Hello world! My name is James Dykstra, from Atlanta, GA. I look forward to another exciting summer leading a group of the Gen Z prodigies. Last year, I co-led the Across America bike trip with a group of 10 incredible youths, and found it so rewarding that I’m back for another spin.
Things I enjoy include, music (I play drums and guitar), writing (still working on a children’s book) psychology and philosophy, throwing and catching things, symmetry, analogical thinking, endurance activities, mango smoothies, visiting new places and meeting new people to “hone my speechcraft”.
I try to roll all of these activities into a functional marble of existence, which often leads to travel. I’ve been to Lebanon, Azerbaijan, Mauritius, and Bismarck, North Dakota. I just spent a month in Peru, and it was the best travel experience of my life… aside from biking Across America.
In non-bicycling and travel times, I also teach drums and coach middle school frisbee, an anti-aging combination more potent than botox and collagen. Here’s to another summer of adventure, growth and inspiration. And Pepsi.
We are thrilled to have James return for another summer of bike adventures! To learn more about Teen Treks Bike Trip Leaders or to apply for a position, visit our Leader page. We are always looking to meet individuals who are passionate about the outdoors, travel and working with youth. Drop us an application, we’d love to meet you!
Hi Trekkers! I’m Grace, writing to you from Binghamton, NY, where I just graduated from college. I co-led Teen Treks bike trip, the Across America Trek last summer, and am beyond excited to take my bike across new patches of territory this summer.
I fell in love with bicycle touring two years ago because of how minimalist it forces you to become. When everything you need can fit on the back of your bike, your life is opened up to endless immaterial wealth with a newfound appreciation.
Outside of biking and traveling in general, I enjoy playing rugby and soccer, reading, watching sitcoms, hiking, swimming, and sailing. Honestly, anything out in the sun is my cup of tea.
I can’t wait to embark on some crazy and wonderful new adventures with you all this summer!
We are happy to have Grace return as bike trip leader after spending last summer leading a great group Across America! To learn more about Teen Treks Bike Trip Leaders or to apply for a position, visit our Leader page. We are always looking to meet individuals who are passionate about the outdoors, travel and working with youth. Drop us an application, we’d love to meet you!
Hey everyone! I’m Max from Westborough, Massachusetts. I can’t wait to get out of the classroom and on the road with you this summer. Being stuck watching the clock in class reminds me why I love the wind on my face and the sun on my back while biking so much. After being a trekker myself, I led my first trip 2 years ago and I’m excited to do it again this summer. Leading for the first time sparked my love for adventure, which has taken me all over. From backpacking in Joshua Tree, to outdoor skating in Upstate New York, to even rock climbing vertical pitches in New Hampshire. I truly love anything that has to do with the outdoors.
Besides the outdoors, I am also a massive nerd. Being a member of the board game club, video game club, and Magic: The Gathering club at my school. I find myself trying to incorporate all my hobbies into one and bring cards to play anytime I’m biking or backpacking. Also, I try to incorporate games into my internship as much as possible. I intern at my local elementary and high school as part of my major in Education. My favorite part of my internships is to connect and just talk to teens and kids instead of just teaching them in the classroom. I look forward to meeting and connecting with you on our bikes this summer.
We are happy to have Max return as a former trekker and second-year summer bike trip leader! To learn more about Teen Treks Bike Trip Leaders or to apply for a position, visit our Leader page. We are always looking to meet individuals who are passionate about the outdoors, travel and working with youth. Drop us an application, we’d love to meet you!
You have a choice between two offices for the summer. On your left is a lovely corner model, fully furnished and climate controlled. Its expansive 16×24 window offers breathtaking views of industrial carapace, with HVAC vents shimmering in the summer heat.
On your right is a “rolling office“. It can be packed in a box, shipped anywhere, then set up in minutes. While this model comes with a higher likelihood of chafing, its views are unparalleled, and every moment is a Rubiks cube of unknowns and surprises, from within and without.
Which would you choose? Desk shackles or bike chains? Here are a dozen reasons to consider leading bike trips as a summer job.
