Living anywhere at any age: One retiree’s “Octogenarian Odyssey”
Key Takeaways
- Bob Fletcher will seek to break the existing world record for the longest journey made by a motorized bicycle—traveling approximately 13,500 kilometers over 155 days.
- He’s living in more than 60 Airbnb homes along the way.
Key Takeaways
- Bob Fletcher will seek to break the existing world record for the longest journey made by a motorized bicycle—traveling approximately 13,500 kilometers over 155 days.
- He’s living in more than 60 Airbnb homes along the way.
This summer, Bob Fletcher, a retired educator and avid adventure cyclist from Edmonton, Alberta, will be ringing in his 80th birthday and 25th year of retirement with the journey of a lifetime. On July 4, Bob embarked on an “Octogenarian Odyssey” riding an electric bicycle approximately 13,500 km (approximately 8,389 miles) over 155 days with the goal of breaking the existing world record for the longest journey made by a motorized bicycle—and he’s living in more than 60 Airbnb homes along his journey.
From villages nestled in the wilderness to globally renowned beachside resort towns, Bob’s journey will see him pass through an array of diverse locales including Whitehorse in Canada, Malibu, Puerto Vallarta, and Granada in Nicaragua.
“Life doesn’t have to stop just because you’re retired. Through my Octogenarian Odyssey, I want to show people of all ages how important it is to stay active, keep traveling, and live anywhere the world takes you.”
Bob Fletcher
Bob will begin his ride just south of the Arctic Circle in Fairbanks, Alaska, traveling through the Yukon and British Columbia down the Pacific Coast Highway through Washington, Oregon, and California before heading on to Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica, finally arriving in his destination of Panama City, Panama.
Throughout his journey, Bob will be accompanied by long-standing friend and fellow Edmontonian, Wayne Grover, an accomplished cyclist who has previously completed rides from Anchorage, Alaska to Mexico City, Mexico and Paris, France to Istanbul, Turkey. Together, they will be supported by a truly international team with members hailing from Canada, Costa Rica, Denmark, Greece, and the US. To ensure a safe and reliable experience, Bob and Wayne will complete their journey riding industry-leading bicycles manufactured to the highest quality standards from Evelo Electric Bicycles.
Whether it’s embracing the trend of living anywhere or making the world of travel more accessible, Airbnb is helping to shape the future of flexible living and travel for everyone no matter their age or life stage. In May, we introduced the biggest change in Airbnb in a decade including Airbnb Categories—a new way to search that makes it easy to discover millions of homes you never knew existed; and split stays—an innovative feature that provides more options for longer stays by splitting your trip between two homes.
In addition to travel, Airbnb also provides greater economic opportunities for seniors looking for new ways to earn extra income. Recent data from Airbnb shows many in the community are making the most of the current travel revolution with more than a quarter of Hosts in Canada and in the US identifying as retirees*.
For more on Bob’s Octogenarian Odyssey, you can follow his journey at ebikeodyssey.com.