I love to meet new people; it's one of the single biggest reasons I love to travel. If you think I might be passing through your area -- or just think I ought to -- and would like to meet me, be it for a cup of tea or a tour of the city, just drop me a line. If possible, please include a phone number and a good time to contact you, in case it looks like I'll be passing through your town before I get a chance to respond to my email.
If you're reading this, you obviously speak a fair amount of English. That's definitely a good thing, but it's not necessary. I speak a bit of Italian, a (tiny) bit of German and am in the process of learning French. I am not fluent in anything but English, but if you're patient, I'll attempt to communicate in just about any language for which I can find a dictionary.
While I do like traveling by myself, it can get pretty bloody lonely sometimes. Riding with other people can be a real joy. It can also be a real pain in the rear. I am happy to entertain the idea of riding with other people for a period of time. If you think you might like to join me -- be it just for the day or for a week or more -- don't hesitate to contact me. Before you do, however, please read my rules for traveling with other people. Without some guidelines, agreeing to travel with someone you don't know can be utter disaster; I know from experience.
If you would like to add a link to this site on your site, please feel free. The more exposure, the better. If you think that your site has something to offer the readers of this site, please contact me. I will NOT link to ANY commercial site unless you are paying for advertising space on this site. I will happily link to any non-commercial site which appears to share the goals and/or interests of this site. Click here for a list of my current links to other sites
By far the best way to get to know a place, its people and its culture, is to live with them, even if only for a day. Every backpacker and cycle tourist loves to stay with local people, and I am no exception. I'm used to camping, and therefore sleeping on the ground, so even if all you can offer is a spot on the floor and a roof over my head, it will be welcome. Be aware, though, that I will not ever leave my bicycle outside and unattended, particularly in the big cities. So, if you live on the 40th floor of a building which doesn't have an elevator, and you don't have room for a bike, I may feel compelled to decline. Outside of that one issue, I'm pretty flexible.
If you don't have room in your own house/flat/apartment, but know of a good campground or youth hostel in your area, feel free to drop me a line and say so. Please do not send ads for B&B's or hotels, however, as these are almost always out of my price range.
When I tell people that I hope to get sponsorship for this trip, they always ask me "why in the world would anybody want to give you money for this trip?" Well, here's my answer: you're reading this, aren't you? Very few (if any) companies sponsor people or organizations out of the goodness of their hearts. They must be provided some incentive, some idea that their sponsorship will provide them with some return. In essence, "sponsorship" is often (though not always) a euphemism for another form of advertising. So, if you really want to give me a helping hand, write to a company which you think might be interested in advertising on this site, and suggest that they sponsor me. The more people who write to a company, the more they will realize that my site is providing them with some publicity, which in turn is potential sales. Here are just a few examples of companies whose products I use and like: Trek bicycles, Kona bicycles, Giro helmets, R.E.I. equipment (various sorts), Ortlieb panniers (the best!), Canon photo equipment, Kodak film, American Express travelers' services, PowerBar energy foods, and every kind of chocolate in the universe.
If you're reading this, than you obviously found this site interesting enough to read to this point. You can surely imagine, then, that hundreds if not thousands of other like-minded people find it equally interesting. By the very nature of the site, the same people will see the site over and over again, each time I send in a new update. My product reviews are honest and are based on my own personal experience, which lends them credibility to my readers. By the nature of the World Wide Web, the only people who will view this site are people who are interested in the subject material. My audience, therefore, are people who are already interested in your product, so adding your name recognition has clear benefits for your company. (I am assuming, of course, that anyone who would have clicked on this link is selling a related product. If you're selling spatulas, what in the world are you doing reading this? You might be able to sell a car or a couch by advertising here and saying something like "Not everyone wants to cycle across Africa," but you probably wouldn't have much luck marketing ditch-digging services here.)
If you'd like to sponsor this endeavor or advertise on this site, please contact me for advertising rates and details.
This headline has a smiley-face beside it for a reason: I don't actually expect anybody to just send me money for the heck of it. While at some point I may have something to offer (I have seen other, similar sites where they sold t-shirts to raise money), at the moment I haven't come up with any such thing, so I have absolutely nothing to offer except my continued service as a freelance internet photojournalist, humorist, cyclist and general-purpose nice guy. Of course, if you enjoy this site enough that you want to make sure that I keep traveling (and thereby keep updating the site), then feel free to make a contribution!
I will accept contributions of any size, with only one exception: it is my understanding that cashing a check on a foreign bank can actually be quite expensive. I remember somebody telling me that it cost them something like $7-10 to cash a check drawn on a U.K. or German bank. I cannot, therefore, accept amounts less than $10 unless they're on a U.S. bank, in U.S. funds. If that's the case, though, then feel free to send me $0.25 or whatever else suits your fancy. You can find the address at the bottom of this page.
I love to receive hard-copy mail. I love to receive email, too, but there's something about hard-copy for which email just can't substitute. Something about having a stamp, a signature, somebody's handwriting. Postcards are particularly cool, since then I also get a picture of where you live. If you would like to send me something while I'm on the road, check out the Where's David Now link, which may or may not include the address of the next couple American Express offices which I anticipate checking in at (depending on how organized I am this week and whether or not my webmaster has had a chance to post it). If you just want to send something to my home, my parents are pretty good about forwarding mail to me, or just relaying messages to me, whichever seems most appropriate. Their address is:
So, drop me a line! Whether you just want to say "hi" or if you want to express your support for the trip, all correspondence is welcome.