Wanted: Cyclists Committed to a Cooler Climate

A Sense of Place

2008-11-13T11:08:00.001-08:00

Back home in Madison, WI and I'm already lonely for Life on the Road. Todd Runestad's words say it best:

"Some landscapes whisper, like lonely roads and quiet conversations. The ecstatic leap of mountains fills our blood with a triumphant confidence. The fold of a headland over a wide ocean gives rise to transcendent thinking...to possibility and nuanced thought. The sense of opening awareness close to riverbanks, indeed, the bustle and din of a cavernous city- these ineffable surroundings give our lives comfort and context. We can love passionately, but how much, I wonder, of our life's reflection is whispered to us from the distance of valley floors and high chilly winds? Places we've never been or only imagined colour our notions of place, while landscapes live outside our door and call within our souls."

Yorktown, where the British Surrendered, remember?

2008-10-29T08:49:00.000-07:00

Officially, it is the end. We have gone as far east we're gonna get.

Lucy and I pedaled into Yorktown, VA via the Colonial Parkway on Monday October 27th around 5 pm. We had started that day in Glendale, Virginia where we'd slept in a Methodist church. Lucky for us, the church had plenty of left over BBQ chicken and stew from a weekend event so we were well fed as we took off for our last day on the bicycle. The landscape grew flatter and flatter as it had been doing for a number of days. We had the joy of cycling on a bike path that begins right after crossing the Chickahominy River and takes us straight to the Colonial Parkway which runs between Jamestown, Williamsburg and Yorktown. In the afternoon the weather took a turn for the worse. It seemed that the cold front we'd scoffed at earlier in the day had finally made its presence known. As we hopped on the Colonial Parkway the weather seemed to get successively windier, greyer, darker and colder. Apocalyptic, threatening and foreboding are really the three words that come to mind when trying to capture the mood and tone of the weather as we pedalled those last 24 miles from Jamestown to Yorktown. Still, the land and the view along the parkway were quite special: first the big James River to our right, then wetlands and small beaches, then the bigger York River to our left, with massive naval ship profiles and the monolithic Gloucester Bridge.

Still, all of this gloomy weather was instantly validated as we made our way to the seaside house that the Grace Episcopal Church of Yorktown makes available to cyclists. (whether they are just beginning or just ending their TransAm journey)

The house looks over the York River and out into the Chesapeake Bay. It's the epitome of cozy-with wooden floors, a side porch, comfy couches and gas fireplace. As we entered the house, the rain that had been threatening for the final 13 miles or so, really started to pour. We made hot tea, hot soup, took hot showers and generally felt utterly warm, contented and at home. As strong winds shook the house we marvelled at the luck and kindness we've experienced during the entire length of our trip.

We spent yesterday exploring Yorktown. We visited the cave where the British had their last hold out before surrendering at Yorktown. Sounds familiar, right? The British Surrendered at Yorktown. We also treated ourselves to a meal on the town. The Yorktown pub found us partaking in some fresh fish and excellent pork. We surprised even ourselves with how much we enjoyed the meat.

I'd like to backtrack a bit if I may, to mention the wonderful and totally cool hosts we had in both Charlottesville and Ashland.

In Charlottesville after our lovely and fascinating night at the Methodist Church on the University of Virginia (UVA) campus we spent another two nights with Don and Sara. They are both engineers and over a dinner of shrimp tacos they managed to put Lucy determinedly back on the path towards studying engineering at university. It was really fun to meet them and hear stories of their skiing and travelling adventures. We also had the privilege to meet Sara's parents, Rita and Joe. It was a blast and we even ended up playing Nintendo wii with Sara and her mom. Don introduced us to a graduate student with whom he works. She's quite interested in doing the trek next summer and she helped us meet some other cool cycling people from the UVA community. It was good quality Trek promoting work indeed.

In Ashland we were hosted by the very warm and very hilarious Laura and Lanny. We had a chance to hear about their travels through Ireland, and had a great time talking about music. It turns our Lanny's banjo teacher is a member of the band, Special Ed and the Short Bus (So CooL, I KnOW, Right?!) Laura had prepared a fantastic meal of cornbread and chili. It was perfect after a day of pedalling through rain to get to Ashland. We had a very all American evening watching the world series.

We have train tickets and we'll be staying in Richmond with a friend of a friend of my Mom's before heading west back home.

Thank you to everyone who has made our experience so incredibly wonderful.

We were pilgrims and Polyface Was Mecca

2008-10-22T06:34:00.000-07:00

So much has happened since the last blog, I will just focus on the important bits. As we finished our last blog in Boonville, KY we were preparing ourselves for a hardcore sprint to Virginia Tech where we were scheduled to meet with the Environmental Club in a week. It looked like all of our longest days would be in the Appalachians. Our good weather karma caught up to us and we lost one precious day of that short week to bad weather in Booneville. The next few days were difficult, but absolutely beautiful. One climb stands out in my mind as "Pregnancy Hill"-- a ridiculously steep and long climb that Keally described as "what it must be like to go through labor." That was one of 4 climbs on that 70-mile day. We were both sad to leave Kentucky that day. Since then, however, Virginia has proved to be equally well populated with generous and welcoming people.

We battled through the Appalachians and made it to Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, VA on time. We stayed with my friend Sarah's sister, Martha, who was very generous and welcoming. We spoke to the Environmental Club, the school newspaper, and a freshman Biology Lecture hall before leaving for Washington and Lee university in Lexington, VA.

