Guides & Hosts

Aggelos studied pharmacy and chemistry at the University of Patras, which is probably the last thing you'd guess about a man who now spends much of his time crawling through oak forests with a truffle dog. After university, he drifted — seasonal work in France and Switzerland, a spell in Crete, and then a solo winter bicycle journey from Ancona to Seville that took two months. When he came home to Zagori, he stopped wandering and put down roots. He began guiding through the landscape he knows more intimately than almost anyone. And somewhere along the way, a fascination with mushroom foraging became a full-blown obsession; one that led him, in 2018, to take on his first truffle dog and disappear into the woods. It took three years to find the best spots. For the past few years he has been leafing Slow Cyclists through Zagori, and if you're lucky enough to travel with him in autumn, there's a good chance he'll vanish into the treeline and come back with a truffle in his pocket.

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After completing her studies in English, media and film, Bella managed a retreat close to her home kin Cape Town, South Africa, before spending a year travelling to all corners of India, Nepal and Indonesia. She loves exploring different cultures, connecting with people and spending as much time in nature as possible.

Celeste was born and bred in South Africa and has been an explorer for most of her adult life, living in Africa, Asia and finally Europe. Her love of the great outdoors and discovering new cultures has taken her on many adventures, including a three-month cycle around Japan. Easy-going and energetic, she'll stop at nothing to make your trip unforgettable.

Colin grew up in La Rochelle on France's west coast, but in his early twenties he moved to the south-west to be closer to the mountains he loves. Home these days is Cahors, a town whose dramatic limestone landscape is the perfect fit for a trained geographer and keen geologist. In his other life, Colin spends his days introducing local schoolchildren to the region's geology, wildlife and plants. A natural teacher and guide, he is genuine, warm, and wonderful company on the road. We think you'll love him as much as we do.

Born and bred in the Basque capital, Vitoria, Felipe has been the lead guide on our Basque Country journeys since we launched there in 2023 - and a hugely valued member of our team ever since. After years as an engineer, the loss of his uncle brought a realisation: life is too short to wait for retirement to do the things you love. Felipe traded the office for the saddle, and now shares the land he calls home with our guests. His infectious enthusiasm and his deep knowledge of Basque history, landscape and gastronomy mean every rider goes home having glimpsed the soul of the place.

Godfrey is a half-Rwanda, half-Ugandan father of two, who has been guiding for The Slow Cyclist since 2018. He is married to Manishime, a midwife, and the family lives in Kisoro, just across the range of volcanoes in southern Uganda. When he isn't guiding for us, he runs his own bike shop, cheers on Arsenal Football Club (much like Rwanda's President Paul Kagame) and reads financial and personal development books. His favourite saying is umuntu abaho rimwe gusa, ariko urikoresheje neeza, rimwe rirahagijye - you only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.

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Ioannis lives the way a slow traveller moves - curious, attentive, and open to whatever lies beyond the next turn. In 2013, he stepped away from a life as a programmer, choosing instead to follow what felt meaningful rather than predictable. Now, his days include hiking mountain trails, exploring caves, foraging wild food and sharing music, conversation, and laughter with people from around the world. Crete is his home and his classroom. Here, he welcomes others as companions, revealing hidden corners of the island while exchanging ideas about life, agroecology, and natural farming. Ioannis moves through life slowly, guided not by profit, but by curiosity, connection, and purpose.

Jaco's path into guiding wasn't a straight one. He trained as an accountant, then turned his hand to technology, spending years in the business world: finance, tech, CFO roles, boardrooms, the full machinery of modern corporate life. Gradually he realised the pace and priorities of that life didn't quite fit, and that something needed to change. So he stepped away, and began shaping one that made more room for adventure, nature, creativity and connection. He has been guiding with The Slow Cyclist since 2018, in Rwanda and the Karoo, and helping design journeys in Spain and South Africa. Home is Cape Town, but he's rarely there for long: out on a mountain bike, on a trail run, training for a triathlon, or on the water, always drawn to a new route or a new corner of the world. Most Slow Cyclists who have travelled with Jaco find themselves looking for a reason to do so again. As one guest recently put it, "it is simply an honour to watch excellence in action."

Jado rarely seen without a smile on his face, has guided for The Slow Cyclist since 2018. Born and raised in Kigali, he now lives in the east of Rwanda. He read engineering as an undergraduate and has recently completed a Cornell University Tourism and Hospitality course. In his spare time he practises martial arts, acrobatics, gymnastics and dancing. He also loves to sing and read, although not at the same time, you understand. He lives by two proverbs: buhoro buhoro nirwo rugenda - slow and steady, you'll get to your destination - and byose birashoboka - nothing is impossible.

Jemima's love of travel has always been closely tied to her fascination with foreign languages. After a semester of studying in China she had well and truly caught the travel bug. Prior to joining The Slow Cyclist, she led overland tours around South America and parts of Asia. She joined us in summer 2022 to host in Transylvania and Greece, before joining our HQ team in 2023 and giving office life ago. But it wasn't long before the call of the wild proved too appealing and Jemima has been on the road for the past couple of years, doing what she does best and hosting Slow Cyclists in Turkey, Spain, Romania and beyond. We call her a "super-host."

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Josh is a writer, translator and guide who has lived in Greece for over ten years. He studied classics at Oxford and modern Greek at King's College, London, before moving permanently to Greece. He has published several books of modern Greek literature in English translation, including most recently a collection of old Greek folk songs. Josh enjoys sharing his extensive knowledge and love of Greek history and culture with Slow Cyclist guests who love his enthusiasm.

