P.E.D.A.L. Across The Americas

Sustainability project in Madrid, Spain

2011-06-20T15:46:00.000-04:00

Hi all.

A friend of mine mentioned this a while ago, about a project he is working on in Madrid, Spain.

http://babelfish.yahoo.com/translate_url?doit=done&tt=url&intl=1&fr=bf-home&trurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.tresbolillo.com%2F&lp=es_en&btnTrUrl=Translate

This is the translated version in Babel Fish, but if you read Spanish, the website is likely a more accurate interpretation compared to the Babel Fish translation.

http://www.tresbolillo.com/

So if you are ever in Madrid, go say hello to Diego for me! or buenos dias.

Birds on Bikes and the Like

2011-05-20T17:06:00.001-04:00

Howdy folks!

Greetings to you all from Peterborough, where Garrett and Kristi have just been gardening all morning... we were then rained out by a thunderstorm and now it's peaceful and sunny again.

Things are rolling along behind the scenes, with Garrett hard at work on the website. (New and improved with all the videos and info we gathered during PEDAL Part One!) And route planning is underway for PEDAL Part Two, after a successful and reflective meeting involving all past PEDAL participants. Even Lucas joined us via Skype from Oregon!

Garrett hard at work on the website

I also wanted to draw your attention to an amazing (and closely linked) project that some friends of friends will soon set off on... It's called Birds on Bikes. They are leaving Vancouver on June 1st (soon!) and heading all the way to Baja California. And their goal dovetails nicely with our own... They are planning to visit small scale, grassroots, sustainable community organizations along their route. They are going to document their trip using film, blog and pen!

It sounds like an amazing journey and we are surely going to connect with them soon to see how we can collaborate! You'll probably hear more details about them in the future as we learn more.
Till then, here is a link to their blog: Birds on Bikes Blog

PEDAL Futures and TranscanEAUda

2011-05-01T19:15:00.000-04:00

Hey folks!

Just a quick update from your friendly PEDAL crew. Plans are in the works to set out on part two of PEDAL Across the Americas in September 2011, starting from San Fransisco and ending up in Costa Rica! There may even be a side trip to Cuba to explore all the sustainable agriculture they have going on there. Exciting stuff!

And this weekend a group of PEDALers past and future got together to reflect on ways to make the second half of the tour even greater than the first. New and old members are joining forces to visit a whole new set of amazing sustainable initiatives. And we are about to undertake a full website update on all that we learned the first time round.

I also wanted to share with you an awesome-cool website about a group of youth who are currently paddling across Canada to encourage watershed conservation. Please do check out their amazing website! http://transcaneauda.ca/

The Transcaneauda crew!

Happy spring PEDALing!

The PEDAL Crew

Gentle Landing

2011-03-29T00:33:00.000-04:00

Hello Friends and Family,

Thanks to everyone for reading, commenting, supporting, and to Justin and Garrett for posting.

So, if you remember about a week and a half ago I traveled to visit and document RidgeCrest Farm that is an off-grid fledgling community working towards being largely self-sufficient with large vegetable gardens that run in terraces along the mountain side, ponds for growing rice, solar and wind power and blueberries for sale to the public. I had the chance to witness many of these systems in action, however the storming on top of the mountain was so unrelenting that I didn't end up taking many pictures. Below is a photo of my friend Cayce who I met at the farm. He and I worked amidst the winds, snow, hail, rain and everything else nature through at us while helping at the farm. In the end, we ended up helping refurbish a stone house that to our delight we used to dry ourselves and our things that were perpetually becoming sopping wet.

Cayce in stone house with freshly scrubbed floors and walls, and a refinished fireplace. In contrast to the wailing storms outside, the tiny house was warm and dry!

I spent a week at RidgeCrest and then took my first opportunity to descend from the mountain top, which led me back to Santa Cruz. I spent one hour on CouchSurfing.org at the local library, and then within 20 minutes of being at the Farmer's Market, the first person I spoke with offered me a place to sleep for the night. Thank You Isaac for the warm welcome! Sometimes speaking to people is just more effective than computer communication.

As it turned out Isaac lives at the SuperFoods Co-operative, which is one of the many Co-ops in Santa Cruz focussing on alternative communal living. Naturally, I was stoked.

Isaac gave directions to the Co-op, and said to look out for the bus.

"For the benefit of all beings, this bus runs on free recycled vegetable oil." The bus parked at the SuperFoods Co-op.

What a beautiful bus to discover. This paint-job depicts a village scene with hand-dug canoes and the crashing waves of the ocean.

Front side of the bus.

But SuperFoods Co-op is not just a bus! They also have a main house and two smaller resident buildings in their backyard.

Living room at SuperFoods Co-op with products stacking the shelves, and Harley, a customer who purchased some Spirulina.

The Co-op sells all kinds of foods recognized as nutritiously 'super', and uses the income to support resident livelihoods. Examples of foods for sale include those listed above as well as many others such as raw organic cacao, jungle peanuts, mesquite, and local raw honeys.

I interviewed Ben Goodwin, the founder of the Superfoods Co-op. A business school graduate, he said the original vision for the Co-op was to bring together progressive people - cheifly young entreprenuers and artists - and use the Co-op as a networking hub for skill-building and projects within the alternative movement.

The Superfoods Co-op operates also as a networking and resource hub. The Library at Superfoods includes Native American History, Yoga Anatomy, Spiritual Growth literature, Edible Plants and more. The poster on top of the bookshelf is by Alex Grey, a New York-based artist especially popular with the neo-spiritual culture.

The Superfoods Co-op in Santa Cruz bred a family of other Superfoods Co-ops in California, with the most fruitful offspring located in San Francisco, and Berkeley. The main challenge the Co-ops have faced, as Ben related to me, is that the earth-friendly alternative people targeted by the Co-ops haven't always been able to uphold the work-ethic necessary to keep the Co-ops functioning as originally envisioned. Reflecting on this predicament, Ben quoted a Zen saying: 'Before enlightenment, chop wood, carry water. After enlightenment, chop wood, carry water.' Fair enough! The full audio recording of the Superfoods interview will be available later.

While at the Co-op, I've had the chance to meet all kinds of interesting and kind people - the vision of a networking hub seems realized to me! - and also found out that due to the excessive storming in the area sections of Highway 1 South, the highway I intended to walk, have fallen into the ocean. My intended trajectory from Santa Cruz was to walk to Big Sur, roughly 70 miles south, however with news of damaged highway, I've decided to also break from the P.E.D.A.L. project for the time being, about two weeks sooner than I originally planned.

So, again, thanks for all the support and wonderful stories along the way. You are all beautiful beings, and it has been a wild and illuminating trip from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, where I started on bicycle almost five months ago, to Santa Cruz, California, United States, where I am now.

Blessings,

Steve

Justin's Life

2011-03-23T10:34:00.001-04:00

Dear PEDAL blog readers.

I have been spending my time at home in Sutton, Ontario, since November 2010. Ever since I rode the train home from Vancouver, BC, I have been working on all sorts of projects inspired by my time with PEDAL Across the Americas.

Oh and here is my home, with lots of snow:

A home built home:

I'll start with the most recent project. Maple syrup production. This is inspired by the idea of DIY, which we learned a lot about during the bike tour, especially when you have a small budget with a lot of time!

I have been thinking of making my own maple syrup for a long time. This year was a perfect time to try it out since around the month of February and March my schedule is not as busy as the warmer spring months when I begin to work outside more. My local aunt and uncle have made syrup before using some handy metal buckets and spouts, then boiling it down in a big cast iron pot, so I went to visit them for advice and some materials.

Here are some pictures to describe what I did.

I used a drill with a half inch bit size to make a hole for the spout. It depends on the spout size of course. I drilled deep enough to insert the spout but not too deep to damage the tree. It has to be drilled on an angle so that the sap can drip down. the spout that I have has a handle to hold the bucket, then we made some lids to prevent dirt and rain water from entering. Be careful that the wind does not throw it off!

The sap runs quickly some days. I sometimes check morning and evening! It tastes nice as a drink too.


I collected it in 5 gallon buckets. Here is more then 30 gallons ready for the pot!


My Mom and Uncle helped watch. The tripod was made with cedar poles and tied with metal wire at the intersection point. You need enough wood around to keep it going, it needs to be tended to quite often. As the liquid boiled down I added more sap until it all fit.

This is near the end after several hours of boiling. It started to taste very sweet!

Voila! We put it into jars. Makes a good gift and also for pancakes!


Some reading material. Also check out http://www.tapmytrees.com/

Oh and Pie! I used some of the syrup for this:

Mystery Cream Cheese Pecan Pie

The other project I have been working on with my dad recently is the building of a workshop and garage. It is so good to learn how to build. Wood framing is such a simple and quick building method. Some of the wood was locally cut and milled!

You can even build in the winter!

There is going to be a loft on top, the roof trusses have yet to be put on.

The plywood went on within a few days.

It was built in the location of an old greenhouse which we have been taking down for the past 9 years or so. A lot of the glass is stored and saved. Hopefully in 10 years we can build one again.

This used to be in operation.

It a bit grown in.

A good indoor project when it is cold outside is making a chicken tractor. (mobile chicken coop, with wheels!) Just design it to fit out the workshop door. We barely got it out!


I used old wood from the old greenhouse above! Reuse, reuse, reuse! The 3 R's

I am also working on a design for a Edible Forest Garden. Here is the start of the plant selection:

These are 4 Butternut trees started from seed/nut. Garrett helped prepare the nuts 2 summers ago. We had to file (with a metal file tool) them down which makes it possible to germinate. I found them growing where they we planted this spring surprised to see the survival rate. 4 out of 8! The nuts from these trees are tasty, but there is a disease that affects the species. I hope these grow big and strong.

A saved cardinal that flew into our window. It survived!

That is all for now. Stay sustainable!

Free Wheelin Farm

2011-03-22T14:02:00.000-04:00

Hey folks!

Thanks to Steve for that awesome update on your walking journey! Check out Steve's latest blog at this link.

I wanted to post a link to an awesome, bike powered farm the PEDAL crew has run across. Free Wheelin Farm is in the Santa Cruz and San Fransisco area, and provides food shares delivered by bike! They run a Community Shared Agriculture (CSA) program, where folks buy a share at the beginning of the season and receive weekly veggie and fruit deliveries.

Check out their website:
www.freewheelinfarm.com

The Road to Mount Madonna

2011-03-18T21:08:00.000-04:00

Hello,

Just a quick update about what's going on. On the 16th, Jordan and I walked from Boulder Creek through the colourful towns that dot the mountain side south to Felton. Here we met John and Ariel in front of a New Leaf supermarket and they welcomed us to stay at their place. The next morning John showed us the way through the woods that leads to Santa Cruz.

Sweet John who, with his partner Ariel, warmly hosted us in Felton. He regularly sports bare feet walking from his home to work. (He tells me his work doesn't mind.) John also hasn't been in a motorized vehicle for four years! Impressive perseverance John!

When we reached Santa Cruz, I met with Noah who operates RidgeCrest Farms near Mount Madonna of the Santa Cruz Mountain Range. He's off the grid, and drove me way up the mountain side - 2800 ft - to his spot which is where I'm staying now. RidgeCrest focuses on Organic Blueberry production, sadly for me not in season currently.

RidgeCrest Farm's yurt and power generation.

Snow storms up here today, so we're tucked away inside trying to keep warm for the time being. Will be in touch when more is transpiring. Take Care,

Steve

Join the Oteshites!

