The coronavirus is changing all of our lives in big ways and small ones. We’d like to hear how it’s affecting yours. What are your stories? We’d like to print as many as we have room for. Send them to Publisher Mike Hrycko at mhrycko@thedailyworld.com.
By Marnie Schumacher
Cosmopolis
My husband John and I have enjoyed hosting touring bicyclists for the past five years by participating in warmshowers.org. Touring bicyclists are able to connect with Warm Showers hosts throughout the world to arrange a free place to stay, most often for one night, but occasionally longer. Being three blocks off Hwy 101 (a very popular touring route) we have welcomed nearly 200 visitors from all over the world to our home where they can get a soft bed, a warm shower, laundry facilities and a hot meal. About two-thirds are foreign travelers and we’ve had as many as six at a time; one night we had three French speaking couples, one from Switzerland, one from Quebec and one from France, very entertaining and rewarding — in some ways better than traveling.
This time of year, we would normally be experiencing an increase in visitors, but the Corona Virus has affected this just as it has everything else. However, last week we received a message from a young man from Japan in the midst of a cycling journey from Alaska to Argentina. He was in Raymond and he was seeking a place to stay while he plans his future travels in a vastly changed environment. Tetsugoro had been on Vancouver Island when he became aware of the Corona Virus and the need for increased hygiene practices and social distancing, which he practiced anyway. So, we felt comfortable in welcoming him to our home.
Tetsugoro has been an easy guest, quiet, appreciative and willing to pitch in with cooking clean-up or any household chores. Completely dis-assembling his bicycle and putting it back together has consumed much of his time with us so far.
He faces difficulties in completing his planned journey because his visa only allows him to remain in the US for another 2 ½ months. Additionally, the camping options for cyclists are limited with the closure of parks and Warm Shower hosts are reluctant to have strangers in their homes. We have heard that a past guest at our home, the unicyclist JP Moss, had to terminate his journey in mid-March due to the lack of available places to stay.
Travelers all over have had their plans disrupted on airplanes, cruise ships, etc., and we feel fortunate to have met this remarkable young man as a result of a disrupted bicycling journey.
