In this repeat episode from 2022, Sheelagh Daly, a holistic nutritionist and avid cyclist from Ontario, shares her inspiring journey of solo bike touring across Europe.
In this repeat of one of our most downloaded shows, Sheelagh Daly takes us on an inspiring solo journey across Europe that blends stamina, self-discovery, and the fine art of fueling your body during extended tours. With insightful advice on maintaining optimal nutrition, she offers practical tips on making healthy choices even when options are limited and learning to recognize the nuanced hunger cues your body sends while on the go.
Sheelagh illuminates the transformative power of patience, grace, and self-reliance through the lens of a first-time solo tourer. Whether navigating language barriers or the physical demands of cycling through the Alps, you will find inspiration in the stories of resilience and joy from meeting challenges head-on and the connections made along the way.
Catch up with Sheelagh:
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Theme Music by Les Konley | Produced by Les Konley
Happy riding and hosting!
Tahverlee [00:00:03]:
Welcome to the Bike Life podcast by Warmshowers Foundation, where we will be sharing knowledge, experience, tools, and stories of touring cyclists and hosts from around the world. I'm Tahverlee, the woman behind the scenes at Warmshowers foundation, the leading platform for cyclists looking for hosts and to connect with a passionate international community. Find out more by visiting us at Warmshowers dot org. Now onto the show. Today, we're bringing you another fan and listener favorite. This is Sheila from Canada to talk about nutrition and cycling. She's a holistic nutritionist, and she discusses how important it is to merge together our cycling, our touring, our hosting, and nourishing our bodies along the way. This episode originally aired in February of 2022 and is one of the fan favorites that we received the most feedback about, and we know that you would love to hear it again.
Tahverlee [00:01:13]:
So let's go. We are back with another episode of bike life. And coming to you today is Sheila from Ontario, Canada, and she is a bike tourer and a nutritionist. And she records videos on bike touring and nutrition. And I'm so excited to have Sheila here. Thanks for joining me.
Sheelagh Daly [00:01:36]:
Thanks for having me. I'm very excited to be here.
Tahverlee [00:01:39]:
Oh, you have so many interesting facets to your story that I cannot wait to share it with those that are listening. And thank you for being here. It's it's an important time for us to share and keep our community connected through this show.
Sheelagh Daly [00:01:54]:
Yeah. Absolutely. It's it's honestly a pleasure. I I could talk about bike touring, listen about bike touring. I I I'm all about it all the time, so it's great.
Tahverlee [00:02:03]:
And I love it because before we started to record, you said that you've listened to the show and the variety of guests and all the different facets of really what goes into bike touring and hosting is so varied that we've been fortunate for that so many people have expressed an interest to come on the show. So thank you for listening.
Sheelagh Daly [00:02:20]:
Oh, thank you. Yeah. I love that everyone has a unique story of how they got into it, why they take cyclists in. It's it's really beautiful.
Tahverlee [00:02:29]:
So let's start there. Tell us a little bit about how you got started into bike touring. You know, what was the what was the beginning journey for you?
Sheelagh Daly [00:02:37]:
Yeah. So I started doing, triathlons when I was probably 18. And so that kind of got me into cycling. And I worked my way up to an Ironman. So I knew I could do these long distances, but I had never traveled on my own, never done bike touring before. I knew it was an option because, my mother and my sister actually biked across Canada, when I was 16. So I knew it was an option, but, had never done anything like it before. And, I just I started playing with this idea of biking around Scotland and it I thought, oh, it'd be a nice slow way.
Sheelagh Daly [00:03:20]:
I have Scottish background. I'd really like to visit Scotland. So I kind of toyed with this idea. And then, a friend of mine, he was saying that, he wanted to as I was expressing this, he said, oh, I've always wanted to hitchhike across, Europe. And I just thought, well, I should just bike across Europe. And so this little idea of kind of biking around Scotland slowly grew, and then I I decided to cycle across, Europe in 2019.
Tahverlee [00:03:50]:
I love it. I love it so much. And to be 16 and witness your family during doing bike touring sets the stage for what's possible.
Sheelagh Daly [00:04:02]:
Yeah. Absolutely. And I when they did it when I was 16, I was, you know, in theater, and I was really excited about acting, and I was in a show. And I was like, oh, I don't think I I can join you. They had actually invited me to join them. But I I've made up for it since. So
Tahverlee [00:04:19]:
So did you embark on this journey solo then, or did your friend accompany you?