2011-03-16T15:55:00.000-04:00

I (Kristi) did an Otesha bike tour a few years ago and it was an amazing first-bike-trip experience! Otesha tours involve performing eco-themed plays for youngsters and being part of an inspiring, 1 to 2 month bike tour. Now they are looking for folks to do this year's tours. I encourage you to check out the information below, as well as their website: www.Otesha.ca

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

The Otesha Project!

In just 7 weeks, volunteers will ride from school to school to deliver high-energy performances that inspire Canadians to make our daily lives more sustainable. We’ve received over 60 applications so far, but there is still time to apply for one of four Performing and Cycling Tours this year.

Bursary Opportunities

As you circulate this news among your coworkers and the communities that you work in, please note that we have recently launched The Andrew Wolf Memorial Bursary in order to waive 80% of tour costs for an applicant who belongs to a group under-represented in the environmental movement. The bursary is one step in our efforts to ensure that tour members are as diverse as the students and communities they encounter on the road. Please recommend the bursary to anyone you know who is passionate about making their community more ecologically sustainable.

More information about the 2011 touring season, an on-line application form and bursary information can be found at www.otesha.ca. If you have questions, I (Katrina the Outreach Coordinator) would love to hear from you at 613 237-6065.

Thanks so much,

See you on the road!

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

Atmosphere of Change

2011-03-14T18:14:00.001-04:00

Hello Everyone,

This is Steve writing. Since my last post a while back, much has transpired. As Garrett recently wrote, he and Kristi have been taking a break for the last couple months while I've carried on by bicycle.

In Oakland, I decided to give my bike away, and carry on by foot to have a break from biking. From Oakland I returned to serve at the Vipassana Meditation Center. Although not anticipated as a 'sustainability model', the structure of the organization is unlike any I've ever experienced, and impressively sustainable. From the highest level of administration, to the teachers, to the groundskeepers and kitchen staff, everyone is a volunteer, or in Vipassana language, a server. Similarly, every building, piece of property (the organization owns property all over the world), and meal served is from donations. Donations themselves can only be made by former students who have sat a 10-day course. So, as you may be able to guess, with an organization underpinned by the practice of developing compassion for others, that runs entirely on volunteers and donation, the vibe you experience while participating with the organization is really good, very loving, nurturing and inspiring.

Fellow Servers at the Vipassana Center. Left to Right: Erica, Kimkiat, Julie and Silka

Fellow Servers Nick and Chi chi

The California Center is currently undertaking the construction of a new Pagoda, which is a meditation building. The photo below features an example of a Pagoda. The one under construction is about 70 times the size of the one in the photo below.

A Pagoda, a meditation building, is the structure in the back. This one is located near Big Basin Redwood State Park.

You'll also notice in the photo above, a person, but not just any person. It's Jordan Bower, who I originally met 300 miles north of where the photo is taken. He is the photographer who is walking to mexico, and we decided to walk together for the time being, as he expressed interest in visiting sustainability models.

After I transitioned from bike to foot, Jordan and I rendez-voused near Pescadera, California, which is about 17 miles south of Palo Alto, the most southern place I made it to on my bicycle.

California Coast near Pescadera, just south of San Francisco

Endangered Snowy Plovers I had the opportunity to glimpse near Pescadera. The Plovers were being very cute as they pecked at the rocks, and then ran away en masse from the big waves that rolled in.

Pescadera Sunset, March 9th

An Elephant Seal pup is featured in the video below, also being very cute. The Seals were endangered after being hunted for oil and reduced to only 3 breeding males. Now they are considered thriving, with a population of approximately 150 000. The sound on the video is super scrambled, so I'd suggest turning down the volume.

Grizzly Bear skull on far right, Elephant Seal on far left.

To see a map of the walking route Jordan and I have so far covered follow the nasty long link below.

http://maps.google.ca/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=CA-1+S%2FCabrillo+Hwy&daddr=37.1751,-122.35339+to:37.21459,-122.22128+to:CA-236+S&geocode=FUiYNwId_1C0-A%3BFTw_NwIdEgm1-ClrRQxm-P-OgDEqyfphlK9riA%3BFX7ZNwIdIA23-Ckh3HrxKVOOgDHWuegs6dRE4g%3BFXR7NgId1Im4-A&hl=en&mra=dpe&mrsp=2&sz=11&via=1,2&dirflg=w&sll=37.1636,-122.263412&sspn=0.26156,0.397568&ie=UTF8&ll=37.155939,-122.24762&spn=1.046341,1.590271&z=9

From Pescadera, we walked through Big Basin Redwood State Park, and then to Boulder Creek, where we are now.

Waterfall in Big Basin Redwood State Park

PASS Music Studio in Boulder Creek, where we're now staying.

From Boulder Creek, I'm headed to check out a blueberry farm near Santa Cruz. Until the next post! Thanks for tuning in. Peace, and Happy Springtime,

Steve

Kristi and Garrett In Ontario... For Now!

2011-03-11T12:53:00.000-05:00

Hello P.E.D.A.L. friends and supporters,

Garrett here. Long time no type! You'll likely have noticed that Steve's been the big blog celebrity these days... and rightfully so! Our intrepid friend Steve has been carrying the project solo for two months now (go, go, go, Steve!). In early January, Kristi and I returned by train (on our own dollar, not our donors') from L.A., California to our home in southern Ontario.

We haven't broken the news until now, because at first I was considering turning right around and re-joining Steve. I was feeling quite distraught at the prospect of "taking a break." When I decided to remain in Ontario with Kristi, I wanted to determine what the future plans for P.E.D.A.L. would be. In retrospect, we should have put up even a small notice (haha, Kristi told me so!), but I felt a bit silly writing something along the lines of, "We're back in Ontario... maybe not for long... at least not me... but maybe for a while... not sure until when... but here we are! Stay tuned!"

The decision to return was very, very difficult (as I recall, it took Kristi and I about three weeks of steady discussion to decide!). Ultimately, though, the consistent emotional, psychological, and logistical challenges of a semi-long-term transient lifestyle were taking their toll on our emotional well-being. Furthermore, the number of riders had decreased to a point where we were finding it impossible to keep the website up to date, while dealing with the day to day realities of riding and life on the road. We were feeling road weary and finding it difficult to put our full enthusiasm into the tour.

We will still assert that traveling by bicycle is, without a doubt, the way to go -- in fact, my conviction in this is stronger than ever, as I've been pining to get back on my bike to run my errands and make my commutes ever since the day we returned to the snow and cold (I've seen many winter cyclists about, but I've been spoiled by southern California's smiling sunshine! I just hopped on my bike yesterday, actually, spurred by the promise of 6 degrees Celsius, for a two-hour jaunt to Guelph, and discovered I'm already so out of shape!) I want to be clear that the difficulties we faced were not a product of traveling by bicycle, but of traveling by any means. Without trying to make any excuses, I'll just say that not having a place to call home altogether tuckered us out... a lot more than we expected!

Now the part where we try to save face :) We're committed to turning this into an opportunity to strengthen P.E.D.A.L. Across the Americas! It seems we were naive to think that we could keep the website at all up-to-date while on the road, particularly while running (well, cycling) away from Canada's impending icy winter and the Pacific Northwest's full-on soggy celebration of a winter. Despite our sometimes hectic schedule, we scheduled numerous workdays, during which we'd plunk down at the local library and work on getting our videos, photos, interviews, and articles into shape for uploading to the website. Unfortunately, every library but one had a 1-hour-per-person limit on internet use, so only the team member using our laptop was able to make any significant headway during any of these work sessions.

But enough of the retrospect! The point is that now that Kristi and I are home with consistent computer and internet access, we can finally turn the mish-mash of information on our little laptop into real content for the website. That's our goal; working in concert with veteran tour members Lucas Karn and Justin Pape, we're going to turn www.PedalAcrossTheAmericas.com into a delicious cornucopia of gettin'-it-done sustainability success stories. All the content for Canada and the U.S. will be up in preparation for P.E.D.A.L. Part II: Mexico (and a little bit of California, still) to Costa Rica. Promise! You shan't be disappointed.

Hopefully we'll also have the chance to introduce some new team members for P.E.D.A.L. Part II (this is your cue to contact us if you are interested! info@PedalAcrossTheAmericas.com!). Hm, that Part II is sounding pretty good... like Lord of the Rings, right? A trilogy? Except... more of a twology.

In the meantime, all donations are being held in their own credit union account. Rest assured that it will all go toward the continuation of the tour and the website. If anyone has questions about this, please feel free to contact us. We want to be totally transparent about what we plan to do with P.E.D.A.L. funds, especially with our generous donors, friends and family!

Phewsh! That's all for now. Thanks for all your support and understanding!

And now, enjoy a small montage of some my personal highlights from the tour.

Bottom brackets and flapping jackets,
Garrett, on behalf of the P.E.D.A.L. crew

The Whole Dang Shebang!
Also, leftmost, a delightful French fellow named Cedrique (spelling?).

I don't think we made more adjustments and tune-ups
during the whole rest of the trip combined than we did during the first week!

My bike! All packed and ready to ride :D

The Bruce Peninsula, Ontario

Yep, we're in northern Ontario now.

The tres beau Mink Falls in northern Ontario.

A classic scene in rural Canada.

P.E.D.A.L. and friends build our very own solar water heater for HELP International.

Can you guess where we are now? Hint: Extend this scene 360 degrees.)

Thank you friendly farmers for a place to set up camp!

We're almost at the Rockies!

We're at the Rockies! Best appreciated over a chug of grape juice.

One of many summits...

How did we ever make it to Vancouver?!

Stanley Park, Vancouver

Partying to peanut butter chocolate cake in Victoria,
with our super swell Warm Showers hosts Mike and Josee (not pictured, unfortunately).

The snow finally flies in Washington.
A nice cold bottle of water is just what we need for refreshment!

Kitchens: The most important room in the house!
This particular kitchen belongs to the Aprovecho Envrionmental Learning Centre in Oregon.

Quite possibly the world's most hydrodynamic gazebo?
Home-built by hand out of "cob," a simple mixture of sand, clay, and straw.

The Cob Cottage Company, nestled amongst the hills and forests of Oregon.

It's Minnowan!
We rescued him from an abandoned campsite at Lake Minnowan
in northern Ontairo, and he's enjoyed the ride ever since.
(You can see what colour he started out as on the underside of his arm.)

Along the windswept (headwind-swept!) shores of Oregon.

The Oregon shore on an overcast day.

Lovely...

Camping on the coast of Oregon.

Got a bit stormy that evening... colourful!

Ahh, daybreak!

Veggie powered bus sets distance record!

2011-03-04T00:00:00.000-05:00

Hello everyone!

Thought you might be interested in this dynamic, veggie oil powered duo from Vancouver. They travelled 42,000 km on their "Driven to Sustain" campaign. They've talked to about 10,000 students so far about sustainable living and green fuels.

We wish them and their "Veggie Mobile" good luck in their future travels.

Check out their website for more info:
www.driventosustain.com

Happy green surfing!
The PEDAL Crew

2011-02-18T22:13:00.001-05:00

Hello Everybody,

Edit: there is an interesting conversation going on in a previous blog post in the comments section worth checkin out. Here is the link: http://pedalacrosstheamericas.blogspot.com/2011/02/global-climate-change-solutions.html. Please Check it out, as well as this latest blog update.

I returned recently from my 10 day hiatus from the Pedal project, during which I completed a Vipassana meditation course in North Fork, California.

