All Bodies on Bikes Podcast Feature: Becoming a Bikepacker with Claire Pomykala

Transcript of the All Bodies on Bikes Podcast episode featuring Claire Pomykala, hosted by Marley Blonsky and Maggie Lowe. Episode can be found here.

Marley:

 All bikes are good bikes and all rides should be celebrated.

Maggie:

All Bodies on Bikes is a movement to create and foster a size-inclusive, bike community. So join your hosts. I’m Maggie,

Marley:

and I’m Marley.

Maggie:

As we explore the complexities of the biking the world. Help us break down barriers and create the world that we want to see. And don’t forget that all bodies really means all bodies. Not just larger bodies, but bodies of all sizes ages, races, abilities, genders, sexualities, and beyond.

Marley:

Come along for the ride.

Hi friends, and welcome back to the All Bodies on Bikes podcast. We’ve got a really fun guest today. And without further ado, I’m going to jump right into, her introduction. But first I’m going to make sure I know how to say her last name. Claire, how do I say your last name?

Claire

It’s Pomykala.

Marley:

That’s how I was saying it in my head. It’s a really fun last name. So awesome. All right. Claire Pomykala is on the adventure of a lifetime, solo bike touring around the world. After graduating college in 2021, she embarked on a solo, self-supported adventure from Atlanta, Georgia to Baltimore, Maryland at the age of 21.

Despite her limited knowledge of bikepacking, her passion for biking and thirst for adventure fueled her journey. Just a month after her post graduation trip, she independently traveled to London and began a four and a half month expedition across England, Wales, Scotland, Holland, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, France, Monaco, and Spain during the fall and winter months.

That sounds cold. We’re going to ask about that. Given the inclement weather and budget constraints, she relied heavily on the Warmshowers community for support. Claire documented her bicycle tours on Instagram, amassing a following of fellow bicycle touring enthusiasts under the handle @livingbybike on both Instagram and TikTok.

Upon her return from Barcelona, having depleted her financial resources, she secured employment with a remote tech company in 2022, maintaining a car-free lifestyle and relying on her bicycle for transportation. She established a home in an apartment and adhered to a routine, which, if you’ve ever done long distance on the bike, getting back into a routine can be really hard.

And we will also dig into that. During this period, she maximized her weekends by embarking on as many bikepacking trips as possible. And she eventually took a two and a half month unpaid leave to initiate her third and current bike tour. Throughout the summer she has dedicated the past two months to biking across the USA with the Ulman Foundation as part of their 4k for cancer program, aiming to raise both funds and awareness for young adults battling cancer. With the impeding conclusion of this journey- which I believe you’re done with now, we’ll get into that as well- she planned to officially resign from her job and pursue a career within the bikepacking travel and adventure community.

As a young woman traveling solo, Claire has encountered unique fears, doubts, and risks that differ from those experienced by men. I am so excited to talk to Claire, as she has a wealth of practical advice for other young women and women of all ages contemplating bikepacking adventures, and offering candid insights into her own experiences.

Claire also lives with a number of chronic illnesses, including IBS, asthma, an anxiety disorder, and immunocompromised status. Claire will be sharing the profound impact these conditions have had on each of her tours from asthma attacks during her biking expeditions in Wales, dubbed, “altitude mental breakdowns” by her friend, frequent illnesses while abroad, mental health challenges stemming from solitude, and unpredictable stomach issues.

Claire aims to inspire individuals with chronic illnesses, demonstrating that it is indeed possible to pursue adventurous bikepacking experiences despite health obstacles. Her chronically ill body- born in a country where chronic health conditions are a source of profit for others- has not deterred her from pursuing her passion for bikepacking and adventure.

Welcome to the show, Claire.

Claire:

Thank you for having me.

Marley:

Yeah, that is such a good introduction. I feel like I’m like introducing you for a keynote speech or like the inside of a book cover. You’ve done a whole lot in your, your young life.

Claire:

Yeah, I, I can be an extreme person.

Marley:

I love that though. And, like, you’re, you’re not apologetic about it, which you have no reason to be.

Claire:

Yeah.

Marley:

Um, so I guess, you know, my first question for you is, what inspired you to take your first trip, um, from Atlanta to Baltimore?

Claire:

Uh, well, I mean, it just seemed practical. I mean, I had to get home.

Marley:

And Baltimore is home? You were going to college in Atlanta?

Claire:

Yeah, yes. And I mean, like, yeah, my mom drove down to college and took all of my belongings with her, and I could have gone with her- the logical thing to do- but that seemed really boring, and I wanted to go out on an adventure for the first time in my life.

I’ve never really, like, gone on an adventure before. I just, it was never feasible for me. So, it just seemed like the best opportunity was just to bike home. I didn’t have to fly anywhere. It was kind of like, you know, I kind of knew the area a little bit. So just seemed like the best option.

Marley:

Were you already riding a bike around your campus?

Claire:

Yes, so I got my first bike when I was a sophomore in college because I had a therapy appointment that was three miles away. I didn’t want to Uber there and I didn’t want to walk an hour, so I first had a bike for transportation.

Pandemic happens. I couldn’t row anymore because I was in the rowing team. So I just became a normal cyclist. And I mean, I’m an extreme person, so I just like, I went off the deep end and I was like, “okay, I’m gonna bike home now”. So that’s pretty much how it happened. I first bought a bike to save money for transportation around my college campus area, and then I decided to bike home.

Marley:

Wow. How many miles was that?