Sheelagh Daly [00:04:24]:
No. I did it on my own. And, it was actually funny because as I was playing with this idea, I think I always envisioned it doing with somebody. I always thought, oh, I'll have a friend that'll say they wanna do it, or maybe I'll be dating somebody, and I'll go with my partner. And I just remember it was like a week or two before I left, and I was like, oh, I'm doing this on my own. And I knew that was a possibility, but actually being kind of faced with it, definitely had its its, nervousness to it, but I'm I'm so glad I I did it on my own, because I really just learned so much about myself and had an amazing experience.
Tahverlee [00:05:04]:
So walk us through what the plan was when you started.
Sheelagh Daly [00:05:09]:
So my honestly, I I had been dreaming about this for a couple years. But when I actually headed over there, I really just I knew I was going to Scotland. I knew I was staying with the Warmshowers host for my 1st week, and I landed in Edinburgh. And I knew I wanted to bike kind of around Europe, but I didn't really know where I was gonna go exactly. I just kind of took it day by day, and the people I met along the way and a lot of the Warmshowers hosts really shaped where I went and the routes I took. And, yeah. So a lot of it was shaped as I went, really.
Tahverlee [00:05:51]:
And how long were you gone? How long or how long was that tour in total?
Sheelagh Daly [00:05:55]:
Yeah. I was in Europe for 6 months, and the tour itself was about three and a half months.
Tahverlee [00:06:02]:
I love it. I love it. So you started in Scotland? Yeah. And did you experience some anxiety going into this journey?
Sheelagh Daly [00:06:12]:
Oh, absolutely. Yes. I think and, you know, that's the funny thing. You hear stories of people going on adventures or touring, and you kind of picture them as being fearless. But I certainly wasn't, and I don't think any of them were either. I definitely had my fears, my anxieties, and I just chose to be really patient and kind with myself. And I told myself when I went, I was like, if you hate this, a weekend, a day in, that's fine. You can fly home.
Sheelagh Daly [00:06:43]:
You can do something different. You can work in Scotland. You can, pick a different adventure. But, you know, within the 1st 3 days, I was in love with bike touring, and and I stuck with it. But I do think that permission to change things, to do a different path, to try something different, that was really helpful for, honestly, encouraging me to keep going because, I I took that pressure off, and I just trusted that, I would keep being patient with myself and making making choices as I went.
Tahverlee [00:07:21]:
Having grace.
Sheelagh Daly [00:07:23]:
Having grace. Exactly. Yeah.
Tahverlee [00:07:25]:
It is definitely an important lesson that carries over in all aspects of our life when you've experienced something where you are pushed to challenge yourself to have, like, this flexibility. Right? Like, surrendering to what you don't know is is going to be and giving yourself I love the the fact that you said giving yourself permission.
Sheelagh Daly [00:07:45]:
Yeah. Mhmm. Yeah.
Tahverlee [00:07:48]:
Wonderful. So when you were 3 days in and you fell in love with bike touring, tell us a little bit about your experiences in Scotland and where you went from there and what that looked like.
Sheelagh Daly [00:07:59]:
Totally. So Scotland, I did a big loop. I spent about 6 weeks cycling, north inverness and then west to kind of the islands, and then down through kind of the West Coast of Scotland back to Edinburgh. And then I cycled through Northern England, took a ferry to, Amsterdam, cycled across the Netherlands to Belgium, down through Belgium, across Germany to Berlin, down through the Czech Republic, then, through the Alps to Venice, and then across, Italy to, Slovenia and then through Croatia.
Tahverlee [00:08:39]:
Amazing.
Sheelagh Daly [00:08:39]:
My full journey.
Tahverlee [00:08:40]:
Amazing. Really incredible. Did you document your journey?
Sheelagh Daly [00:08:45]:
I did. Yeah. I have, a YouTube channel. It's, Sheila Daley, s h e e l a g h d a l y. And, yeah, I started kind of capturing, some of my experiences and telling stories along the way.
Tahverlee [00:09:01]:
And so were you were you also sharing information on the nutrition side of things while you were on tour? Because, you know, we know how important nutrition is when we are on a long term tour. Did you share that, what your experience was like?
Sheelagh Daly [00:09:17]:
Yeah. I actually, I made a a video about nutrition for bike touring and, like, a little guide people can download as well, because I definitely found, especially for longer tours, when you can eat nutritious foods along the way, and enough of them, of course, then you just really feel your best and you're able to ride your best and and really enjoy the experience even more.
