Miss your bike?

Remember those days of biking into the sunset, eating ice cream with friends, and being in the sun all day? WE MISS THEM TOO!!! Summer is over...the weather is getting cooler...its hard to bike in the snow. Hope you these pictures keep you warm until you can come adventure with us again next summer!

2010 awesome Photos

All of our trekkers (and our lovely leaders) are home safe and sound, and sadly the summer is coming to an end.
So I figured it was time to take a look back on the summer, and I figured I would share it with you all!!

Here are some of the awesome pics I found from this past summer. And of course, if you have any more to share, I would love to get them from you!! E-mail me at marisa@teentreks.com. Who knows, maybe your favorite pic from the summer will make it onto our website this year!

10 Bikers, 55 Days, 3600 Miles; 1 Awesome Country to Cross

Ten weary yet jubilant Across America Trek bikers arrived at Coney Island in Brooklyn to dunk themselves and their bicycles in the Atlantic Ocean at 6:15 p.m. on August 18th, They finished a 3600+ mile journey that began 55 days earlier in the Pacific coast town of Seaside, Oregon. Averaging 70 miles per day and maxing at 112 miles on the second to last day these bikers completed a personal accomplishment like no other. The mob of parents, friends, and family members celebrated with the bikers on the Coney Island Boardwalk until dusk. It was a great finale to a fun and challenging adventure.

MC-A6's Garrett Solomon's Words from the Road

8/08/2010
We awoke to the whistling of a guy named Chucky. Chucky was someone who lost both of his sons to heroin over doses and decided to take a stand. So now he does anti drug talks at schools. In addition to this he videotapes himself taking a dip in the ocean everyday. We decided to join him. (go to Chucky'sfight.com and look at the video dated 08/09/2010!!!) After we took the dip we rode around the town on our bikes. At around noon we were ready to begin riding. We rode and stopped at a diner for a delicious lunch (and air-conditioning). After lunch it was time to hit the road again and before we knew it we were pretty close to our camp site, we quickly stopped and had really good pizza for dinner. After that we rode a little bit more to our campsite. We unpacked our stuff and then jumped in the pool where we had our nightly discussion about the day. After our swim in the pool we were all ready to go to sleep and after a quick campfire which was a great way to end our fantastic day we all went to sleep.

NYM-J26

After leaving Albany, we pulled into Schuylerville, NY and we were
greeted by a festival across the street from the camp ground that we
intended to stay at. Festival was complete with blue grass music,
carnival rides and foods, and the whole town out and enjoying
themselves at this "Turning Point" festival, celebrating an important
moment in the Revolutionary War. After getting dinner we were
approached by the Mayor of Schuylerville, let told us we could camp
out in the park right next to the festival and enjoy the fireworks
right above our heads.
We headed out the next day to Lake George, riding along bike trails
most of the way made for a nice ride with several historic sites along
the route. By the afternoon we arrived in the quaint tourist town at
the south end of Lake George. Our campground was right along the
water and we enjoyed a delicious dinner of souvlaki. The following
day we started out early with a breakfast buffet and boarded the
Mohician 1908 steamboat vessel and shipped off for the north end of
the lake where we got off and continued our day on our bikes. Later
on in the day we took a ferry across Lake Champlain into Vermont and
we camped at D.A.R. state park.
Taking off in Vermont we followed the Lake Champlain bike route, which
was a great ride with beautiful views all day and sunny skies. We got
into Burlington surprisingly early and took a short tour of Church
street and checked into the camp ground early with plenty of time to
swim at the beach. A collective effort towards dinner led to our best
yet, chili!
Continuing north on the Burlington Bike trail, we were led to South Hero Island, VT and from there crossed Lake Champlain once more back into New York. We rode most of the way to to boarder and camped out in Chazy, NY; 10 miles from Canada. With an early start we made it through customs and into Canada, and immediately became confused by the French road signs. The temperature seemed to drop as soon as we crossed the boarder and by this morning everyone was happy that is was our last night in tents.
Needless to say, we have made it to Montreal and are currently enjoying our freshly showered selves in the Youth Hostel.