Before the meditation, I was working at Magic on a work-exchange arrangement. In addition to fixing community bikes as I mentioned in a previous post, I also contributed to community work by preparing food for the collective meal, which happens each night, painting the living room, and laying brick for the new driveway, built from salvaged brick and wood. The photo below is of me angle-grinding a piece of rebar (not salvaged) used as a support for the new driveway.

I also had the chance to interview David Schrom while at Magic, who has been involved with Magic since it's inception in the 1970s. However, I`m still looking into how to make this audio recording available through our blog, so please hold your horses on this one!

Also, amidst the painting at Magic that I mentioned, our video camera charger mysteriously vanished, so I am unable to take pictures for the time being, and have no more photos to share at this time. Sorry about that.

I`m staying in Oakland right now, with a friend of a friend (Thanks Sam!). Although Oakland reflects some of the upscale feel of it`s fancy sister city, San Francisco, Oakland people are also faced with homelessness, street crime, unemployment, and the lack of access to proper medical care. To address some of these challenges, community-based initiatives in urban food cultivation have sprung to life, and in their essence marry environmental and social justice work. Thanks to Adam Prince, who I met at Fancyland and provided me with contact information for these incredible and inspiring initiatives.

Here are a couple to check out:

http://www.plantingjustice.org/programs

http://www.peoplesgrocery.org/index.php?topic=aboutus

The significance of these initiatives has become visceral for me since walking around Oakland, talking with people from the city, and witnessing first-hand the hardship that some people in the city are facing.

Thanks to everyone for your support, and blog comments, and thanks to Lucas for the blog entries! I`m planning on being in Oakland for a little longer to plan out the next section of the journey.

Peace!

Steve

How Big is Our Island?

2011-02-16T02:16:00.000-05:00

Hi Folks, Lucas here, interesting quick read here for everyone.
Please give it a read and a think, Take Care, The Pedal Team.

Here is the Direct Link:

http://www.recombinantrecords.net/2011/02/09/st-matthew-island/

Global Climate Change Solutions

2011-02-09T16:57:00.000-05:00

Hi Everyone, Lucas here. I wanted to share with you an interesting video on possible Global Climate Change Solutions. It is a very interesting video, that also presents a very interesting moral dilemma, namely if we have solutions to Global Climate Change, will that only lead populations to believe they have less need to reduce their emissions. Check it out and let me know what you think... lets discuss this in the comments thread,

Take Care out there, Lucas and the PEDAL Team.

http://www.ted.com/talks/david_keith_s_surprising_ideas_on_climate_change.html

Update From Lucas

2011-02-02T19:42:00.000-05:00

Hi Everyone, Lucas here. Hope everything is going well wherever you happen to be reading this at.

I have been going to physiotherapy for the last two months, working to get my knee better. I think most know by my earlier posts that this means I am back in Canada, in Rossland, BC, taking the time to remedy this.

My condition in my knee is called Patellar Tendonitis in my right knee, with my left being sore, but not as bad.

Initially I had hoped it would take maybe a month or so to get better, and then I would be back on the tour. In a recent visit to the doctor I have been informed that it is more likely to be a year, possibly even two (with, fingers crossed, it possibly getting better much quicker).

Unfortunately this most likely means, that my biking career is finished for the near future. I have talked a little with the group about possibilities of joining, ie. perhaps hitchiking, or buying a scooter/motorbike, and what not.

For right now it means I am struggling to bike for 15 minutes a day. It is sometimes frustrating to think I went from biking 9 or 10 hours a day to 9 or 10 minutes, but those are the cards that I have been dealt for right now.

Anyways, I hope everyone else out there is doing great, and I hope the team is starting to enjoy the longer days, and warmer weather as the trip gets farther and farther south.

Take Care out there, and happy riding, Lucas.

2011-02-02T14:01:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the void of blog entries recently. I've been busy working at Magic, and will write about it soon. For now however, I am embarking on a 10-day hiatus from working at sustainable communities and bike travelling.

Take care!

Steve

Early Glimpses of Magic

2011-01-16T23:52:00.000-05:00

Hi Everyone,

Just wanted to give you a sense of what I've been seeing and doing out here at Magic for the passed several days.

Unlike many other Sustainability Models we have visited, Magic is situated in the heart of a residential neighbourhood where property is laid out in a suburban style with predominantly single-family homes and the benefit of large front and back yards. Magic now owns three adjacent homes, and in the yard space, workshops, offices and additional sleeping quarters have been built. Most of the buildings around the central home are connected by narrow winding paths bordered with citrus fruit trees.

One of the newly constructed sleeping quarters at the back of the property, built from salvaged redwood. The walls are packed with a clay-straw slurry for insulation, and the floor is packed earth, geo-thermally heated, which is real cozy on the feet. My friend Chris built this place and lives here.

Two more sleeping quarters.

Shacks and Citrus

Different angle of shack from previous picture and, of course, more citrus

Office and living space tucked-in together under the tree canopy

This is one of the many storage areas for the bikes that play a central role in the lives of Magic residents. That's Andrew camouflaged in the bikes.

With so much bike usage, in addition to the on-site construction projects, having tools and work space is handy and cuts down on costs. Much of my time at Magic so far has been contributing to tuning up the Magic bike fleet.

It helps when things are well organized!

The revegetation of the nearby foothills is a project that Magic has been contracted to coordinate by one of the the big forces in town, Stanford University.

Member of Magic unloading suppled for revegetation project.

Volunteers and members of Magic make berms around the young oak trees. These south-faced hills were once 50% canopy covered, and the north-faced hills were historically 100% canopy covered.

One of the main sources for for the large stores of communal food available at Magic is the local stores and the farmers market, where food that would otherwise enter the waste-stream is saved and pick-up by Magic members using bike trailers. In the case of the farmers market, 2/3 of the foods collected by Magic are donated to shelters and 1/3 remains at Magic. People who stay at Magic can either pay rent, or work in exchange for room and board. Currently there are around twenty people living at Magic with handfuls of others peripherally involved.

I'm interested to learn more about the structure and behind the scenes functioning of this intentional community, and in the meantime will likely be tinkering away with the bikes to earn my stay here. This is the longest I've been in one place for a while now, and the itch to start moving again is coming on already. We'll see how long I can stay put....

Also, belated Happy Birthday to Grampa O'Brien who on January 14th turned the healthy age of ninety! Way to be and we love you lots.

Bed time for me. Take care,
Steve

Fast Tracks to Magic

2011-01-13T22:09:00.001-05:00

Bonjour Tout Le Monde,

Thank you for keeping up on reading the blog updates and checking in with me over email. The last week has consisted of long biking days inspired by a speedy bicycling duo, Renae and Jen, who I met after leaving Fort Bragg, and also, reaching a milestone destination - the intentional community called 'Magic' in Palo Alto, just south of San Francisco.

A rare photo of me on a bike snapped without me knowing while entering the artist town Mendocino just south of Fort Bragg.

Soon after the photo of me on the bike was snapped, I met the photographer Rick Hemmings, who was taking pictures of birds, like this Pelican.

Mendocino, California, is situated in a beautiful spot on the coast, and it was in this town that I met Renae and Jen, who were biking from Crescent City in North California to San Diego at a swift pace. Renae told me they covered around 75 miles in one day before our paths crossed. I was excited to meet some other bicyclists, and inspired to push myself to bike more miles per day. So, we ended up biking a 65 mile day together and spent the evening in the Bodega Bay Dunes Park. The next day, we hit the road early, however, were inadvertently split up and haven't seen each other since, but emails have confirmed everyone's safety. Biking together was great while it lasted.

While in Mendocino, I also met artists Janet Ashford and Jon Klein, who warmly invited me into their home. Check out these outstanding pictures Jon Klein kindly shared with me of a 72 foot Blue Whale that washed up on the shore near Mendocino. It is suspected that the whale was fatally wounded by a boat propeller. Jon Klein's photography website is jonkleinphoto.com.

Here's some of my own nature photography.....

Mule deer sharing the campsite with me

One of the many victims of car traffic we've witnessed while biking on the roads

Who am I?

Pelicans and Cormorants sunbathing by Tomales Bay, an oyster cornucopia

And a few other glimpses of the recent journey:

Jolly folks I met in Elk who shared their food with me. Malaysia, Brunei, USA, and Canada are all represented in this photo, kindly provided by YC, also from Brunei.

South San Francisco homes. Welcome to the city!

Here are my rap dreams manifest - a video I made while camping near the Avenue of the Giants. Credit to Lupe Fiasco, and the many other accomplished rappers, to whom I mean no disrespect in this novice venture into the rap genre.

That's all for now. I'm stationary at Magic for the time being, where I've reconnected with my friend Chris Tyler, who I met at the Bike Center in Guelph, Ontario, Canada, and am working everyday as part of the work-exchange arrangement for my room and board.

Best Wishes to You,

Steve

2011-01-05T15:10:00.003-05:00

Hello Friends and Family,

I'm back on the coast and, uncharacteristically, the sun is shining. The mornings are still just above freezing though. Brrrrrrr.

Dan Glaser from Redway, and Steve from P.E.D.A.L.

Dan Glaser kindly hosted me for a few nights in Redway while I recouped. He shared some great stories with me about growing up in Israel and moving to Los Angeles. Now he is living a leisurely retirement, and is part of a group that has been holding a Peace Vigil every Friday for the last five years in response to the Iraq War.

Sunrise in Redway

South Fork of the Eel River

I winded my way up the South Fork of the Eel River, which, right now, is gushing and beautiful. However, in the Summer time it dries up. Like many rivers, it has been the subject of water diversion schemes. In this case, the land ridge that divided the watershed for the South Fork of the Eel from a neighboring watershed was torn apart to divert it's flow. Dan Glaser describes the scheme as 'making a whole through a mountain.' The diversion has led to decrease in Coho Salmon runs, which, among the decrease of many other migratory fish species, seems to be a theme throughout the Coastal Redwood ecosystem.

This disgruntled face is due to the overcast sky that greeted Steve in the morning and spoiled his bathing plans. The South Fork of the Eel is in the background.

Top of the first ridge biking over the Coastal Range of Hwy 1. Notice my bike.

Looking the other direction from the top of the ridge. The downhill ride from here was definitely a highlight of the past few days. Real fast.

Although the pictures above depict vast forests, from southern Oregon where the Coastal Redwood ecosystem begins, to where I am now, 200 miles north of San Francisco, California, we witnessed many patchy forest stands, and very few intact sections of mature Redwood trees. From the feature article of the October 2009 National Geographic magazine titled 'Tallest Trees', I learned that of the original Redwood old growth, less than 5% remains. A map from the article showing the entire Redwood ecosystem with the old growth stands highlighted is available online also, however the online map doesn't come across as well as the hard copy version. Online article:ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2009/10/redwoods/bourne-text

In Canada, the western old growth coastal forests have also been depleted to the point where the Northern Spotted Owl, which depends on old growth habitat, is now listed as endangered. Last I read, only 8 breeding pairs remain in Canada. In the US, the Spotted Owl is listed as threatened.

Jordan Bower is walking to Mexico. We met in Leggett, and again in the Coastal Range. Safe trails Jordan!

Sweet stand of what I think is Red Alder

Not an unusual curve along Hwy. 1. Fun riding!

Back on the coast.

New sign from some side-of-the-road material

Lorraina in Fort Bragg, who hosted me and told me some wild travelling stories. Thanks Dylan also for setting me up with a place to stay.

The sun is still shining, I'm clean and dry, and ready to get moving.