Community
Our culture and time is starved for community. Each bike trip builds instant community, where every link in the chain matters. Depending on the conditions, you become a pod of dolphins, a flamboyance of flamingos, a barrel of monkeys, a murmuration of starlings… You move together, eat together, work together, and overcome together. You cross the finish line together, and share a bond together, for the rest of your life.
Decision Making, Problem Solving
Leading bike trips will put you in situations where decisions need to be made quickly, and problems need to be solved with what’s on hand. You’ll have that opportunity every day, and you’ll get better at it. Those skills won’t leave you.
Freedom
Freedom to be yourself. To grow. To explore who you are and who you want to be. To think, plan, and dream. To break custom and old patterns. Freedom to breathe fresh air and feel rain and sun on your skin.
Mentorship
You will have the chance to become a role model and mentor for others at a critical point in their lives while leading bike trips. You may inspire your trekkers to pursue a passion, overcome negative emotions, or look at the world with new eyes. As you pass from town to town, you might do the same for your cashier, or someone you meet on the side of the road, showing them that risks are worth taking, and challenges are worth overcoming.
Unplug
It’s not a life hack to spend time away from your phone and in nature. It is what our minds and bodies are conditioned to, and crave. These trips eschew the phones in favor of paper maps and engagement with fellow country folk. Memes are better when they come from real bumpkins and fogeys with electrical outlet shocked hair. Your relationship to screens and social media will improve. You’ll finish a book.
Laughter
Laughter on a bike trip is like beans. A healthy, essential nutrient which comes in many flavors. Some of the tastiest varieties you’ll encounter include laughter via absurdity, exhilaration, and slapstick. Often they’re all rolled into one big patty. Trip memories will pop in to your head daily, eliciting chortles and chuckles.
Strength
First your body will strengthen. Then your mind. You will be challenged, but you won’t be alone, and you will come out the other side more capable. You and every member of your team will gain flexibility of mind, something you can return at any point with future biking, and apply to any aspect of life.
Life Experience
The most common regrets of centenarians are a lack of quality time spent with friends and family, and a lack of experience — places traveled, senses engaged, boundaries pushed. Leading bike trips brings friends which feel like family, and turns you into a walking colander, straining all sorts of experience through your noodle holes to be digested for years to come.
Kindness of Strangers
During a bike trip, at some point, a stranger is going to blow your mind. With kindness. They might offer you a ride when you’ve got a flat in the rain, fresh baked tamales when you’re making a pit stop, a place to stay, bike equipment, cash, or even invite you to a 4th of July party.
Changing Scenery
On a bike, you are going to see beautiful nature, beautiful humans, beautiful animals, sunsets, sunrises, architecture… You’ll see the terrain change, and feel it. Compared to drywall and a framed photo of three-time Masters Champion Sir Nicholas Faldo, which do you think will lead to higher neurogenesis and plasticity?
Realizing What You are Capable of
Leaders are not immune to challenges, and receiving help from others. Strangers will help you. Teens will surprise you with what they teach you, and inspire you with their approach to life. Together you will lift each other up and towards your goal. When you’re done, you’ll look back in awe at how you pushed your boundaries and overcame discomfort to achieve an awesome goal.
Fluid Living
Every single member of your bike trip will learn to let go, to float instead of struggle, and live in the present. You will become Zen masters with ice cream fixations. In a world of prepackaged prescription and handholding, finding your own way is an invaluable skill to have, and leading a trip is the single best opportunity to do so I have found within a work environment.
Bike trips are a life within a life, full of forking paths and bumps in the road. Hills and valleys, rain and sun. Each day brings you a little closer to Buddhahood. If you feel a twinge of excitement at the thought of leading bike trips, I encourage you to pursue your interest and chase what excites and inspires you, and to live many lives within your life.
Is there a bike adventurist in your family you are not sure how to shop for this holiday season? It can take a while to acquire all the equipment essential for bike touring and this can be a barrier for someone trying to live out their bike traveling dreams. I’ve put together a holiday gift list of some of my favorite bike touring gear items that have been a game-changer in my riding experience.