NE-J24 Updates

Greetings from Providence, RI! We spent the past two nights outside of Newport, RI, and on Friday we rode into town to see the sights. We toured a bit of the Cliff Walk, with the ocean on one side and Newport's famous and enormous mansions on the other! We then took the scenic route down to the beach, where we enjoyed some perfect weather, refreshing swimming, and beach games. On Saturday we woke early and rode here to Providence, where we're enjoying our last stay in a hotel until Boston. In the early evening some of us headed out to the lawn in front of the State Capital building to perfect our Frisbee skills, before wandering around the downtown waterfront area. We stumbled upon an artists' market in the park, as well as some live music, before heading back to the hotel for dinner. Afterwards we strolled back down to the waterfront, where we caught a glimpse of the "fire water" evening, in which baskets of fire are floated down the river while the Providence orchestra plays in the background... and soon it's off to bed before heading into Massachusetts tomorrow!

New from NYM-J26!

Starting from Tuckahoe, New York this trip begins with a nice
easy bike path heading north. By the end of lunch everyone was pretty comfortable with each other and we were all pretty excited about our next two weeks together. At the end of the path a very nice man stopped to talk to us and was kind enough to lead us through town. Things such as food committee were new to us, but we all worked together and had adjusted well. Camping was new to some of us and to others its just the great outdoors. Having a tent-mate is also a new experience. But its a nice way to get to know that one person a bit better than everyone else. After biking all day sleeping is no problem, we all sleep quite well. In the morning we pack up camp and its on to the next days adventure. The trip so far has had its fair share of nice highlights. Seeing the FDR house in Hyde Park was interesting and a must see thing. In Poughkeepsie we biked across the largest pedestrian bridge in the world, which was an old railroad bridge recently converted. The bridge was 1.25 miles long, around 500 ft high, and had an amazing scenic view up and down the Hudson River. Every chance we get to swim is refreshing, we swim every chance we get. On the third day we biked through Germantown. It was a rural area of mostly arms that was simply beautiful in its lack of development and free space. For most
of us who are from cities and suburbia it's a fresh sight into how other people live. The next day after eating breakfast in Hudson at a park on the Hudson River we stopped at the local Salvation Army station to use the bathroom. We ended up unloading an entire truck of food and supplies to feed those in need in the area. That left us all with a good feeling of helping others and giving back. Today in Albany we got a tour of the NYS Capital. The building is one of a kind in its architecture and style. With the numbers it cost to make that building its no wonder New York is in a bit of debt. So far the trip has been just fun and adventure. Whether its riding along the Hudson or stopping to see the state capital this trip is certainly one worth making.

C & O Trek, end of the road....

Everyone woke up early and energized today knowing it was our last day of riding on the C&O Canal. We biked along the Potomac and bounced over fallen branches until we reached Swain's Lock at which point we said our final goodbyes to the canal and headed for pavement. Despite the hills it was wonderful to be off the gravel and back on real roads. We had an awesome lunch of specialty sandwiches at Bradleys Food and Beverage Store in Bethesda, MD, then finished off our ride, arriving at Leader Nate's house in the early afternoon. Tired from the culmination of 12 days of riding we relaxed on Nate's front lawn and played word games. After a restful afternoon we mounted our shockingly lightweight bikes and road into Silver Springs where we saw the movie Inception and then went out to dinner at Noodles and Company. We look forward to three days of museums, monuments and strolls on the mall in D.C.

Update from NE-J24

We've had a nice couple of days on Block Island! After a long day of riding on Tuesday (38 miles!) we made the ferry in the late afternoon and got to the Island in time to cook a good dinner and sit around for a campfire and 'smores Tuesday night. Wednesday was a much needed day to relax, and the weather cooperated beautifully! We spent a few hours hanging out on the beach, checked out the town, and saw an action movie (Salt) at night! Overall a very nice and relaxing day on the Island. Today is threatening rain, so we're hanging out around the town until the ferry scoops us off to Newport, RI late this afternoon. On we go!

NE-J24

Hello from Mystic CT
We had a good first day, We spent the night at Hammonasset state park situated on the long island sound. After a rainy evening, the weather cleared up for another great day of riding, swam at the beach and spent the night at rocky neck state park, now in mystic, we took a tour of the historic seaport, ate lunch at the famous "mystic pizza" restaurant and have, so far been having a great day. more to come.
cheers - sophia & adam

C & O Trek News!

