Category Archives: Our Team

Marcel Peeperkorn has always embraced a transient lifestyle. From Johannesburg to Shanghai, London to Boston, Marcel has lived and worked in many regions around the world. But no matter his location, the bicycle has always remained a constant. And it was his search for simplicity in this ever-changing world that led him to Trek Travel.

Tell us your story. How did you end up at Trek Travel?
After many years working professionally as an architect, completing an MBA, and working in consulting, interior design and property development, I was searching for a different way of living and existing. I was determined to find a way to earn money in a world that demands so, while sharing in something I care about greatly–the bicycle. The bicycle has always been in the background, it is my meditation where I can forget about everything going on, and a place where I can reflect and consider life. It is both simple and complex, a tool for exploring mentally and physically.

Tell us about your favorite ride.
It is impossible to answer in a singular, as each ride is different and gives something different. From dark stormy mornings to beautiful sunny days and midnight commutes through the city, each ride offers something special in different quantities to mind, body and soul.

A ride that I’ll always remember was my first Cape Argus Cycle Tour, one of the first races I ever entered. It stands out more for completing than anything else. Hitting a car in training the week before, and battling wind gusts of 100km/h that sent fences and portaloos flying, let alone the riders! Completing that day was rewarding enough!
 
 

 
What is the best view you’ve seen from the seat of a bike?
Most likely the next one, wherever that may be! If I had to answer the question, I’d say the most impressive view to date was riding through the Chinese New Year fireworks in Shanghai.

When you’re not guiding, what are you doing?
If I’m not on the bike I will be exploring new places/food/drink and always reading, topics that interest me specifically are Philosophy, Economics, Psychology, and Sociology. I do enjoy the finer things in life but to be happy simply. I don’t need more than good company, bread, cheese, wine or beer, coffee with a book, and a bike to explore the world. I live life by a simple philosophy of “better,” inward and outward, for myself and to the world.

What excites you most about the opportunity to show people the world from the seat of a bike?
To show people where their body can take them, and what they discover about themselves while moving under their own mental and physical strength.

What is one thing people should know, but don’t, about being a Trek Travel guide?
We are all very different with different approaches, outlooks and philosophies toward life but share a love for the bicycle and the variety of things that it shows and teaches us.
 
 

 

A new guide for Trek Travel, Grace Heimsness is saying yes to the life she’s always dreamed of. Leaving the comfort of the familiar for the allure of something new is never easy. “I keep waiting for someone to jump out from behind a tree or from the bottom of a slot canyon, punch me in the back of the head, and shout, ‘Gotcha! Go home.'” But there’s beauty in the possibility of finding a new home.

Tell us your story. How did you end up at Trek Travel?
A few years ago, I was a wrench at a local mom ‘n pop bike shop in my hometown when one day our sales rep dropped off a few Trek Travel brochures. I picked it up, thought “Wow, that would be my dream job,” and put it in my back pocket–literally as well as figuratively. It was around the same time that I typed the sentence, “Home is whom you hang your thoughts on.” It was a nice thought, but just that. I wasn’t yet ready to live it, to leave the safety of that familiar hook on which I hung my jersey, to ride without the company of Jerry and Jens and Greenie and the rest of them.

Two years later, I was working as an arts nonprofit administrator and aching to be outside discovering the world instead of hearing about it from a desk. I applied, but didn’t expect to make it to the interview stage, forget receiving a job offer. I was that kid who cried on the first day of summer camp. I was also that kid who cried on the last day of summer camp. Deep and quick attachment is my forte and my fault, and I’ve done my best to live a life that leans least on the discomfort of personal—and personnel—changes. But over the last six months, I have fallen hard for the truth that has for so long been fighting to burn in me. I am ready to live that sentence, ready to hang my jersey on a new hook each night, to burn my legs up on climbs that leave you breathless, to work harder than I’ve ever done in my life in order to give people experiences they’ll never forget.
 
 

 
As a kid, what did you think you’d be when you grew up?
I was absolutely certain I was going to be a writer. I started writing stories in the fourth grade and just never stopped. I still write when I can–my blog and personal essays, mostly. Now well into my 20s, I can say with that same certainty that I want to be a writer in some capacity, regardless of how grown up I am.

When you’re not guiding, what are you doing?
Sleeping! Really though, I like to update my blog when I have a chance, read, maybe catch a re-run of Seinfeld or work on my Netflix queue. I love making dinner with my co-guides at the guide house and starting random dance/karaoke parties, usually simultaneously. Dancing and cooking go well together.