Take care,

Steve

2010-12-31T20:43:00.000-05:00

Best New Year's Eve Wishes to You All,

I'm staying in Redway tonight. This sweet man in the photo below, and the others at the local radio station, KMUD, helped me find a place to stay indoors, which is essential, as tonight it's expected to be snowing!

Simon Frech of KMUD and Steve of P.E.D.A.L.

Snow covered peaks - Send chills down my spine, not in a groovy way

Where I camped last night - Real nice

More to come soon! As soon as I figure out how to upload video....

Take Care,

Steve

The Enchanting Land of Fancyland

2010-12-29T11:13:00.000-05:00

Hello Everybody. Steve here. I recently visited Fancyland, a burgeoning young intentional community in the hills east of Arcata, California.

The community, unlike other communities I have visited, offers retreats for artists and activists for no cost, save the food you eat and lending a hand with general upkeep for the common space (i.e. tidying up after yourself, wood chopping for the wood stove). The latest project involves completing the common house, which includes a studio.

One of the window views from the new studio space.

Wonderful wall installation by a visiting artist in new building. Made from recycled off-cuts of wood.

Wall close-up

Wall closer-up

The buildings are without any electricity, candlelit, warmed by wood stove, and user-friendly in being well-organized to quickly acquaint visitors with the logistics and philosophy of the space. It was also refreshing to be in a place where the arts is a major focus.

Paper floor of cob house screen-printed by friend of Sacha, the main resident and initiator of Fancyland.

Floor detail. Wow.

More floor detail.

Forest trails connecting the buildings

This is the floor from a building made entirely out of salvaged old-growth redwood. Notice the width of the single plank my foot is on. My foot length is about 11.5 inches to give you a sense of dimension.

'Edible and Medicinal Plants of Fancyland: A Collaboration', a book created by visitors' and residents' personal accounts of plants they have used, and where they found them on the 13 acre Fancyland property. Peterson and other plant field guide books are available also for reference at Fancyland.

California Black Oak, like other oaks, yeilds a yummy acorn when leached of it's bitter tannins. Here the leaching procedure involves setting the ground and muslin-sacked acorn flesh in a river for ten days. Awesome.

Miner's Lettuce and Wild Ginger: What do they have in store for you?

Summer Lodgings

Great View

Garden still pumping out hardy greens like kale, and chickweed which we enjoyed eating

Sweet Jacqueline, who hosted me. Notice the lamps (no electricity remember), and the to-be-painted stone block wall. The stone blocks are aerated concrete, which helps keep the building warm in the winter time, and cool in the summer time.

Thanks Jacqueline and Fancyland for welcoming me, and for the lamp lit yoga sessions! From Arcata, where I now am, I'll be heading to a community called 'Magic' in Palo Alto, where an old friend of mine resides. Along the way, I'll be seeking warm and dry indoor places to sleep. Please let me know if you know of any!

Keep on,

Steve

Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year

2010-12-25T13:51:00.002-05:00

On Behalf of the Entire PEDAL Team, thank you so much for your support over the last 6 months.
Have a great Holidays, and a happy New Year.
Keep reading and responding,
The PEDAL Team.

Resplendent Redwoods

2010-12-21T00:26:00.002-05:00

Hey all!

Since our last post we have been cycling through rainy redwood country.

We stayed for two nights with a wonderful womyn named Connie, who we met at a coffee shop in Crescent City. She taught us tons about everything from the dangers of fluoride in the water system to 1960s musical history. And she sent us on our way with tons of nuts and other yummy snacks :) Her umbrella cockatoo `Buster` was a lot of fun too!

Steve and Connie dancing

Buster

On the way out of Crescent City, we stopped at the harbour and witnessed some sea lions hanging out on the wharf. It was our first seal encounter of the trip.

Sea lions at Crescent City harbour

Upon the advice of another cyclist, we took `the scenic route`, along the coastal trail, out of town. The supposedly bike friendly path turned out to be a rocky, wet, steep slope, followed by intermittent paved areas (an old highway from the 1950s). It was beautiful, but certainly not suitable for fully loaded touring bikes! We enjoyed the increasingly huge trees, some of which you could stand inside.

Kristi and Garrett on the Coastal Trail (not too good for bikes)

That`s all for now. Tomorrow we will be biking through the larger redwoods in the National Park, which we are all very excited about :)

The PEDAL Crew

Sunnier... and in California at last!

2010-12-17T21:35:00.001-05:00

Hey everyone!

I just wanted to put up a quick post to let you know that the weather has perked up significantly since our last post. We've been having lots of clear, mostly sunny days and pretty reasonable temperatures. Look at that blue sky!

Kristi enjoys the great riding weather

Blue sky at the coast

On Tuesday we spent a lovely night camping on the beach at Gold Beach, among large rock formations. And it only rained and hailed a little :) We enjoyed falling asleep to ocean sounds.

Our beach campsite

The rock formations we camped between

Wednesday we spent with a great couchsurfing host in Brookings, and Thursday we stayed in town to do some errands.

Today we crossed into California and started seeing massive redwood stumps. Tomorrow we will ride right through the massive trees and we are super excited about it! We'll definitely post some pictures of that soon.

The PEDAL Crew

Garrett gets excited about California :)

Tales of My Departure

2010-12-15T16:16:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone, Lucas here.
Hope all is well out there. By now I think you have probably heard that I am no longer with the group.
I will give you a brief update about that and let you know some happenings.

Before we left Canada I was having some knee issues. I have had a condition in my knees ever since childhood, but through most of the Canadian portion of the tour they were feeling great. But by Victoria I was noticing a lot of pain, so I went to a sports physiotherapy clinic there, and changed my riding style in the hopes that it would help. It did somewhat, and I continued down through Washington. It seemed like a tried to take it easier and easier on the knees, but they were getting worse and worse even with the rest.

By the time we arrived in Aprovecho (near Cottage Grove Oregon) they were really bothering me, but i was hopeful that a weeks rest would help while we volunteered. It seemed like they were getting worse and worse through the week but still manageable. However one day Steve, and I, went for a walk through the forest with our friends Brad and Heather as well as Astrid. We were coming home just as the sun was setting, and following a little path, when i stepped onto a fallen log across the path and slipped. Everyone asked if I was okay and I gave the typical "yeah, doing okay, just hurt pride" but when I tried to get my knee was in no mood to cooperate. I limped back to the house and got a physiotherapy appointment for the very next day, and the prognosis was: rest, ice, stretches and physio for a long time.

Unfortunately, the key element, rest, is not very achievable on a bike tour. As a group we tried to figure out many options, from hitchhiking ahead each day to finding a place to stay in southern California until the group gets there.

The best option was to come home, and I must say, if I am going to be going home to rest, there is no better time than Christmas season!\

It turned out a friend named Rebecca was taking a natural building apprenticeship there and happened to be coming back to BC pretty quickly after I took the fall. So i stayed at Aprovecho for an extra week as the cook. I had a great time there and met some absolutely amazing and inspiring people. Rebecca and I drove back to Canada and saw some gorgeous areas, from rainforest, to high alpine, to desert and back into snow country again. It was great getting to know her better and have someone to ride home with.

I am pretty disappointed at this point; I feel like I was so close to the California coast, which I have dreamed to much about going to for a long time. I am hoping my recovery will be quick and I can join up with the group in the new year.

I am so inspired and impressed by the PEDAL team right now. They are in some less than ideal weather right now, and making the best of it, all the while staying busy with logistical related stuff. Believe me when I say they have a lot on their plates.

I am hoping Justin and I can relieve a lot of that. Being still involved with the tour but in a more technology based environment, we have the opportunity to get a lot of work done that can be hard or nearly impossible on the road.

I hope everyone out there has a great Christmas season, and keep following the journey of the team!
take care, and enjoy the ride, Lucas and the PEDAL Team.

Getting the most out of the Coast

2010-12-13T17:50:00.000-05:00

The rainy, windy Oregon coast

Howdy everyone!

Garrett, Steve and Kristi have reached Port Orford, Oregon. Now we're taking a quick library and lunch break to dry off and warm up.

On the way into town, we noticed a sign that said:

"Caution: High winds for the next 20 miles,
when lights flash".

Garrett and Steve enjoying the weather

We noted that the lights were not flashing and wondered why. Its been quite the rainy, windy couple of days, but at least its been fairly warm out here and the scenery is beautiful.

Yesterday was characterized by stunning views of the Oregon coastline, including huge rocks, sand beaches and waves. It was clear and warm all morning.

The plastic trash bird

Here is a picture of a bird statue we found at roadside, just outside an art gallery along the way. It was made entirely of sea garbage, mostly plastic. We think its a commentary on the effect of sea trash on the health of local birds... but we're not sure.

Last night we were invited in for a family dinner with a group of local folks. We later found out that they were Community Shared Agriculture Farmers, greens growers and sheep farmers. We had a great time chatting, eating, Garrett played the piano and we left with a gift of frozen blueberries :)

For those who have not yet heard, a few days back we made a last minute stop at a place called Mountain Homestead and stayed there for three days. We learned about a huge amount during our time there, including cob building, composting toilets, edible forest gardens, micro hydro projects and more.We've included some pictures of "Mountain Home" as part of this blog and can't wait to upload more to facebook and our website. You'll see a more detailed summary of what we learned at Mountain Homestead up on the website soon.

Hoping for sunnier skies,
The PEDAL Crew

Cob house at Cob Cottage Company - Mountain Homestead

Sign for ecoforestry business - Mountain Homestead

Steve doing some eco foresting

The garden - Mountain Homestead

Micro hydro turbine - Mountain Homestead

Our website has returned!

2010-12-10T21:56:00.000-05:00

All is well with the website again. Thank you for being patient while we conquered this challenge.

If anyone ever has advice about the website or information they would like to see. please let us know.

E-mail is: info@pedalacrosstheamericas.com

Your friend,
Justin

Coos Bay all the way

2010-12-07T18:57:00.001-05:00

Hello everyone,

The PEDALers are now at the Oregon coast, staying the night in Coos Bay. We're all very excited to be back at the coast and heading south towards the sunny warmth of California.

Unfortunately, our good friend Lucas has to take a break from the ride, due to worsening knee issues. He was left in good hands at Aprovecho, where he'll be continuing a work-trade until he goes home. We all wish him happy holidays with his family and a speedy recovery (and return to the tour!)

Viera has also had to step out for a number of reasons, including a bad case of bronchitis. We hope she gets better soon too!

Since leaving Aprovecho, Garrett, Kristi and Steve have had quite the ride. The day we left was sunny and cool - the perfect riding weather. When we arrived in Elkton to stay for the night, we were referred to a local bike enthusiast, who set us up with a great camping spot and proceeded to feed us dinner and offer us showers. Thanks so much to Jeff and Joan!

Yesterday we saw a herd of elk calmly grazing by the highway at the Dean Creek elk viewing area. The ride was beautiful, through rolling, forested hills and small, trickling waterfalls. Luckily we were following the Umpqua River, so the ride was relatively flat.

Today we saw the most spectacular sand dunes, spanning from the tops of large hills, all the way down to the water's edge. We also stopped at a local sourdough bakery - quite the treat - and also a sign of our increasing proximity to San Francisco!

Please check out Justin's blog from yesterday... it's great to hear how he's been doing since he went home. Also, a website update - we are working on getting it back up asap.

You'll be hearing more from us soon!

Kristi

Justin is home in Sutton! Now I get to try things out.

