Warren Volkmann:  

Life After taking Linda Lewis' English class in my senior year at Bellevue High School in Nebraska, I got hooked on language. I majored in Journalism at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (Class of 1981) and became a newspaper reporter. I am now a contract technical writer living and writing in Corvallis, Oregon, where I extract money from Hewlett-Packard. The best way to judge a writer is by his writing. Therefore, I offer a few written highlights of my varied personal accomplishments. NO BRAG, JUST FACT When confined to a cubicle and leashed by a headset, I appear to the casual observer to be like any other corporate communications professional. But closer examination reveals a dynamic and energetic individual who can sometimes be found zooming over the horizon pedaling a 2-wheel-drive bicycle with his hands. I am an accomplished gonzo traveler. I have cycled more than 30,000 miles, touching all four hemispheres. I have trekked for months in the land beyond silverware and toilet paper. I can't claim that "I've Been Everywhere" but I can sing the song. In Nepal's wild, wild west, I lugged an 85-pound pack over mountain passes. I wintered over in a 500-year-old village at 11,000 feet, where water froze in the tent and vomit froze on the boots. I bathed in snow melt. I was blessed by the lama. I rode the local bus. I have crewed for the Toughest Race in the World. I have ridden Australia's Horror Stretch. I have seen a platypus in the wild. I made the boomerang come back. I have bargained in the bazaar in Nepali, followed directions in Spanish and earned an A in French. I can write Japanese hiragana and katakana. I can sing a Fijian folk song on command. I delivered a short but important speech in Vietnamese at a government ceremony in DaNang. Closer to home, my wife and I navigated the Loneliest Road in America on a 300-pound tandem with a dog in a trailer. I was the first rider of the year to crest the highest pass in the High ...Expand for more