Claire:

I think it was- it was shy of 1500 miles. I don’t remember the exact number, but I’m pretty sure it was less than that. I took a detour to Savannah, so, you know, that way I could go a bit coastal.

Marley:

And how did you, I mean, how did you plan for that trip? Did you like, you know, you said you’re an extreme person, did you do like some deep dives into like adventure cycling or learning about bikepacking? Or you were just like, here we go, “I’m going to throw some panniers on and we’re going to figure it out as we go”?

Claire:

Yeah, I, I was going to map out every day of the trip, and then at one of the bike shops that I volunteered at- and when I say “volunteer”, I mostly mean I drank beer and talked to people- one of the guys was like, “stop planning”.

Like it’s not worth it. You can’t do that. Like anything can happen. So I think I would just plan in about two day increments increments while on the trip. A lot of it was camping because it was kind of remote areas. I eventually discovered Warmhowers and a couple of Facebook groups, and I would just design my my routes on the Komoot app based on wherever the destination was that day.

Marley:

Cool.

I have not used Komoot very much, but I’ve heard really good things. And I know Lael Wilcox, is a huge, I think she’s actually sponsored by them. So it’s a great app. I personally use Ride With GPS. But yeah, super cool.

So you made it home to Baltimore. And then, if I’m remembering your bio correctly, you pretty quickly took off for another trip. Can you tell us basically everything about that trip? Why you went in the winter? That’s kind of my primary question. But what was it like? Where’d you stay? All the things.

Claire:

So, okay. I wasn’t planning on going on another trip. Like I kind of, I knew I wanted to, but I wasn’t quite planning on it. I got some graduation money, which was what was my access to travel for a longer period of time.

I finally got the graduation money, which was great. Very fortunate for that. And I figured Europe would be a really good safe starting point for someone who’s never traveled internationally alone, especially the UK, right? It’s English speaking. I imagined the culture was not too different. So that’s why I started with the UK. And the only friend that I had in Europe was in London.

So I was like, “okay, I’m just going to go to London and then I’m going to go to the Netherlands, spend three months in Europe and fly home”. So my original intent was London in September, I’d be in the rest of Europe for the second half of September, October, November and fly home. When I was in Europe, when I was in the UK, I remembered, I realized that the visa is different because the UK was Brexit, right?

It’s six months in the UK, three months in Europe. And I was like, well, screw it. I want to stay here as long as I can. So my original plan, to go to Berlin and Prague, just threw that out the window two days into being into London. I decided to go up to Scotland instead. I just endured the weather that I spontaneously chose.

So the intent was to be biking in cool weather, but ended up being cold and rainy instead. So it was accidental. And throughout the entire time, everyone’s like, “why are you here? Like, why are you in Italy in December?” I’m like, I don’t know. Like, that’s just what happened.

Marley:

I love that. And overall you had a good time?

Claire:

I had a good time. I mean, I was really stressed out for a lot of it. There were a lot of points in time where I was like, “why the hell am I doing this? I want to go home. Like my shoes are wet every other day. I’m so sick and tired of eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches all the time.” And just being broke and having to buy the cheapest things all the time.

But It’s type 2 fun, right? Have you heard of type 2 fun?

Marley:

Oh yeah, but go ahead and explain it to us for our, for our listeners who might not know.

Claire:

Yeah, so type 1 fun is fun that’s in the moment, right? Like you’re, you’re actively enjoying yourself doing the thing that you’re doing. Type 2 fun is the fun where you don’t enjoy it until you look back on it.

So in the moment, it might be like the worst thing you’ve ever experienced, or in the moment, it might just be a grueling challenge. Maybe it’s not bad, but it’s just difficult or something like that. And when you look back on it, you’re like, “wow, that was amazing.” So when people ask me about Europe, I know logically that I cried on the side of the road a couple times a week, but I look at the pictures and I’m like, “that was the greatest time of my life.” So yes, that’s what type 2 fun is.

Marley:

And Maggie has joined us. Maggie was stuck in traffic, but now they are here and here to help me interview Claire. But oh man, I have had some type 2 adventures and you’re so right- in the moment you’re just like crying or miserable or your fingers are numb. And, I don’t know, something about humans; we have a magical ability to forget all of that and just remember the good times, which I think is, honestly, a blessing.

Claire:

Or sometimes you just remember the bad times, but it’s just so funny, you know, like it’s just so funny.

Like I can think of some awful times where in the moment it was like, I just hated the entire world. I look back and that’s like the funniest story that I tell people.

Marley:

Do you want to tell us that story? Or one of them.

Claire:

So the one that I think is my go to story whenever I was, whenever someone asked me about Europe, was when I was biking between Bologna and Florence, Italy. I think it was maybe about a hundred kilometers and there was basically a mountain in the middle.

So it’s like all, all uphill and all downhill. And my host from Florence, I was messaging him, he was like, “just so you know, it’s supposed to like rain tomorrow. There’s no trains where you’re going. So like, you know, if you want to wait a day, that’s fine.” And I told him back, I was like, “It’ll be fine. I’ve biked in this kind of weather before. Don’t worry about me.” Like, I am good to go. And it rained more than I expected the entire day. I had regular sneakers. My rain jacket was very flimsy- it didn’t, actually prevent the rain from hitting my body. Essentially, I get to the top of this mountain and like, I’m sweating and I’m tired, but I’m proud of myself for pushing through, even though I’m covered in rain or covered in water from the rain.

