Contributors: Steve and Judy York
Since 2018, we have enjoyed being Warmdhowers hosts. Although we toured in our younger years, we now focus on road cycling and mountain biking. But we LOVE being Warmshowers hosts. We live in Sandpoint, Idaho, along the northern tier of the Adventure Cycling Association route. As you can imagine, we receive plenty of touring traffic from spring to fall.
In December, we hosted our first winter warm showers guests. Lydia and Josh Telford from Christchurch, New Zealand, were spending 3 months in Canada and the US, cycling and skiing. They arrived in Sandpoint in a customized van named ‘Dave.’ They reached out to see if we would store their bikes while they skied. We happily agreed and offered them a room as well. Although grateful for the bike storage, they initially declined our offer to stay. But then after their first night on the mountain they changed their minds.
Over the next couple of days we spent the evenings chatting for hours as we do with most of our WS guests. Another instant friendship formed with invitations to visit them in NZ. Josh and Lydia were a delightful December Warmshowers surprise, helping us end our 2024 hosting season with 25 total guests.