Rafting in Ohiopyle, PA
After a 20 mile bike ride we arrived in Ohiopyle, PA at 11:15am only to realize that our campsite was still a half mile hike up a grueling hill and we had to do the climb with our fully loaded bikes. It was a strenuous hike in the heat with bugs buzzing around and Jesse’s bike rack broke half way up the hill due to the weight on his panniers, but thankfully John ran ahead, unloaded his gear and returned to pack up Jesse’s bags and carry them up the rest of the hill. We loaded into the Ohiopyle state park campsite, set up tents and then set out for our white water rafting adventure. The trip back down the hill without all of our gear was wonderful and it took us a mere 7 minutes to get into town and find the White Water Adventure headquarters. From there on out it was “rough rafting.” We had a quick snack of PB and Js, donned our helmets and life vests and then followed our guide, Ben, down to the raft load-in zone. Before setting off, the guide warned us of the risks of rafting, stating “When you fall in, and notice I said “when”…” The next 5 hours were an awesome adventure down the Youghiogheny River, dodging rocks, paddling through smooth waters, doing 360s, and screaming and giggling as we bounced over rapids and off waterfalls. Amazingly Gabe was on the only trekker to fall off of the raft, but he handled it like a pro and everyone was jealous of his short swim. 2/3 of the way down the river we stopped at a river portage spot for lunch and a break from the chaos. It was a much needed reward after nearly 3 hours of rafting, but in no time we were back in the boats. Our adventure ended around 6pm and the white water rafting guides shuttled us, with all of our bikes, up to our campsite where we dined on veggie tacos and then roasted marshmallows over a fire.

Rainstorm on the C & O Canal
Today began wonderfully. We reached the C & O Canal yesterday, crossing the Mason Dixon line just before lunch and as we reached the top of a large hill we discovered a topography map. To everyone’s surprise we realized that we had be biking steadily uphill forth first 5 days of the trip and we were just reaching the beginning of a glorious downhill ride all the way to Washington D.C. The great news of the descent kept us excited all through the day and into the next, but soon our cheer was interrupted but a forecast of rain. A woman at the School House Kitchen in Oldtown, Maryland told us the there were storm warnings, but with 30 miles to go we decided to brave the incoming weather. As you can imagine, it rained, and it poured and we got soaked through, but everyone had prepared for the water, so with sleeping bags and panniers wrapped in trash bags, we splashed through the storm and arrived in the town of Little Orleans as the sun returned. Everyone was covered in mud, but loving it. While a few of the cleanest people biked to Bills Grocery on the other side of towpath, the rest of the gang hung up gear to dry on a clothes line made of bungee cords and then bathed in the Potomac River. Refreshed and clean, we sat down to eat a dinner of pasta with homemade tomato sauce and sausage.

NYM-J19 Updates from the Road!

Greetings from Renneselear! We've had an eventful couple days as we make our way north to Montreal. Despite the flat tires, the un-trued wheels, and stormy weather, this trip has proven a great deal of fun. We toured FDR's estate in Hyde Park, dipped our feet in the Hudson, and yesterday, with the state capital closed, visited the New York State Museum.

Our tour moves on from here, aiming for a homestay with another leader's mother. From there, we take the ferry up Lake George and into Vermont. There's much to be done this morning to get on the road, but all is well. We have a great group of kids, and are looking forward to today's ride.

NYM-J12 Update

Hey again from the new York Montreal trek!! After having so much fun in Albany we spent the night in historic Saratoga Springs. Although the races didn't start until this weekend we enjoyed some home cooked food and laundry at one of the leaders family's houses. The next day we had a fast ride through Glens Falls, where "The Last of the Mohicans" was inspired and written, where we ate lunch before continuing on to Lake George. We explored the lake, which someone told us was the cleanest in the U. S., the following morning on a breakfast cruise that took us and our bike the full length and dropped us off near Ticonderoga. After a refreshing swim we enjoyed two days of riding through the farm land on the shores of Lake Champlain getting to Burlington. There we explored Church street, enjoyed Ben and Jerry's, and rock climbing before taking a ferry back to Ny where we are embarking on our last rides to Montreal!
Keep it rubber side down and talk to you soon!!

