TRAVEL INTERVIEW WITH LEIGH McADAM OF HIKE-BIKE-TRAVEL

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TRAVEL INTERVIEW-LEIGH McADAM -HIKE-BIKE-TRAVEL

Adventurous Canadian Leigh McAdam has been dashing off on international travels for over three decades and still going strong. Leigh has completed some hefty long-distance overseas cycling trips, long-term backpacking adventures and impressive trekking trips around the globe. Leigh shares her adventures, photos and insights on her perfectly named blog, Hike Bike Travel.

Today we get into the details of her life-long travel adventures…

Q1. You’ve been to 53 countries and every continent except Antartica. That’s impressive! How and when did you get started traveling? What was your first trip overseas?

I’ve had the travel bug since I was 8. I had a teacher in Grade 3 who taught us about Saudi Arabia and that got my curiosity aroused. Then I started collecting stamps (I know that sounds nerdy) and that further fueled my imagination.

My first trip overseas was to England and Wales when I was 15. I joined a whole lot of other teenagers and we biked from youth hostel to youth hostel for three plus weeks. To fund this venture I did a ton of babysitting at $0.50/hour.

Q2. What are your 3-5 favorite countries and why do you like them so much?

Turkey – extremely friendly people, culturally interesting and lovely landscapes.
New Zealand – also incredibly friendly people and so much scenery and variety of things to do packed into such a small area
Argentina – loved the scenery in the north, found the food to be delicious and I’m in love with Malbec
Nepal – scenery and gentle people

LEIGH McADAM -HIKE-BIKE-TRAVEL

Leigh at Connemara and the Burren

Q3. What’s the longest trip you’ve made? Please tell us about it: where, when, how long, best impressions…

Right out of university I headed off by myself for 5 ½ months to Fiji, New Zealand and Australia. That was in the days when you looked forward to getting letters at the Post Offices in large cities. I did a lot of hitchhiking to save money and slept wherever I could pitch a tent. Highlights were two weeks on the beach in Byron Bay, a 5-6 day Cradle Mountain walk in Tasmania and exploring the South Island of New Zealand with new found friends in a mini cooper.

Q4. Cycling: you clearly love all sorts of cycling ventures, ranging from a quick pedal over to a cafe to long distance, multiple week trips, and everything in between. Given your druthers, do you have an absolute favorite / preferred / ideal cycling trip? If so, what and why?

I love a 2-3 week trip. It’s enough time to get you out of any rut at home and to get immersed in a culture. And I love the physical sense of well-being after several weeks in the saddle.

LEIGH McADAM -HIKE-BIKE-TRAVEL

Leigh on the Tour de Afrique, 2009

Q5. What’s the longest cycling trip you’ve done? Please tell us about it: when, where, with whom, and how was it?

In 2009 I joined my daughter in Iringa, Tanzania and cycled two sections of the Tour d’Afrique (http://www.tourdafrique.com/) through to Victoria Falls in Zambia, a distance of 2500 kms. It was on this trip that I met Deb and Dave from The Planet D. (Just FYI the whole ride takes you from Cairo to Capetown over 4 ½ months.) I loved the experience, though some of it in hindsight. Days averaged 125 kilometers so by the time you finished riding, setting up your tent and getting cleaned up you didn’t have much energy left over. It’s a lesson in my own planning to throw in plenty of short days so you have time to really experience the country you’re cycling in. Unlike you, I struggle when the temperature soars and there were days when it was pretty uncomfortable. I am very proud of how far I cycled over the last three days – 500 kms – and some of it on very bad roads.

Leigh on the West Coast Trail

Q6. Hiking: How did you get into hiking?

In 1993 our family moved to Colorado and it was there that I got seriously interested in hiking. We didn’t have much in the way of extra money but we could afford a tank of gas and some ice cream to bribe the kids. It was a cheap and healthy form of entertainment and an amazing way to discover parts of Colorado most people never saw.

Q7. What’s the longest hiking trip you’ve made? Please tell us about it: Where, when, how long, how was it?

In 1995 I spent a month in Nepal hiking around Manaslu – the 5^th highest mountain in the world. It was a fabulous trip except for the food. Every day the scenery was superb. We started at low elevations near Pokhara and worked our way to a pass at just over 15,000 feet. I’ll never forget the jaw dropping views that took you from rice paddies at about 3000 feet all the way up through the clouds, 20,000 feet higher.