Tahverlee [00:09:43]:
Yeah. We'll put the link to that in the show notes so people can check that out. So tell us a little bit about the nutrition side. Like, what is important for people to know while they're touring since this is your area of expertise? This is this is a a very common question, right, in our forums and in our community. So let's start with how many how do you suggest people have good nutrition in their diet when they are on tour?
Sheelagh Daly [00:10:05]:
Totally. The biggest thing is to eat enough, to eat more than we think we need to sometimes. It's really hard because we have to remember that our bodies, when they're stressed, digestion isn't as important. So our digestion slows down, and we might not get the same hunger cues. We might not feel that grumbling belly, but our bodies are burning through nutrients really fast, when we're biking and when we're putting that stress on our bodies, which which biking for hours a day does. So we wanna make sure that we're eating enough, that we're taking breaks to eat, and that we're looking out for those maybe different cues that we're hungry. So if you feel, a little bit of fatigue or you feel grumpy, or you feel irritated, these can all be signs that we might need a little bit more food. So, eating enough food is gonna be the most important.
Sheelagh Daly [00:10:59]:
We also wanna make sure we're drinking enough water, drinking regularly, especially when, it isn't hot. When we're hot, obviously, you need more water, but often, if we're in kind of rainy conditions or shady conditions, we might not, get those same thirst cues. So we have to make sure no matter the temperature that we are drinking. And then, of course, if we're sweating a lot, we need to drink even more. So making sure that we're getting enough food and water is key. Incorporating some salt is important as well, that we're topping up those electrolytes. So getting those minerals, getting sources of salt in our food is really important. I actually travel with a little salt shaker, so I grind that into just about everything when I'm on a bike tour.
Sheelagh Daly [00:11:44]:
And then, you know, if we've kind of if we feel like we're nailing down, that, the other thing I would layer in is trying to get those sources of, vegetables and fruits because when we are exercising and putting that stress in our bodies, we are just burning through vitamins and minerals. And so, you know, I know there's also the trope, you know, when people bike through France, they're like, I'm just gonna exist on bread and cheese. And, of course, we should enjoy those things. Mhmm. That's so wonderful. It's so important on a bike tour to enjoy that local food, but also to try and squeeze in those those vegetables and fruits too, because our bodies really do need those.
Tahverlee [00:12:25]:
Really, really good advice. And a lot of people talk about having to stop for fast food, right, or the plate whatever place is close by that you can find, and they don't always have the healthiest alternative. So are there a couple of key things that people can look for? I mean, we we hear a lot about carbs, and the importance of carbs, carbohydrates, specifically when we are doing a lot of physical output. Do you have recommendations for how people can make healthy choices when they are in a place that might not have a lot of healthy options?
Sheelagh Daly [00:12:57]:
Yeah. For sure. So much of it is, is finding those opportunities. When you see that grocery store or you see that corner store or even that gas station sometimes, and stocking up on some healthy snacks, grabbing that trail mix, a couple apples, learning those things that, are easy to transport. And I do list some of them in my guide as well because I know nobody likes a mushy banana in the bottom of their pannier, but finding those things that kind of keep well, and stocking up on them so you have access to them. And and, of course, you know, that's finding that balance, finding that little room you can keep in your or if you're bikepacking, you know, finding that spot, that you can keep some snacks in is really important so that you don't get to that point that you're so hungry. But also, being kind to yourself when you need to grab that McDonald's. Right? At the end of the day, your body needs food that's most important.
Sheelagh Daly [00:14:03]:
So, you know, nothing wrong with grabbing a quick meal when you need it, and just trying to plan when you can.
Tahverlee [00:14:10]:
Yeah. Thank you for sharing that.
Sheelagh Daly [00:14:12]:
You're welcome. Pleasure.
Tahverlee [00:14:13]:
So let's talk about did you have any language barriers when you were traveling?
Sheelagh Daly [00:14:19]:
What a great question. You know what? I actually I consciously, started in Scotland because, you know, this idea of traveling on my own and, biking bike touring for the first time seemed really overwhelming. And I thought, you know, why not start in Scotland where I speak the language? There's the same, there's a lot of cycling infrastructure. There's a lot of cyclists. I have Scottish background, so I have, a lot of traditions that I understand. And so I decided to start there and gradually work my way towards places with less likely and infrastructure and where I didn't speak the language. And I did actually, I found when I transitioned to, the Netherlands, it was about a weekend, and I just found myself, starting to feel a little, isolated. I I didn't even realize that's what it was at first.