At W&L we spent most of our time with Morten and Maya, Keally's friends from UWCCR. They showed us around, got us tickets to the musical Morten was in, and let us eat in the cafeteria. We relived our UWC lives for a day (and, yes, that even included Grey's Anatomy-- the seemingly ubiquitous UWC obsession).

We left the route in Lexington and headed north for Staunton, the home of Polyface Farms. Micheal Pollan describes Polyface Farms in The Omnivore's Dilemma, which I read this summer (after waiting three years for the paperback version) and Keally is reading now. For those who have not discovered the environmentalist's delight that is Omnivore's Dilemma, Polyface has developed a unique approach to sustainable agriculture based on natural ecosystems. Each of the animals on Polyface fill an ecological niche, rendering insecticides and herbicides unnecessary. Polyface has an open air slaughterhouse which baffles USDA inspectors and is open to public view. Everyone is welcome to walk around the farm, though guided tours range from $300 to $1000.

The nights are getting cold, now we wake up to frost and chilly morning air, so we were lucky to be welcomed to a heated barn that night. It got so cold riding to Polyface that morning that Keally had to cover her ears and hands with plastic bags. We were pilgrims and Polyface was Mecca.

At Polyface we were welcomed by an intern who pointed us in the right direction

We saw the fabled Eggmobile and the Gobble-de-go. We read the chapter about slaughtering chickens on the tree swing outside next to the slaughtering area. As we read, Daniel Salatin walked by an introduced himself. I felt like a 13-year old meeting Brittany Spears..... except much, much cooler. It was Awesome

We rode our bikes to Waynesboro and stayed with a couple, Jim and Kay, we had found on Couchsurfing. Their home was beautiful and hospitality impeccable. Their friends Larry and Carol from Alaska had come to visit and we had a wonderful dinner together. Larry and Jim told us stories of being some of the first mountaineers, before climbing was cool and when a backpack was just a bag with straps. They had worked with Barry Bishop, one of the first Americans to climb Mt. Everest

We crossed the Blue Ridge Parkway the next day, but since we had cheated and gone off route the climb was barely noticeable. We rejoined the route in Afton, VA where we had the pleasure of meeting "the Cookie Lady"June Curry. June has been baking cookies and hosting cyclists since the Trans America Trail opened in 1976. She is 88 now, and calls the cyclists her family. When she had a stroke, her $308 pension wasn't enough to pay for the care see needed. Adventure Cycling heard about her plight and letters and postcards started pouring in from all the cyclists she had hosted on their ride. The cyclists raised enough money to get her the care she needed.

The house is filled with newspaper clippings, business cards, letters, and gear from all the cyclists who have passed through on their way across the country. Every cyclists has left something. We even found a poster board of the Skiles Family from when they rode around the world. Micheal Skiles is another Trek regional organizer and goes to Middlebury College (where I should be right now).

We arrived in Charlottesville early, which was a good thing because we had given our CouchSurfing Contacts the wrong dates and unexpectedly had to hustle for free lodging. Once again, that proved easier than it sounds. we found a Methodist Church across the street hosting a Faith and Politics free dinner complete with food, speakers, and discussion groups (Keally and I loved it) and a progressive, female pastor who gave us full length (double exclamation point!!) couches to sleep on. One of the guys at our discussion group table had Middlebury Financial Aid horror stories like mine.

Also in the News: Keally and I have decided to finish our journey in Yorktown, VA rather than Washington, DC because we would like to visit Williams and Mary College in Williamsburg. We are taking our time getting there. We'll be on trains headed home from Richmond on Oct 31.

Hello Appalachians!

2008-10-07T13:01:00.000-07:00

Booneville, KY - Every day Lucy and I say to each other, "Now today really was the most beautiful day so far. " and I think so far we haven't lied. It feels like every day has been successively more lovely than the last.

We took a rest day in Berea, KY yesterday. On Sunday, as we approached Berea we saw the profile of what appeared to be beginnings of the Appalachian Mountains. It was a moment of simultaneous excitement and fear. (More excitement on Lucy's part and more terror on my part).

Our hosts in Berea were the very cool kids of the SENS (Sustainability and Environmental Studies) House in Berea College's EcoVillage. The house has solar power, grey water and composting toilets, passive solar design, rainwater collection and an eco-machine to process waste water.

The SENS house kids- Libby, Erin and Zach - are so great. They fed us fantastic food, and let us use their kitchen to make slightly experimental and non-food processed pesto with basil from their abundant garden. We felt totally at home and really loved meeting a wide range of kind, active and interesting people in Berea.

We had a chance to talk up the Trek to Re-Energize America and we think that we'll definitely be picking up a few riders there next summer.

This morning Lucy and I left Berea early, but before we left we cleaned our chains (woo-hoo!) and dropped off flyers for the Trek to Re-Energize America at all the coffee shops around town.

Ernest Hemingway seems to best capture our perspective at the present. He writes, "It is by riding a bicycle that you learn the contours of a country best, since you have to sweat up the hills and coast down them. Thus you remember them as they actually are, while in a motor car only a high hill impresses you, and you have no such accurate remembrance of country you have driven through as you gain by riding a bicycle."

Kentucky

2008-10-02T15:18:00.000-07:00

Initially, we thought Whitesville KY Elementary School would not be the ideal locale to find future Trek riders. We showed up anyway early yesterday morning and were pleasantly surprised by the what had been arranged for us. Keally and I were first pampered Southern- Style with breakfast in the school cafeteria, which induced mind-bending childhood flashbacks. Then we were introduced to Colton (5th grade), Harrison (5th), and Rebecca (4th). We told them about riding across the country and conversed about their thoughts on climate change. They were each shockingly articulate and informed for their age. The school staff was welcoming, hospitable, and supportive. The principal even offered her cabin 30 miles east for a night's stay.

