I am an outgoing and easygoing chap, but I just don't like the cold!
So right now I am overlanding (bike and train) down to Madrid in the hopes of finding some sunshine. Should be an improvement on Scottish winter anyway!
I am handy around bikes and the like, enjoy learning new languages dialects words and about local culture, like to try new booze and enthuse about old wine, can cook and am happy to share (meat is tasty but am happy to veg out). I like to chat and associate, but not offended when quiet is preferred. Keep me warm and I will keep you entertained. Oh, and I enjoy a 4.20, but is not obligatory.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

Don't like to fly, so I am cycling down to Madrid to escape the cold dark driech of the Scottish winter. I have some friends in Lyon to see along the way, but otherwise looking forward to wayfinding across Europe, meeting new people, and getting an insight into life where you are.

Interests

• learning languages
• bike riding
• local food
• local history

Music, Movies, and Books

Music: boards of Canada, most metal (usually just while cycling), crazy gypsy balkan stuff, britpop. And an eclectic mix of other suff like the Beastie Boys. Also, more recently Bob Vylan, Lalalar and Altın Gün.
Film: Hero, Danny Boyle's stuff (Trainspotting describes my hometown when I was 3) , Lebowsky, Tarantino, Fight Club, Twelve Monkeys, Joderovsky's The Holy Mountain, The Tree of Life, Waking Life, Scanner Darkly, Liberterias... bunch of stuff plus Harold and Kumar Go to Whitecastle cos we've all been there right?
Books: BIG (or wee) Tolkien fan, Michel Houellebecq, Peter F Hamilton, Conrad, Orwell, LeGuin, Borgas, Hemmingway, HG Wells, DH Lawrence, HP Lovecraft, Robert E Howard, John Wycliffe... plus a load for academics: Tim Ingold, Chomsky, Simmel, Robert Nisbet, de Toqueville, Emma Goldberg, Rosa Luxembourg, Malatesta, Koprotkin etc

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

That bike on my picture, I specified and assembled it myself.
Then I rode it from Lyon to Istanbul and it got stolen just after I got a job and apartment :(
I've since built a new one for this trip.
Oh and I once did three parties in three cities in three days, that one time...

Teach, Learn, Share

I can help you practice English (I was an English teacher in Istanbul), fix a bike, pair wine and food, dance Traditional Scottish Highland Dance, Rock climb and belay safely.
I wanna learn how people in your area see themselves each other and the world. And maybe pick up some handy phrases.
I'm just passing through for now - but hope to journey like this more regularly.

What I Can Share with Hosts

I can fix up any bikes you need doing, I am happy to cook and share fine wines and all I have. And any chores, I don't overly mind (I clean a mean toilet... when not in my own home!). Need errands run? Me and my bike ought speed things along :)
I am also an qualified and experienced TEFL teacher,

Countries I’ve Visited

Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, England, France, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Kosovo, Macedonia, Netherlands, Romania, Russian Federation, Scotland, Serbia, Slovenia, Switzerland, Turkey

Countries I’ve Lived In

France, Kosovo, Scotland, Turkey