Today we started off from the heart of Seattle and experienced the city’s great bike infrastructure, riding trails and protected bike lanes all the way north out of the city. Jesus and Felix navigated our adventure out of the city. After a great lunch, we set off towards the ferry in Mukilteo! (We can barely pronounce or spell that town’s name…) We headed towards Whidbey Island for our campsite. Everyone showed tremendous grit today as we climbed some incredible hills. We enjoyed a stir fry ramen dinner (shout out to our chefs today, Lola and Peter!) among our new rabbit friends (the island is overrun with bunnies!). Excited to tackle a big ride tomorrow as we continue our island exploration!
Today we all met at breakfast and ventured to Target and a bike shop, then hit the road to Olympic Sculpture Park. We had a picnic lunch near the water as we fixed flats. We marveled at the single, tiny fish in the Ballard Locks fish ladder. We continued on to the beach at Golden Gardens Park where we jumped into the water and watched passing cruise ships. We visited the space needle and biked through Seattle, then grabbed some pho and bubble tea. We head out of the city tomorrow and are excited load up the bikes and head north!
PS we’re recording 1 second a day and can’t wait to share our final video with everyone!
With the Space Needle in sight, the Pacific Northwest Teen Trekkers begin their 18 day journey around Puget Sound. After spending today exploring Seattle they’ll continue onward visiting many unique places including the wonderful San Juan Islands, the big city of Vancouver, BC’s tiny capital Victoria, the towering heights of Hurricane Ridge in Olympic Nat’l Park, & the historic town of Port Townsend! Follow the group as they document their travels & send their blog posts into us at the Teen Treks office.
My name is Anna, I hail from New Haven, Connecticut, and I happen to be a Teen Trek alumna! I’ve always loved to bicycle, ever since I was a young girl, but Teen Treks really fostered that love when, at 14, I biked from New York to Montreal with them. The following summer, I went on the Across America Trek with my co-leader, Tyler, and had one of the most challenging, formative, and overall wonderful experiences of my life. Those two trips forever solidified my love of bicycle touring! When I’m not passing through the world on two wheels or studying as a college student, I’m most likely reading nonfiction, eating dim sum, talking about pop culture with my friends, baking yummy things, or simply walking around my city, listening to music! I couldn’t be happier to be a Teen Trekker again (albeit in a somewhat different position!), and I can’t wait to see what new things I’ll learn and what adventures will unfold with new friends during my third Teen Treks summer.
Some leaders came with packed panniers and a bicycle in the backseat of their car, while another trekked through the airport with five-days worth of travel gear in a backpack, one simply hopped onto a bicycle, panniers loaded and ready. All came together for the start of this year’s leadership training at Teen Trek’s home site in Buffalo, New York.
It didn’t take long for the adventure to begin. Day 1 included bike mechanics training in the park, crossing the Peace Bridge into Canada, a scenic route along the Friendship Trail, an epic journey through rain and sunshine ending with beautiful beach camp spot on Lake Erie. The leaders started working together right away, cooking meals, setting up tents, and getting to know each other while soaking up the cool breeze and starry night.
Silly games, campfires, bike rides, hands on training, cold lake and river swims, group meal creations and plenty of laughter brought the leadership crew closer together over the next few days. Day 3, we camped along the Niagara River, and excitedly woke up for a day of biking around Niagara Falls. Seeing the natural wonder by bike was a great way to see the Falls from many different perspectives. At the end of the day, we crossed back into the United States and camped on a remote and enchanting peninsula, the mist from the Falls was in our view, as a large crescent moon appeared above it.
We wrapped up the weekend back in Buffalo as we talked more extensively about the trips we will be leading this summer. The leadership training was a good taste of the type of activities and itinerary we all have with the teens on our trips. With everything we learned and experienced over the 5-day training venture, the significant take-aways were the bike safety skills and tools acquired, helpful ways to foster positive group dynamics, and inspiring ways to stir an adventurous environment throughout the biking journey.
Now, we are ready and excited to meet our trekkers and take this journey together! Who knows the beauty and adventure we will discover together.
Hello everybody! My name is Mike and I was born and raised in Albany, NY! I think the reason that I wanted to be a leader for Teen Treks is because I know how much I got out of them when I was on the trips as a teen. For me, biking was a necessity that I grew to greatly enjoy. It provided me a way to get to my first job, a camp counselor; it afforded me an opportunity to immerse myself in other cultures during trips through Canada and France; biking also provided me a sense of independence and personal responsibility as my first means of transportation. When I have both feet on the ground I enjoyed reading, golf, Frisbee and the natural next step … Disc Golf! I am looking forward to working with all of you! Stay Classy…
Hello trekkers! My name is Elliott and I am from Buffalo, New York. I’m very excited to have this opportunity to get out on the open road with you all, clear our minds, and see all the sites our route has to offer. I have traveled quite a bit, not only in the United States but internationally as well. My family is very spread out throughout the states which provide me with great opportunities when I go visit them. Additionally, I’ve traveled to many of the Latin American countries for service trips through my college and a handful of European countries for pleasure. In the coming weeks, I plan to travel to Puerto Rico to help in the cleanup effort following Hurricane Maria. My hobbies include biking (obviously), hiking, camping, backpacking, and snowboarding in the winter months. In the past, I’ve worked as a lifeguard and as a swim coach at a local community center that attracts the after school crowd. I look forward to our adventures together and the ability for us to detach ourselves from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. This can be done so easily by putting down our phones and experiencing the world around us. See you all soon!!
Hey there, trekkers! My name is Alexa and I’m from Rochester, NY. I’m so excited to be a part of Teen Treks this summer! I can’t wait to spend time in the great outdoors and travel around powered only by my own two legs. Traveling and experiencing different cultures is one of my passions in life—I just finished up college at Duke with a degree in Global Health (and biology), and I’m headed to Emory next year for a Master of Public Health in Global Health. During my childhood and my time at Duke I’ve gotten to visit Tanzania, South Africa, France, Mexico, Canada, and many different areas of the US. Besides traveling, I love hiking, running, rowing, listening to podcasts (right now I’m on season two of Serial), doing puzzles, and being outside. During the past three summers I’ve worked with and led a camp that introduces cool science & engineering topics and experiments to middle schoolers and some high schoolers from disadvantaged backgrounds. I’ve had the greatest time working with and learning from teens, and I can’t wait to hang out with some trekkers this summer!
If your teen is under 15 years old, depending on the airline they might be considered an unaccompanied minor while flying. Each airline has different policies regarding which ages are considered an unaccompanied minors & additional fees for their services. Southwest and Alaska Airlines have the lowest fees for unaccompanied minors. Additionally both airlines only consider unaccompanied minors to be under 13 years old (or in the case of Southwest, under 12 years old). Below is a comparison chart of airline policies for unaccompanied minors as of April 2018.
Ben here, from New York City. I’m super excited to spend the summer exploring beautiful city and country roads from our bikes. I fell in love with bike touring as a teenager, and it’s been a big part of my life since. My favorite tour was down the pacific coast from Seattle to Los Angeles. In addition to cycling, I love making videos, cooking, talking with friends, and getting lost in a good book. Professionally, I’ve worked with teenagers for years in arts and music programs, outdoor adventure, and college readiness counseling. Currently, I’m following my passion for community building in a Master of Social Work program at Hunter College. I can’t wait to hit the road with you all, and take in the fresh air and amazing sites.