Staying in the Cabin last night was just one more example of the huge generosity and hospitality we have been shown here in Kentucky. Two nights ago, we were hosted by the Baptist Church in Sebree. Bob and Violet, the pastor and his wife, fed us dinner and gave us food for breakfast. We we joined by Liz and Scott, a couple from Australia, for the night as well. Violet cooks dinner for every cyclist staying in Sebree, which means most nights of the cycling season she and Bob have company. Her generosity is famous among riders up and down the TransAmerica Trail. We were fortunate to meet such amazing people.

The following events are in reverse chronological order:

The night before Sebree we hobbled into Cave in Rock, KY with my panniers over our shoulders and our bikes in disarray. My rear pannier rack had lost a bolt and my attempts to tape, wire, and bind them into stability were futile. Meanwhile, Keally's shifter began to fail. Wanda took pity on us and allowed us to camp in her beautiful yard. Her neighbors rode up in ATVs and gave me a bolt to fix the rack.

The night before that Terri Gibbs found us looking lost and tired outside a grocery store. She offered her lawn and we happily accepted even though we had to backtrack a few miles. Finding us trustworthy, she cooked us breakfast and dinner. Not only that, but she gave us supplies for the road as well.

A woman in a gas station also gave us a small bottle of Sorghum Syrup after she found us gawking at it. She said her brother had made it. She gave it to us with typical Kentukian generosity.

Kentucky has been a little too perfect to comprehend. The terrain is rolling, fast, and fun, the weather is neither hot nor cold, the sun is shining, the leaves are changing, the trees are fantastic, and we are often accompanied by a tailwind.

Two is Company!

2008-09-27T13:18:00.000-07:00

Marion, IL - It's official. Lucy and I have joined up and we're on the road together.

It was a joyous and happy meeting on Wednesday afternoon. I pedalled from Nashville, IL and Lucy from Chester, IL (the home of Popeye the Sailor). We met in the front yard of our kind and friendly hosts, Aur Beck and Treesong, residents of Graham Street in central Carbondale. We took our bikes to the Bike Surgeon of Carbondale and left them overnight for some good TLC before the long journey ahead.

On Wednesday evening we had the pleasure of sharing a delicious Thai meal with Oliver Witte, the uncle of a co-worker of my mother's at the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. He is a journalism student and currently working on his PhD dissertation at Southern Illinois University (SIU), which pertains to the use of language in the newspapers as it describes the violence and conflict between Israel and Palestine. As you can imagine, Lucy, who spent a year in Thailand when she was 16 was quite happy to eat Thai food, and we were both pretty fascinated by his research topic.

Thursday morning brought another beautiful day. My mom drove Lucy and I out to the CCC Lodge at Giant City State Park. We had a fantastic breakfast and nice little hike. We walked through some Giant City Rock Formations where there were names carved into the Rock Walls from as far back as 1840! It was very cool to imagine people in the 1800's hiking through the same spots we were, and carving their names into the rock walls.

My mom left, driving north back to Madison, and Lucy and I spent our day goofing off in the Carbondale thrift store and attempting to get press coverage from the Southern Illinoisan (not at the same time). In the evening we went to the SIU Student Environmental Club (SEC) meeting and had a chance to present the Trek to Re-Energize America to the club members. It was a great opportunity and we had a lot of positive responses. We think we've even nailed a few riders for next summer. We're really grateful to the SEC for allowing us to join their meeting.

On Friday morning, our hosts Aur and Treesong, who also happen to have a radio show, known as Community Spirit, on the community-sponsored station in Carbondale, interviewed us as part of their program. We had a chance to let more people know about the Trek that's happening next summer.

We dropped in on the International Student Coffee Hour at SIU and felt like we were back at UWC for a few quick minutes. We even met a woman who had heard us on the radio earlier in the day. That was cool.

Then we had an interview with the SIU Student-run newspaper known as the Daily Egyptian. Hopefully an article will be published that grabs the attention of a few more SIU students and inspires them to join the Trek.

On Friday evening we crashed the Critical Mass Crowd before they took off, and promoted the Trek. We collected a goodly number of emails from interested folks. We also passed out stickers that said: "Put the Fun Between Your Legs" with an image of a bicycle. That really got the crit. mass crowd's attention.

We also prepared a presentation about the Trek, that Mike Walker, of the SIU Cycling club, helped us arrange. Sadly, it was difficult to attract a big crowd on a Friday night, but we weren't discouraged. It was super fun to meet Mike and Chad and Matt of the cycling club anyway. Mike hosted us on Friday night and regaled us with hilarious stories and anecdotes from his life. We were treated in particular to the story of his family's house, and its original interior state of decor upon their purchase twenty years ago: 70's style orange shag carpet, zebra-stripped wall paper and puke-green bathroom fixtures. Lucy and I were basically laughing hysterically non-stop for an hour.

On Friday night we also had the privilege of sharing an Indian Food meal at the Interfaith Center. Aur was one of the chefs. The dinner table discussion revolved around energy and power generation and consumption. Lucy and I were all ears. There was even a guy at the dinner who lived totally off grid- even to the point of having an outhouse instead of being connected to the sewer system.