The European Trekkers

In the two days since leaving Amsterdam, we have had great days and what everyone voted (except Ben) to be the most beautiful biking of the trip. Leaving Amsterdam, we followed the perfectly marked bike lanes towards Haarlem, where we got a tour of a renovated wind mill. We then biked to the well known town of Noodwijk and spend a relaxing afternoon on the beach.

After swimming and sleeping on the beach, with no precise campsite in mind, we headed south along the dunes (and this is where the amazing biking occured). If you think you know what dunes are as I did, you should note that the dunes in Holland are perfect for biking. (Side note: Holland is very flat and much of it is reclaimed land from the sea. Amsterdam and many other places are below sea level, and in order to keep the sea out, they have created these rolling dunes with small green shrubs) They completed the dunes with a winding bike path, and we followed this for around an hour when we pulled into a cute campsite -- we were a spectacle as apparently our style of tent has never before been seen in the Netherlands.

Today we had another chance to ride in the dunes as we approached Den Haag. We went to the Maurilshuis (a museum) and saw Vermeers Girl with a Pearl Earring. We then biked to Delft where our campsite awaited, complete with a pool. The pool meant that we delayed dinner and played extra rounds of Marco Polo.

We have an easy day tomorrow and in the evening will hop another ferry back to England (and hills).

NYM-J12 Update

Well, we are departing the Albany area today, again heading north. We had a great stay here, enjoyed some Albany site seeing, attended a local BBQ rib competition, and ended our final evening with a baseball game and fireworks! Since the last time we sent out an update we have gone through some small colonial towns and villages throughout NY's Hudson Valley including a stay in Hudson, a city that boasts the oldest active volunteer fire service in NY. The group is riding great, they are physically, emotionally, and mentally strong, with each member contributing a vital component to our effort. Both leaders are enjoying the time they get to spend with these wonderful young men and women, as they venture through this memorable experience. The memories, laughs, and good times are already ingrained in most all of us, and we have so much more ahead!

Across America, The 4th of July and beyond!

In Kemiah, ID, explosions in the sky marked the celebration of our nation's independence The next Morning, as we wound our way up toward the Lolo pass (5,200 ft above sea level) we met a friendly cycling couple in their fifties who have been doing this sort of thing for decades and plenty of encouraging things to say. We camped at the foot of the Lolo hill, near a hot spring, for which our legs were infinitely grateful. At the top of the climb we rejoiced, for we were crossing a time zone as we crossed into Montana. Not to mention the sweet feeling of coasting downhill for ten miles as speeds up to 40 mph. The reality of the time zone switch didn't kick in until the following morning, when we had to wake up an our earlier than usual. No matter. A visit to Adventure cycling, the touring cycling world's Mecca, more than made up for it. They fed us ice cream and the founder, Greg Siple gave us a tour and recalled the story of his famous ride from Alaska to Argentina in the 70s. It was during Q and A that we learned that Malcolm's dad rode with the famous foursome for a leg of that trip!

A word from the NYM-J12 trek!

Jonah - "I don't need to shower today, " between our first big hills we had a few downpours today, so if that doesn't make us tough I don't know what will. After riding through the city successfully Now we're relaxing in a beautiful camp ground munching on cookies after eating homemade pizzas, looking forward to a hopefully sunny fun day tomorrow. Today we biked over 30 miles and are planning on visiting Roosevelt's mansion.

News from Europe!

Paris was awesome. We saw it from above at the Eiffel Tower and the heights of Montmartre. We saw it at ground level by cycle and foot. We also ate our way around the city with 2 French dinners, French wine, and crepes. We learned the ins and outs of Paris history and architecture on a 3+ hour walking tour given by a fine young Swedish college student.

Today we're on train to Brugge, Belgium. The group will love the 15th
century old city and then we'll bike to another beautiful city - Ghent.

NYM-JN28 Updates!

