Trans World Rowerami

Cullman had some very special guests pass through town. Anna and Christopher Rowerami are cycling around the world and decided to spend the night in Cullman.

They are originally from Poland but are currently calling London home.  Very experienced in bicycle touring this is their first trans world tour, having done many bike tours thru Europe and the UK.  They were really decked out in with state of the art bikes and equipment.  Laptops, GPS, cell phones and etc.  Still roughing it and camping for the most part.  Anna and Christopher are members of an organization called "warm showers" which networks travelers around the world to homes where they can stay and of course take warm showers.  It was great to meet them and hear some of their story and agenda, I have to admit bike touring to me is something you do slow and relaxed with not much agenda.  They were serious and maybe a little over the top for my idea of touring.

I must be showing some age because I struggle with the use of technology.  I love high tech stuff, but its kinda like in the Tour de France and the use of radios.  In some ways its great for safety etc., but then you think back to the day when it wasnt available and the racers did just fine.  In touring whats wrong with pulling out a Michelin map of France that showed every back road never knowing whether it was paved or really there untill you rode down it.  Somehow on a map you always underestimate things.  Technology helps us get there quicker and more efficiently but I guess thats not what you always want. 

One of my favorite books is "Miles from Nowhere" a book about a couple who cycles around the world.  Back in the day before modern technology they took two years off from life and began an incredible journey.  Its a great book and inspired me to do a couple of tours, one across Europe and another in southern France.  A bicycle is the best way to travel.