From Québec, but born in Barbados, it is in Gatineau that Geneviève Langevin spent most of her life, but Lac St-Jean is truly where her heart lies, somewhere between the blueberry fields and the numerous pine trees. Vietnam enlightened her youth while Nova Scotia has been her romance during this past year. The moving around make her quite fond of new experiences and adventures in the outdoors, she is looking forward to biking and performing across the country! Happy cookie, she is also very eager to learn more about sustainability and the communities along the way.

Joel Robison is no stranger to the wonderful world of Otesha, he has pedalled his way around British Columbia on two previous tours and is pumped to take on number 3! He currently lives in Cranbrook, BC and works in a high school as an educational assistant. An active member of the community, he is involved in organizations promoting Fair Trade, natural habitat preservation, and environmental education. When he's not spending his time on his bike or in the forest, he likes to dabble in photography and children's book illustrations. He can't wait to spend the summer doing what he loves, bring it on!

Hello!  What can I say about me?? My name is Eliza Courtney.  My childhood passed in Kincardine which rests on the shores of beautiful Lake Huron.  Since graduating university a few years ago, I have been travelling and working to experience unfamiliar ways of life in an effort to gain awareness of myself and of the world to which we all belong.  I've never done a huge cycling trip before, so it will be an enormous challenge and I'm excited about living and sharing in community and embarking on this adventure!  Peace.

Nicole Schlosser is from Winona Ontario, but lives and goes to school in Mississauga. In less than a month she will be graduating (yey!) from UTM/Sheridan’s Art & Art History and History of Religions programs, where her main focus was Love. Last year Nicole lived and Studied in Glasgow Scotland and did a little bit of traveling in her free time. During her travels she met some of the most amazing people, saw some of the most beautiful places, and the fell in love with the world and everything in it all over again. Nicole is really excited about being able to learn and teach others about how to care for this awesome world we live in. She hopes that this trip will give her a bit of direction for the next year.

Rachel Bedick grew up in Providence, Rhode Island, the capital of the smallest state in the U.S. After graduating from college in 2008 she became a member of Otesha's Sunshine Coast Tour (with Joel) and had a fantastic time (despite her fear of bears)! She currently lives in the Boston area and works as a community organizer on two projects: 1) supporting a group of public housing tenants to create a community garden and 2) doing outreach to educate tenants and owners facing foreclosure about their rights. When not organizing, she is either practicing her guitar, playing ultimate frisbee, or dancing. She is eager to return to B.C. for a second tour with Otesha and is already dreaming of the mountains, sleeping under the stars, and consumer-crazed zombies.

Jory Cadman was born and raised in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, but has spent much of her life travelling with her family and enjoying all areas of Canada. After high school she participated in a 6 month volunteer program called Canada World Youth and travelled to Ukraine with a great group of people. To raise money, she biked from Saskatoon to Regina in one day- thus was the foundation of her interest to bike long distances! She loves travelling, and travelled to Japan after studying Japanese for 3 years. She works as a lifeguard and a swimming instructor in Saskatoon. Jory has a never-ending list of hobbies which include reading, cooking, extreme sports (or any sport), dancing, camping, or anything to do with the great outdoors! She basically lives outside, and is very interested in learning everything possible about sustainable living! Currently, she is attempted to learn the Ukulele, and is getting SUPER pumped for Otesha!!!

Kaitlyn Harris: Currently I go to McGill University where I study Geography and Environmental Studies but Nova Scotia is where I call home. I grew up in a small town in Nova Scotia riding horses and enjoying nature. I decided to join this bicycling tour because Otesha had a major impact on my life when they visited my high school and inspired me to become a vegetarian. Since then, my passion for the environment has grown exponentially and I am excited to deliver the sustainability message to other youth. I have never done any long distance cycling and so I am excited for this new challenge! Can't wait to be climbing those mountains and coasting into those valleys!

Laura MacFadyen was born in London, Ontario and grew up in Ottawa and little Orillia Ontario. Her heart however, has always belonged to the East coast where she spent summers as a kid in PEI and is now entering her third year at Dalhousie University in Halifax where she studies a combined honours in Theatre and Sustainability. A diehard Triathlete for the past six years, Laura is pumped to tackle the Rockies, but is also thrilled to be able to flex her performance muscle. She can't wait for open roads and sore bottoms!

It’s a bird, it’s a plane, no it’s, it’s…Velo Woman.  At least that’s what she was for her Halloween costume this year. She wishes to sport her handcrafted gold cape with a bicycle lane felted on the back everyday and her super powers include, but are not limited to, creating bicycle lanes wherever she goes.   Her one weakness… Fairmount Bagels, yah you know the ones. But out of costume, and with her glasses on, she is simply known to the world as Nicolette Rignault.  She is an avid crafter, photographer, writer, and has her degree in Psychology.  She currently resides in Montreal, QC where it seems she is surgically attached to her bicycle. Her parents are from Trinidad, but she was born and raised in Calgary, AB where she spent most of her youth camping and in sheer awe at the beauty nature possesses.  It is this admiration and respect for nature that has fostered her passion for sustainability. She cannot wait to put her money where her mouth is and her hands upon her handlebars and embark on the Coast of Capital tour to inspire change within herself and others.

Tyler Beatty: A recent graduate of mechanical engineering with a minor in communications,Tyler Beatty is transitioning into the work force.  While in school, he has gained a number of different perspectives, from considering the evils of technology to considering international aid. From Saskatoon Saskatchewan, he is a member of Engineers Without Borders, and appreciates looking at the world through a critical lens.  He also serves part time in the Canadian Forces Reserves as a vehicle technician, and enjoys getting elbow deep in grease or fixing plagued technology. His hope is to continue finding new means of living with the smallest footprint possible.

Hey I'm Jessica Jorgensen! I'm 19 years old and just finished my first year of community college.  This summer I will be moving to Oregon with my best friend and hopefully studying Journalism at the University of Oregon (go Ducks!) I plan to try my hand at writing children's novels soon.  Right now, I am looking forward to my first ever bike tour this summer!

Sean Poulter was born and raised in Ottawa, Ontario but recently wandered off to work as a System/Software Engineer in Montreal, Quebec. After becoming enamoured with Otesha and looking for a way to reconnect to outreach and learn more about living sustainably he quit his job and is stoked to hit the road with this fantastic group! The combination of living with a group of like-minded youth, cycling, outreach presentations, seeing Western Canada, and not to mention a healthy daily dose of endorphins has Sean eager to get this tour on the road. If that's not enough info, I also like to: swim/bike/run, ski/snowboard, volunteer with Engineers Without Borders (with a keen interest in school outreach), relax at the cottage, skydive, cook/bake, eat, ..., did I mention sleeping? Oh I could go for a nap right now.

Qui est-elle? Marie-Pier Jean is from Laval, Qc, a city in the suburb of Montreal where there were a lot of beautiful forests when she was a child and where many new houses have grown in the nature. All the transformations in her area have sensitized her to the power (of destruction?!) of humans on the environment. All her questions without answers about the real impact of our lifestyle on the ecosystems have motivated her to throw herself in the wonderful Otesha experience. She is ready to learn quantity of knowledge, she is ready to help others to be more conscious of the fragility and marvel of nature and (of course!) she is ready to live an amazing trip with inspiring people!