As a self-contained bike traveler, working for one of the largest self-supported bike touring organizations leading trips for teenagers, I have gained a lot of experience dialing down essential and innovative bike touring gear and have learned what other bike tourists alike are using out on the road. Here’s some holiday gift ideas to help equip the bike tourist in your family this holiday season!
When touring, you are on and off your bike often. Having quick access to a lock is important. In an ideal world, we would all carry steel U-Locks, however, they are big and bulky and not easy to carry. A cable lock is a lot lighter but it stands no chance to a bike thief. I found this lightweight folding bike lock to be the best of all around for bike touring. You can strap it directly on your top tube, quickly unfold it and lock up without worrying about getting your bike stolen. That way you can tour a museum or make a grocery store run without being nervous about your bike’s safety. This is currently my favorite bike touring gear items to take on trips, and I must say, I get asked about it all the time from other cyclists. I would NOT get a mini size, get the full size… you’ll need the extra space to be able to lock anywhere you go.
I’ve been using this portable bike pump for a long time, it has everything you want to get you out of a roadside flat. A small footstand, a retractable handle, a PSI gauge, and a high PSI range of up to 160! The latter is my favorite part. I’ve had many hand pumps in the past that never seemed to get enough air in my tires. Without having access to a full-size pump on the road, it’s very important to have a portable pump that can get your tires aired up just as much as a floor pump would. Otherwise, you’re dealing with lots of unwanted flats, waisted time and resources when you’d much rather be focused on riding your bike!
OK, so this was a recent purchase for me before biking the Pacific Coast Highway this Fall and expecting plenty of rain. Over the years, I have had a handlebar bag that is not waterproof. When it would rain, all my tools, headlamp, and maps would get soaked and overtime my tools would start to rust. I finally said no more and bought an Ortlieb Waterproof Handlebar bag. And wow… it’s a game changer. Not sure why I didn’t make this purchase before. I know us Ortlieb users can seem like snobs but honestly, there is not a better touring bag company out there. There is a reason why every time I go on a bike tour, all other tourists are sporting Ortlieb gear. What I love the most about this bag (besides it keeping my tools dry) is that it has a plastic cover on top where you can keep your map dry. You can even put your phone in the sleeve to keep dry while still using your phone’s maps for directions. Ortlieb products are super durable and I see no reason to ever have another handlebar bag!
I brag about this charger all the time, and often find myself using it even when I am not on a bike trip, as it is much faster than my wall charger. I have Iphone 13, and though the description says this power bank will provide up to 5 charges for my model, I have gotten up to 7 charges out of a full battery. It’s fast, high capacity, and uses a 4-USB output which enables it to be universal for multiple input ports. It is a bit on the heavy side, but I find it’s a good tradeoff for a trusted battery bank while biking in remote places!
As a cyclist, often sharing the road with other motorist, we’re always looking for ways to be as visible as possible. On a recent bike trip, I found myself riding at dusk more often with day light savings causing it to get dark much earlier. I found the Greerride bike helmet light to be a great solution, in addition to the front and back lights on my bicycle. I love that it sits on top of the helmet, giving a higher vantage point to be seen by vehicles. I find it unique that this helmet light doubles as a front headlamp as well. This means you can point light directly where you are looking, making you feel extra safe during night riding!
Extra water bottle holder, a place to store some road snacks, quick access to tools, this bag does it all. This low price cup holder bag is totally worth the purchase in order to have extra accessible handlebar storage. The drawstring features allows you to tuck items away safely, too. My favorite thing to do with this bag is to fill it with trail mix and snack away while biking. It’s not waterproof, but as long as your important storage bags are waterproof, it’s not essential for this bag to serve that purpose. And hey, it’s super cheap, so why not have extra handlebar storage?
