Meet Steve Parsons - Tour Leader & Summer Intern
Greetings adventure cyclists. I'm Steve Parsons, the new tours department summer intern.I am originally from upstate New York, and am now at The Pennsylvania State University studying Outdoor Recreation/Park Management. I plan to graduate in August, and have no clue where I will go from there. In the past I have worked at bike shops, managed a kayak store, and worked as a ski instructor.In my free time I enjoy being outside. A few of my favorite activities include cycling, mountain biking, bike touring, backpacking, canoeing, kayaking, fishing, hunting, and downhill and cross country skiing. I have been cycling since I was two, and have been a self-contained tourist for the past nine years. I have toured in the Adirondacks and Finger Lakes region of New York, the White and Green Mountains in New Hampshire and Vermont, around the Great Lakes in Michigan and Wisconsin, and in the Alps of Southern France.So, how did I become involved with Adventure Cycling? Our family had been members for a number of years, and I knew that I wanted to lead some tours for the organization. In 2009 I completed Adventure Cycling's Leadership Training Course, a highly recommended course that teaches you all the aspects of leading a tour. In 2010, I co-led the van-supported Trans Am tour, a great way to ride Adventure Cycling's flagship route. This coming September I will be co-leading the Wild Coast van-supported tour, which offers some extraordinary scenery along the Pacific Coast Bicycle Route.A few personal adventures I would like to do include getting a border collie and thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail with him or her, canoeing the Boundary Waters in Minnesota and Canada, and setting out on an adventure tour of New Zealand that includes bike touring, kayaking, backpacking, scuba diving, sky diving, bungee jumping, and much more.If anybody has any suggestions for what to do next, please let me know!Photo by Robin Campbell, 2010 Trans-Am Van-Supported Tour Participant--ON THE ROAD is written by the tours team -- Mo, Paul, Madeline, and Steve -- tours specialists and intrepid bicyclists, covering all things related to Adventure Cycling's tours department. Check out our 2011 guided tours today.
Source: http://blog.adventurecycling.org/2011/06/meet-steve-parsons-tour-leader-summer.html