After Indian food Aur took us to the annual Noche de Gala, sponsored by a Latino Fraternity at SIU. It was very cool. Everyone was dressed in gorgeous dresses and nice clothing. Lucy and I wore our cycling jerseys. There was Salsa, Meringue and Cumbia. Although neither of us have hips suitable for anything but square dancing, we had a really fun time. We managed to do a bit of salsa, and Aur taught us some Meringue. Cumbia was sort of a lost cause.

This morning we cycled to the Carbondale Farmer's Market with Matt and Mike of the cycling club. Apples! and Free Kittens! We almost couldn't resist, but we thought the kitten might not like spending most of her time in our handlebar bag.

Matt and Mike showed us the shortcut to Marion and here we are 16 miles later. Today's practically a rest day, but it's gorgeous outside. We'll find a place to camp and make a fire. Maybe even purchase supplies for s'mores.

All is well in the Land of Lucy and Keally. Carbondale was super fun. We met great people and gathered a wide range of perspectives and personal philosophies. It was also perfect Trek-promoting territory. We had a lot of interest and it's going to a very busy place next summer when the Trek to Re-Energize America passes through. Thanks to everyone who made our stay great.

Mississippi, O what you Mean to Me

2008-09-23T12:43:00.000-07:00

It was a fantastic feeling to come over the top of that last hill and look down on the floodplains of the Mississippi. This river represents exact halfway point between home and the Atlantic ocean and marks the end of my ride alone. I am most likely the youngest woman to ever ride part of the Trans America trail solo, and definitely one of the very few who ever do. I am very much looking forward to the next stage of my journey with Keally; however, riding alone has presented its own unique challenges and joys.

Riding alone means that each day provides another challenge, another encounter with great people, another annoying jingle stuck in my head, and another quest for safe lodging. I've met some truly wonderful and enlightening people, who I doubt I would have seeked out so desperately had I not been alone. Each conversation, short as it may have been, was a delightful reprive from the lonliness that threatened to set in. It was a unending lesson in the value and beauty of human relationships.

Lonliness overtook me only once. Three days ago I decided that it was about time I tried out hiding my tent in the bushes to the side of the road. Serendipitously, that night was the only night it thunderstormed after hurricane Ike. The vulnerability I felt then was more a product of the situation than actual danger. Had I been together with someone else, or even within sprinting distance of another individual, it would have been just charming mountain rain. It left me, however, calling nearly every person in my cell phone address book.

Riding solo is an adventure and a test of resourcefulness. Whether it was snakes, floods, rain, cars, or creeps, I was completely reliant on my own judgement and resourcefulness. It is satisfying to look back on the challenges I've faced and know I overcame them all by myself.

All this in mind, would I recommend that another woman ride alone? Probably not. But if the choice is between riding alone or not riding at all, then ride alone. Yes, the world is more dangerous alone as a female, but good people far outnumber creepy people and those good people are will take care of you, if you just have the guts to ask.

From the Land of Lincoln

2008-09-22T15:57:00.000-07:00

Vandalia, IL- Walls of corn fields on either side with only road and sky ahead and road and sky in the circle of my rear view mirror. Small surprising valleys with a steep gravely downhill, wide flat fields of low leafy crop, a river to cross, high water and an old wooden rail road bridge, and a steep uphill to climb out and back to the corn. Cows, heads lifted, and flocks of black birds moving in big groups first this way, then that way, in a constantly changing shape, like a school of fish in the air between lone trees in pasture land. Soybeans GOLDEN, seriously Van Gogh golden, extend to the horizon where they meet the Blue Sky, seriously a Simpson's blue sky.

Pedaling through Illinois has been fantastic. The weather has been so perfect and I am amazed by the beauty of the days.

I've failed to post thus far, so I'll start from the most "exciting" news and work my way to the present to update ya'll.

On Friday, our third day of pedaling, my mom, Fran, fell off her bicycle while trying to steer with one hand. It was early in the day and we were on the Hennepin Canal feeder trail, just outside of Rock Falls, IL. It's a great little trail, and we had it nearly all to ourselves for 30 miles. Fran toughed it out all day, even enduring a surprising set of steep hills towards Neponset, IL. Friday also brought My First Flat. It was sort of an exciting moment

We made our way to Kewaunee, IL and found a Bed and Breakfast right in town, Aunt Daisy's B & B. It was a good choice because the wonderful couple who runs the place, Glen and Michelle, kindly drove Fran to and from the hospital where she was informed that she had fractured two ribs. They also drove us to the pharmacy, made us dinner, gave me route advice and did our laundry. Basically, they took care of us like family.

We called my Dad, Marty, and it was decided that he would drive down for the weekend. Then we would see how my mom felt on Sunday, to decide if she would keep riding or not.

So, I struck out on my own on Saturday morning with a lift from Glen to the Rock Island State Trail Head in Toulon, IL. I met Fran and Marty in the van on the North side of Peoria and got a lift through the city. They put me back on county road 1 and I pedaled the afternoon to just outside of Lincoln, IL. On Sunday morning, as Fran was still not feeling up to cycling, we decided that Marty would catch the train back to Chicago and a bus back to Madison, and Fran would sag the rest of the way for me.

Now, I can't say that I was entirely disappointed by this whole "sagging fiasco." Today, Monday, was my third day of pedaling alone. It's not half bad. Of course, it gets a bit lonely sometimes, and I have to focus my brain so that it doesn't wander away and invent terrifying corn field horror stories, but the bit about not carrying panniers or a tent, and the chance to go at totally my own pace, is pretty nice. Plus, I've learned a lot about Carbon Emissions Cap and Trade Systems, the Kyoto Protocol and the Politics of Climate Change in Australia thanks to podcasts on my ipod.