What is one thing people should know, but don’t, about being a Trek Travel guide?
How much you trust and depend on your co-guide for almost everything–not only on-trip, but also in your non-guiding life. This goes far beyond the logistical or practical; being out in the field and away from home for so long throws you into a sort of alternate universe, and your co-guide is the one person who understands completely the unique challenges this situation can introduce to your relationships and lifestyle. It’s a powerful bond and can teach you a lot about communication, commitment, and trust. This immediate bond with my co-guides has been probably the loveliest surprise, for me.
 
 

 
Tell us about your favorite ride.
That’s a tough one. I’d have to say the last day of our Bryce & Zion trip, a simple out-and-back up the canyon of Zion National Park to the Temple of Sinawava. It’s stunning–six or so miles of the Virgin River wend alongside the park road as you make your way up-canyon, the morning is calm and cool, and there’s this incredible morning light shining onto peaks like the Court of the Patriarchs. With 800 feet of climbing, it’s just enough to take the itch out of your legs and give you a great start to the day. And if you’re ever looking for some perspective on life, staring up at 2,000 vertical feet of petrified sand dunes that have existed for 200 million years is one way to find it.

What is your favorite view from the seat of a bike?
I love seeing my hometown from the seat of my bike. I’ve seen a few incredible places by bike and I’d love to see a whole bunch more, but there’s something about cruising down Main Street at dusk, waving at old friends and “checking in on the neighborhood,” that makes me sublimely happy.

What excites you most about the opportunity to show people the world from the seat of a bike?
I’m really stoked every time we roll into a place that I know will make our guests Ooh and Ah. It’s so satisfying to be the person who introduces someone to an entirely new setting, one beyond what they even imagined, and to watch them react. A lot of guests become kids again, in a way—sometimes you can see, if you really look, what they might have been like as an 8-year-old. It brings you back to when you saw this place for the first time, and it’s awesome to think about the fact that our guests will remember their first moments in this place forever, and that you were the one who got to share that with them.
 
 

 

An air traffic controller, professional wedding photographer, motorcycle aficionado, and Ironman triathlete, Trevor Pickard isn’t just a Trek Travel guide. He’s proof that you can make a living while making a life, that you can turn your passion into your profession, and that it’s better to go all in than wonder what might have been.

Tell us your story. How did you end up at Trek Travel?
That’s quite a question to answer. I graduated from the aeronautic Air Traffic Control program at Middle Tennessee State in 2011 at the age of 21, but couldn’t hold a federal aircraft dispatch license until the age of 23 due to federal regulations. So I pursued my passion for photography and focused my attention on further establishing myself as a wedding photographer in the Southeast region. After saving up for a couple of years working odd-end jobs, I backpacked throughout Europe during the summer of 2013. Visiting 9 counties and 21 cities gave me exposure to many cultures and environments that ignited my interest in further engaging with the people and places that surround me. Coming back to the States and working full-time aviation jobs in Southern California, and later Northern Florida, I knew I needed life experiences outside of the corporate grind. And this is where Trek found me!

As a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
Simple. I thought I’d be one of two things: roller coaster designer or test car driver for an automobile magazine.

Tell us about your favorite ride.
My love for two wheels started with motorcycles. Even though I have a fully custom Harley, which I built from the ground up, my first love is a 1996 Honda Rebel 250cc that I bought after saving up money working as a lifeguard during the summer after high school. She’s a two-tone red and white beauty that runs like a sewing machine down the road. I’ve put 25,000 miles on her and she isn’t worth much more than beer allowance during spring break, but nothing puts a bigger smile on my face and for that, I’ll never get rid of her.
 
 

 
When you’re not guiding, what are you doing?
Simplicity is key for me. Traveling on my Harley with a pair of running shoes and a camera wrapped around my neck would boil down my logic. I enjoy training for Ironman triathlons, trail-running, anything on two wheels, and good conversation over a few fingers of bourbon and a good cigar.

What is one thing people should know, but don’t, about being a Trek Travel guide?
What an intimate setting Trek Travel offers. Not only on the bike but the moment you step off the pedals as well. From the amazing backgrounds of guests to the passionate guides in the field, it truly is an experience of a lifetime.
 
 

 
What is your favorite view from the seat of a bike?
The brand new bike path connecting Jackson Hole, Wyoming to Teton Village and Grand Teton National Park. I worked in Jackson during a summer in college but never experienced the Yellowstone environment quite like I have now: one pedal stroke at a time.

What excites you most about the opportunity to show people the world from the seat of a bike?
The allure of traveling and being engaged with my surroundings is terribly exciting. Everything else falls into place from there.