Hey Canadians!

I didn’t mention you because we had made contact through the Insane Person Astride a Vélocipède site, so it wasn’t by chance. But you two are unforgettable so I owe you my “ mea culpa “. Hope to see you back in Europe when the times allow it.

Cheers,

Keith

I've toured only in the US.

On tour I've met people from Switzerland (one on the Northern Tier). New Zealand (one in Nevada and two in Montana). UK (multiple people, multiple places). Russia (Kansas). France (Utah). The Netherlands (Florida). Israel (Colorado). Germany (Illinois).

I'm still in touch with the man from Switzerland, mostly because we were both heading west and kept running into each other. We had dinner together a couple of times (North Dakota, Washington State) and stayed with the same Warmshowers hosts (also in North Dakota and Washington). Bike touring is the only place you'll meet an elevator repairman who plays bass in a metal band.

During my tours, I've met quite a few Indians, nearly all from Gurjurat, working in rural shops and motels. 

I live on the Atlantic Coast Route (the Mount Vernon Trail near DC). I meet foreign bicycle tourists from time to time. The countries that come to mind are Russia. China, Japan, and The Netherlands.

Then there was the Buddhist monk in a cowboy hat walking the length of Route 66. I ran across him in Missouri. Thought I was hallucinating.

The Polish rider anecdote reminds me of a similar encounter on the Mount Vernon Trail in Virginia across the river from the Jefferson Memorial in DC. I was riding to work when I met a bicycle tourist who looked lost. Me: Can I help you? Him: Where is Pentagon? (in a thick accent). Me: Where are you from? Him: Russia. 

I gave him directions, of course. Had he been on a ladder he could have seen it a half mile to the south.