The scenic view of snowcapped mountains reflecting across a clear lake amazes him. He walks over to the lake and sips the fresh water from the palm of his hands. Taking everything in, he thinks about the surreal experiences he has been fortunate enough to have.

Social studies teacher Tim Williams has been cycling since 1977 and has travelled all throughout the U.S. on his adventures. Williams was inspired to start cycling after speaking with a cyclist during a motorcycle trip. Williams said he has cycled through the entire Mississippi River all the way up to Minnesota. He has also rode across the Continental Divide 19 times.

“You can see and do what you want at a slow rate,” Williams said. “You don’t miss anything yet you’re still moving. You don’t see the little critters on the side of the road, you don’t see certain animals and you don’t see certain birds because you’re going 60-70 miles an hour.

Williams used to race bicycles and was a participant in the Coors Light Triathlon Series. Now, Williams only cycles for fun and does not compete due to his age. During the summer, Williams goes on giant summer trips and plans on going to Colorado this summer to cycle. To prepare for his trips, Williams has to train by jogging and cycling.

“Bicycling is as physical as you want to make it,” Williams said. “If you want to ride around the neighborhood then that’s great, but if you want to ride fast, build muscles, gain endurance and get strong, it’s kind of a physical exercise.”

One of his fondest memories from cycling was standing in the Arctic Ocean and seeing grizzly bears. During one incident, Williams was sleeping alongside the Alaskan pipe line when he heard wolves in the middle of the night. However, Williams risks his life to cycle because he loves the total freedom it gives him.

“It’s your own power and you’re in control of everything,” Williams said. “If you want to go some place, you just go and pedal.”

When he is choosing a destination to cycle at, Williams said he looks at adventure magazines and reads a lot of journals. His family supports him, and his children want to join him.

“They want to so I’m gonna let them, but I’m gonna let them get a little bit older because it is really hard,” Williams said. “Sometimes, you don’t see a town for four, five, six days so you have to carry all your equipment, tools, clothes, everything.”

For Williams, cycling helps form who people are. Williams said that there is a risk every single ride and there have been a lot of people who were killed while cycling.

“When you go off on these adventures, you have to be adventurous but smart and you have to be strong yet delicate,” Williams said. “It really defines who you are. It gets you back to nature and is way better than being in a car.”