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Chris, right, and Leslies Kehmeier have come a long way but still have plenty of road left to travel as they continue their dream of biking around the world together.
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Nearly 9 months and 3,200 miles after their trip began, Leslie and Chris Kehmeier were back on their bikes in Eagle County.
Last Wednesday, the Kehmeier’s rode through Eagle, with their trailers attached in tow, waiving to familiar faces driving by.
After quitting their jobs and selling their house in Gypsum, the Kehmeier’s took off to travel the globe on their bikes last fall. They originally had planned to spend more than two years abroad on their bikes, but they changed up the plans a few month into the trip. Now, the Kehmeier’s are back home in the U.S., but still on their bikes, touring Colorado for six weeks before they head back abroad.
So far, the journey has taken the Kehmeier’s through New Zealand, Australia, Thailand and Laos. After a shaky start, the Kehmeier’s settled in to life on the road.
“Even now, going back and reading our first journal entries, it looks like we are starving to death and ready to die. We were acting desperate,” Chris joked. “We didn’t have our feet under us. We couldn’t quite get into, ‘This is our job,’ mode. We were out of shape because we didn’t have time to ride when we were preparing and we brought way too much gear.”
Despite all the research they did prior to taking off, Chris and Leslie couldn’t have fully prepared for such a drastic lifestyle change.
“It was good to go through that desperation because there really was no way to prepare for the beginning of the trip,” Leslie said. “I definitely had a few doubts, but everyday we woke up, got on our bikes and went to the next place and after a while, we got used to it. One of those things you could never prepare for mentally of physically, you just had to do it.”
On a whole, the Kehmeier’s had a wonderful experience on their trip. And as they made their way across New Zealand and Australia, they were able to share their travels with everyone back home through their blog.
“We’d get e-mails from friends and family who would say, ‘It’s so great we can read what you are doing each day,’ so I felt like it was important to keep up with it,” Leslie said. “We made a concerted effort to record our statistics everyday and trade off writing the blogs and now it’s become a really cool journal and it’s fresh: We write it everyday so we aren’t going back and trying to figure out whatever happened that day.”
Discovery
Not only were the Kehmeier’s able to explore new territory, but they were also able to make some self discoveries.
“I feel like I have so much more clarity,” Leslie said. “When I have conversations with people, I listen and I’m more engaged. I notice things like ... this sounds stupid, but the sky is so blue. Life was much faster for me before we did this, and now it’s slowed down and it’s really cool. I absorb so much more. You see everything different, feel everything different. I hope it goes on for a while.
Chris said he felt the same way, and that he had some unexpected realizations.
“One of the bigger things we both feel that surprised us is that we’ve become really patriotic,” he said. “We have it really, really good in the United States. I mean absurdly good.”
Easy riding
About six months into the trip, the Kehmeier’s knew that two-plus years on the road, without a break, was unrealistic.
“We weren’t living a super fast-paced life before, but all of a sudden all you have to do is travel and ride your bike, and sort of slow down what our life was before to what it was then,” Leslie said. “We found that we needed to cater this trip to our personalities. We though maybe it’s better for us to move a little faster. And money has a lot to do with it. We didn’t end up being the super dirt-bag travelers. We didn’t eat Ramen noodles for every meal. We wanted to go to the cafe and have a pastry and coffee, and drink beer and wine, and have good food and stay in a motel, hotel or guest house. And that’s OK.”
The weaker U.S. dollar didn’t help, and the Kehmeier’s had some visa issues for their China portion of the trip, so they decided to cut out some of the southeast Asia and Europe route. Their expenses dropped, however, when they went to Thailand and Laos, and they found the biking to be a bit easier.
“For me Laos was the best place to bike,” Chris said “The main highway is paved and there’s not a lot of cars on the road and most of the population either rides a moped or bicycle, so the cars on the road are used to seeing two-wheeled people going around. The guest houses are friendly, it’s cheap and the food is super good. And Thailand has these massive shoulders everywhere for mopeds and bicycles. It was a real pleasure to ride through that.”
New Zealand and Australia weren’t quite as biker-friendly.
“I’d say New Zealand was the worst,” Leslie said. “The country has a lot of up-and-down topography. They build roads, there are no shoulders and people drive super, super fast. And the driving age is 15.”
Durability
Through all their miles, the Kehmeier’s only have had three flats so far — “We’ve read of people doing better, but we’re happy,” Leslie said.
Chris’s brakes went out in New Zealand and had get some new ones, but the biggest issue came in Laos when Chris’s rear rim split.
“We would have had to go to Bangkok, (Thailand) to get a new one, but we planned on coming home a month later. There was a bike shop ... but they said it would be a week and a half.”
So the Kehmeier’s decided to fly back to Denver, and after a short rest, they kicked off their Colorado tour. Once they finish their in-state journey, they’ll head to Denver, take a two-week break, then head to China on July 28th.
“The plan is to cycle across southwest China to Hong Kong. Then ... we’ll fly to Northern Italy, climb the Dolomites, take a little time off the bike and then take a train to Spain, tour Spain and Portugal before the (Christmas) holidays,” Chris said. “We’ll be home for the holidays. Maybe we’ll be home for good.”
Or not.
“We’re talking about working to replenish our travel fund and maybe traveling some more,” Leslie said. “We love doing it, we just need to not spend our savings. So we may do that work and travel thing for the following year.”
