Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Anne Breedlove. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Anne, thanks so much for taking the time to share your insights and lessons with us today. We’re particularly interested in hearing about how you became such a resilient person. Where do you get your resilience from?
First I’m sure I was born resilient. As the sixth child of ten children we run the gamut of personalities. Some of us were more outgoing, some more shy. My older siblings said I popped out with both pistols blazing. Birth order was another factor – with four older brothers and one older sister, I was doted on by my sister and toughened up by my brothers, so to speak. It was also a home where there was rarely enough money, we all got the message at a young age the importance of work. I started working at the age of 12. By the time I started high school my parents had so many obligations that I started relying on myself for major decisions. And while my parents met in college they told all of us if we went to college we had to pay for it ourselves. By 18 I had the strength and confidence to leave New York to attend college in San Francisco, and I’ve been here ever since.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
A happenstance event – going on a week-long, self-guided bike tour in rural France to celebrate out twentieth-wedding anniversary – opened our eyes to the possibility of traveling the world on our own 2 bikes. We took it a step at a time, a trip at a time, after 10 years of learning we decided to retire early – I was 54, my husband Jim 61 – and travel as much of the world as our bodies would allow. (I estimate we put in about 40,00 loaded miles in 21 countries to date.) Many who read of our adventures said I should write a book. When I read short essays of more memorable adventures and many listeners were confused I had an “ah-ha” moment, realizing my first book needed to tell the back story of how we transitioned from fairly typical suburban working parents to international bicycle travelers. Part-Time Nomads was released last fall and since I am wearing a new hat – chief of marketing, doing many readings, books fairs, literary events, and even “performing” a 20-minute monologue at The Marsh theater on Valencia Street in San Francisco. I also am a fine-art printmaker, mostly selling my screen-printed artwork locally. Chandler Tang, who referred you to me, sells my work in her gift shop post.script. on California. I did a new series of 10 prints – titled Bike The World – from sketches I did during our travels.
I’m working on my second book – working title Happy Campers – of our first post-retirement trip crossing North America and halfway back.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
First, Jim and I were lucky enough to be a pretty good match for international bicycle travel, with our strengths complementing one another. Second, we were both smart enough, and lucky enough, to take on the formidable challenge of independent bicycle travel one small step at a time. We learned as we went along, making mistakes of manageable proportions, so that when we retired to travel full time we were experienced and confident.
Third, bicycle travel is slow travel, it’s both a humbling and uplifting experience. Being in a rush, wanting to keep a deadline doesn’t work. The bike, the terrain, the weather calls the shots. We both came to accept letting go as part of the experience and our trips were the richer for it.
What is the number one obstacle or challenge you are currently facing and what are you doing to try to resolve or overcome this challenge?
Traveling the world by bicycle is an acquired taste that is not for most folks, it requires strength, fortitude and patience. I always kept travel journals and found writing about our adventures to be a joy, reliving many of the experiences. Marketing the book, however, is a much harder challenge – there are so many books out there, not to mention, blogs, podcasts, etc. I had no idea how hard this part of my journey would be. But I’m not giving up, once again learning new skills as I go. I’ve gotten two good reviews – Publishers Weekly BookLife and Kirkus Review – and I have many events scheduled, including performing the first chapter of the book.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://annembreedlove.com
- Instagram: @speedyab6
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/
Image Credits
I took all the photos. 1. Printing in my studio 2. Some of the greeting cards I sell 3. Jim and I cycling Ireland 2005 4. Cover of my book, Part-Time Nomads 5. My new series of prints, Bike The World 6. Cycling New Zealand 2015 7. Garden artichokes I grew, sketched and screen printed 8. Four-color process screen print of morning glory flowers I grew, photographed, and printed.
