ExpeditionPlus! Interview with David Kahn

David Kahn, who participated in our inaugural ExpeditionPlus! tour from St. Petersburg, Russia to Istanbul, Turkey last summer, kindly agreed to be interviewed and offer us his insights on this unique tour. Thank you, David!

Name: David Kahn

Family? (Who stayed home or who came with you?): My wife Barbara has come with me on all of our ExperiencePlus! trips.

Age (be as vague as you wish!): 52

Where are some of the places you’ve bicycled with ExperiencePlus! or with other groups?: France, Italy, Spain, and Eastern Europe from St. Petersburg to Istanbul... with other groups? - China, across the USA horizontally (LA to Boston) and vertically (Mississippi River), Northern California, Southern Utah...

Describe your perfect day outdoors: An active day in the sunshine shared with Barbara and other friends, seeing the world with fresh eyes.

Where is your favorite travel destination?: We honeymooned at Kona Village Resort in Hawaii and have returned five times, making it our only repeat vacation. Very inert, unlike all our other vacations.

Tell us something about yourself that most people don’t know: I left a lucrative job at age 45 primarily to spend more time in direct sunlight.

What’s your favorite ride in your hometown?: The spectacular 72 miles around Lake Tahoe. I only do it a few times annually due to the narrow roads and traffic.

How often do you bike when you are not on an ExperiencePlus! tour?: 4-5 times a week, 500-700 miles a month.

What other outdoor activities do you do?: Alpine ski, kayak, hike, gardening.

Is this the greatest adventure you have ever taken?: Yes, even ahead of Nepal trekking, Kenyan safari, and the other long-distance cycling trips.

What prompted you to join ExpeditionPlus! this past summer?: The fresh rides in a fascinating part of the world that I never would have seen otherwise.

How was the food on the Expedition? Any surprises or favorite cuisines?: Excellent, much better than expected, and plentiful. The Baltic cuisine, with its French influence, was my favorite. The herring, however...lose the herring on the next trip, okay?

Do you have any favorite or striking historical or political sights or experiences to recount?: Seeing the WW2 memorials from Russia all the way to Southern Bulgaria was very moving - 2500 miles of warfare, a very large scale.

What was most difficult about the Expedition?: Washing / drying clothes by hand every day after our hopes for regular laundromats were cruelly dashed.

Can you identify a favorite day, ride, or country on the Expedition? What was special about it?: The first full day in Romania, from Baia Mare to Cluj Napoca, stands out. The people were friendly and the sights were very exotic, like a trip back in time, because they use farming methods last seen in the USA fifty years ago. Rarely has such a foreign culture felt so accessible.

What did you like most about the Expedition?: Great people in the tour group, fresh vistas every day.

What question do you wish we had asked, and how would you have answered?: To whom would I recommend this trip? So many people have told me they could never do this trip. I think most people are more capable than they realize - the body adapts to the required effort. First decide to go, then prepare physically. If the desire and sense of adventure is there, the motivation to prepare will fall into place.