I’m really cold. The minute I start going downhill- and granted it was like probably like 50 degrees or something like that- it was cold. I had on all of my clothing. So it’s like, well, like 50 degrees. I’m soaked. The minute I start going downhill, it’s like, it’s like, I’m getting cut with ice is what it feels like, because it was all downhill after that. I was not using any energy.

And basically what happened was, I pull from the side of the road. I’m crying. I’m afraid of getting hypothermia. And I’m texting my host and I’m like, “I can’t do it. Is there any way you can pick me up? I’m so sorry, I cannot, like, I, I am going to get hypothermia.” And he’s like, “Okay. I’ll come pick you up.”

So he drives an hour to get me and I find some house on the side of the mountain. I knock on the door. It’s this old couple. I pull up Google translate. I on the verge of tears. It just says like, “I’m a cyclist. A friend’s picking me up. I’m really cold. Can I stay with you?”

Marley:

Wow.

Claire:

And, the husband’s like, “No, like, I don’t want this stranger coming in.”

And the wife’s like, it’s fine. And obviously they speak Italian. I speak English. And luckily she lets me into the garage. I’m like changing all of my clothes, you know, trying to put on anything dry that I have. Just like, I have a video of me where she brings me, the wife brings me warm milk and whiskey and espresso.

Marley:

Wow.

Claire:

I start crying because it’s like the nicest gesture I’ve had my entire life. And then eventually, my Warmshowers host- who I’ve never met in my life- picks me up. I can tell he’s a little bit annoyed, but it’s okay. We all make mistakes and then drives me home an hour in his tiny, tiny vehicle that my bike barely fits into.

Um, and it was fine. Like it was fine. It was a great day. We had so much fun. Pretty much, yeah. I almost got hypothermia, like, but…

Marley:

But you got to hang out with a cranky old Italian couple in their house. So yeah, check that off your bucket list that you didn’t know was on there. Well, hey, you’ve mentioned Warmshowers a couple of times.

And I have personally used the service both as a guest and as a host. But let’s talk about a little bit. What is Warmshowers?

Claire:

So the way that I describe it is it’s couchsurfing for bicycle tourists. Most people know what Couchsurfing is. If you don’t, it’s basically finding strangers on the internet who are willing to put you up for a night. Maybe they have a backyard you can camp in. They have a couch, they have a futon or something like that.

So Warmshowers is a very extensive community. It’s all across the globe. I mean, in Europe, besides in Italy, like it didn’t really exist in Italy.

Everywhere in Europe, you have hosts scattered, and I used to message people online saying, “Hey, I’m traveling to this destination. Can I stay with you?” And sometimes they’ll let you stay for a night. Sometimes they’ll let you stay for a week even. I had, I’ve had a number of hosts do the most for me. I had one guy give me a brand new cassette and install it because he wanted to.

I had another guy lend me like $300 when both my credit and debit cards were hacked and I had no money. They’ve really done the absolute most for me. Um, so if you are a bicycle tourist, like you need this app. It’s one of the best communities I’ve ever been a part of.

Marley:

Yeah, I love that it’s global.

Um, I used it in Canada one time. Um, and then I always get annoyed, as a host when folks message me last minute and then I have to like put myself in the frame of like, “no, I’m a bicycle tour or tourists”. Like things go sideways and nobody wants to impose on you.

I love it. I love that somebody just gave you a brand new cassette and installed it for you.

Claire:

Yeah, he looked at my, he was like, “how many teeth are on this?” And I was like, “what are teeth?” And, and he said, he’s like, “are you able to go up hills?” And I was saying, “not really”. And he just gave me a brand new one. It was like, he just had it. And it was, yeah, I was with him for one night, you know, that’s incredible.

Marley:

Yeah. Yeah.

Have you had any like weird or creepy experiences where you’re like, “I don’t quite feel safe”?

Yeah. So there was one guy in Wales who I was like, I don’t know if I should stay here. I’m getting a really weird vibe, but I had nowhere else to stay. So I kind of just overrode that and turns out he was a really nice guy, just like kind of a little awkward at first.

He was super nice. I kind of looked back and I’m thinking, I don’t know if that was the smartest idea to kind of over, like, just ignore my intuition, but I was lucky because we actually got along very, very well. Aside from that, no, I mean, I’ve had a couple of hosts flirt with me, which is just a little strange, but it is what it is, I guess.

Um, Warmshowers has been great, really. I think, I don’t think I’ve had any bad experiences, just maybe a couple of awkward ones where you didn’t quite get along, but you know, it was amicable. Yeah.

Marley:

Yeah. And at the end of the day, you’re just sleeping there and then you’re off on your bike the next day if you, if you want to be.

Yeah, exactly. Um, so one of the other things in your bio that really stood out to Maggie and I, and one of the things that you talk about on your Instagram is chronic illness. Um, how do you manage them on the bicycle, especially when you’re going on these kind of epic tours?

Claire:

So I didn’t really take care of my health, well, I did and I didn’t for a while, right? I would eat healthy. I would try and get sleep. I would go to the gym and all those basic maintenance things. Um, you know, up until I graduated college and then I traveled, I did my Atlanta, Baltimore trip and my Europe trip. You know, just doing regular stuff. I didn’t, I didn’t really take care of my health, right?

I just kind of tried to eat some vegetables and slept and whatever. And I was very tired. I was very sick. All these things happened. I didn’t really start taking care of my health until I actually settled down, which I knew I needed to do. Um, cause how do you go to the doctor and say, “I feel like crap every day”, and they look at me, they look at you and you look like the epitome of health. Like when people look at me, right, they see like mostly clear skin, they see an athlete, they see someone with like a smile on their face. When I tell them I feel like crap, they’re like, why? Like your B12 levels are fine. You know?