2010-12-06T23:03:00.004-05:00

Hi everyone,

This is a long overdue posting that I meant to write ever since I decided to finish my part of the tour. Yet it allows for more of an update of what I am doing these days back in Sutton and ideas of how what I have learnt from the PEDAL project can be applied to my life back home.

For a while on the tour I had this reoccurring thought that I was thinking more about home and Elm Grove Farm (a farming project that Kristi, Garrett and I had worked on in summer 2009) then the tour itself. Not that I was not enjoying the tour and all the wonderful things we were learning, I just realized that going across Canada was enough for me and that I was super excited to try all the cool technologies and sustainable practices that we were learning about and documenting.

We had not even reached the States yet, and we had found so much already!

Here's a bit about what I did prior to taking the train back home:

In Vancouver I was starting to think I had traveled as far as I was interested in going, however it seemed too early to turn around, also it felt a bit anticlimactic since we just arrived in western Canada after all that distance! It made sense to check out the west coast at least until Portland, which is sort of a goal for me to see sometime, due to it being an "environmently friendly city" says wikipedia!

So I went with the group to Vancouver Island, where we went to stay with Garrett's relatives, who were swell. One of the best things we did, after it was all organized, was take a ferry to Salt Spring Island, where we were able to connect with some environmentally minded folks. One place we visited was someone who used to live in a Yurt, and is now building a "hemp-bale" (instead of strawbale because of the amount of rain they have, hemp is better for moisture) house, plastered with natural clay, sand, lime and/or flax "goop". For lunch we met with someone who is involved with the transition community on the island, which is transitioning the island from using petroleum based living (gas powered cars, gas heated homes, etc.) to alternatives, like cycling and solar energy. Then after lunch we got to see a straw clay (rammed into forms) and timberframe house!

Also around Vancouver Island was some great cycling paths from the ferry in Swartz Bay to the city of Victoria, as well as in the city of Victoria. There was even a bridge that recorded as much as 800 cyclists traveling over in one day.

I also went on a nature walk/service activity with some people from the Baha'i community. We learned about Garry Oak ecosystems which are becoming quite rare due to increasing building development on the west coastal regions. The ecosystem supports the Alligator Lizard (http://www.bcreptiles.ca/lizards/alligator.htm) which I had never expected to live there. We also worked on pulling out invasive species that were choking out the natural vegetation.

Also, Viera and I managed to attend the screening of The Clean Bin Project documentary movie. (http://cleanbinproject.com/) It was great to see because we saw Grant Baldwin and Jen Rustemeyer in Northern Ontario. What a cool project!

Anyways, I heard about super seat sales on VIA Rail from a friend, and then after doing some comparisons of time, money and reasoning, I decided to take the ticket from Vancouver to Toronto instead of continuing to Portland, Oregon.

I sent everyone off on the ferry to Washington State, the next day I took the ferry back to Vancouver and stayed with our friends Marena and Zach at their apartment. It was pretty weird being apart from the group! It was sure comfortable staying with Marena and Zach at the apartment! They also had some couchsurfer's staying too. The next few days I spent getting ready for the train, getting food, books and a game. I also baked a "butt load" of bread for the train and experimented with flax crackers, which turned out amazing.

Flax Crackers:
Boil ground flax until it is "goopy" and egg like or slimmy, depending on how you would like to describe its unappetizing texture! Mix some salt in for seasoning, just a pinch, depending on how much you are making. Then pour it thinly over an oiled baking sheet. Bake it at low temperature like 150 deg to 250 deg. It may take an hour or 2; as it dries out it will let go of the baking sheet, otherwise if you try to take it off too early it will stick. Be patient! If you are really into it, build a solar oven as well, these would do great in one of those and use zero direct energy in the process!

So the train was fun. The first stretch was in the dark because I boarded 8:30 PM in Vancouver, therefore missing the beautiful mountains of the west coast (thats ok I saw them by bike, haha).

I woke up in Kamloops, and briefly chatted with the people around me the night before. I was tired and stiff from sleeping on seats. The dome car was nice and warm for sleeping!

Most of the day I spent in the dome car meeting people and reading and looking at the mountains. We past by Mount Robson. I met a man from Northern Ontario who builds houses in the summer and cedar strip canoes in the winter. I talked with him a lot about construction and about the PEDAL project. He also lives in an off-grid home that uses solar panels!

I also met a man who was bit by a squirrel in Stanley Park in Vancouver, now he has 5 stitches on his finger, the same finger that he cut the end off a year before! He was fun to talk with, his wife too.

I also met a guy from the Navy who has reduced prices for the train and he was enjoying the scenery.

There was a young guy and his aunt who were transporting a female dog and her 2 puppies to Ottawa. He was working in Keremeos (which we bicycled through in the Okanagon Valley) picking organic fruit in the summer! I helped them take the dogs out for a pee because they only had a short time to get them out, while the train stopped for passengers and fill up on fuel.

One evening a musician on tour and partnered with VIA Rail was playing in the lounge below the dome. She is from Guelph and named Ambre Mclean! Super cool person who I have watched at the Hillside Festival and plays amazing music. http://www.myspace.com/ambremclean/music/playlists
She used to play at "Manhattan's" on Gordon Street, in Guelph
My favorite piece is Me, My Heart & The Moon

It was great to see Canada the other way and by train. I also took 10 years ago with my family. This time it was cold and snowy, especially across the prairies!

When I came into Toronto I was quite disorganized, not having any phone numbers, cell phone or set time to meet anyone. Plus the train was 2 hours late.

So I hopped on my bike all loaded up, said some goodbyes to people I met on the train and headed up north to Sutton, which is where I am from. Wow! It is good to be free!

I had previously organized to get a ride with my brother Vince who was working about an hour north of the station and about an hour south of Sutton, but did not have his number on hand. I decided to drop by Kristi's parents in North Toronto (closer to Vince) and give them a "cough" surprise "cough". They were happy to see me, and I was able to connect with Vince as well. I updated them with the project and how things were going out west. I also got a chance to phone Kristi and Garrett who were out in Eugene, Oregon.

Now I am home and busy as ever. I cleaned up all my gear and bags and settled in at home. I have a lot of reconnecting to do with friends and find time to do all the things I would like to do.

We are building and rebuilding structures on Elm Grove Farm now. I am preparing my thoughts for farming in the spring. It would be good to start marketing things, like new pamphlets and perhaps a website. I need to think about what sort of crops to grow. How many people should I grow for? Would it be a good idea to look for a partner or 2? Do we have a space for people to stay, could they stay in tents? I would like to build a solar outdoor shower. The buildings are under construction, where will I store things? Where am I going to wash produce? Where are people going to park? Where am I going to sleep/stay/prepare food?

Many, many, many questions and more.

I am also working on designs for a yurt. I would like to try building a small temporary structure to live in for the summer. There are some cedar trees growing that were planted about 20-25 years ago to be used as hedge trees, now they are close together and tall and straight; good for building.

I also managed to connect with a friend who is building a house (conventional construction) near Lake Simcoe. So I have a paying job for now too. Although it is getting cold and snowy. The roof is also unfinished. Soon it will be closed up, so we can do inside and warm work. He is a Baha'i and hopes that it will be a home that can host community activites, for youth programs and studying, which is why it is a big house. It is great to work on a building that is intended to be used for the betterment of the world.

Now that it is snowy and cold outside I have to find inside things to do. What sort of sustainable projects can be worked on inside during the winter?

Happy reading!
Justin

Viera leaving the tour :(

2010-12-06T21:26:00.000-05:00

Due to a bad case of what seems to be bronchitis, among other reasons, Viera is leaving the tour, but wishes the team the best of luck in continuing on to their destination. She is volunteering, learning, and healing at the Lost Valley eco-village for now, in Oregon.

Viera

PEDAL website temporarily down

2010-12-04T20:05:00.000-05:00

Hey folks,

In case any of you have been wondering, we recently discovered that our website is down. Actually, its still there, but has been redirected to a strange advertising website. We're working on getting it back up as soon as possible, so hold tight and keep reading the blog.

Also, I am currently uploading lots of pictures to our facebook group. Everything since Nelson BC will soon be up there! So feel free to take a look there.

The PEDAL Crew

environmentally friendly Eugene :)

2010-12-02T20:08:00.000-05:00

So to backtrack a bit, I was keen to visit a long planned sustainability model, the Permaculture Institute on Orcas Island, Washington. Chris was also interested in coming and accompanied me. After some last minute money changing since the ferry only took American dollars, and Viera going twice through customs since after the first time she somehow exited the area while looking for a washroom, we were on our way. The ferry was beautiful - big open spaces and woodwork, and the scenery on the ride was also spectacular. The Permaculture Insitute was inspiring. It was described by many as a paradise. There are thousands of plant species there. The people working there don't just plant them, don't even just know the basic soil types, amount of water, etc. required, but actually have a relationship to the plants that goes beyond the basic knowledge above. A lot of the plants are just on the edge of being able to live in that climate, and the Bullocks Brothers keep pushing those edges and find ways to grow more and different species.

There were 3 interns currently there, definitely down from their summer numbers of 20 or more. We were able to help out planting some unusual trees and greatly enjoyed inoculating some shitake mushroom. I also gained an idea of what permaculture is, which I had only a vague notion of before. I learned that it is more than just an agricultural method, but an approach to community, culture, and a way of life itself. Some of its basic tenets include mimicking nature, with several things able to accomplish the same purpose, and one thing serving several purposes. So to heat up water for a shower you could use a rocket stove or the sauna stove. This creates resiliency, since if one thing breaks down there is always another that can take its place.

We returned to Victoria to meet with the group, but found only Justin there. Viera spent a day taking advantage of the last day of free health care by getting a medical check up, and saying goodbye to Justin. The next day she headed out to meet the group in Port Angeles, but they had already gone ahead to Quilcene. Pretty much ever since then, she has been riding a day behind the others. After a very cold night camping out in rain and snow, I headed to Olympia. I stayed there to replace my back wheel and do some other bike repairs. I was also able to visit Lincoln School, a very progressive place with a HUGE school garden with chickens, where schoolwork involves weighing vegetables, calculating yields, getting dirty, and having fun outdoors! There were even chickens there! Compost was derived from the school cafeteria. I visited some other sustainable initiatives around town, and stayed with warmshowers hosts who had bicycle toured the world for 3 years!! Very inspiring :)

After Olympia it was a few days to Eugene. Here I've been staying in an amazing collective and sustainable house, meeting other cyclists and bicycle advocates, visiting houses that have converted their front and back yards to permaculture, and learning about neighborhood programs and community initiatives.

This post is getting long but I hope to write again soon with all the things I am learning! The Pacific Northwest is a very progressive place when it comes to sustainability and there is a lot happening here.

Approvecho

2010-11-28T23:09:00.000-05:00

The PEDALlers have reached Approvecho in Cottage Grove, Oregon. Its misty, rainy and mountainous around these parts - very beautiful!

We arrived in the darkness, and are looking forward to seeing this place in the light, along with all the amazing work they are doing here. Expect another blog soon!

Check out the most recent blogs for more details of what we've been up to in the past week or so:
Most recent blog

Kristi

South of the 49th

2010-11-28T16:02:00.000-05:00

A Farewell to Justin and Cold Weather-Warm Hearts

Hi Everyone, Lucas here again, hoping all is well and fine out there. I hope your staying warm, we are for the most part. For our American readers its about 17F right now, and for our Canadian friends, it is -10. However you want to put it, it is darn cold out there.