Leigh finishing the West Highland Way

Q8. What’s your ideal hiking trip? Distance, length of trip, season, terrain, views.. ?

My ideal hiking trip is a day trip because I really don’t like carrying a heavy pack anymore. I’ll still do it and there are places I want to see where you have no choice but to don a backpack. Otherwise I’m quite happy with a day trip – ideally around 12 miles with a few thousand feet of vertical so you get some views. I’d take mountains over forests and any desert or canyon hiking in the American southwest. I’m partial to wildflowers so summer is my favourite time.

Leigh at Chapieux – Col de la Forclaz (Day 7)

Q9. You’re currently based in Calgary, Canada, after living in Vancouver for many many years. In contrast, nowadays, many travelers are out roaming the globe nomadically, long-term. Would you ever like to do that, or do you prefer to have a home base and make shorter trips from there? In either case, why the preference?

I have a family and a dog – and I want to spend time with them. So as much as I love to travel, I love being at home for periods of time since I feel more grounded. For the next 5-6 years I’m happy continuing with several 2-3 week trips per year providing I can also get away for long weekends. I do want some multi month adventures in the future but that’s just not in the cards yet. I am definitely not a long term nomad.

Leigh in Africa, 2005

Q10. You’ve got a self-declared goal of making a 6-month cycling trip from Scandinavia to Turkey. That sounds great! Please tell us about those plans: When do you think you’ll do it? What preparations will you make? How did you choose that particular route?

I’d go next spring if I could but realistically I expect it will be in about five to six years. Two things need to happen. My dog has to die – and I know that sounds terrible – but I can’t imagine leaving her for six months, and my husband has to have his company bought out. That could definitely happen in that time frame.

The idea for the trip came from staring at a map and imagining filling in the blanks. I’ve never been to Norway, Sweden or Finland so I figured they’d make a good starting point especially in the spring. I’d love to fit in a quick trip to St. Petersburg, Russia too. Then I’d get off the beaten path and head down through Eastern Europe through countries that aren’t on the radar screen of many tourists. Culturally that would be eye opening. By ending in Turkey in late fall we’d be able to visit parts of the country I missed 30 years ago on a visit.

Q11. Do you have any concerns, fears, or doubts about that trip? If so, what and why?

Other than language concerns I have no issues. I’m always excited to travel – and it never gets old for me even after close to 40 years of traveling.

Q12. How will you fund the trip?

I’d try to rent out our house for a decent sum and with a little luck that would cover a good chunk of the expenses. Perhaps by then I’d actually be making enough with my blog that at least our meals – and wine – expenses would be fully covered too.

Leigh in Uganda

Q13. While your travel blog is mainly focused on hiking, cycling, and travels in the great outdoors, as the name implies, you also present 2 seemingly random videos and some posts about the Kibo Foundation, an organization set “to help the youth of Uganda learn a set of IT, communication and leadership skills”. Please tell us about Kibo and how you got involved with it.

I was invited onto the board by an old friend from Toronto who spent years on the Canadian board of AMREF (African Medical Research Foundation (http://www.amref.org/). Through her work there she met and became good friends with Abraham Temu, a Canadian who moved back to Uganda to start up the KiBO Foundation (http://www.kibofoundation.com/) and help the youth of his native country.

I thought it was about time I gave back in a bigger way so I joined the board and spent several weeks in Uganda last year (on my own nickel and not paid for by the NGO) to see the work in action.

KiBO is not like most NGO’s. It’s run by Ugandans and it’s the Ugandan business community that’s stepping up to the plate to help their youth. The youth in the program, no matter how bad their circumstances have been – think street kids here – have to come up with a project, fundraise and then give back to people even less well off than themselves. This is practically unheard of in Africa – that is Africans giving back to fellow Africans. The program is small scale but very successful.

One video I have on my website was done as a favour to a young man – a student at KiBO – who had dreams of hitting the big time in Hollywood. I’m all in favour of big dreams.

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Thanks for telling us all about your wonderful life of adventurous travels, Leigh. Hat’s off to you! You’ve got a lot of epic adventures under your belt. Very inspiring for hopeful international travelers, hikers and cyclists out there!

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