So, um, for this past bike tour that I did this summer, I had a bag of pills. Like I had between five to eight bottles of pills with me just like the entire times. I take that many different types of medication, plus my inhalers. I had like six inhalers because I stocked up, right?

So I had like six inhalers, plus like, just a whole bag of pills that I carried in my duffel bag this entire summer. Um, which is fine. This is a supported trip that we did in the past summer, so I didn’t have to worry about saving space. This will be an issue for my next trip when I’m self supported. Um, but yeah, I mean, like, just.

I had it all lined up. I had the things I had to take in the morning, the things that I would take if I needed to, like during the day and the things at night. Um, my philosophy was do as much as I could before the trip started. So for example, for IBS, I had this really complicated regimen of taking like 12 to 13 pills a day at like five different time intervals, like before, between, and after meals.

Those would last for one and a half months. And then I had to take a one month break and do that three times. Because most doctors, when they hear about IBS, they’re like, they’re like, “drink kombucha”, you know? They’re like, “get your probiotics”, like, they don’t offer you solutions. They tell you what Google could have told you, but you need to pay a fee, whatever your like, co-pay is.

And I see a naturopath now because she’s the only one who actually, I feel like takes me seriously. And she prescribed, she prescribed me this really complicated regimen, but my IBS symptoms are like half of what they used to be. And after taking those 12 pills for a month and a half at five different time intervals for… that was a whole lot but. Yeah, for the past summer, like I mentioned, just a bottle, a bag of pills. And this winter trip that I have coming up, that’s a problem for when I get there.

Claire:

Yeah. A future Claire problem.

Marley:

Yeah. I mean, at the end of the day, pills take up so much space. You can’t really, can only condense that so much and I have to take all of them. I do. So, yeah. It’ll just be whatever it is.

Marley:

Um, have you noticed that like, if you limit your mileage or, you know, prioritize rest, does that help with your chronic illness symptoms? Or is it like, this is just my life and I’m going to push through it?

Claire:

Um, I don’t think biking less helps me because I always want to bike more and I’m stubborn in the sense of if I want to do it, why, why should I accept being held back?

If I have a certain illness, you know, I’d rather either deal with the symptoms and do the thing that I want to do and just complain or find a solution for, to like manage those symptoms, um, from my IBS, from my asthma, from my anxiety, for like anything else I’m dealing with. So, um, I’m kind of forgetting what the original question was now, but…

Marley:

Yeah, just kind of, you know, have you, when you are on these long trips and kind of thinking to the future for, um, you mentioned a winter trip, which I want to hear about, you know, just kind of what are your plans for making sure that you stay in, whatever, you know, the best health that is possible for you.

Claire:

Yeah, I think having, having spent an entire year dedicated to working on my health, going to the doctor’s appointments like, like every single time, um, I think just having that whole year was the best thing. And now it’s just about continuing to do what they said.

So I think I’ll still probably push pretty hard, right? I want to average like 55 to 60 miles a day on this trip. Um, because that’s what I want to do, regardless of the circumstances, regardless of whatever I’m dealing with. And I do get enough rest. I would, I sleep, you know, like seven to nine hours a night.

Like, you know, I eat my vegetables, I drink enough water, you know, I do, I do all the things you’re supposed to do. So. I don’t think working out less would really do too much.

Marley:

That’s fair. Yeah. Just, just curiosity. Yeah. So this question is not on the, on the question sheet, um, but tell us about your, your upcoming winter trip.

Claire:

Yeah. So I booked the tickets about five days ago. Um, one of my friends from the group bike tour, Jima, we talked about wanting to bike New Zealand. That’s where we’re going, to New Zealand. The thing with me is I’m a very literal person. I’m like, if I’m going to say I’m going to do it, I’m going to do it. And then they were like, “I want to bike New Zealand. I don’t want to live in the U.S. forever”. And I was like, great. Like, let’s bike it. And we talked about it the entire summer and the tickets are booked. Like, I’ve never once had a friend actually commit to the bit. Like I’ve only, I’ve had like a weekend trip with a friend here and there, but never like an actual travel adventure.

So I’m so excited. We’re going to be biking New Zealand. Um, we’re going to do the majority of the South Island, like a pretty good loop of the South Island. Um, they’re in a PhD program, so they have to fly home after a month and a half and I’ll keep going the rest for like another month on my own. Um, it’s all the North Island on my own.

And then I’ll also do Melbourne to Sydney.

Marley:

So, oh, very cool. Are you, are you nervous about doing it with a friend? Um, cause a lot of your tour have been solo. They have been solo.

Claire:

Um, yes and no. I think that we are very good friends. We get along, like, I see this person like every other day. We text each other almost every day.

And I think we’re at the point where if one of us is just enraging the other person, we can just tell the other person, like, leave me alone. Like, go be quiet. And it’s not like, it’s not, it’s like, not offensive. It’s just like, I need, I need some time. I don’t think we just. We just have that kind of friendship.

We can be very honest with each other. We have a good dynamic with a good, like similar speed, a similar mentality. Um, so I’m a little nervous, but I think we are honest with each other to be able to say, “leave me the hell alone” if we need to be.

Marley:

That is so crucial. And actually, Maggie and I have a similar relationship.

Um, especially when we’re in person together. Like, I need a lot more alone time than they do. And, uh, just being like, I need you to not talk to me right now. Like, let’s, let’s, let’s be together, but apart.