There are two recent blog posts that i do not want to bury with this post so please read Steve's Blog and Chris' Blog

I have a lot to catch you up on though so I won’t waste too much time. My camera has broke, so unfortunately no pictures which is too bad cause I really would love to show you some of the things we have seen, it has been quite amazing. Garrett has a camera as well so hopefully he will add some pictures soon. When cameras are working we take a lot of pictures, and if you are interested in seeing all of them click on the slideshow on our homepage of www.pedalacrosstheamericas.com.

I also have an elaborate post from Chris who left the tour to go home yesterday, about Viera and his time out on Orcas Island. I will post it with this. Also please check out the last blog by PEDAL newcomer Steve, who has some interesting thoughts to share with us

The big news right now is that Justin has departed from us. He left in Victoria, taking a train home from Vancouver to Toronto, and then to the family farm in Sutton Ontario. He loved every minute of this trip, and wished he could see more, but ultimately, he is weary from travelling such a long time, and probably most importantly, wants to keep his amazing family farm going up in Sutton. He will still be working on this project, which wouldnt be where it is at without him. We all wish Justin so much luck and are going to miss him so very much!

Another fairly important sidenote: we made it across the Straight relatively easy. We left Victoria, BC, Canada, on a cold and rainy morning, taking the motliest ferry across the straight and arriving Port Angeles, WA, USA, in slightly warmer, dryer weather.

The old boat pitched and rolled like an old sea schooner, and when I reached customs on the other side I was living green in more ways then one.

We got there early in the afternoon so we had a little time to explore the city and try a little compare and contrast of the United States and Canada. As far as I could tell, very little had changed from where we stood and the similar sized communities just north of the 49th.

That night we enjoyed our host Lorie, and her nice house with a great fireplace. We got dried out and other than a sick night for Steve, we had a great night, and were happy to wake up warm and with nicer weather coming in.

That day we rode to Sequim and Quilcene, the group splitting apart on misunderstanding. We had our first glimpse of the Olympic National Park, in all its snow-capped wonder.

Steve, Chris and I ended up waiting in Sequim to have lunch with Kristi and Garrett. We had taken this beautiful back trail all along the straight and through amazing rainforest valleys. Unfortunately we got a little mixed up and found out Kristi and Garrett had taken the famous 101 highway down to Quilcene and had passed us right by.

So the three of us bunked the night in Sequim, though it was quite the nightmare to find a place to stay. While Viera stayed in Port Angeles and Kristi and Garrett ahead in Quilcene at a church.

The next day we rode to Quilcene and met back up with Kristi and Garrett. It was our first day on the 101 and despite the lousy weather, we saw some amazing seaside scenery courtesy of the inlet we were following south. The road followed so close to the ocean that you could spray it with your water bottle should you feel so inclined. It was an interesting thought to have pacific ocean to the East of us, but if you regard a map you will notice the inlet makes its way south off of the Juan de Fuca Straight.

That night we stayed with a couple in Kristi, Garrett and I stayed with a couple in Quilcene named Todd and Vivvian, while the others stayed at Serendipity farms with Chris, who I am told made great Pesto sauce. Kristi Garrett and I enjoyed amazing homemade bread, a large pot of soup, and a warm fire place that I nested up to and embraced overnight after the cold day.

The next day we rode through Olympic National Park and saw our first real taste of snow sticking to the sides of the road. We nervously made our way up to the summit and then cautiously (but not too cautiously) made our way down the other side. We still followed the coast and the majestic 101 through many seaside communities advertising clams, oysters and other local seafood. I will have to make a point of trying some west coast seafood sometime soon, and Steve and I have been talking about figuring out how we can fish in a few places soon.

That night we stayed in Shelton with Allan and Donna, a warmshowers.org connection. They made us a big dish of spaghetti and showed us their amazing house and pictures of their cross country adventure, where they rode with their son on a tandem bike.

The next day we were up early and on our way down to Longview for the night. The morning started out beautiful for riding and lasted that way for all of 45 minuters before it started snowing on us. It was the really light, calm, Hollywood Christmas like snow, the nice kind that puts a smile on your face and brings back memories of childhood. Once again that lasted for about 45 minutes before the snow decided to really start falling on us. Between the weather and the most complicated and frustrating detour routes for cyclists I have encountered yet, we all got separated and ended up in different places for the night.

Chris and I ended up making it just north of Longview well after dark, to find Steve had got their ahead of us. We stayed with a man named Charlie, who was possibly the kindest person I have ever met. He did everything you could think of and more for us, and Steve and I ended up becoming quite good friends with us.

He owns an RV park called Toutle River RV, and if you are ever in the area, I recommend camping there because it would be one of the best times a family could share.

We ended up staying a few days with him, I came down with flu like symptoms for a few days and had some knee trouble.... plus it was nice to not ride in the 6 inches of snow on the roads.

He took us down to Portland to share Thanksgiving with his family, and we had so much fun with him that we plan to meet up again after the trip.

Steve and I are a little behind the rest of the group, so we are taking the night train down to Eugene to meet up with the group as we speak. I have some tough decisions to make about travelling regarding my knee, which is scaring me a little.

We will be getting into Aprovecho on Monday or Tuesday which is exciting for everyone. We will most likely be staying for a week, and I am really excited to find out what they are doing and document it.

Thanks for reading and sorry again for the delay. Please read the other two posts (one by Steve, the other by Chris). And as a side note on Chris, he returned home to Vancouver after his two weeks with the group.

After all the sky flashes, the great sea yearns,

We ourselves flash and yearn.

Lucas and the PEDAL team.

And one final note: because my camera broke, I am unable to post pictures of our trip at this time, however I really want to show you some cool pictures.... so the first five people to email info@pedalacrosstheamericas.com and tell me their address I will send a nice postcard to telling you of some of our awesome adventures. Please respond, thanks, Lucas.

Chris' time with the Bullocks Brothers

2010-11-28T15:55:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone, Lucas here.. the following is the accounts of Chris' adventure with the team:

A Hippy for Four Days!

Viera & I are arriving at The Bullocks’ Brothers Permaculture Farm & Nursery long after their peak season for the year. During the Summer, there are about 20 interns and other assorted visitors from around the globe. My own impressions were coming to rest on the inspired notion that this was a very special place, seemingly imbued with the best intentions of back-to-the-landers and hippies from thirt years ago all the way up to the present day.

B-Brothers Sam & Doug truly look the part, wearing their slightly weather-beaten faces partly or covered in whole by salt n’ pepper beards. Jeans, flannel, fleece, caps and toques account for the rest of their typical garb for a life out-of-doors since they began husbandry over this land some thirty years ago. I hadn’t camped in a while, and I was taken aback by an interns advice that we take a sought-after camping spot beneath a huge spruce. Apparently, everyone had only moved back inside the several cabins onsite a few weeks before. I later on gazed in wide-eyed summer-camp satisfaction at the frame of a large tepee permanently staked into the ground, which is used a group gathering space and fire pit during the peak season. Some other first-impression detailing made themselves known, such as the unique composting outhouses, whose painted demeanor speaks of the unique personalities of their creators. I later found out that each of the eight or so outhouses gets moved after each of their respective pits is filled with human fertilizer for the gardens, easier than it would seem, since each one is only made of wood and bamboo-mat screens.

There are a number of greenhouses, the hub of human activity for cooking, meeting, and hanging out within the largest one with the most permanent moorings, which also serves as a sauna. I sampled the Sauna a couple of nights, wandering outside naked in the middle of the night without so much as a single goosebump from storing up so much heat in meditation beneath the cozy wooden walls.

As an aside, since I was on this sub-adventure with Viera away from the rest of the seven riders, I began to imagine the group and its activities as a living creature. I would later be mistaken, but at the time I imagined the two of us at the head of the creature, leading its head around with an adventure-carrot on a string to new and bizarre happenings, while Lucas resided in the infirmary-gut mending his sore knee, with the remainder of Kristi, Justin, and Garret at the tail-end, processing the creature’s food into blog-entries. Oh, and I guess Steve would be inhabiting one of the limbs, as he had been away as well, visiting friends on the other side of Victoria. What this analogy was intended to symbolize was that it’s still one group on a common mission, despite the wayward directions of its parts and the physical distances which sometimes form temporarily between them.

Saturdays’ work involved preparing recently cleared pond-front land for the growth of several non-native species of schrubs and trees, including Sechuan Peppers. Holes were dug with much humour and carrying on, then tree-cages were gathered, some additional chicken-wiring to protect from voles, and posts stuck in the ground for the tree-cages to hang on.

The second work day was for a totally different type of planting, the creation of holes with power-drills up the trunks of chopped birch logs for the insertion of mushroom mycelium plugs for the future growth of hopefully many upon many Shittake mushrooms.

We ate like land-kings & queens the whole time, the most memorable lunch was this day, a magnificent vegetable squash soap with leftover dahl from Sid inserted into fresh grilled-cheddar and sourdough sandwiches courtesy of Tatton.

In force here is the garden-forest type of plural culture, for there are many different types of plants growing here. There are a few dogs roaming the pathways between things, and many chickens behind their free-range fence.

From the B-Brothers Library, altered excerpts from ‘The Road Back to Nature’: The Author, of Japanese Origin, describes how Man should learn from the most short-lived creatures (the mayfly, for example, who dies after only three long days!) how to live, a day at a time, to our fullest, instead of dreading death, one hour at a time.

Before Leaving Canada

2010-11-26T19:42:00.007-05:00

Before breaking through customs into the US, I was fortunate to connect with an old friend of mine Leah, and stay with her and her great housemates, Nishira and Suzanne. They live on the doorstep of the Pacific Ocean in Victoria, British Columbia.

One of The Oldest Sustainable Systems: The Ocean

Crafty Plastic Bag-Drying Line

Plastic bags + Ocean = Check Out 'The Great Pacific Garbage Patch’

http://www.dominionpaper.ca/articles/2528

The above two photos are of the Kimchi Leah and I prepared together. Good books for fermenting recipes are 'Wild Fermentation', by Sandor Ellix Katz, and 'Nourishing Traditions', by Sally Fallon.

Closet Full of Food

Bulk foods and home-made preserves from fresh in-season local veggies and fruit make this home extra hype.

Leah has also been instrumental in a campaign to protect the wild forests of Cortez Island, British Columbia.

The Fundraiser CD is available through:
http://wildstands.bandcamp.com/album/wild-we-stand-

Major gratitude to Leah, Nishira, and Suzanne for hosting me. Major gratitude also to Jeremy and Steph in Vancouver, British Columbia, who kindly hosted me for a long time before Victoria.

Much love, Steve

Vagabonds in Vancouver and Victoria

2010-11-15T18:20:00.021-05:00

Hello Everyone, Lucas here, writing from atop the Pacific Ocean!

We have made it to the West Coast, currently on a Ferry between the BC mainland and Vancouver Island.

What a great week it has been, let me catch you up on all the happenings and what-have-you’s.

We left Delta on Thursday, biking into the city. We crossed a giant bridge, loaded bumper to bumper with traffic (we walked the steeds across the bridge). Then Justin and Viera split off on an adventure to find a good bike trail, while Kristi, Garrett and I loosely followed the google map instructions we had to make it down to near Granville Island. We ended up taking a pretty busy road all the way through Vancouver, but it wasn’t as bad as we would have expected, and actually quite a bit of fun. Riding through such a big city always tends to take a lot of time, but you never seem to notice. We ended up meeting up with Steve (the newest member of the group) at his brother in law’s house near Granville. It was great to finally meet him, but we had to depart quickly, going up to a friend of Justin’s, named Arno. Kristi had to make a phone call so she went ahead, while Justin and Viera stayed to catch up with Steve. Garrett and I made our way towards Arno’s, when we stumbled across one of the most amazing things we have discovered so far on the trip: bike lanes. Vancouver has an amazing display of roads dedicated to cyclists all over the city. We were on a street with probably a hundred cyclists and it was an amazing feeling of community and excitement that we shared.