Of course, I'm disappointed that part of this trip now involves a petrol-consuming vehicle, but there's really no way around the fact that my mom wasn't going to let me go alone, and I probably need her help to get from point A to point B each day. And, it's pretty nice to have a chance to share this journey with her, considering it was her idea from the beginning!

Back to the first two nights to bring you up to speed.

Our first night we stayed with a couple Fran found via www.couchsurfers.com, Kenbob and Jill of Freeport IL. The have a guest house known as Westhaven, previously a barn, which was transformed by Kenbob into a quirky and comfortable guest house. There is a little kitchen with a counter made from a big old wooden door, the kitchen sink is a wide iron bucket and the whole place is walled with big windows so as to look out on the gentle landscape of farm fields. They picked us up near the end of the Jane Adams Bicycle Trail and were fantastic hosts from the moment we met.

Our second day of pedaling was a scheduled to be shorter, an easy 40 miles from Freeport, IL to Rock Falls, IL, as we knew we would be tired from the first day. It did indeed turn out to be shorter, but hillier by far than our first day. A day of hills and gravel roads. Up and Down Up and Down. I actually really enjoyed it, especially because Kenbob and Jilly rode out with us the first 25 miles. It was a blast. Our hosts in Rock Falls, friends of Kenbob and Jilly, the Sosi family were equally wonderful and kind. The dad, Tony Sosi, cooked us a delicious and cyclist-friendly meal of Pasta with Asagio sauce. Yum! The Mom, Jill Sosi shared stories from their recent trip to the Grand Canyon and the daughter, Anna graciously treated us to free shaved ices at her Shaved Ice Stand, Kokomo's in Rock Falls that she started when she was 12. (Now she's 19!)

So that's pretty much the tale as it has unwound thus far. It's weird how you just spin along and thoughts/ideas/memories/questions/possibilities/dreams just drain through your brain, yet at the same time it feels like your head is completely empty and blank.

I pedaled through a place called Boliva yesterday. There were crowing roosters on my way through, I thought, hey, that fits! After I passed Bolivia, I put in my earphones and let Bob Dylan bring me the rest of the way to Taylorville, IL. It was pretty great.

A lesson learned

2008-09-17T06:51:00.000-07:00

In Pittsburg, two miles from the border of Missouri, a couple warned me that the route I was taking might be flooded. The rain had stopped two days ago, so I was dubious. I checked the road conditions on the local bike shop computer and, finding nothing to indicate flooding or road closures, I decided to continue. Soon I began to encounter signs stating "Road closed ahead" or:

Yet I rode on:

Other roads before had similar signs that simply hadn't been taken down yet, even though the flooding was down. I figured this was the case again.

I ignored one last "road closed ahead", crested the hill, and looked down.

If I turned back I would have to ride 25 miles back to Pittsburg. I decided to portage. I coudn't tell exactly how deep the water was, but I could see the top of the grass on either side and part of the fence as well. I knew I wouldn't have to swim. After the cottonmouth incident the day before, I was not eager to walk through the water so I decided to bike through it. I took my front paniers off along with all my valuables and went for it. As I reached the middle a gauge told me that the water was 1.5 ft deep. I went back for my front paniers when I deposited my load at the end. My front paniers are not waterproof, so I had to strap them to my back. I took a ridiculous picture of myself feeling triumphant at the finish.....

......unaware that I wasn't even halfway done.

I reached the top of the bridge and was greeted by more water. Once again, I took off my front paniers and strapped them to my back. I started pedaling. The water was deceptively shallow and short. By the time the water had reached the middle of my tire I still had a long way to go and no indication of how deep the water would be. I rapidly tried to calculate the depth using the signposts and the trees. By the time the water reached the top of my tires I knew I had made two mistakes: I should have scouted the flood depth beforehand and I should have protected my water bottles-- my drinking water was now contaminated by river water. I reached the other side wet and gasping for air. The flood had spanned about 150 meters of the road and reached a depth of 2.5 ft. I decided never to do that again, at least in those circumstances.

So I learned to very valuable lessons yesterday: how to fix a flat and not to ride through flooded roads. The flat was easy; my tire popped and I patched it. Floods are more deceptive.

I am now well into Missouri, and yes, still having a great time. I know it's no shocker, but 60 miles in the flats is nothing like 60 miles in the hills. I am very sore right now and looking forward to hills all the way to DC.

What a day.....

2008-09-12T13:43:00.000-07:00

What a day.....

Yesterday, I walked into the library dripping wet. It had been dumping the entire day, yet somehow I still managed 40 miles in personal record time. The librarian, shocked that I was considering camping with a flood warning in effect, promptly arranged for me to sleep in a church 10 miles East of town.

I woke up this morning on the floor of the church and was again filled with gratitude towards the librarian and the church pastor for letting me sleep inside. If anything, the rain had become heavier.

I headed off for Chanute at 9:00 this morning, a 40 mile ride from the church, feeling chipper despite the rain. I glanced at the map and took note that the road from Coyville to Benedict was described as "deteriorated." As I was leaving Coyville, the road suddenly changed to dirt. Which in this weather meant mud. This was beyond deteriorated, it was nearly absent.