Claire:

Yeah. Yeah. It’s special when you find that kind of friendship where you can kind of be like that, where you can see each other in maybe your worst element or just like, not your best, and it’s fine. Like the friendship is still pretty solid. Yeah, definitely.

Marley:

Yeah. Maggie, do you want to? Ask the next questions. Now that you’re settled in.

Maggie:

Oh my gosh. I am, I’m so glad to be here. Um, first of all, I just, man, you’ve got me wanting to go bikepacking. So thanks for that. Um, doing all that, like, do you have, uh, um, something where, where are you moving towards with all your bikepacking or are we just going bikepacking?

Claire:

Yeah, we’re just going bikepacking.

Maggie:

Love it.

Claire:

Like the goal is just to be outside more, to be on the bike. Like the goal is, the goal is also not to be stuck to a nine to five on a computer in an office, dedicating my life to somebody else’s desires. Like I wanna just do what I want.

Um. Yeah. I just want to do what I want. You know, why can’t I do that? Why can’t I go biking whenever I want to? I don’t know.

Maggie:

I think you can. I say you can. Let’s take a vote for the three of us on whether that’s how we can live life or not.

Marley:

I think as long as you are covering your bills, you’re good to go.

Claire:

Yeah. That’s, that’s what I’m currently trying to do is like monetize and figure out a way to actually make this more of like a lifestyle and a career.

Marley:

Yeah, well, if you ever want to talk separately about that, I’m happy to share my journey. Um, I’m not by any means rich, but I’ve figured out a way to make it work.

So happy to share my insights on that. Um, so. You’ve gone on a couple of really big trips across the U.S., um, literally all across Europe. What advice do you have for folks who are curious about planning kind of a big, epic trip?

Claire:

Yeah, my, my advice for anyone is to do a weekend trip first. That is the most important thing I will say over and over and over and over again to people wanting to go on a big trip is to do, like, a two, three, or four day trip first.

That way you actually understand how to set up your bike, you know, understand how your tent works, what your limits are, how to navigate all of those little things. Um, you need to do these small trips before doing a big one. And that’s all the preparation I think anyone needs. All you need is to have like the delusional level of confidence to learn while you’re doing the thing.

Yeah, like, as long as you’re able to just like grit your teeth when things go wrong. As long as you’re willing to, you know, go to Google when you have to, or ask a stranger for help. You will be fine. You just need to be able to just deal with it and learn along the way. But for baseline preparation, a weekend trip, like it’s just the most important thing before going out for like two months.

Cause what you need for a weekend is probably what you need for a month.

Marley:

Yeah. You know, what’s funny is whenever I do those kind of longer weekend trips, the two, three, four day trips, I always get to the end and I’m like, “I just want to keep going”. I don’t want to end at that point. You know, if I do just a like an overnighter, it’s always like nice to come back home, but once you get into the routine of packing your bike up every day, loading it up, you know, the setup, it really does kind of, at least for me, transports me to like a different realm of life. And it’s like, yeah, I could do this forever.

Claire:

Yeah. I mean, some people do, which I don’t know if I’ll ever be on that level, but they live on their bike for seven years. I’m like, that’s a bit much for me.

Marley:

Yeah. I think, I’ve thought about that too. I think I would miss, um, like the social connections, like the deep social connections. Cause of course you’re connecting with folks and, you know, you’d mentioned your Warmhowers folks, but there’s something different about, you know, when you’re, you’ve got roots in one place and you can really get to let folks in on a different level.

Claire:

Yes, entirely, entirely agree. It does get a little bit lonely because you are making friends, but it’s different to have friends that you have been seeing regularly for a couple of months or have a community in that aspect.

Maggie:

Yeah. And I would just, kind of flipping that last question on its head for the people that aren’t going to let themselves say that they want to do a big trip because they’re too nervous about it, what would you say to, to those folks that are just too worried about it?

Claire:

I think I said this in your email. Not everyone agrees with this and some people… whatever. It’s better to be crying, doing something that you want to do than to be home bored and crying because you’re not doing what you want to do.

You know, like you just, you’re going to be nervous. I have, I have videos of me sobbing in different countries. I mean, like there was, I was traveling to Colombia just on vacation. I took, I missed one bus stop and this poor man driving one of these little moped things, like I was, I was choking back a whole panic attack. I didn’t want this, this man to deal with it. I just ended up crying on the stairs for like 20 minutes. You know, when I finally get off and like, it’s not a comfortable experience, but like, I still went to Colombia. I still traveled alone to a new continent. Like it’s, why would I stay at home and just deal with my anxiety here when I could at least deal with my anxiety someplace prettier.

Maggie:

You know, that’s on a shirt, that’s going on a shirt.

Marley:

Yeah. I love that outlook because yeah, you’re right. Like I can be depressed at home or I can be depressed in a really beautiful place.

Claire:

Exactly. Exactly. Like your mental health issues aren’t going to go away on your trip. They’re not going to, I mean like most for the most part. So you might as well just learn to laugh at it and just, just keep going forward. Just, I’m a very stubborn person. I will say though, like I’m very stubborn. I will be having full mental breakdowns and still trying to make my flight like an hour before it’s supposed to depart. You know, like I, like I have a different outlook, but like you just gotta go out there, you just gotta go out there and do it.

Marley:

Yeah. Yeah. Um, well, we’ve got a lot of bike nerds who listened to the podcast and I think lots of folks are wondering, well, what bike did you start out riding and is that still the bike you’re riding now?

