Gergo Szanyi

Hi there, My name is Gergo [Grrr-go], I'm from Budapest, Hungary.  Graduated in Visual Communications, since then dealing with photography, film and all sorts of graphic design projects. After more than a decade of annual and occasional bike touring with my family and friends in the late 80's and 90's, a few seasons of mountain bike racing, and quite a few years of "just" sitting in an office, in 2005 I read a magazine article about the Tour of Freaks... I mean... the Tour d'Afrique.  It made me wonder: how such distance is even doable?  Fast forward to the following January: I found myself in Cairo, at the start line of the 4th edition of TDA!  I successfully completed the full tour. What a great adventure it was! Next year, in 2007 I also crossed the Himalaya by bike, riding with a friend from Lhasa to Kathmandu.  On this trip we had a great off-road ride up to the "North Base Camp" of Mount Everest in Tibet, China at 5,150 metres (16,900 ft) above sea level. This is where this profile photograph was taken. Since then I did the Amber Route, a couple of Orient Express tours, Trans Europas, Odysseys and the PubRides. In the summer of 2020 we completed a long distance all self-supported bicycle tour with the kids (then younger than 1 and 6) with tents, tandem and trailers.

Coby Werlin

I am the Content Creator on TDA's tours, mostly traversing Europe and the Americas, and off-tour I spend my time between Boston, MA and Maui, HI.

Shaik Baba

Baba is a maestro in the art of cycle maintenance. He has close to 20 years of experience in the industry along with 10 years of travelling the length and breath of the country on cycle trips and camps. India is a highly diversified country with many languages. With five spoken languages under his belt, Baba is an asset to have on the team. Baba is a very friendly team person and ever willing to help & contribute in all aspects.

Balazs Perjesy

Stephanie Thornton

Hey Everyone, I am looking forward to traveling & supporting you on your tour across Italy. This will be my 5th TDA tour. In between tours, I do all sorts of other work spanning from Fighting forest fires to working with Doctors Without Borders. Can't wait to ride bikes with all of you and eat gelato when we aren't!

Roberta Hunt

This will be my second TDA trip….loved the Odyssey in 2019 and looking forward to another biking adventure. There is no other way to explore the world!,

Tim Sole

Married to Judy. Both rode LEJOG in 2014, TDA Bamboo Road in 2015, the first third of TDA Trans-Europa in 2016, the TDA Odyssey in 2017, the TDA Pub Ride in 2018, and the last 80% of TDA's North American Epic (so for us Banff to Panama) in 2019. This tour will be my first on an e-bike. My superpower is finding coffee stops.

Judy Sole

Married to Tim Sole, who is also on the tour. This will be my sixth TDA trip having previously done the Bamboo Road, part of the Transeuropa, the Odyssey, the Pub Ride and 80% of the North American Epic (Jasper to Panama). Greatly enjoyed cycling LEJOG (Lands End to John O' Groats) and the South Island of New Zealand.

Randall Shier

Randy is happily married to his best friend and wife Sandy of 37 years. He has three adult children, two of them married and two young grandsons. Randy resides in Kelowna, British Columbia and enjoys his real estate development career as President of Mission Group. When he is not working, he loves travel, cycling, snow skiing and oil painting. Born in Vancouver, he has been a lifelong British Columbian, except for six years in Los Angeles, earning a degree in architecture from the University of Southern California. His favourite team sports to watch are hockey and football. Randy is an avid Canadian Olympic hockey team fan, a USC Trojan college football fan, as well as a Pittsburgh Steeler fan. He and Sandy have experienced long distance cycling twice before in 2015 in 2017. Their first trip they rode 1,800 km, unsupported from Canterbury, England to Rome, Italy. their second trip was the Orient Express with TDA Global from Paris to Varna, Bulgaria. Randy is grateful to be married to an adventurous wife as she has been the catalyst for our long distance cycling adventures.

Brigitte Oelert

I am married to Jürgen Willrodt and our first vacation 30 years ago was a bike tour through France. After our kids were grown, Jürgen convinced me to ride the Ruta Maya in Central America in 2015. It was my first TDA tour, which was tough but absolutely fantastic! The following year I cycled part of the Trans-Oceania Tour - from Auckland to Queenstown and in 2019 the first 4 weeks of the Trans-Himalaya Tour. Now I'm looking forward to cycling in Italy and of course the Italian cuisine.

ASRUN AALVIK

I am born in 1951 in Hardanger in the western part of Norway With narrow fjords between steep Mountains. I love hiking and biking, but most of all I love to be grand mother of two girls and one boy! I participated on 2019 Orient Express Full Tour. This year I only bike the first stage.