The next 7 miles of muddy road was slow. The rough terrain caused my front pannier rack to break and part of my pedal to snap off. However, it was nothing some electrical tape and wire couldn't fix.

An hour and a half later, I was delighted to glimpse blacktop at the bottom of the hill. The road didn't match what my map showed, so I took out my maps again. After studying them, I realized there was a small turn back in Coyville I failed to make, and I was now an unknown distance off course. I decided perhaps I wouldn't call Adventure Cycling and ask them to revise their description from "deteriorated" to "muddy path".

The road I had taken wasn't on the map, for good reason. So I turned East, certain I wasn't far off. I found the route 4 miles down and continued towards Chanute.

I was having a grand time playing "Herd the Cows" with my bike, dodging the frogs and butterflies that peppered the road, and giggling and talking to myself (I seem to do this more and more often; it must seem slightly maniacal to passing cars). Suddenly a large snake seemed to burst out of street the towards my foot. I squeaked in terror and crashed in the bushes.

I looked back and noticed that it was its peculiar undulating motion, rather than side-to-side slithering, that had given the impression it had lept at me. I must had surprised it as it was lying in the road. I googled cottonmouth snakes and got a pretty accurate picture what I saw.

Later, needing water, I reached for my final bottle, which I keep in the lower cage near my wheel. I gagged. It was covered in frog guts. I hadn't been dodging the buggers as well as I thought. I wasn't worried about the water; the next gas station was only 4 miles away.

I stopped to watch and photograph an injured turkey vulture. It tried to fly off, and when it did, its wings spanned an entire lane of the road. It finally flapped off, but I know it's not going to live.

In tribute to the dying turkey vulture, I rescued a turtle from certain road-death. However, I wasn't about to offer the same to a huge tarantula braving traffic. I stopped to cheer it on as a car approached. Miraculously, the car missed it by inches, but with two more coming from opposite directions. I agonized as it crept towards me. Finally, satisfied it would live, I continued.

I must have been distracted by the tarantula, turtle, turkey vulture, frog guts, and the snake, because I soon discovered I was definitely not where I was supposed to be. Once again, I took out my map and analyzed the landmarks. I had missed a turn about 3 miles back. The gas station, with its water, was now 10 miles away.

I made it, obviously. When I finally reached Chanute, I had managed to make a 40 mile ride into 60.

It was by far my favorite day of the ride so far. The landscape changed from flat fields to rolling hills, trees, streams, and sunflower farms. The rain had, clearly, brought out the wildlife. Beyond the near-roadkill, there were cranes, herons, swans, dragonflies, and hundereds of butterflies. And the mishaps made the day far from boring.

To top it off, I sneaked into the Chanute WalMart without being greeted. I don't know why I found that so extremely satisfying.

The Importance of Carbohydrates

2008-09-11T12:08:00.000-07:00

I left Newton, KS yesterday morning with 80 miles until the next real town. 40 miles later, I arrived in Nowheresville, Kansas, exhausted, wet, and crabby. The first 20 miles of the day had been easy, but as the I started into the next 20 miles, I felt myself slowly crashing. Fearing the dreaded "bonk" I ate bananas and granola and drank some water, but that wasn't enough to stall the crash.

I collapsed in a booth in the local gas station (the only place open for 40 miles in both directions). Clouds and rain had moved in from the South, bringing constant 10 mph headwinds. Disappointed in myself (I was starting to fall behind schedule), exhausted, and dreading the rain that is forecasted to continue for the next week, I called home. I felt alone, scared, and far from help.

Looking back, all I really needed was some fuel. Back home, my mom hung up the phone and told my dad, "Blood sugar." I had eaten only fruit the night before and not much for breakfast. Big mistake. Back home, nothing would have happened, but on the bike, the consequences were huge.

I found a friendly family who offered their camper as a refuge where I refueled and rested. Their goats developed a taste for plastic water bottles, and I spent a good part of the afternoon defending my bike gear.

The next day, I went much farther and through much heavier rain, and yet my perspective had gone from gloomy to happy again. It's all about the carbos.

There's a flood warning for the next 150 miles of my route. But, at least for the moment, I'm feeling confident that I can deal with it.

124 miles a day and still alive

2008-09-05T09:23:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I did my first Century. It was wonderful.

As I was heading out from Scott City, I met another rider, Peter, headed my direction. We burned through the first 3o miles, dishing out camping advice, cursing the crosswind, and enjoying other biker chit-chat. He lost me after the first town, and I thought there was no way I was making another 95 that day. I decided to go as far as I could. I had heard that there were going to be thunderstorms the next day, and I wanted to get as many miles out of the way as possible.

I met Peter repeatedly as the day went on. He would meet a rider going West, stop and talk, and I would catch up. Somehow, I just didn't stop riding.

Finally, I was in the last town before the final thirty-mile stretch to Larned with 4 more hours of sunlight left. I wasn't tired, so I kept going. The landscape had finally begun to change after 300 miles of cornfields, cows, and nothingness. We had entered rolling hills, red tinted wheat fields, and white prairie houses. Peter rode with me most of the way. We arrived in Larned just as the sun was reaching the horizon.

I camped in the city park next to the tent of a guy from Philadelphia. He is raising money for The Lost Boys of Sudan and had never even been in a tent before deciding to ride across the US. There is no lack of interesting characters on this route.

Today I am hiding from the rain in the Library and putting the pieces of my broken butt back together.

Scott City, KS

2008-09-03T09:03:00.000-07:00

220 miles down, 810 to go (until I meet Keally.)

