I created an account on Couchsurfing years ago. Then I didn’t look at it again for years. So, a few months ago, I began hearing about it in my travel circles and I saw some guy talking about how he traveled the world using Couchsurfing on TedTalks. So, I decided to check it out again and I had missed 3 requests to be hosted. They were all expired, but I wrote all of these people back and apologized that I had not responded. I have been checking the site since then and changed my settings to make sure that I would get emails about requests.

So What Is Couchsurfing, Exactly?

If you are not familiar with Couchsurfing.com, it is a site where people host other travelers in their home, free, for a night, a week, whatever the parties involved agree on. You don’t need to provide or offer anything fancy. All I offered was a couch to sleep on as I currently don’t have an extra bedroom. But, if you are traveling on a budget or you just want to meet some new, interesting people, this seems like a fun way to do it. Plus, you can leave feedback about the guests and hosts and you can get verified to prove that you are in fact who you say you are.

Meet Our First Couchsurfer, Lucas

So, this week I hosted my first couchsurfer. His name is Lucas and he is a 19 year old from Germany. He stayed with me the past two nights and left out around 8 or 9 this morning, headed for Charlotte, NC. He started out in Boston, Massachusetts and is currently biking his way around the US. For real! Yesterday he biked over 100 miles to get from Roanoke, Va. to my home in Mount Airy, NC. He only had one reference and was not verified, but the reference was left by someone who hosted him who was verified and had over 70 referrals himself. So that worked for me {Always be cautious when meeting strangers}. We also checked Lucas’ ID at the door just to make absolutely certain that he was who he said he was before we let him in our home.

The first night we ate pizza together and drank sports drinks {you know he was thirsty after such a long ride} and Lucas shared all about his adventures biking down the east coast of the US. He is currently heading towards New Orleans, where he will stay a week or so with friends. Then he will head toward Seattle, WA, where he will stay another week or so {and camp in Canada with a friend} and finally he will end his trip in San Francisco, CA. I think he told me that he expects his entire journey to take around 6 months.

I asked him about how he felt biking around a strange country all alone. He said he has met only nice people so far. Also, this isn’t his first trip to the US. He has actually spent a couple summers here before. In the end, he will see far more of this country than I ever have {at almost 40 years of age}. Good for him! He has also seen all kinds of wildlife here that he has not seen before in their natural habitats {such as a bear, snakes, possums, groundhogs, etc.}

The only bad thing was Lucas’ phone got wet on the ride over and we tried to fix it with the “rice in a bag method” and it didn’t work. So, Jay thought he might have an extra phone {that used the same carrier} at his place but he didn’t so Lucas ended up having to buy a new one. After all, he uses his phone for navigation and, of course, it’s his means of communication, so he has to have one. I gave him a Ziploc bag to keep his phone in from now on so hopefully that will keep this from happening again somewhere down the line.

I would definitely host a couchsurfer again. Lucas even brought his own sleeping bag. We seriously didn’t do much for him except feed him and let him watch Netflix. It was no trouble at all and a lot of fun for me as I love meeting people from other countries. I admire Lucas’ determination and sense of adventure. My daughter is 19 and I can’t even begin to imagine her biking around Germany. Gasp!

Follow Lucas On Instagram

If you think his trip sounds fun and you want to keep up, Lucas actually created an Instagram to document the journey. Follow along on Instagram at @cyclingthestates.

Safe Travels, Lucas

Happy trails, Lucas, and be safe. Also, don’t bike as fast as the GIF is going that I made, lol. 🙂