We settled in with Arno, his wife Jean, daughter Laura and son Ian, who were all incredibly hospitable to us. In the morning, Ian took Justin and I for an amazing adventure and tour of the downtown.

We started by going down to the Olympic Village (pretty dead and empty now).
We headed across a bridge and into downtown Vancouver. Ian had an Ipod and a set of speakers so we were rocking a combination of funk music, classic rock, and latin jazz as we cruised the busy streets. It all had a very urban feel to it, and we found ourselves full of energy as the rain held off for a little while.

We stopped at a music store downtown, and for the first time on the trip we were dwarfed by something other than mountains; skyscrapers of varying size and utility looming all around us.

Then we rode down through Hastings, which for anyone who knows the area (one of Canada’s most poverty ridden areas) was a bit of a culture shock for Justin and I. We walked our bikes up the street and talked about some of the challenges the area had, and mused about possible solutions.
Next we rode through Historic gas town, a ritzy area of town now (ironically only about a block from hastings.... what does that tell you?)

We took a right turn from there and suddenly were at the Olympic torch right by the waterfront.
From there we followed the beautiful Urban coastline down into Stanley park. It started raining on us, but it was hardly a deterrent as we took the coastline trail, and took in the amazingly luscious sights.

When we finished the trail we went back into the downtown core to dry off and grab some sushi for lunch. Then we headed over into Granville and back home. It was so stress free and fun, riding in a big city. I had such negative expectations on how riding in the city was, but with an amazing cyclist system it was the most fun riding I have had on the entire trip!

That evening Justin, Viera and I went to an event called Bike to Work Week. It was the last day of the week so they had a wrap up celebration in a park. It was interesting to see so many cyclists, some with disco lights, lasers and stereo systems all installed on their bikes. I seriously considered putting a radio on my bike after all the fun that we had with those bikes.

Then we all went out for some Ethiopian food to celebrate our arrival on the West Coast.

The next day we went for yet another ride, this time to U.B.C. to check out the beaches. We went with all of Arno’s family and it was yet another nice cycle (so much for taking a break from cycling, but it was just to nice).

We met many interesting people in Vancouver, and by the end of a couple days, it felt like a small community. I was really surprised by how intimate it felt. We ran into people we had just met in the city multiple times.

On Sunday Garrett and Kristi made their way out to the island to see Garrett’s family, while the rest of us waited two more days to get some stuff done in the city.

Finally, on Tuesday, Justin, Viera and I made our way out to the island. Steve was waiting one more day on some last minute supplies, but was going to ride out with Chris, a friend of Viera, who will be riding with us for a couple weeks.

Arno led us out to the sky train in the morning, and bid us adeiu. After that we rode the sky train over into Delta, then rode down some busy truck roads trying frantically to make the ferry in Tsawwassen in a torrential downpour. We were cutting it close with the wind in our face, biking like crazy to catch the ferry. I had a flat, so Justin and I sent Viera on ahead while we rapidly mended the flat, all while seconds ticked away in the back of our heads. We ended up repairing it in under five minutes, an impressive feat. We took no time to celebrate though, as we started tearing down the road for the ferry. I remember seeing a sign on the side of the road saying 13kms to the ferry terminal, then looking at my watch and seeing we had about 17 minutes. We would have to bike at about 50kms an hour, or have a small miracle to get on the ferry.
We put our heads down and raced into the wind like we had never raced before. I remember looking at my watch every once and again, and thinking “damn, were going fast”.

We ended up turning a corner to the ferry after about 8kms of straight fighting the wind down the highway, and suddenly the wind was at our backs and strong.

With the hope remained and we searched deep into ourselves for any remaining energy we had... and found it.

I was still thinking it was just too short of time to make it when an overhead sign announced that the ferry would be possibly delayed. This only added to our energy, and I was excited by the slight chance that we could make it within these near impossible time constraints.

We moved faster then I ever had before, and as we came around the corner we saw the last staight stretch to the ferry.

I would love to tell you that we made it onto that ferry. That we made an impossible distance in less time than it could rightly be done in. It would have made a great feel good story, and probably brightened some
hearts out there.

But the truth is, we were late. That ferry left without us. It meant we would be biking in the dark on the other side, from Sidney down into Victoria.

We could have been mad or upset, yet when the lady at the ticket booth told us we had missed the ferry, I was happy. We had tried our absolute best to get on that ferry. How could we be disappointed with that? We had pushed ourselves more than we ever had, and though we didn't achieve a goal that was most likely unreasonable, we pushed our boundaries more than we ever had, and in the process learned just how much we could really do... much more than we expected.

As good as that little revelation felt, it didn't change the fact that we were riding in the dark and rain on the other side.

Fortunately Garrett’s Cousin in Law came to the rescue. She drove up to Sidney and picked us and our gear up, while we left our bikes locked up in Sidney.

When we got to Taylor and Sue’s house, there was yet another amazing meal waiting for us. We feasted with Garrett’s family (his Uncle and Aunt also being there). It was really great to all meet up again, and share a warm house, warm laughter and warm food!

The next morning we all jumped into a couple of cars, and made our way over to Salt Spring Island, via another ferry.

It was the first beautiful day we had seen in a week, so we were basking in the glorious sun that had hid on us for so long. We stopped at a bakery off of the boat, and enjoyed the amazing culture that came with the island life.

After our breakfast we made our way into town for a full day of finding different individuals who were building different types of houses on the Island.

First we met with Andrew, who had built his house out of Hemp bale, and was powered entirely by solar off of his property. He also harnessed an amazing resource that we have been subjected to since we made it to the coast: rain!

He had enough storage to use only his water the entire year round. His home was also heated by trees on his own property, and with the thick hemp made walls, was very efficient.
Then we went to meet with a representative of Island pathways who explained to us the recent additions of pathways for cyclists around the Island.

Finally our last stop of the day was at an institution called Eco-Nest, an architect-builder team who worked together to make incredibly efficient, yet comfortable homes.

The whole day felt like a glimpse into our future as we enjoyed the novelty of warm weather by the sea. Who knows when we will get to that perpetual summer I have been dreaming about, but this was an incredible taste of what is to come!

We made our way back to the Ferry as the Sun started to go down. By this point we still have not fully realized that we are travelling over pacific water, it still seems like we are going across large inland lakes.

The next day was Remembrance day, and I took the opportunity to bike down to the legislative buildings to watch the Remembrance Day ceremonies. It was quite different from all the small town ceremonies I have been to in the past. Instead of 100 people there was thousands and thousands of people crowded upon the streets to remember the sacrifice of those who have left us. There were many soldiers and veterans, and it was quite the sight to see planes flying overhead and a naval ship firing the traditional twenty one gun salute.

The next day we packed up and left Sue and Taylor’s house. They had been such amazing hosts to us, and we were so thankful to be able to stay with them and talk about so many different things, while enjoying such amazing food.

That day Viera and Chris made their way over to Orcas Island to check out a Permaculture Institute, while the rest of us moved to our couchsurfer friends Mike and Josee’s house to work on our website.

As I write this we are all working towards getting our website content up and running. It has been a hard couple of days work, but I am so impressed by every ones hard work and determination to get meaningful content from across Canada up on the web.

We haven’t had much time to enjoy this beautiful city, which is too bad, but unfortunately we just have too much work to do right now.

And now for the injury report:
Viera and I have both been having some big knee problems lately (why is it always the knees). I went in to see a physiotherapist on Friday, which was helpful but a little disappointing as they mostly told me ways to treat the pain, not the actual issue itself. We have a lot of big riding to do through the states now for a while, so we will see how the knees treat us.

Sorry to all for a lengthy wait on the update, I will keep them regular through the next little while. If you havent done so, please read the Blog Garrett wrote just a couple days ago, it has some really amazing things.

And now for the most exciting news of all:

The Garden content of our website is finally operational and has some articles posted through our mediawiki.

The crew has been working hard trying to get this working with our website and I am super impressed at our ability to figure these difficult technological problems out.

Please check out our web site and see the new additions.

Thanks for reading again, Lucas and the PEDAL team!
and like usual a little teaser at the bottom:

You want us to feel better

On these darker trails

With the light revealing holy grails

To hike through dangerous weather

You need twilight eyes

Guided by Voices, "Twilight Campfighter"

At The Edge

2010-11-13T17:43:00.000-05:00

Garrett here, writing from the western edge of the continent! A few more kilometres east of here, actually, and I'd be sitting soggy in the Pacific. Yes -- after 5500 km of cycling, we're in Victoria! For those keeping track, this marks the completion of the first third of our tour.

It's probably redundant to explain just how much of a milestone this is to me -- the opportunity to visit long-unseen family and to reconnect with west-rooted friends, the finale of our Canadian trek, the exploration of a sudden and surprising coastal ecosystem, the chance for a great deal of reflection, and the addition of our newest tour member, Steve O'Brien -- so I won't elaborate. I will, however, mention the surprise with which our arrival sunk in.

Justin and I were cycling from North Delta, southeast of Vancouver proper, north to Burnaby to check out Canada's largest allotment community garden (it was big). As we crossed the Pattullo Bridge (the cheerfully-orange but hyper-trafficked twin to Ontario's Skyway), one of Vancouver's iconic robotic SkyTrains cruised over a towering concrete suspension bridge beside us towards a congregation of high-rises to the west.

With rumbling trucks, blaring horns, and choking exhaust fumes accompanying us over this bridge to a shiny blue-glass tower horizon, I felt as though I were moving into some over-stimulating futurescape amusement park. The mountain towns, tamarack stands, and cedar groves of the past several weeks hadn't prepared me very well for this populous profusion of people or the associated smells and sounds. It was while I was watching the SkyTrain head for those skyscrapers that I really appreciated the significance of our situation. This was the edge. The river below us? It became salt water in a few scant kilometres. I recalled seeing a sign in northern Ontario indicating that Wawa was only 180 km away, and I remember thinking, "Golly, we're really out there, and we've come all this way on our bikes! I mean, gosh, Wawa!"

To tell the truth, the distance between here and Wawa doesn't seem any more significant than the distance between Wawa and home. I can vividly recall the mountain passes, the thrilling descents, the cold mornings, the sunny days, the rainy days, the furious headwinds, and the innumerable warm people of our journey thus far, and it all feels like a logical progression. Having reached the coast doesn't suddenly make everything that came before an "endeavour"; the endeavour has grown each day, and in most cases it's been as understated as just about "day in the life" scenario. But our arrival here helps turn all those experiences into a tidy "past," and the future feels embodied in a cardinal direction: South. In a few days, we'll be crossing the Canada-U.S. border and hitting the pavement in Washington!

Backtracking now a little: in getting this far, I've been biking through surreality. On descending into the Okanagan Valley towards Osoyoos... well, it's not that the sight is unprecedented in its drama; it isn't the highest, the steepest, the most vast, the most lush, or the most stark landscape. It is, however, unprecedented in its character. The hills in the valley are undulating in gentle, irregular slopes. The mist among the slopes is very disperse, more like a broad, fine veil than a discrete body of vapour -- transluscent and homogeneous, I suppose. It gives the light passing through it a very unusual and beautiful quality as the sun penetrates in ghostly shafts.