July 8th
Its been a grueling couple of days.It has been in the 90s, humid and constant sunshine, but everyone is happy and excited for the biking ahead. We spent a whole day exploring Burlington, VT and swimming in Lake Champlain and now we are in Plattsburgh, NY. The day started off with a gorgeous ferry ride from the shores of Lake Champlain in Burlington, across to Port Kent. The hour long ferry ride was refreshing and breezy. Of course as soon as we got off the boat, the heat returned and lasted throughout the day. We rode 10 miles on route 9 until we decided to stop for lunch and get out of the sun. Luckily we found a Stewarts and we all got ice cream sundaes and root beer floats to cool off. Just 12 more miles and we arrived in Plattsburgh where we spend the rest of the day lounging on a beach, reading, napping and swimming. Our campsite at Cumberland State park was probably the best campsite yet. We got a huge tent space right near the water front and close to the showers. For dinner we all went to a NY pizza place and splurged on cheese and veggie pizzas and salads. Tomorrow we are crossing the boarder into Canada.





Bienvenue a Montreal!

Its July 10th and we just arrived in Montreal Canada. After mastering the skillful art of following Canadian bike paths we found our way onto the Pont de Victoria where we waited in a queue with 40 other cyclists until the bridge, which had been temporarily closed so that boats could pass, reopened. We rode along a well traveled bike, pausing to take a picture with the city behind us. Once in Montreal we wove through the streets into Vieux Montreal (Old Montreal) where we perused the boardwalk and enjoyed the beautiful weather. After a relaxing afternoon and a 15 miles bike ride we made our way to the HI Hostel on Rue de Mackay in the center of town, passing by Notre Dame de Basilica and numerous parks. After a home cooked dinner of chicken vegetable stir fry and blueberry pie, the trekkers found a ukulele, guitar and djembe. They brought the instruments back to their room to sing and tell stories before bed. Tomorrow we will be wandering the lovely city, visiting Rue de Saint Catherine and hopefully some art museums.

News from across the pond, EP-JN30 Checking in!

Seeing Windsor Castle, eating of cherry trees, thatched cottages, fish and chips, remote country lanes, Stonehenge, and traveling 166 miles is only the start. Now we are on our way to our second country on the European Phantom Trek. I can not believe that these days have flown by so fast. Starting in Heathrow and continuing through many different towns to find our destinations we have bonded and shared some great memories. Now we are waiting at the ferry station to experience our first night on board the ship taking us to the coast of France. Each day we get stronger with our biking and see more and more beautiful places. It truly is becoming an experience that won't be forgotten.
Cynthia Ottuso
5 July 2010

NE-JN26 Updates!

Hey all, so the big news of the week is that Jon got some pants yo. He
bought them at Victoria's Secret for $20. They sexyyyy. Zach also
bought a belt. We went kayaking, saw the Breakers Mansion, and went on
an awesome cliff walk. We took tons of cool pics. On the way to Block
Island we jumped on the front of the boat when it was on top of the
waves so we got some sick air. It was so key. Om om om omomomomom.
That was an eating noise. We also made a human pyramid on the beach on
Block Island. Also, Jon the turtle came out of his shell. He makes a
turtle noise that sounds like this. "Neiouyl." Jake and Zach slid out
of their tent at 5 AM because it was on a hill and lacking a zipping
door. The hotel in Providence is frickin SICK!! We are staying at the
Renaissance and we went to this Japanese Hibachi restaurant that was
all you can eat. We are going to watch Hot Tub Time Machine right now
so we will TTYL lol jk but seriously we really have to go. So byeeeee
yooooo

News from the Across America Trek!

Hello, avid readers! After our little stint at the beer garden, we continued on our trip into more windmill-filled nothingness until we reached a small town called McNary, Washington. We had a long, restful siesta for a couple of hours, including a very interesting exchange with some Mormon missionaries who did NOT want to talk about Monty Python and would rather talk about the Book of Mormon instead. :-)

The next day, after staying at a campground for the night, the group journeyed onward towards the first real town we had seen in days, with a population over 1,000: Walla Walla, Washington!! Everyone was ecstatic to step inside of a supermarket again, and large quantities of nutella were purchased there. As we enjoyed our siesta, a couple members of our pack explored Whitman College while the rest of the group slumbered in the shady, grassy park we were resting in.