Thus far, I've found this adventure very straightforward. I spin for most of the day, arrive to my destination, collapse, eat, search for shelter, sleep, and repeat. The weather has been perfect except for a fierce wind from the South, which I imagine comes from Hurricane Gustav.

Clearly, as a young woman riding alone, my biggest concern is safety. I am very cautious about where I set up my tent. Thus far, my accomodations have included:

Behind a Shed

A Public Restroom

An Exercise Spa

The Shed I found in the city park of Eads, Co, where camping is free. Behind the shed my tent was surrounded by fence and shielded from nearly all angles, from both humans and the wind. The wind howled all night, and I woke up occasionally to find a branch of the tree above inching closer and closer to my tent.

The second night in Tribune, KS, I again found myself in a city park. As I was showering in the restrooms next to the city pool, I discovered that the building could be locked from the inside. The safety of a hotel, without the cost! I set up my bag on the cement floor and settled down for the night, pleased with my resoucefulness. My sleep that night was disturbed only by an overenthusiastic cricket and a few cockroaches seeking asylum from the flourescent lighting in the dark of my sleeping bag.

Last night I arrived in Scott City, KS. I found a place on a couch in the lounge of an exercise spa for ten bucks a night. I figured I could afford the luxury.

I'll write more later, when I have more time. But for now, I am safe and happy.

I'm Off! (finally)

2008-08-29T17:32:00.000-07:00

So I am finally leaving Durango tomorrow, Saturday morning, August 30. This is a detail of the Map I am using, the Trans-america route from the Adventure Cycling Association. http://www.adventurecycling.org/routes/transamerica.cfm?pg=detail&s=7

This is the first section of my route.

The View from Madison...

2008-08-07T12:35:00.000-07:00

Sometimes life gives you lemons and it's just so much fun to make lemonade!

My participation and involvement in this Ride for a Ride was born out of an internship rejection email. Earlier this spring I had set my heart on an agricultural internship in Tuscany for the fall of 2008. I am taking a year off before starting college and all I wanted was to be outside and do some physical work on a farm. Alas, I was not offered the intern position and suffered the swift plummet of a spoiled ego and dashed hopes.

However, thanks to a little thing called Google Alert I was made aware of the thoughtful and adventurous plans of Lucy Richards, a fellow United World College Graduate from Durango, Colorado. And, thanks to another little thing known as Facebook, I was able to contact her and express my interest in joining her cross-country bike trek to Washington D.C.

Lucy and I arranged to talk on Skype and discovered that we had both been involved in issues of climate change and environmentalism on our respective campuses in Italy and Costa Rica. We also discovered that we were both interested in confronting the issue of climate change on a personal level by taking on a big physical challenge. Neither of us are experienced cyclists. Both of us have ridden our bikes since childhood simply as a mode of transportation around town.

After talking with Lucy and deciding that I really wanted to do the ride, I began to seek advice from everyone I knew who knew something about bikes and touring. I contacted former teachers, co-workers of my parents, and family friends. People shared fantastic tips, resources and contacts that have proven to be extremely useful. I read blogs. and more blogs. and more blogs. I read about sore butts, and really sore butts and even butt blisters. (yikes!)

I tried out a number of different used bikes. In the end though, I decided to purchase my own bike using the money I earned this summer. I narrowed it down to a Surly Long Haul Trucker (LHT), a sturdy steel touring bike with many good reviews. Then, it was only a matter of size. What size Long Haul Trucker did I need? I asked all the experts around town and heard about 10 different expert opinions. Fortunately the good people over at Revolution Cycles on Atwood Avenue in Madison, WI were able to help me narrow my size to somewhere between 46 cm and 50 cm. The store had a 46 cm bike that I tried out. But, I wasn't convinced. I needed to try a 50 cm. Enter yet another miracle of the internet: Googlegroups. It just so happens that there is a googlegroup for Surly Long Haul Trucker Owners (or Future Owners). I posted an urgent message for Madison, Wisconsin, Long Haul Trucker Owners, asking if anyone owned a bike in size 50 cm that I could take for a test ride. A mere one day later my inbox displayed the results of my query. A wonderful young Madison couple happened to own not only a 50 cm LHT, but a 50 cm AND a 46 cm LHT. They said that I could come over to their apartment and take each for a test ride. I couldn't have planned a more perfect scenario. I met them at their apartment door and they wheeled out two beautiful Surlys decked out with fenders, racks and lovely Brooks seats. I took each bike for a spin around the hilly neighborhood and after a bit of waffling and indecision I followed my gut and decided that I needed the 50 cm bicycle.

Whew! Now I knew what bike I wanted, the size and the color (blue, not green). Unfortunately by this point, that combination wasn't available from the Midwest Distributor of Surlys. What was I to do? I could have convinced myself that color didn't matter and just ordered a green bike, but hey, this bike is going to be my dearest travelling companion for the next 3 months of my life. I might as well love how it looks. Last weekend I was travelling up to Minneapolis via Craiglists Rideshare. I phoned some bike shops in the Twin Cities area just to see if anyone had a Surly LHT in size 50 cm in blue. Lo and Behold! The Hub Co-op in Minneapolis just so happened to have that exact bicycle on the floor. I gave them my name, telephone number and asked them to hold it. My ride home back to Madison was also via Craigslist, so my ability to purchase and transport the bike back to Madison was contingent on the person with whom I got a ride being able to carry a bike. Again, lady luck seemed to be on my side because as I arranged my ride home on Monday afternoon it just so happened that the person driving back to Madison had a bike rack on her car.