Sheelagh Daly [00:15:14]:
I just I felt like I was not having as much fun, and I was very I was like, oh, I don't, you know, I don't wanna give up, but I'm just not having much fun. And I realized that it was just that I was kind of, I was it wasn't that people didn't wanna talk to me. It was that I was just so embarrassed that I didn't speak their language. And so I didn't want to, I felt like I was imposing on them for speaking my language rather than their language. And, and so slowly, I learned that to just kind of learn some of the language so I feel a little bit more comfortable. But that people were honestly so supportive and so happy to help. And, you know, sometimes we would mime at each other or sometimes we would use the few words of each other's language we knew, but that there was no need to, to isolate myself or to, you know, I, I, the same way that if somebody were, a bike tour in in my hometown and they didn't speak my language, I would do what I could to help them. And so, just finding that ability to kind of reach out and to connect with people because that's what bike touring is all about.
Sheelagh Daly [00:16:27]:
Right? Mhmm. So yeah.
Tahverlee [00:16:31]:
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Sheelagh Daly [00:17:37]:
Yeah. I did. Like, that's the thing. You know? I think that's what you hear so many bike tours say is just the unreal on like, unimaginable kindness that is in this world. And and I had countless experiences of, you know, people that I would meet and they'd say, oh, hey. Well, I live over here. So if you come over there, you come stay with us. Or, you know, people that, would, you know, offer me a place to stay.
Sheelagh Daly [00:18:05]:
It was really just just endless. The the kindness and the people that that offered support and, that I met on the road.
Tahverlee [00:18:14]:
Were Warmshowers hosts, a part of the journey of letting you release some of the fears, that you were experiencing? Like, tell us a little bit about your experience with the hosts.
Sheelagh Daly [00:18:25]:
Yes. Honestly, I think my trip would not have been the same without Warmshowers, and that's why I swear nearly every video I make mentions Warmshowers because I truly every time I needed some wisdom or, some support, I just I would come upon this warm showered house that would have exactly what I needed. You know? One of the first Warmshowers hosts I stayed with, you know, I was feeling a little anxious about being in, Scotland all on my own and travelling on my own for the first time. And I swear that family, I'm still in touch with them to this day. They basically adopted me. They would check-in on me during my route. They'd message me. They, when I finished my loop of Scotland, I stayed with them again.
Sheelagh Daly [00:19:14]:
When I finished my got to the end of Croatia, I came back to, Scotland and stayed with them again. And then, you know, shortly after them, I was feeling nervous about wild camping for the first time. And the host I stayed with was, a solo female cycle tour. She had toured all over, South America on her own, and it was just it felt serendipitous that I ended up with. And I was, you know, nervous about camping on my own, and she walked me through it. And she even I had never lit, a camping stove before, and she showed me how to do it. And it was just there's I can't even there's countless examples of, you know, being at that I just being at that moment. I was like, oh, what do I do here? And And I get to warm shower's host and say, oh, I love this route.
Sheelagh Daly [00:20:01]:
Why don't you try this route? Or why don't you go to this place? And, yeah, really astounding the way it just shaped everything. I love it.
Tahverlee [00:20:07]:
I love it. This is why we do what we do. This is why. This is this is what it's all about. There's nothing like it. Yeah. And I'm I'm really glad to hear that there were so many people along the way that, you know, helped you transition into your confident version to be able to do this solo tour. I mean, as a as a young woman and, being able to have confidence in your ability to be self sufficient, in a foreign land is is not a small thing.
Sheelagh Daly [00:20:35]:
Yeah. And that's one of the things I love the most about the tour was just you know, when you're when you're touring on your own, you can't rely on anyone else to do anything. You can find those supports, of course, but, you know, you have to get that camping stove lit, and you have to find that campsite, and it it really, you know, it challenges you in a really, really beautiful way. And so I just feel like I I grew so much because of it.
Tahverlee [00:21:02]:
What was your favorite part of that tour? What was the favorite your favorite like, give us a snippet of what what would be in the in the top 3.
Sheelagh Daly [00:21:12]:
One that would be in the top 3 for sure was the Alps. Mhmm. I cycled them from, Munich to Venice, and it was something that in the back of my was on my mind the whole trip. I was I was so excited to be in the mountains, but I was just so nervous. And it was on my mind the whole time. Can I cycle these mountains? You know, what are these roads gonna be like? What's this, you know, I'd heard kind of scary stories of people being in the mountains and not having a shoulder. And, so I was really overwhelmed. And I just you know, it's funny because it it was really halfway through my trip or 2 thirds of the way through my trip, and I just remember getting there and just I I climbed and climbed and climbed, and, I got to the top of this path, and I was cycling down it, and the sun was setting.