The last day in Washington started with us leaving a bit later than planned from the Lewis & Clark campground we stayed at for the night. However, once we got on the road, the scenery went by quickly. The wind was at our backs for a large portion of the time as we biked by enormous fields of the greenest grain and under a cloudless and pristinely blue sky. It was a beautiful ride that we enjoyed until we reached lunch in Pomeroy, Washington. We had our regular afternoon siesta there, and around 6:00, we mounted our bikes again as we journeyed towards our final destination for the night: Lewiston, Idaho! We reached it just after sundown, and although everyone was tired and ravenous for dinner, we all posed for pictures in front of the "Welcome to Idaho!" sign!

We were lazy butts, stayed in a hotel for the night, and ate 8 pizzas and about 40 chicken wings for dinner.

The End

A lovely letter from the NE-JN26 crew!

Marisa,



As I was trekking up the copious hill, I had an epiphany that I should
compose a blog. The past few glorious days have been eye opening and I
never knew what various specimens of woodland rodents lay on the side
of the road. Crunchy leaves rustle as i race down the slope, its
exhilarating, my body is in shock. I have gained insight into eras
past by the rustic living situations we are placed in, such as not
bathing our perspiring bodies for days. We have also been through
periods where we were not able to cleanse our limited garments. But
overall, the beach is totes awesome and Im livin it up out here yall,
holla atcha gurlfriend.I like cheese. Anywayz we havin a sick time and
dude seriously neva knew life could be so dangerous, we are livin on
the edge. I leave this note with chicka chicka yeah. Its been a great
experiance. can't wait for the 40 miles tomorrow..plus the extra 10
for when we get lost. bye now:)

love,
your offsprings (The kids from the NE-JN26 Trek)

Pictures from the New York to Montreal Trek!

NYM-JN28

It's only the second day and the group is loving life! Early rise and shine at Croton point park. Some sweet cycling...some sweet toothing (ice cream). We ate lunch off a pier on the Hudson and met some sweet old dudes fishing for crabs. Those guys hit the jackpot with a big big bucket of HUGE crabs. We ended the day with a delivery pizza indulgence to a monastery where we are spending the night. We're excited for a tour of FDR's house tomorrow...even more excited for breakfast- Super nice oatmeal, brown sugar, raisins, bananas, and chocolate chips. Yummmm.

Across America Photos!

Across America Trek checks in from the road!

So you're probably wondering what your precious little children have been up to...Not much, really: Just riding past dormant volcanoes, swimming in the freezing Columbia river, soaking up mist from myriad waterfalls and eating loads of nutella and oatmeal. Departing seaside on day one, we traversed 3200 feet of elevation gain and roughly 72 miles through luscious landscapes, which brought us to our first night of camp. 50 easy miles the following day and we were back in Portland. What could top witnessing two weddings in one day, you ask? FREE PIZZA!! That's right, nothing but Portland's finest, Mississippi Pizza Pub. We relaxed our tired legs in the hot tub in the morning and we were off! The kids made pasta that night, and we camped on a beach. Yesterday we camped on a cliff in Oregon, overlooking the Columbia river. Mosquitoes took all the blood we would have donated to the red cross. The wind pushed us eighty miles today, as the landscape transitioned into desert. Tonight we find ourselves in the good graces of a kind restaurant owner named Terry who has insisted that we camp in his 'beer garden'. The kids are pumped up to attempt our first century tomorrow! -Adam, Anna, Bryan, Gavriel,Holly, Kyle, Lurline, Malcolm,Tyler, William, + Zack

Hello Anson! Welcome to Teen Treks!

Teen Treks welcomes another new leader--Anson Biller!
Hello out there! My name is Anson Biller, a native of Eastern Massachusetts, growing up about a ten minute drive from Walden Pond. Currently, however, I am in Ithaca, NY where I am tenting out at an ecovillage to follow through on a research grant, and playing guitar in the county's roots music scene [contra, old time, bluegrass]. I studied alternative education through NYU's Gallatin School of Individualized Study, and am planning to become an elementary school teacher. I have a great interest in gardening and the outdoors. In particular, I am interested in designing a sustainable gardening program for students.
I have been fortunate to travel quite a bit - to Mexico, Brazil, the Czech Republic, and a swath of Western Europe, to name a few - and spent last summer bicycling with a friend from Boston, MA to San Francisco, CA. Our next tour together, one we're actually planning with a cyclist we met on the road, is to cycle down to Argentina and back. I am an Eagle Scout and frequent backpacker, and intend to bring this knowledge to the trip(s) I lead this summer.
I am looking forward to being a Teen Trek leader. Touring, in my opinion, is one of the best ways to travel, and better still when you do it with great people. This summer promises to be quite an adventure for us, and I'm excited to get out on the road.