So as of today, Thursday August 7th, I am the proud owner of a Surly Long Haul Trucker size 50 cm Color Blue, and I think it's pretty exciting.

I am happy to announce....

2008-07-01T15:21:00.000-07:00

This ride across America has now acquired a new member! Keally Cieslik of Madison, Wisconsin has agreed to join me in the ride to DC. She is also a UWC graduate, graduating last year from the UWC in Costa Rica. She, too, is deferring for a year from Brown University. She found me through the article about me in the Durango Telegraph (wonders of the internet, eh?). You can see the article at http://www.durangotelegraph.com/telegraph.php?inc=/08-06-26/second1.htm/

As I am now committed to a two-month internship at Environment Colorado in Boulder, and Keally is unable to begin until the beginning of September, we are now looking at a start date much later than I had originally planned. But don't worry, there's no backing out. I am very excited about getting on the bike, probably in mid-September. We should have a non-negotiable date for departure in the next few hours/days.

This is nowour record of our venture across the United States, as we motivate and excite others about The Trek to Reenergize America.

Hang-Up Number One

2008-07-01T10:16:00.000-07:00

So. Plans have changed slightly. The name of my blog is already outdated (my original blog was ridetomiddlebury08.blogspot.com) , because it seems I will be headed towards Washington DC instead of Middlebury. I had a bit of a tiff with the Financial Aid Office and unfortunately didn't get an answer in time, so I took the plunge and deferred. Who knows? Perhaps this could be the greatest thing that ever happened to me.

This also means i will be riding about 200 miles less than planned, and leaving a little bit later, though a start date is yet to be confirmed.

I would also like to inform you that my bike is now very snazzy and photogenic. I have added spoke cards and signs. I am "selling advertising space" on my bike for a donation. I do need to fund raise, and as this bike will be everywhere, advertising space seems like the easiest path to tread. Please email me if you are interested in "buying" at artichoke.lucy@gmail.com.

If you feel generous, there is now a little button on the sidebar that allows you to donate money online! Quick, painless, and very much appreciated. Any money left over from my ride will go directly to helping the riders of The Trek to Reenergize.

Why am I doing this?

2008-07-01T10:07:00.000-07:00

Last autumn, elated about my acceptance to Middlebury College, I opened my email expecting the usual assortment of "congrats" and "good jobs". However, an email from my mother had a different agenda. She joked that all those winter mornings that I had whined my way into a car ride to school had amassed into an embarrassingly large carbon footprint. Obviously, I would need to ride my bike to college in Vermont to offset all those unnecessary emissions (reading between the lines: "I don't want to pay for your plane ticket").

However, mom had underestimated the extent of my youthful idealism. I immediately took the suggestion to heart. For me, climate change has always inspired a plethora of emotions; fear, awe, sadness, lock-jawed motivation... I would soon graduate from high school, and to me it seemed like the time for me to act had come. The bike ride is one way to introduce myself to a lifetime of activism.

Rather than fading as many ideas do, this project grew and developed over the following months. First a way to neutralize my own emissions, it became a way to raise awareness about climate change. After a few months of preparation I came into contact with JP Kemmick, a young activist from Washington who is organizing a massive bike ride to Washington, D.C. during the summer of 2009. Thus, my bike ride became part of something larger.

Now, as I train, fund raise, and ride I am spreading the word of this mass movement, hoping to inspire others to join the cause. The movement is called The Trek To Re-Energize America and you can check out the website using the link on the sidebar. There are many ways people can get involved. Clearly, we need more riders, or people with means to get to Washington using sustainable transport, such as by bio-diesel car. Others with less time to offer or who are unwilling to undertake such a journey can help by offering to host riders, allowing them to camp on their property or by cooking meals. And of course, "green"backs are always welcome. You can donate in the sidebar to the right. Money will be used for basic supplies, some gear, and possibly a camera for a documentary.

Having just graduated from high school, the reality of my ride has hit me and I have finally begun training in earnest. To those who are interested in the Trek, but have little experience with bikes, perhaps it will be a comfort to know that I am undoubtedly a beginner. For the past month I have been lugging myself up what the more experienced call "hills" and panting by the side of the road as my parents, in one final effort to embarrass their teenage daughter, slide by effortlessly. Clearly, three years of a mostly sedentary lifestyle has not been the greatest physical preparation for a bike ride across America.

But three years of sitting around have not been three years wasted. I spent one year in Thailand as an exchange student with Rotary International and the last two years I have studied at the United World College of the Adriatic in Italy. Each of these unique experiences has afforded the confidence, the inspiration, and the motivation to overcome the physical challenges presented by this project. Don't underestimate the power of mental stamina. Had I spent the last three years training, I don't think I would be nearly as ready to tackle such an adventure.

As a young woman, riding across America alone will definitely be an adventure. I have to admit, that's part of the appeal. However, there are those close to me who, understandably, worry about my safety. Many ask, "Why alone?" This is an easy question to answer. Strangely enough, there just wasn't anybody willing to ride from 2500 miles, the length of the Tour du France, just to keep me company. I had no particular desire to go alone, that's just the way it ended up. There is, of course, an open invitation to anyone who is interested in joining me this year.

The fact is, I'm not worried. With brains and confidence I can make it there alone fine. Otherwise, I wouldn't do it. For me, this is worth every mile and every risk.

This blog will be a record of this journey, keeping those who are interested up to date on my experiences and my progress.