Claire:

So I will have had a different bike for every trip I’ve been on. Okay. Um, my first trip was the $150 bike that I got on Craigslist from some 40 year old dude just down the block.

It was a 1990s Trek mountain bike, no suspension. You know, the handlebar grips are kind of melted in and they’re sticky when you touch them. Just, very steel bike, clunky heavy, but it got the job done. Right. Did I once get seven flats in a day? Yes, but, it got me home. Um, for Europe, I obviously upgraded. That was a Frankenstein bike, meaning that it had one disc brake, one rim brake, it was steel.

It had Jamis frame. It had a Surly fork, like the fork, it was meant to be nine speed. The cassette was eight. So it had to be indexed to the point where the chain wouldn’t fall off every time, like if I kept pressing the gears.

Marley:

That makes it even more remarkable that that man had a cassette that would fit on your bicycle.

Claire:

Yes. Yes. Like that bike is the most Frankenstein thing that has ever existed. That was also a Facebook marketplace find.

And then for the summer trip, you were provided bikes. So when you, so we had to all fundraise $5,000, and once you met, you know, the certain milestone, they would give you a bike, which they get at a discount because they’re nonprofit.

So that was a road bike. And then Velo Orange gave me a bike for this upcoming trip. So this will be like my fanciest, nicest bike. So yeah, all for different tours.

Marley:

Heck yes. Do you, do you know which model Velo Orange you’re on?

Claire:

Uh, I have a polyvalent frame. Um, I have crazy handlebars.

Marley:

That’s literally the name of the, for folks being like, what is Claire talking about? Like they’re literally called crazy handlebars. We’ll put a link in the bio.

Claire:

Yeah. I’m so used to drop bars so this is a little bit different for me because, you know, they’re, they’re, I mean, they’re kind of like flat cruiser-ish. They also have the mounting point to lean a little bit more forwards.

Um, it’s very, really different having those kinds of handlebars. I’m so used to drop bars.

Marley:

Yeah. I think you’re going to love it. Um, fun, fun fact, when we filmed All Bodies on Bikes, um, the film, for folks who don’t know, yes, there is a film. It’s like 10 minutes long. This was three years ago. Now at this point, uh, Velo Orange also gave me a bike.

Um, and so it’s, it’s kind of, it’s fun to hear, you know, that they’re continuing to pass it on, but it’s such a beautiful high quality bicycle. I think you’re going to have a blast on it.

Claire:

Yeah, Velo Orange is great. Like so nice, so supportive. Like the bike is amazing. It’s also so beautiful. I’ve never had like a pretty bike and it’s really nice to have.

When I look at it, I’m like, “Oh my God, like it’s mine.”

Marley:

Yeah. Yeah. Um, what are you carrying? How, what is your, what is your packing set up? I, you know, for bikepacking and bike touring folks will often, well, not often, there’s kind of two schools of thought, like the panniers and like, me-and-the-kitchen-sink type packing or very condensed, um, I always call it a butt rocket. I think it’s called a seat bag, technically.

Claire:

Same thing. I call it the exact same thing.

Marley:

But, but what’s your, what’s your setup of choice?

Claire:

I do the panniers. Um, I just find them easier to manage. And I feel like when you’re trying to get that very aerodynamic setup, I don’t know, like, it’s just, it’s just not my vibe.

It’s just, it just is not. I like, I can’t make myself into something that’s not me. Um, So I will have, I’m debating if I’m going to use the gravel paneers or the regular Ortlieb ones, um, if I want like the larger, the smaller for the rear rack on my bike, um, just depends on how much stuff I need to bring, but I will have at least panniers in the back and then I’ll have these smaller ones that mount straight to the fork from Ortlieb. And I got a Big Agnes tent. It’s meant to fit right onto your handlebars. So like, like, you know, the tent poles are shorter, so it fits onto your handlebars.

And if, if people were to scroll back on my Instagram, you’d see my really old, cheap REI tent. It’s just like bungee corded to my back rack, and it’s like sticking out every now and then, like the tent poles would fall out. But anyways, I’ll have a Big Agnes tent in the front and the handlebars, panniers in the front, the front fork, and on the rear rack.

And then I’ll probably have maybe a bag, just bungee cord on top for, I don’t know, like miscellaneous things. I’ll have, you know, like a little, a little seat bag for some tools. I’ll have, you know, a little, um, stem caddy or whatever for snacks. I don’t like putting snacks on my Jersey cause I don’t know. I just don’t, I put them in the little caddy instead.

So small bags, but yeah, the panniers mainly.

Marley:

Very cool. Do you have a favorite on the bike snack to eat?

Claire:

My go to is a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Um, I have given people whole lectures about why I think it’s the best snack for biking. I mean, like, you get like the most calories per bite, I feel like, of any food.

It does not cost that much. You know, like, I took a sports nutrition class in college, so I feel like I have some leeway in being so passionate about this. You have, like, the carbs from the sugar and the carbs from the bread, and then you get a complete protein. You know, I could go on and on, but. I get tired of them, but it’s cheap and it’s effective.

Um, and I don’t like granola bars that much. I can only eat like three a day before I get really sad.

Marley:

I feel that. Yeah. I think that’s an appropriate reason to be sad. Uh, have you ever had any trouble sourcing peanut butter and jelly and bread abroad?

Claire:

No, I found peanut butter almost everywhere I went in Europe. You know, I had people telling me “you’re not going to find it there” like they don’t, they don’t deal with that abomination.

