Customer Interview with Dave Forester

Name: David E. Forester  “Dave”

Age (be as vague as you wish): Let’s say, “I am eligible for Social Security”

You will soon be on your 19th trip with ExperiencePlus! – do you have any favorites? If so, why?
Favorite rides:  Piedmont Plus! the Lakes District which I did in September 2004. Why---beautiful countryside: broad valleys, hills, acres and acres of vineyards and, of course, lakes. The region is less touristy and the wines---Barbaresco, Barbera, and Asti Spumante ---are well known. I recall approaching the lake district on a sunny, crisp September, Sunday, when the local church bells ring out just as the first sight of Lago d’Orta came into view with the mountains as the back drop.
 
Another favorite Italian ride was Culinary Cycling Circus, done in June 2001. Besides the colorful hill towns and quiet roads, this tour included fascinating  visits to a Parmesan cheese “creamery”----watching the arduous, manual process of transforming whey into large wheels of solid cheese--- and to a balsamic vinegar “distillery”----where we sampled 15 year old vinegar, which had be aged in five successive, wooden barrels, each of a different wood. Tasted like cognac! 

In France, I would rate “Cycling the Dordogne Plus the Vineyards of Bordeaux” as a top choice. That was a September, 2006 ride that included canoeing on the Dordogne river (recently featured in the New York Times) and a narrated tour of the incredible prehistoric paintings in the caves of Padirac. Wagons carrying the grape harvest doused the roads with enough juice that you could feel the bike tires sticking to the pavement.

Do you have a story/memory you’d like to share from the ExpeditionPlus! trip from St. Petersburg to Istanbul in 2007?
There seemed to be a decreasing level of economic vitality as we left the Baltic countries, Poland and Hungry and then traveled into Slovakia, Romania and Bulgaria. This observation was underscored by the Slovakian tour guide who pointed out that there would be more people driving horse drawn wagons as their principle means of travel in Romania than in Slovakia, but the wagons would have rubber tires. The Romania guide noted that in Bulgaria most wagons would have only wooden wheels----which was true. 

What does bicycle travel provide you that other trips do not?
Traveling along scenic by-ways, through villages, past farms, vineyards at a pace to savor the view, feel the satisfaction of climbing mountains and the exhilaration in descending long, sweeping downhill runs. Meeting fellow cyclists from many walks of life and the camaraderie  generated from an arduous day cycling.

What motivates you to travel to far-off places?
To see more of the world. In 2008, I was away from home with my wife or on bike trips on my own, 18 weeks, 13 out of the USA. I have ridden in 17 countries and expect to add another 6 or 7 more plus return to those I like best----Italy and France.

If you won the lottery what’s the first thing you would buy?
I would buy a country retreat in a bucolic setting where year-around temperatures range from 65 to 75 degrees, traffic volumes are low, road pavements smooth, and there are long, sweeping downhill runs, uphill directions are 3 % grades or less and climbs less than 3 miles.

Tell us something about yourself that most people don’t know:
As a college student, I was employed by the U.S. Forest Service as a fire lookout in a road-less area of the Idaho “panhandle” between Washington and Oregon. I spotted four lightening caused forest fires during my July to September sojourn atop Black Mountain,  “Smoke Jumpers” from Missoula parachuted into fight three and one I put out  by myself.

How many bikes do you own?
Four: My first (as an adult)---a heavy steel “Jamis” hybrid on which I rode my first fund raiser for MS, a two day 150 mile route. Immediately, afterwards  I bought my first light weight road bike, a Trek 2120,since replaced by a Klein “Quantum Pro” and a Specialized “Roubaix Comp”. Also a Mongoose hybrid.

We’ve heard a rumor that you collect jerseys  - how many are in your collection? From how many countries?
Twenty-four. Two identifiable as Italian. Finding bike jersey with national identification is elusive. Not so for soccer shirts!

What question do you wish we would have asked, and how would you have answered?
What improvements would you suggest to ExperiencePlus! Program?  Answer. More opportunities to combine tours “back to back”, say one to three days apart, depending upon travel complexities. This would amortize the cost and time of long distance travel, as well as, extend the fun of more biking!