Sunset while biking along the Pacific Coast Bike Route
West Coast, best coast? Teen Treks has been on the road, rediscovering the magic of the Pacific Coastal Bike Route. Is it the best coast? We biked from Seattle to San Diego and met bikers from all around the world following the same route, some ending in Tijuana, some going all the way to Patagonia. Many Warmshowers hosts we stayed with had hosted hundreds, if not thousands of cyclists in some cases. So what’s the draw? Is it the good weather? The laid-back West Coast vibe? The stunning cliffside ocean views? The challenging climbs along the way? The diversity of scenery from the Redwood National Forest to Big Sur to Venice Beach? The opportunity for numerous marine sightings? Or is it just great to bike one of the most famous scenic highways?
I’d say C, all of the above! The Pacific Coast Highway is definitely magical. The people are great, the vibes are groovy, the weather is hard to beat (minus the rainy northwest) and the views… man the views are phenomenal! But you don’t get those scenic desserts without tons of effort, making the reward of stunning cliffside views all the more worth it!
Biking through the Redwoods National Forest
Re-Scouting Teen Treks West Coast Trips
On our journey, we’ve been re-scouting Teen Treks’ three West Coast trips: Pacific Northwest, Pacific Redwoods and our California Coast Trek. We took field notes in order to reimagine itineraries and find hidden gems and well-known must-do’s in order to create an unbelievable West Coast experience.
We have notes from the road we’ll be sharing, as well as plenty of photos to show off the best of the West Coast! Stay tuned.
Camping along the Pacific Coast Highway
So, is the West Coast superior?
And as someone who has now biked the West Coast and East Coast, I have my own thoughts about which is the best coast, which I will share at a later date… but my easy copout is that they both are different in many ways! I will say… being on one of the most well-travelled bike touring routes in the country was a pretty incredible opportunity. But maybe you’ve got to get out there and answer that question for yourself!
Muted colors of Fall leaves surround us here in the Northeast, and low temperatures let us know the season is transitioning from those long, hot summer days to the upcoming cold, dreary winter season.
This transition time is a great opportunity to reflect on the lively summer days and the teen bike adventures that took place all across the U.S., Canada and Europe. As Teen Treks shuffles through photos, videos, reviews, and recalls countless conversations over the adventures had this summer, we are reminded of the transforming power of traveling to new places from the seat of a bicycle. And we are elated by every story of teens rising to self-sufficiency, personal development and newfound perspectives while creating lasting memories and friendships.
Across America Trek
Our Across America Trekkers travelled long, arduous days from coast to coast, completing many century rides, meeting hospitable strangers, and learning about the American culture from remote mountain towns out West, to classic Midwestern destinations and bustling northeastern cities. They were welcomed everywhere they went and experienced many kind offerings and interactions from impressed audiences across the country. The Across America group tested their personal limits daily, and for 55-days learned what it was like to work together as a team to accomplish a challenging goal. Their celebration in NYC was one of complete satisfaction at a journey that will empower them in future endeavors and likely never be forgotten.
New York- Montreal Trek
New York-Montreal Trekkers faced many rainy days this summer, yet showed resilience as they pitched tarps at their campsites and continuously wore smiles on their faces, looking at every challenge as an opportunity to embrace the spirit of adventure. They experienced beautiful destinations, riding along the Hudson River, camping next to Lake George, scenic Burlington bike paths and explorations around the Montreal City Center. Both Teen Treks’ New York-Montreal groups created tight bonds with their leaders and fellow trekkers, walking away with new adventure buddies and plenty of stories to tell.
Amsterdam-Paris Trek
Amsterdam-Paris Trekkers experienced the bike-friendly landscape of the Netherlands, Belgium and France, immersed in the youth hostel culture of Europe and visited many interesting museums and historic sights along the way. The Amsterdam- Paris Trek is a great example of how bike trips can be so much more than biking. The group indulged in local cuisine, including Dutch breakfast’s of deli meats, cheeses and bread, Belgian waffles in Bruges, and Dutch apple pie while in Amsterdam. They visited the M.C. Escher Museum at The Hague, slept at a Stayokay Hostel stationed inside a medieval castle and took walking and boat tours in Brugge. They explored the beautiful canals of Ghent, biked to the Palace of Versailles and spent their last couple days enjoying Paris.