Sheelagh Daly [00:22:06]:
And it was just this moment of just pure gratitude and joy and just, astonishment that I was able to to get there and do that and and experience, you know, cycling down the Alps. It was just that was a a really beautiful moment. I think a lot of the my favorite moments were, either the amazing people I met and also those moments where you feel like you overcome. Right? That's the thing about bike touring. Do you have those really hard moments where you're just like, I don't know if I can do this, and then you do it, and it's just pure elation and joy.
Tahverlee [00:22:49]:
Beautiful. And I can envision the the the Alps, the air from the Alps coming on your face and the freedom and, the beauty that you experienced in that moment.
Sheelagh Daly [00:23:02]:
Mhmm. It was astounding. I was so happy.
Tahverlee [00:23:05]:
Yeah. Wonderful. I can I know people can't see you? I can see you, but I can see it. I can see it.
Sheelagh Daly [00:23:09]:
You just Yeah.
Tahverlee [00:23:10]:
You're just aglow with joy. Yeah. So what's next?
Sheelagh Daly [00:23:17]:
Goodness. I want I want to bike everywhere. There's you know, I wanna be everywhere. I think right now, you know, it's hard to say what's going to be, what borders are gonna be open, what's gonna be available this year. So, I know one way or another, I wanna be on my bike. So I'm kind of putting together 3 separate bike tour ideas. And then just depending on on how things go, I will set off on one of them. So I'm I'm very excited to be on my bike in whatever, capacity, wherever it ends up being.
Tahverlee [00:23:52]:
Yeah. And we know that we need to be flexible and fluid right now. You know, we've talked we've talked with a lot of guests recently about changing of plans, like altering it, and and yet still desiring to have the experience that we know is so important to our right? At the soul level, it's important. And and and and nature, right, and the fresh air, how important that is.
Sheelagh Daly [00:24:14]:
Yeah. And that's the thing, you know, that flexibility. I ended up this this year as well. I did a bike tour in Ontario because there were you know, there wasn't anywhere else to go at the time, and I had an amazing time. And so it's really beautiful to to remember that, you know, this is something that we wanna do. We can make it happen in whatever way feels right and whatever way is doable. And I'm just excited to to be on my bike again and to share to make videos about it and to share those with people. And, I just love connecting with people.
Sheelagh Daly [00:24:47]:
So I'm very excited for this year, whatever it holds.
Tahverlee [00:24:50]:
I love that so much, Sheila. And thank you for sharing. Thank you for coming on and sharing your experiences, and keep us posted. I I have offered to you to do another, another interview whenever the timing aligns because those of you that are listening, we are hoping to move this show to a livestream in our Facebook group. So people that always wonder what I look like because they hear my voice all the time, but now they would get to see you and I and stream it and then be able to produce the podcast as well. So when we do that, I am offering you an invitation to come back anytime.
Sheelagh Daly [00:25:24]:
Thank you. I can't wait.
Tahverlee [00:25:25]:
I mean, maybe we can do a show specifically on nutrition even, like, overall on nutrition to help people figure out, like, what is what packs the most punch when you have small spaces and limited limited access. Yes. We will do that. I'm making a note. Consider it done, and we will we will stream that on Facebook. So for those of you listening, stay tuned in our Facebook group. If you haven't joined our Facebook group, make sure you do because we we post and share lots of information there.
Sheelagh Daly [00:25:53]:
Sounds great. I can't wait for that.
Tahverlee [00:25:54]:
Thank you so much, Sheila, for being here, and we wish you all the luck on wherever the wind takes you.
Sheelagh Daly [00:26:02]:
Thank you. Have a beautiful day.
Tahverlee [00:26:03]:
And for those of you listening, thank you. We appreciate your support. And if you love the show, please share it because sharing is caring and it helps us get more people on bikes. So thank you, and we will be back. Thank you for joining us, and we hope you enjoyed the show as much as we enjoyed making it. Wherever you are listening, please leave us a rating and a review as it helps us us reach more cyclists and hosts around the world. Visit us at Warmshowers.org to become a part of our community, or on Instagram at warmshowers_org. If you would like to be a guest on the show or submit a question, please make sure to email us at podcast at Warmshowers dot org.