To see where Leslie and Chris Kehmeier’s have been, where they are now and where they plan on going, check out their blog, http://bicyclegeography.blogspot.com/
Sports Writer Ian Cropp can be reached at 970-748-2935 or icropp@vaildaily.com.
Last Wednesday, the Kehmeier’s rode through Eagle, with their trailers attached in tow, waiving to familiar faces driving by.
After quitting their jobs and selling their house in Gypsum, the Kehmeier’s took off to travel the globe on their bikes last fall. They originally had planned to spend more than two years abroad on their bikes, but they changed up the plans a few month into the trip. Now, the Kehmeier’s are back home in the U.S., but still on their bikes, touring Colorado for six weeks before they head back abroad.
So far, the journey has taken the Kehmeier’s through New Zealand, Australia, Thailand and Laos. After a shaky start, the Kehmeier’s settled in to life on the road.
“Even now, going back and reading our first journal entries, it looks like we are starving to death and ready to die. We were acting desperate,” Chris joked. “We didn’t have our feet under us. We couldn’t quite get into, ‘This is our job,’ mode. We were out of shape because we didn’t have time to ride when we were preparing and we brought way too much gear.”
Despite all the research they did prior to taking off, Chris and Leslie couldn’t have fully prepared for such a drastic lifestyle change.
“It was good to go through that desperation because there really was no way to prepare for the beginning of the trip,” Leslie said. “I definitely had a few doubts, but everyday we woke up, got on our bikes and went to the next place and after a while, we got used to it. One of those things you could never prepare for mentally of physically, you just had to do it.”
On a whole, the Kehmeier’s had a wonderful experience on their trip. And as they made their way across New Zealand and Australia, they were able to share their travels with everyone back home through their blog.
“We’d get e-mails from friends and family who would say, ‘It’s so great we can read what you are doing each day,’ so I felt like it was important to keep up with it,” Leslie said. “We made a concerted effort to record our statistics everyday and trade off writing the blogs and now it’s become a really cool journal and it’s fresh: We write it everyday so we aren’t going back and trying to figure out whatever happened that day.”
Discovery
Not only were the Kehmeier’s able to explore new territory, but they were also able to make some self discoveries.
“I feel like I have so much more clarity,” Leslie said. “When I have conversations with people, I listen and I’m more engaged. I notice things like ... this sounds stupid, but the sky is so blue. Life was much faster for me before we did this, and now it’s slowed down and it’s really cool. I absorb so much more. You see everything different, feel everything different. I hope it goes on for a while.
Chris said he felt the same way, and that he had some unexpected realizations.
“One of the bigger things we both feel that surprised us is that we’ve become really patriotic,” he said. “We have it really, really good in the United States. I mean absurdly good.”
Easy riding
About six months into the trip, the Kehmeier’s knew that two-plus years on the road, without a break, was unrealistic.
“We weren’t living a super fast-paced life before, but all of a sudden all you have to do is travel and ride your bike, and sort of slow down what our life was before to what it was then,” Leslie said. “We found that we needed to cater this trip to our personalities. We though maybe it’s better for us to move a little faster. And money has a lot to do with it. We didn’t end up being the super dirt-bag travelers. We didn’t eat Ramen noodles for every meal. We wanted to go to the cafe and have a pastry and coffee, and drink beer and wine, and have good food and stay in a motel, hotel or guest house. And that’s OK.”
The weaker U.S. dollar didn’t help, and the Kehmeier’s had some visa issues for their China portion of the trip, so they decided to cut out some of the southeast Asia and Europe route. Their expenses dropped, however, when they went to Thailand and Laos, and they found the biking to be a bit easier.
“For me Laos was the best place to bike,” Chris said “The main highway is paved and there’s not a lot of cars on the road and most of the population either rides a moped or bicycle, so the cars on the road are used to seeing two-wheeled people going around. The guest houses are friendly, it’s cheap and the food is super good. And Thailand has these massive shoulders everywhere for mopeds and bicycles. It was a real pleasure to ride through that.”
New Zealand and Australia weren’t quite as biker-friendly.
“I’d say New Zealand was the worst,” Leslie said. “The country has a lot of up-and-down topography. They build roads, there are no shoulders and people drive super, super fast. And the driving age is 15.”
Durability
Through all their miles, the Kehmeier’s only have had three flats so far — “We’ve read of people doing better, but we’re happy,” Leslie said.
Chris’s brakes went out in New Zealand and had get some new ones, but the biggest issue came in Laos when Chris’s rear rim split.
“We would have had to go to Bangkok, (Thailand) to get a new one, but we planned on coming home a month later. There was a bike shop ... but they said it would be a week and a half.”
So the Kehmeier’s decided to fly back to Denver, and after a short rest, they kicked off their Colorado tour. Once they finish their in-state journey, they’ll head to Denver, take a two-week break, then head to China on July 28th.
“The plan is to cycle across southwest China to Hong Kong. Then ... we’ll fly to Northern Italy, climb the Dolomites, take a little time off the bike and then take a train to Spain, tour Spain and Portugal before the (Christmas) holidays,” Chris said. “We’ll be home for the holidays. Maybe we’ll be home for good.”
Or not.
“We’re talking about working to replenish our travel fund and maybe traveling some more,” Leslie said. “We love doing it, we just need to not spend our savings. So we may do that work and travel thing for the following year.”
To see where Leslie and Chris Kehmeier’s have been, where they are now and where they plan on going, check out their blog, http://bicyclegeography.blogspot.com/
Sports Writer Ian Cropp can be reached at 970-748-2935 or icropp@vaildaily.com.