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Júlia was born in Alentejo, in the south of Portugal. After studying engineering and working for years as a civil engineering, she realised that nature was where she felt most fulfilled. Together with her husband Nuno, she spent holidays exploring the northern and central Portuguese countryside and, when the time was right, they moved from the big city to the mountains, in a beautiful remote valley where their neighbours are shepherds... and sheep. You'll not meet a kinder, more thoughtful person than Júlia on your travels.

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Misu joined us in 2021. He studied ecology at university and is very knowledgeable about nature and wildlife. Before joining The Slow Cyclist guiding team in 2021, Misu could often be found in the Danube Delta or the Carpathians, where he ran bird watching, bear watching and wildlife tours. He grew up visiting the Danube Delta, spotting birds and fishing in the channels, and has been instrumental in setting up our journey there. In late 2025 Misu travelled to India with other members of The Slow Cyclist team to help run our first trip in Madhya Pradesh, ensuring things there got toff to a smooth start.

Nick first came across The Slow Cyclist in 2019, while working in IT in the UK. He was drawn to the pace and intention of our trips and the values felt familiar to him. In time, he chose to step away from his career and spend longer periods in the Mani, guiding journeys through a landscape he has come to know deeply. Cycling has long been part of his life, and on the road he shares not just the rhythm of the ride, but a quiet appreciation for the region’s layered history. When he’s not guiding, Nick can usually be found restoring his 250-year-old stone house or tending to his olive groves—staying close to the land, and to the slower rhythms that first drew him here.

In 2019 Nuno and his partner Júlia decided to move to the Beiras and Serra da Estrela region. Previously, he had studied maths before working as a bank manager and owning a pizza vending machine business. It was his love of nature and the mountains that inspired their move away from the city. Nuno now dedicates his life to sharing experiences with Slow Cyclists in this diverse region.

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Originally from Dublin, Sam has spent the past decade in the French Alps as a trained chef, where he travels through taste as much as place—drawn by new flavours, local ingredients, and the stories they carry. Cycling has become an extension of that curiosity: a way to move slowly through landscapes, to notice the details, and to arrive with a deeper sense of connection. Beyond the bike, his days are shaped by a love of the outdoors—mountains, gardening, sport, and music all finding their place. Warm and easy in conversation, Sam brings a thoughtful, generous spirit to each journey—creating space for connection, discovery, and moments that linger long after the ride ends.

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Our Founder Oli met Sergiu on his first visit to Transylvania, when Sergiu was helping Anglo-Romanian NGO Fundația ADEPT create a network of cycling trails in and around the region. We've been working with him ever since and he's become a great friend and collaborator. He lives in Sighișoara, Transylvania and has cycled through this area for over 30 years — he knows every back road, every village and the story behind each one. Sergiu's deep knowledge of Transylvania's history brings every ride to life, whether he's explaining the legacy of the Saxon settlers, the meaning behind a painted monastery's frescoes, or the origins of a tradition still alive in the villages we pass through. As well as being instrumental in setting up our route through the Saxon villages, Sergiu was responsible for designing part of the Via Transilvanica, Romania's answer to the Camino de Santiago. When not guiding, Sergiu maintains and rides bikes in the forests around Sighisoara, spends time with his young family and, eavh April, organises a kids bike race that The Slow Cyclist sponsors.

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Suzi discovered her passion for cycling and the outdoors at university and in 2021, decided to share her passion with others by becoming a mountain bike instructor and guide. In 2025 she became only the second woman in the world to achieve the highest level of European Mountain Bike instructor. For her, slow cycling through Transylvania hits the sweet spot between going slow enough that you get to smell the wild flowers, but far enough that you get to see lots of the cultural heritage that makes it so special.

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Born in beautiful Kalamata on Greece's Peloponnese, Vagelis has always been happiest in the outdoors. He finished his master’s degree in agriculture in Thessaloniki but, instead of returning to Kalamata to work among the 11 million olive trees of his home region, he stayed in the north, finally moving to Athens, to follow his passion for cycling and the outdoors. But the pull of the Peloponnese was too much and Vagelis now finds himself guiding in a region where his father spent 35 years as a police officer. We feel very lucky that he focuses on guiding Slow Cyclists in the Mani during spring and autumn each year because he's a wonderful leader and person: responsible, fun and with a wealth of knowledge that he loves to share with our guests.

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Vishal’s love of wildlife started on the tea estates of Assam, where elephants, rhinos and tigers were part of his everyday life. He has loved cycling ever since he was at school, when he joined several Duke of Edinburgh expeditions across Rajasthan. Later, these passions led him to co-found TOFTigers, a conservation charity dedicated to saving tigers in India.

Yasar grew up the eighth child of a big family in Batman (yes, it's a real city in south-eastern Turkey!) As a young man he moved west to Izmir, where he studied at both the Turkish Military Academy and Aegean University. A life of travel led him deeper into the country's history: he went on to achieve a postgraduate degree at the Research Institute of Ancient Mediterranean Civilisations in Antalya. He has competed in more than forty orienteering races across Europe and spends his summers on the international excavation team at the ancient city of Aphrodisias. He speaks Turkish, English, Arabic and Finnish (he studied in Finland too!), and guests on our Taurus Mountains journey come back talking about his warmth and energy almost as much as the landscape.

Zoe was born in a small town near Dartmoor and has since explored many corners of the world, discovering different cultures and ways of life. Her work in events has taken her around the UK, where she has run a glamping site, hosted woodland dining events, coordinated charity hikes and created delicious menus at a retreat centre. When Zoe isn’t exploring, she’s either making jewellery or baking treats.