And I was like, I was like, I’ll be fine. And I was.

Marley:

Oh, I love that. I love that so much. Um, Maggie, any other questions before we move into our final two?

Maggie:

Don’t think so.

Marley:

Claire, anything else you want to talk about?

Claire:

I mean, I feel like I could always talk about so much but like, where do I even start?

Marley:

Yeah, where do you start? Yeah. Um, I guess it’s you have something in like specific that you’re looking forward to in New Zealand?

Claire:

Um, well, I’m excited to go on a real adventure again. I mean, I know I biked across the country this summer, but that was a supported bike trip. Every Strava route was predetermined, right? Like we, there was a whole Excel sheet with everywhere we were, everywhere that we were sleeping and every bike route that we were doing, like from day one, we knew everything.

So I don’t really consider that a real adventure.

Marley:

Yeah. Honestly, it sounds boring.

Claire:

Yeah. Like, I mean, it was nice because I didn’t have to do any work, but like it just, it was a little boring. Yeah. Like there wasn’t that much coming up the chance. Actually, I did have one WarmShowers host though. Like we got rained out from camping and I messaged like 10 people. I was like “any chance you can host 11 of us?” And this woman was like, “Yeah, come on over.” Even had soup for us, but like, yeah, but I’m excited for New Zealand cause it’s going to be like a real, raw adventure, which I haven’t had since, since Europe, you know, like an actual, truly raw and authentic experience.

So I’m very excited for that, to get back into why I got into biking in the first place, at least this type of biking.

Marley:

And when do you leave for that trip?

Claire:

December 12th.

Marley:

Okay, and correct me if I’m wrong on this, but it’ll be winter here, but that is, they’re in the southern hemisphere, so it’ll be summer?

Claire:

Yeah, yeah, we already have our hostel booked for Christmas. So that’ll be fun. Amazing. Yeah. I’m really excited. Like I had Christmas abroad when I was in Europe and it was actually one of my favorite Christmases ever. Um, so I mean, obviously anything can happen in New Zealand, but like, it’s going to be a good time and I’ll have a friend too, which will be also fun.

Marley:

What does your family make of all of this?

Claire:

Oh, well, I’m not, I’m not super close to a lot of my family. Um, it’s actually been, so I don’t talk to my mom anymore. Um, which kind of…

Marley:

We should have pre-vetted this question.

Claire:

It’s fine. I actually, like, I actually think more people need to be open about this.

Um, I don’t really talk to my mom and that side of the family, um, just cause that’s kind of what happens when you don’t talk to one of your parents. And then my dad’s side of the family, like we talk, but it’s not close. Yeah. No, like it’s kind of just like, oh okay, you’re family. I talked to my brother for the first time in like a year and a half or a year when I was in San Francisco this past summer.

I mean, my dad traveled by bike when he was around my age. So like, he’s already, he’s living vicariously through me. Um, and all my family’s like, they watch anything I post on social media, which is like, how do I block them? But I’ve not figured that out. Like. I don’t know what their usernames are or whatever.

So anyways, I don’t know, like I have a lot of family who’s cheering me on. They think it’s so cool. Um, that’s kind of about it. It’s like, I think they like seeing how my online presence is going um, but what they thought was never really a concern for me. Like it’s my money. It’s my life.

Like, what are you going to do? Ground me? Like you can’t, like, I currently make my own money. Like, what are you going to do? Tell me you disapprove?

Marley:

Like, “okay, I’ll just be over here biking across New Zealand.”

Claire:

Yeah, I mean, I had people telling me that like Europe, like that’s going to be so dangerous. I’m like, I literally live in the United States. Like people get shot every day.

Maggie:

Preach.

Claire:

Like what’s any different from me biking in like Scotland, you know, like if anything, it’s probably safer, you know, yeah.

Marley:

Real talk, seriously.

Claire:

Yeah. So, I don’t know. Their opinions have never been a concern for me. Like I said, I’m stubborn. I’m doing what I want, when I want. If they don’t like it, that’s for them to deal with. Yeah.

Marley:

Yeah. I think a lot of us could, um, learn a lot from that. Um, that it is our own lives and we are ultimately in charge of it. Um, well, hey, before we wrap up, um, we have two final questions that we ask every guest.

But before we get to that, um, I want you to give a shout out to, um, any sponsors or anybody who’s, like, supported you that you want folks to know about. And also, where can folks follow your journey?

Claire:

Yeah. So the shout outs that I’ll give will be Velo Orange. Like I mentioned earlier, they gave me a bike, super nice, amazing company, um, great quality gear.

And also Outer Shell. Outer Shell was the first company that really reached out to me and gave me any support. They make bike bags based in San Francisco. Um, like I love their products. Like I’ve really never had an issue with them. I think they’re well designed. So basically Outer Shell and Velo Orange, like really great.

Um, and then if you want to follow me, it’s just called livingbybike on Instagram and TikTok (*note: TikTok is not currently in use) . And I’m currently redoing my YouTube now, you know, it’s hard to do all of the things when you had a full time job, but now I currently don’t have a full time job, I’m fun-employed. So I’m getting back into YouTube.

So just “livingbybike”.

Marley:

That’s so awesome. Um, and then I, you know, while you’ve got this platform, uh, is there any, um, level of support that you are still looking for? Um, you know, are you, are you actively seeking sponsors? Um, if folks are interested, are they cool to just reach out to you on Instagram?