Welcome back returning Leader, Dave Burnette!

Leader Dave Burnette returns to Teen Treks for a second summer of awesome trips!

My name is Dave Burnette. I am graduating this semester from SUNY Cortland with a degree in Therapeutic Recreation. I have been working in recreation for going on 5 years now, and am currently employed by the Cortland Family YMCA. I am also a volunteer firefighter and bunker (live-in firefighter), which I have also been doing for just about 5 years. When I am not crazy busy I love rock climbing, or anything adrenaline pumping, sky diving, SCUBA diving, trail running, mountain biking, backpacking, skiing, camping (roughing it style), you name it...and of course Teen Trekking! See ya on the Trek!

Welcome New Leader, the World-Traveling Nikki!

Hey guys! I'm Nikki, and I couldn't be more excited about joining Teen Treks for the summer! I'm trying to imagine what could be better than spending a summer reveling in the outdoors, creating fantastic memories, and most importantly, getting to meet and hang out with the awesome people I'm sure to meet. (So far, the only thing I've come up with is spending a summer tanning on a secret tropical island with Brett Favre, but he hasn't called me back ...) This is my second short-term gig following my graduation from the University of Wisconsin; I'm just coming off of eight months teaching English in China and traveling throughout Asia, where my degree in English was far less useful than my ability to pantomime basic needs. My travels were phenomenal, but the most important thing I've learned is that just haven't lived until you've belted out the Backstreet Boys in front of dozens of your wildly appreciative college-aged students. I could do a little re-enactment for you on the road sometime, but you might have to bribe me with spicy kung-pow chicken. You should just know how pumped I am about getting to hit the road with you guys; I think we can all look forward to doing a lot of learning, laughing, and Livin' this summer; I'll see you wherever there are adventures to be had!

The leaders keep rolling on in!

Meet another one of our newly hired leaders! This is Alex!
Hey guys! I’m Alex Thomson and I’m currently a senior majoring in civil engineering at Syracuse University, but originally I’m from Buffalo, NY. I love biking. I used to be an avid mountain biker, but recently switched to road biking and touring and I’m loving it. Last summer, I went on a cross-country bike trip from Outer Banks, NC to San Diego, CA and built houses for groups like Habitat for Humanity. It was an incredible experience and it makes me even more excited for this summer! I love camping. I’m an Eagle Scout who has been on countless camping trips including backpacking in the New Mexico Rockies for a few weeks, backpacking a total of about 250 miles of the Appalachian Trial, canoed the Adirondacks, and many other adventures. More than anything else however, I love to travel, especially with groups (more people = more fun). Every time I’ve ever traveled, I found that a positive attitude and great people will make the trip so much better than I could have imagined. The opportunity you have this summer is an amazing one that you’ll remember for the rest of your life. In addition to all the fun you’ll be having, you will meet some incredible people and make some great friends. As a leader, I plan to facilitate an amazing trip and make sure you guys have a summer to remember. I’m excited to meet you all, see you soon!

Meet Greg Kass! One of our awesome leaders!

Hello There! My name is Greg Kass and I attend the University of
Vermont where I am studying to be a nurse. I plan to work as a nurse
in an emergency room, in an ICU, or off a helicopter responding to
emergencies. I enjoy running marathons, racing triathlons, as well
as study Bikram and Hatha Yoga. Road biking is a huge passion of
mine. I raced road bikes when I was younger but now use it as a
release. I believe that seeing a new (or even familiar place) on two
wheels really gives you a new perspective on yourself as well as that
place. I’m super pumped about leading trips for Teen Treks this
summer and meeting all of YOU! I also like unrealistic setups that
end in cheesy puns… Did you hear about the vampire bicycle that went
around biting people’s arms off? …It was a vicious cycle! See you on
the road this summer!