Another Warmshower Guest, Another Alternative Bike Shop

Once again I am hosting a touring cyclist I met on warmshowers.org, this wonderful network of cyclists traveling the world, just like I did last year, and hosting each other, as I am doing now.

Not My First Time Hosting

Since this is the fourth time I'm posting about my warmshower guests, I'd like to recap who else has been here so far: At first there were Kalima, Sylvian, and Jean-Pascal. Then I hosted three guys I met while I was on the road myself: Anthony, Yvan, and Beto, the only one of these three I wrote a post about. Finally, there was another trio from France and Quebec: Marie, Tiphaine, and Pascal.

Another French Cyclist

My tenth guest, who is still staying at my place, is called Arthur, and is from France, as you'd expect. Check out his instagram and his website! His bike journey has taken him half way around the world already, having started in Europe, progressed across Asia, and now he's making his way southwards across the American continent. He's planing to cover around 45,000 kms and 40 countries in 3 years. After such a long journey his tales of the road go above and beyond my meager little 4000 km taste of bicycle touring. And most certainly, talking to him makes me feel like getting up in the saddle again, and adding a few more thousand klicks to what I already have, but that's not really what this post is supposed to be about.

Another Amazing Bike Shop

It was Arthur's bike that captured my attention, as well as the bike shop he specifically came her for. Probably the most impressive ride of any of my guests, it is a beautiful Ernest bamboo-frame bicycle, with a belt drive, an Rohloff internal gear hub in the rear, and a hub generator in the front. But even more exciting than the bike is the shop that brought him specifically to this place. Not far from where I live is the location of BambooCycles, where Arthur wanted to get involved in. At first he just took his bike there for some maintenance work, meaning putting varnish on his frame. But his idea is to learn the art of making bamboo frames.

Build Your Own Bamboo Bike

I had been familiar with this bike shop, and once I even inquired about the frames they were selling. However, at that time that was it for me, and I never really paid too much attention to them. When Arthur went there, however, I decided to go with him, and together we inquired about courses, volunteering options, and the types of bikes they were selling. In the end we decided to sign up for a course together. (Yey for impulsive decisions!) Since the weekend is already full, we are going to spend next Tuesday and Wednesday learning about bamboo bike frames, and trying our hands at making them. I'm actually quite excited, and can't wait to post more about this interesting approach to bike frames.