Claire:

Yeah. I mean, they can email me [email protected]. I’m currently emailing brands left and right, trying to navigate monetization. Um, so definitely looking for any kind of sponsorship, sponsorship or support. Um, because, you know, I’ve currently been fun-employed for what, maybe a month. So I’m still figuring things out, I’m still pretty new to all of this.

Marley:

Very cool. Um, well, Maggie, anything else before we?

Maggie:

I, I just need like a, a, a boundary definition of the word “fun-employed” because I, I, I love it. What do you mean when you say it?

Claire:

“Fun-employed” is basically I’m unemployed, but like, it’s people when they think unemployment, they’re like, “Oh, that’s so sad and bad, what happened to you?” But fun-employed is like, no, this is an active life choice. I’m just on doing what I want. I mean, I do, I do work every day. I just don’t get paid for it yet. So I’m having fun while unemployed until I deplete my savings.

Maggie:

Okay. I love that ever so much.

Marley:

Um, all right. Well, in closing, um, I’ll ask the first one.

We will have Maggie ask the second one. Um, what is your perfect day outside?

Claire:

Perfect day outside. Oh my gosh, 65 degrees, I think, um, but something like that. I don’t know, probably just like a chilled out bike ride with friends, like, like warm, cool weather, biking with friends around the area, maybe a little bit of gravel, maybe on the roads, um, just kind of a social event outside with my community here. Um, I don’t know, just like. Being outside, relaxing, eating some cheap food, probably like a sandwich from a cafe…

Marley:

Not a peanut butter and jelly?

Claire:

…not a peanut butter and jelly. That’s reserved for broke traveling. Um, that’s reserved for saving money while traveling. Um, I think, yeah, cause I do do a lot of that here in Baltimore with my friends. Just social events, chilled out ones, just having some fun. You don’t have to wear bibs. You can just wear some jorts and like a t-shirt and have a good time.

Maggie:

Yeah. We love a jorts moment.

Claire:

I’m, I’m wearing jorts right now.

Maggie:

I support it. You know. It’s a, it’s an entire vibe. Oh my gosh. Uh, and then our final question that we like to ask people is, you get, you get to talk a lot about bikes and we all like to talk a lot about bikes, but if there, what else is something that you wish you got to talk about more or tell more people about?

Claire:

So the other big side of me is arts and crafts.

Maggie:

Fantastic.

I’ve always been a crafty person, like going to Michael’s, A.C. Moore, whatever it was, buying, like spending my allowance money and all those kinds of things. I love crafting. Um, and it’s interesting, you know, living in the time of the world that we do, where a lot of your, a lot of art is only seen as useful if you’re selling it or profiting off of it. Uh, which I’ve managed to not do for the most part. I mean, like video editing and social media is its own form of that, but I’m talking about, like, I like to make a lot of jewelry. I like to paint when I go through that phase. I go through lots of different phases, um, of certain arts and crafts.

Like I’m a hobby hopper when it comes to that. Okay. And, um, I wish I had more time to do all those things, to just do more arts and crafts. Unfortunately, we have to, like, work as much as we do and pay our bills. But if I had more free time, I would just make so many, so many things. Like, you know, I went through a phase where I took, like, orange peels and turned them into candles because I wanted to.

Marley:

Cool.

Claire:

You can do that. You take, you take an orange half, fill it with beeswax, the candle wick, boom, candle. Um,

Marley:

Do you get the, I have questions about this, haha, as it’s burning, do you get like the scent of the, the orange?

Claire:

Um, no, you don’t look at the scent of the orange, you add essential oils to get that. It’s just that, yeah, just the vessel for holding the beeswax.

Um, but I just like love arts and crafts. I just, you know, I wish I had more time for it, but I don’t right now. I try to fit it in when I can, but you know, you only have so much time in the day, but that’s, yeah, that’s the other big half of who I am.

Marley:

Do you ever take like a set of portable watercolors on your bike travels with you?

Claire:

So on my first trip I did. I brought a sketchbook and maybe some, I don’t know if I brought paint or pen or pens or what, but I never really used it. Um, I think when I was in high school, I was an AP Studio Art. I did all that stuff and I was like pretty decent at, you know, creating whatever I wanted to create.

And then you get to college, you stop doing art, your skills go out the window. You look at your sketchbook and you’re like, “Oh my God, this is horrendous.” Then you lose confidence. So then you progressively stop doing that kind of art form. Um, so. I kind of wish I would, but I think I’m a little disconnected from that side of who I am.

So one day, one day I’ll get back there. Maybe I’ll sign up for art classes again to regain those skills. But currently it’s not on my agenda.

Marley:

Yeah. And I love what you said about, you know, not everything has to be for profit or to sell. And that’s the phase I’m in with my art. Unlike you never took art classes cause I was afraid I’d be really bad at it. Um, which is kind of nice now. Cause there’s like no expectation that I will be any good at it. Um, although sometimes I look back at it, I’m like, what is that?

Claire:

Like, yeah, I, I, my favorite thing to do with art is I just give it to people. I just like, I like to make a lot of jewelry.

I’ll just like give that left and right to people, make key chains, like, Oh, you want a key chain? Like, here you go. Like, it’s nice to make stuff. Very sweet.

Marley:

Um, well, this has been a delight of a conversation. Um, I know I will be following you on all of your upcoming adventures and I wish you safe travels and rubber side down and all that jazz.

Um, and I hope that you have the best adventures. Thanks for coming on the show.

Claire:

Yeah. Thank you for having me. I really appreciate it.

Marley:

All right. We’ll talk to you soon.