, I said, yeah. I said, yes, what's going on? She says, honey, I think your glasses broke. A wind came up, dropped your— your hat flew, your glasses broke, I think.

Veronika Rodriguez [00:37:30 - 00:37:52]

And, I'm like, oh, it's okay. And, here comes this gentleman with her ATM card. Ma'am, ma'am, You left your ATM card. She says, but I'm trying to let this lady know her glasses broke. And he goes, oh, your glasses broke? And he goes, here, here's my glasses. Go ahead and take them. And I'm like, I'm okay. I'm like, thank you both, but I'm fine.

Veronika Rodriguez [00:37:53 - 00:38:05]

And he's like, no, no. And he's like, they're cheap. Go ahead. And I'm like, thank you. I said, my glasses are fine. I know how to fix them. So that just like, whoa, right? Like what kindness. And I get back on the bike and I'm just like in tears.

Veronika Rodriguez [00:38:05 - 00:38:28]

Like what just happened? And I feel always so connected to that higher. I don't know. I just feel such joy and connection to Earth and everything because if it's cold, I'm going to be cold. If it's hot, I'm going to be hot. And I feel such a connection to Earth and to humans on a whole different level when I'm on my bike.

Jerry Kopack [00:38:28 - 00:38:28]

Yeah.

Veronika Rodriguez [00:38:29 - 00:39:09]

And even to my parents that are deceased, I see my dad's number 33 a lot. I just I don't know, biking to me is— anyways, so I'm on my bike, I keep going, and I'm almost to my next campsite. It's about 5:00 PM. I stopped on the side of the road. There was a house kind of in front of me, and there was this restaurant to my left across the street. And I just like filled— I changed some water bottle stuff and I put on, or I took off a layer because I was going to climb a little. I noticed this guy comes out of his house and he goes, hey, how's it going? I'm like, hi. And he goes, hey, are you hungry? And I'm like, not really.

Veronika Rodriguez [00:39:09 - 00:39:50]

He goes, well, there's that, the restaurant right there leaves food out for the community. If you need to eat, there's some spaghetti there. And he's like, do you want to fill up your water bottle? And I'm just like, what? And I'm like, hey, thanks. I'm making it over to the next camp. And he goes, okay, well, this campsite is my favorite. And I just, dude, I was just like, what the hell? How is this possible? So my message to everybody is don't be afraid to get out there and ride your bike and feel that connection to earth. Feel when it's hot and the heat's beating on you, it's beating on you. And I'll tell you that when you get to a hotel, like when I get a hotel room, it's so crazy the difference.

Veronika Rodriguez [00:39:51 - 00:40:17]

I can control the temperature, I can control everything. There's no bugs, there's no nothing. And it's okay. And it's a nice change. But there's nothing like living so connected to the earth and feeling all of its love, its cycles, its moon cycles. There's just nothing like it. And I just don't waste. I just feel so much.

Veronika Rodriguez [00:40:20 - 00:41:00]

I just love people and I love the way they love me back. There's nothing better. Being on my bike, and, you know, I say hi to everybody. I have my mirror, my rear mirror, and when I'm coming up to a curb, I see a car coming up, I tell them to wait. And then if I see it's clear, I give them a thumbs up. They give me a little honk honk, and I've never felt— I mean, even on Highway 1 where there's no shoulder, nobody has been aggressive. And That means a lot to me, and I'm good to them and they're good to me. And I just want to— I just want to be on my bike.

Veronika Rodriguez [00:41:00 - 00:41:36]

So after that long bike ride, I came home, and after that I was going to go do a century ride in Tucson, Arizona. And I told my love, I said, honey, I'm going to ride my bike to Tucson. Can you bring my road bike so that I could do the century race or whatever the bike ride there? And he's like, okay. So I rode my bike. I only made it to Gila Bend because of the timing. I wanted to take a couple days off. So he picked me up and then we took a couple days off before the Century Ride in Tucson. And that was a great experience too.

Veronika Rodriguez [00:41:36 - 00:42:19]

And then just recently, the girl I met in Manchester with her husband, her and I started in Flagstaff and we did a whole 800-mile bikepacking tour where we went through Grand Canyon, Monument Valley, Bluff, Utah. We went to Cortez, Colorado, and we took 2 days off to mountain bike Phil's World. And then we went to Canyon de Chelly, the Painted Desert. So her and I got to bond and I got to feel the experience with another gal. And it was just, yeah, it's just been incredible. I mean, I just love being on my bike and just love people. I love humanity even more.

Jerry Kopack [00:42:21 - 00:42:43]

Truly. So much emotion in your stories. And as we sort of wrap this up and bring it back home, looking back on all these experiences, if you had never opened your door to that first touring cyclist, or if you had never taken that flyer and gone to Colombia, do you think your life would be different today?

Veronika Rodriguez [00:42:44 - 00:43:25]

Yeah. I mean, maybe eventually I would've gotten on the bike, But I'm glad for my spirit is a yes spirit. It just— sorry, I'm getting a phone call. I think I probably would've still done it, but I live my life according to whatever source experience the universe tells me. And opening that door, being open to the Warmshowers, everything that's just come to me and I'm a yes person, like, yeah. And Warmshowers has changed my life. Bikepacking has changed my life. And my door's always open.

Veronika Rodriguez [00:43:25 - 00:44:08]

As a matter of fact, there's a gentleman that lives in my neighborhood that I guess he's been doing Warmshowers for years. He hosted a little party, so I got to meet other Warmshowers people, hosts, and we got to share our experiences hosting people and all the different people that we've hosted and our bike rides that we've done together. I mean, our bike rides that we've done and hopefully some that we're going to do together in the future. So Warmshowers is such a beautiful thing, a beautiful connector to a world of just openness and giving and honoring each other.

Jerry Kopack [00:44:09 - 00:44:19]

Yeah. And what a great sentiment to end our conversation on today. Veronica, thank you so much for sharing your emotions and for sharing your story.

Veronika Rodriguez [00:44:20 - 00:44:30]

Yeah, thank you. Thank you for, yeah, for all this too. I mean, you know, you make— we're making the world a better place and yeah, I'm super excited. Thank you so much.

Jerry Kopack [00:44:31 - 00:45:01]

Yeah. And I wanna thank everyone who's listened to my story today. Stories like these hopefully will inspire you to set off on your own bicycle adventure. Or maybe open your door to a stranger and maybe make the world feel a little bit smaller, one pedal stroke at a time. Until then, keep the wheels rolling and the stories coming. Thanks for joining us on Bike Life. I'm Jerry Kopak, and I hope you enjoyed today's episode as much as we enjoyed sharing it with you. Please leave us a rating and review, or just tell your friends.

Jerry Kopack [00:45:02 - 00:45:24]

This helps us reach more cyclists and hopefully Around the world. To learn more or become part of this amazing community, visit us at warmshowers.org or follow us on Instagram at warmshowers_org. If you'd like to be a guest on the show or have a question you'd like us to explore, email us at podcast@warmshowers.org.