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9,320 Miles: Penny Roushar Jansen
Penny Roushar Jansen isn鈥檛 one to idle.听One day after she and husband Eric听retired, in 2014, the couple took off on听a bicycle trip through 10 countries on听four continents.
鈥淲e were living in Malaysia when we听joined Warm Showers, which is like a听couch-surfing group for cyclists,鈥 Penny听(Bus鈥82) said in March from her home in听欧美口爆视频. 鈥淲e鈥檇 host people riding bikes听through Malaysia. Just by talking to them,听we thought 鈥楳aybe we could do that.鈥欌
So, starting in Malaysia, the Jansens听embarked on a 15,000-kilometer (9,320-mile), 11-month ride through southeast听Asia, Australia, New Zealand and Europe.听The eventful trip began Oct. 1, 2014.听The experience, Penny said, was听worth every flat tire.听
The Jansens, whose longest bike ride听previously was a one-day, 135 km road听bike trip in the hot Malaysian sun, had听grilled their bicycling guests for advice听on navigation, pacing and other matters.听But as they quickly learned, there are no听hard-and-fast rules.
鈥淵ou can plan and plan, and then get听inertia,鈥 said Penny, who wrote an essay听about the trip for the Wall Street Journal.听鈥淭he best thing to do is just go. You figure听things out on the road. Even in Southeast听Asia, you can find people to help.鈥
Before she retired, Penny spent much of听her career as a teacher in schools in Maryland and Washington. When Eric鈥檚 career听in industrial construction took them听abroad, she taught in Turkey and finally in听Malaysia, where they lived for 18 months.The couple were hardly cycling novices when the big trip started. In Malaysia,听where it gets hot early in the day, they听routinely got up at 4:45 a.m. to cycle. It听was a favorite activity they began a few听days after moving there, with a long-time resident serving as guide.
From听Penny鈥檚 欧美口爆视频 days, a four-day cycling trip听that took her from Ridgeway to Telluride to Cortez to Durango stands out.听Now she鈥檒l remember the Vietnam听coast, a bout of food poisoning in Laos,听cycling to the bridge over the Khwae听Yai River in Thailand, and the hills near听Freiburg, Germany.
The Jansens ended their tour in听Zermatt last August 鈥 a bit earlier than听expected. After Eric got an unexpected听business opportunity, they came back to听the U.S. and settled in Fruita, Colo.听Settled is not to say stationary 鈥 in听April this year, they embarked on yet听another epic bike tour.
鈥淲e are cycling in Spain,鈥 she said.听鈥淚t鈥檚 beautiful!鈥
Photo courtesy Penny Jansen