Interview with Peter Wester

Name: Peter Wester

Age (be as vague as you wish!): 69 years old

Where are some of the places you've bicycled with ExperiencePlus! or with other groups? This was my first trip with Experience Plus and the initial hours were surprising in the extreme. A bus picked us up at various locations in Puerto Montt. My hotel was the first stop. I was astonished as more and more people boarded the bus, for most of them greeted most of the other riders as long-lost friends. Probably 80% of the members of the tour knew each other from previous rides, often multiple previous rides. Obviously I was impressed.

How did your love of the outdoors develop? My first-ever bicycle trip was taken when I was living in Berlin in 1962. My roommate and I rode from the East German border to the Mediterranean on three speeds. And I was hooked. In my 20s I rode from San Francisco to the Oregon border, New Orleans to Jacksonville, Montréal to the far eastern reaches of the St. Lawrence among others. These were all unsupported trips, and with the exception of the first one, they were solo.

About five years ago I reentered the long-distance cycling world with a month-long trip in Vietnam. Since that time there was a second month-long trip in Vietnam and numerous weeklong trips in the northeast of the United States. These have all been on organized tours, which at this stage I vastly prefer.

What motivates you to travel to far off places? What draws me to far-off places? Underneath it all, curiosity. I have been fortunate in my adult life to have spent immersion times in a number of different countries and I really enjoy finding out what a place is about. To me this is the antithesis of sightseeing. And I find that a bicycle is an exceptionally good way to do this. In Vietnam all you had to do was stop and you would draw a crowd. And there were always ways of communicating. In addition to this, a bicycle tour is what I call "unplugged time." There are no "to do" lists. There is nothing going on that is your responsibility, other than your luggage.It is a time to simply be alive and enjoy your body and your surroundings.

Where is your favorite travel destination, and why? The next one.

What prompted you to join the ExpeditionPlus! Coast to Coast bike across South America? A group of us from the first Vietnam tour have become close friends. (Hence the second tour together.) One of them found the "Pedaling the Andes from Argentina to Chile" tour. And we decided to do it.

After the Expedition you stayed in South America for our Pedaling the Andes from Argentina to Chile tour. Why did you decide to participate in both of these tours? I saw that there was a chance to go from the Pacific coast of Chile to the Atlantic coast of Argentina, through northern Patagonia, on a bicycle. The trip spoke to my soul in ways that I do not fully understand. But it was irresistible to me. So I did both.

After spending over a month in South America, can you tell us about some of your favorite experiences, things that surprised you about the country? One of the things which surprised me the most about Chile and Argentina was how different they are from the rest of South America, much more European. Many people might disagree with me, but I found them both to be very civil countries. An open and considerate population. A gracious population. In addition to the tours I spent a week in each of Buenos Aires and Santiago so that my perceptions are not simply based on people's responses to bicyclists. I also found both peoples to be extremely honest, and I say this even though on one instance someone in a very small town tried unsuccessfully to steal my camera.

ExperiencePlus! plans to offer a tour in Northern Argentina next year, would you be tempted to go back? I would be delighted to go back to northern Argentina with Experience Plus.

Do you have a particular piece of travel wisdom to impart to your fellow traveler? Any lessons learned that you would like to share? In terms of travel wisdom, I think my best advice would be to be flexible. Things will not always happen as they are supposed to. Sometimes this is serendipitous: sometimes it is not. But rigidity in the face of unavoidable change will ruin the trip.

I would also compliment ExperiencePlus both on their ability to create the serendipitous change and on their ability to manage unforeseen unpleasantries.

What is the most unique or meaningful souvenir you've ever brought home from an ExperiencePlus! tour or from another trip? The best thing that I bring home from trips are the photographs. The last few years I have been decluttering my life and I pretty much avoid bringing "stuff" home.

Describe the best meal (might have been setting, food, dinner guest(s)...) you have had while traveling: The best meal that I ever had while traveling was in Berlin in the early 60s. I was living there on $50 a month, earned locally, no central heat, no hot running water, no refrigeration. My father sent me a $25 check for my birthday. My roommate and I went to the Maison de France on Kurfursten Damm and ate as if we were French nobility.

Tell us something about yourself that most people don't know: Most people do not know that I am beginning to agree with those around me who keep insisting that I am stubborn.

What question do you wish we had asked, and how would you have answered? A final observation would be for those who are considering an organized bicycle tour for the first time. One of the great benefits of a tour is the quality of the people that you will ride with. There are so many interesting people with such diverse lives that it is fascinating.