Finn Trygve Nybakke

My name is Finn and I have lived in Norway all my life since I was born i 1952. I am a father and grandfather, and I do have a cat! In 2014 we joined TDA on the last stage on The Silk Road to Istanbul. Last year I joined the Orient Express 2019, both tours together With my beloved Asrun. I love Biking, Beer and Potatoes (french fries is the favorite) ! See you soon in Rome :-) ... and hopefully next year Trans Europe

Bente Arnesen

I am born in 1952 in Oslo in Norway. I have two daughters and six grandchildren. I am a retired teacher. I like cycle, kayak, cross country skiing and walking in the mountains. I have previously been cycling in Italy with EXPA, but only as one-week tour. I am really looking forward to this adventure!

Graeme Robinson

I am a 64 year young male who prefers a slower pace to my ride. Really looking forward to seeing Italy.I have done some touring but not of this range or location. Cycling Europe will be a new experience for me.

Richard Madden

Hello! I am a past rider with TDA, Orient Express (2006) and the Amber Route (2010). I presently live in Los Angeles, and am 71 years of age. I am a retired university faculty member, worked 32 years at Duke University (Biological Anthropology) and 8 years at the University of Chicago (Organismal Biology & Anatomy), teaching human anatomy in the medical schools at both institutions.. My intellectual activities have been absorbed by the vertebrate paleontology of South America, where I have done field, laboratory and museum research all my life. My present interests center on climate change, and as I understand it, bicycles will be an important part of the solution to this complex and daunting challenge. I cannot tell you how much I look forward to being with you all, once again.

Regan Dunn

I’m a newbie to long bike tours, but I love long day trips on a bike. This will be my first TDA adventure, and I am very much looking forward to a spectacular trip and excellent food. I am a paleobotanist and Curator at the La Brea Tar Pits and Museum in Los Angeles, CA. I make a living studying fossil plants and the rocks that preserve them. I spend a lot of time digging holes all over the world, and even more time at the lab bench and at the microscope. I am passionate about studying past climatic change, extinction and biodiversity to understand what the past can tell us about present and future change. I haven’t taken a vacation for several years, and I am ready for a big adventure with my husband Rick Madden.

Kelly McNamara

I have found riding a bike a great way to travel and see the world. Joining organized tours with like minded people has worked out beautifully.

Chris Dean

I have done the Odyssey tour this year and am keen to come back and have another European adventure. I am easygoing and can mix in with just about any group.

Andrew Freeman

I am an American who has been living in (and cycling throughout) Switzerland since 2000. While I have been making big and small "adventurous expeditions" since I was 16 (mostly on foot or by bike) this will be my first supported tour.

Duane Lodrige

Love to tour via bike. Accomplished several credit card solo tours in the USA traveling ultralight on my Roubaix.

Melinda Setters

John Hemmen

I have been an avid cyclist all my life and have done many tours on both road and mountain bikes. Cycling is simply the best way to travel through country, for it lends itself to a relaxed and visceral connection to the land and its people. I am a retired Emergency Physician and have done the Trans Europa, Odyssey, Pub Ride, and NAE tours previously with TDA.

Jan Craig

I've had some great cycling adventures in Canada, Turkey, Colombia and Australia. It's the best way to see the countryside. I'm not fast but always make it in by dinner. And given I love beer, I might just speed up a bit on this trip!

Uwe Rydzek

Sabine Hoffmann

My husband and I live in Berlin and Italy with - sometimes - our two kids, who live actually in London and the US. We like to do sports of any kind and decided to do this bicycle trip for having fun, learn more about Italy and some nature experience. I don`t like social media, which does not mean that I am not a social person.

Juergen Willrodt

I am 72 years old and have already participated in 10 TDA tours mainly as a sectional rider. I am married and happy father of three girls (42, 27 and 24) and grandfather of three grandchildren. I am partly retired working now just 1 or 2 days a week which gives me plenty of time to travel. I have studied physics and have a Ph.D. in theoretical particle physics. I have been active in sports all my life and before I started doing cycling tours I have been active in Karate and participated in World Championships 1975 in Los Angeles and 1977 in Tokyo and became European Champion in 1977. You can find more information on my website.

Louise Sims

I'm not a fast rider by any stretch, but I love to travel this way!

Richard Russek

I enjoy the slower pace of cycling that allows one to explore a country. And the opportunity to try new food. And the history. But not the sore bum.