Cape Cod & New England Shore Trek
Cape Cod & New England Shore Trekkers spent many dreamy days along the Atlantic Coast, navigating through scenic rail trails and taking advantage of countless swimming and marine observing opportunities. After travelling from the northern end of Cape Cod, down to Martha’s Vineyard, the groups biked through quaint coastal New England towns with another island hop to Block Island. Being so close to the ocean presented many opportunities for learning about marine life. At the Chatham Fishing Pier, groups witnessed a massive fishing operation. As boat loads of dogfish were swooped onto deck, countless seals stood by for accidental mishaps of fish sliding off the boat and into their mouths. On Block Island, trekkers visited the Block Island Maritime Institute and learned about threatened marine species and local watershed concerns. Being surrounded by boats along this trip, a must-see stop along the Cape Cod & New England Shore Trek is the Mystic Seaport Museum in Mystic, CT, where 19-acres of maritime history captivated trekkers for hours.
All in all, it was a fun, educational, challenging and rewarding summer. After 22 years running self-supported bike trips for teenagers, our post-summer reflections always remind us of this very unique role bike tours play in teenager’s lives. Not everyone can go back to school and say they spent the summer relying on their bike as a form of transportation, learning to maintain their bike and problem-solve away from modern convenience. Not many teens can say they pedaled their way to incredible new experiences that taught them something new about themselves and the world they live in. We hope that these experiences leave lasting marks on every teen who participated in Teen Treks bike adventures this summer.
As you set off into the school year, we encourage each trekker to continuously stroke those embers of curiosity and exploration. Let’s see what other adventurous sparks your future may ignite!
Teens joined the NY-Montreal Trek in Manhattan and Tarrytown this morning to begin a 16 day adventure up the beautiful Hudson Valley, along Lake Champlain, and into Quebec, Canada to Montreal. Along the way the group will visit The Great Walkway over the Hudson, FDR House, the NYS Capital, the NYS Museum, Ben & Jerry’s first store, and the food, shops, music, and sights in Montreal. You will hear their stories here in the days ahead, so stay tuned…
Gentle waves lapped the shores as Lake Geneva stirred like an AM cup of Swiss Miss. We rose and rode, parsing the mileage like abacus 🧮 beads. 20, 27, 29. Twenty parsecs in we stopped for second breakfast at Dunkin, which America Runs On, then spent a while learning to wall jump to a height of 10 feet before tacking on 27 more and unhinging our jaws and belts for afternoon pizza.
Deciduous lanes and placid byways kept our cortisol levels between the 8am standard of 10-20 micrograms per deciliter, and despite the numerous townfolk who expressed concern for our lives when told we would be riding in Chicago, our ingress was smoother than a Desitin-lined salt flat and made easy by Sachin and his family, who graciously hosted us in their charming Evanston abode. Thank you Gita, Todd Sachin and Asha the lab-hound mix for your hospitality.
Soon after landing, we spread our wings once more to flap downtown for authentic deep dish za, making today roundly pizza-oriented, then fanned out like decorative pheasant feathers in down-lined bags, eight avian adventurers in a basement roost.
Tomorrow we’re back to the bike shop first thing, meaning we have time to sleep in before taking to the wind and skirting the undercarriage of Lake Michigan in our perpetual quest for eastward expansion. We make offerings to cement golems and steel titans that we may pass in peace and continue in our quest for a destiny made manifest.
We started the day with a visit from a bright red Corvette pulling up to the campsite, which turned to be a friend of Mason’s family. We left kind of late, and soon crossed the bridge off of Cape Cod into southwestern Massachusetts. After the first chunk, we got pizza and watched 5 minute crafts about hair. After that, we went to Aldi and came out with “fruit rounds” and “crispy rice treats”. We followed the road to the campsite in Massoit State Park which was VERY rewarding after a long day.