Farther down, the descent becomes one of the most dramatic of any: the most immediately thrilling and impressive (considering the impression it left on me) experience yet. The city of Osoyoos opens quite suddenly to our front-right as the valley expands upon passing a rise in the terrain. A lake swells to fill my vision south of the city, far below on my left.

The road down to the city concedes completely to the landscape in a way that is nowhere near so evident anywhere else we've been. The hard petroleum line traces the top of a sinuous, descending ridge stretching out before us; out of necessity, the road follows the shape of the hills precisely. No straight lines, no great gashes through the hills, no elevated causeways. The ridge switches back on itself repeatedly in graceful curves, and the speed with which I ride its back should demand my full attention -- but I'm stunned by a scene that reanimates often in my memory.

Justin is perhaps six or seven hundred metres ahead of me, and he's barreling around a switchback beyond which the ridge drops precipitously to the valley bottom. I know he's moving fast -- 50 km/hr or more -- but to me, he's moving in slow motion. It's the landscape behind him... it's so vast. It's so deep below us, I realize with a rush, and it stretches far off towards the horizon behind Justin. Whereas many vistas become subtle and understated as they recede towards the edge of perception, this valley celebrates its enormity. It just keeps going, off into the distance. The slopes are shimmering with golden grasses and musty purple shrubs, and the dry vegetation accentuates the land's stoney complexion.

So, I have this image of Justin careening around this switchback, and his size and speed are dwarfed -- overwhelmed -- by the world around us. The Okanagan is the northernmost extension of an arid stretch originating in the Mojave Desert, so if this landscape is a precursor of the US southwest, our new southward orientation holds a great deal of promise.

:)

Its a warm wind

2010-11-03T17:40:00.002-04:00

Hi Folks, Lucas here yet again, and like always hoping you are all doing great.

We have been quite busy over the last few days, unfortunately my camera’s batteries are dead, so until tomorrow when I can buy some new ones you will have to just imagine what we have been doing.

We left the beautiful town of Hope, (and I do mean beautiful). It is nestled in the coastal mountains like a baby in a crib; the steep peaks towering around the entire city. We left on Sunday morning heading west, roughly following the mighty Fraser River. It was a nice Halloween day and we managed to not get rained on.

Perhaps because it was Halloween or perhaps because it was just convenient, Kristi, Garrett and I had lunch in an interesting old graveyard on the side of the highway.

We were headed to a friend of Kristi, Garrett and Justin who lives just south of Chilliwack in an area called Ryder Lake. We didn’t end up getting there until way after dark. We thought we had put mountains behind us for at least a few weeks but we ended up pushing our bikes up a steep mountain road in the dark. Couple that with no lighting, many recent cougar sightings, a bit of fog, and Hallows eve, it is probably safe to say we were a little spooked. We made it to Gina’s eventually however, and she had some dinner waiting, and was very kind to all of us. We stayed up late talking and laughing, all while a huge storm was being unleashed outside.

The next morning we slept in, and relaxed with Gina. Then Justin, Viera and I saddled up and rode down the mountain and west to a place called Yarrow Eco-Village. The folks there were very kind and on the account that it was raining torrentially outside we helped out doing indoor volunteering instead, which was much appreciated. We ended up setting up our tents in an old barn there.

I was fortunate to meet up with an old friend, and he brought us some fresh vegetables which we used to make a delicious dinner with Anne, the lady who had invited us into her home at the village. Kristi and Garrett arrived right at dinner, and we all felt bad for them as they had rode through very high winds and a huge downpour of rain.

That night my friend Pete, and one of the inhabitants of the village Joé, stayed up late talking about his plan to rid the local stream of invasive plants. It was a very elaborate plan, and it made me appreciate the huge amount of science and planning that goes into even a small area of forest/stream reconstruction.

The next day it was as if a storm had never passed as the sky was blue and beautiful. I even found myself taking off my sweater for the first time in my B.C. portion of the trip.

Anne gave us a tour of the Eco-Village and we video taped a few interesting things. Look for it soon under the garden section of our website: http://pedalacrosstheamericas.com/index.html/the%20garden.html

And a related note is that we will be in Victoria within the week, where we will be finally be editing and posting all of the interesting things we have seen across Canada on our website. We are really excited to share some of our experiences with you, so please check that out in a week or so.

After the tour we left for Delta, BC which is just across a branch of the Fraser River from Vancouver.

We left just before lunch, Viera, Justin and I taking old farming roads, while Kristi and Garrett jumped onto the Trans-Canada and then the Fraser Highway. Justin, Viera and I got to see some amazingly beautiful country but ended up changing our route quite a bit, which pretty much automatically resulted in us getting lost coming into Delta. We ended up doing a lot of city night biking which isn’t fun, but fortunately Delta has a pretty impressive bike system (lots of bike lanes and bike routes). We arrived at my Aunt Joan and Uncle Larry’s house and were thankful to enjoy an amazing meal with many fresh vegetables from their backyard garden.

Today we are going to a large Community Garden, armed with our video camera, so look for that in the next week or so.

Our current plan is to stay in Vancouver for at least a couple days, then head out to the Island and get our work done before we head south into the states and (hopefully) perpetual winter.

We are absolutely blessed with another warm, sunny day today, which is apparently pretty rare for the coast.

Thanks to everyone who voted for us on www.youth4sustainability.com. The voting is now closed, but we are happy for all the support, and excited to see the outcome. We will keep you posted as we hear more about it.

We have had our first visions of the coast last night, just as the sun was setting. It feels like we have accomplished something amazing, and we are still so early in on our journey.

One of the most important parts of this trip is to show the public what we have been learning, and we are all very excited to be organizing and sorting that information out in the next few weeks and presenting it to you. Please ask lots of questions if you have them; which reminds me, our forums are now up and running at http://pedalacrosstheamericas.com/index.html/forum.html. Please sign up and join our forums. I hope that it can become an interesting area of discussing, debate and most importantly sharing. It is void of content right now, but look for it within the next couple of weeks to start up. Feel free to post and add interesting things yourself.

Once again, thank you very much for reading and take care out there.

For a while, Viera and I were memorizing poems on the road to share.

I memorized this one and found myself saying it often when thinking ahead to the west coast (and also home in Rossland).

I find it particularly fitting today so I will share it with you if you have the time:

The West Wind

It's a warm wind, the west wind, full of birds' cries;

I never hear the west wind but tears are in my eyes.

For it comes from the west lands, the old brown hills.

And April's in the west wind, and daffodils.

It's a fine land, the west land, for hearts as tired as mine,

Apple orchards blossom there, and the air's like wine.

There is cool green grass there, where men may lie at rest,

And the thrushes are in song there, fluting from the nest.

"Will ye not come home brother? ye have been long away,

It's April, and blossom time, and white is the may;

And bright is the sun brother, and warm is the rain,--

Will ye not come home, brother, home to us again?

"The young corn is green, brother, where the rabbits run.

It's blue sky, and white clouds, and warm rain and sun.

It's song to a man's soul, brother, fire to a man's brain,

To hear the wild bees and see the merry spring again.

"Larks are singing in the west, brother, above the green wheat,

So will ye not come home, brother, and rest your tired feet?

I've a balm for bruised hearts, brother, sleep for aching eyes,"

Says the warm wind, the west wind, full of birds' cries.

It's the white road westwards is the road I must tread

To the green grass, the cool grass, and rest for heart and head,

To the violets, and the warm hearts, and the thrushes' song,

In the fine land, the west land, the land where I belong.

John Masefield

Thanks for Reading, Lucas and the PEDAL team.

And the embers never fade, In your city by the lake

2010-10-31T02:26:00.000-04:00

Hi Folks, Lucas here again. Hope all is well out there.

I have lots to tell and a few pictures to share.

When we last left you I believe we had made it to beautiful Keremeos.

We have been blessed lately with amazing and abnormal weather for this time of year, and the last few days have been no different.

We left Keremeos with an appreciated tailwind blowing us up the slight incline along the river up to Princeton. We stayed at the Princeton Pentecostal Tabernacle, where pastor Tony Essex kindly and trustingly gave us a key to the church, and let us set up for the night. Viera and I had a chance to take a quick walk around town and enjoyed the quaint feel of the alpine town.

On Thursday we left for the park. It was yet again another beautiful day, with blue sky and warm sun. We headed towards Manning Park, and put our heads down and sweated hard.

We ended up climbing and climbing. It ended up being the most challenging day of the trip yet, despite only going 50 kilometres. Despite all the hard work we got to witness some beautiful scenery.

We got to the gas station before the park in the early evening. There was really nothing between there and Hope, BC, which was about 90 more kms. Garrett’s dad had kindly donated some emergency money for if we ever needed a place to stay. We were going to stay at the hotel in the park, when we noticed a sign for a B&B. Garrett and I ended up riding up the hill to ask the people about rates. They ended up being incredibly kind to us. Their names where Kristina and Brittanie, they ended up putting us in a cabin, (which would more adequately be called a house). They also let us come up and have a soak in there hot tub, which to a sore cyclist seems like about the greatest thing on the planet. We had a spaghetti dinner in our cabin, with a nice fire going in the fireplace and classical music playing from the speakers of the sound system. How Romantic! Despite the love in the air we all gathered around the fire and watched Space Odyssey: 2001 and eating a whole load of popcorn.

We slept great and in the morning were thankful we had a warm place to cuddle up. The temperature had dropped to about -10C overnight and our bikes outside were thoroughly frosted.

We took off into the park, with the knowledge that the next 90kms to Hope were actually somewhat easy, and that we had done all the hard part the night before. As cyclists we were naturally sceptical of the reconnaissance, but our intel turned out to be correct.

We reached the Allison Pass Summit at a little after lunch time, at 1324 metres above sea level if I recall correctly. We knew Hope was pretty close to sea level so we were happy to think of the descent we would have.

Honestly I could not have imagined how amazing it would have been. Talking to my father in the morning he had suggested to fix my breaks. Well sorry dad but I didn’t heed the advice. Justin and I were riding together, and when we crested the summit we stopped to bundle up, then plummeted down the amazing valleys.

We have found that our bikes naturally hold us bck to about 60-70 km/h. To us that is pretty much the perfect speed. Other than a slight cold rain in the eyes, I was in near perfect bliss. We raced down the mountains, and as we kept thinking we couldn’t get any lower, another valley would appear. It is quite literally mountains on top of mountains on top of mountains here.

At one point I believe I experienced my soul try to escape, and I found myself shouting guttural yelps of joy and delight like a young puppy caught up in a game of fetch. We were on top of the world as we dropped from the top of the world. It’s funny how our bodies are capable of understanding so much joy from experiencing the rare combination of thrill absolute and beauty absolute. And sometimes your only response is to hoot and holler at the giant cedars passing you by at 70 kilometres an hour.

I was so impressed by those trees, they covered every mountain from tip to toe, unlike most mountains you see with patches here and there of grass and field, and the mix of different deciduous and coniferous trees. These were completely green, like the deep pits of a glacial run off. We thundered down through the deep canyons for literally hours (how often in your life can you change elevation for the long). As you can probably tell I would like to ramble on all night about that ride, but my words cant do it justice anyways (Neither can these pictures but hopefully they help a little bit [my camera ended up dying half way through the ride).

We made it to Hope at dusk, and a kind lady named Gail brought us to an Anglican church here to stay the night. I guess it is Halloweens Eve, and probably a fun party night for many of our adult readers, but we are sitting here quietly in our church basement. I bought a bag of candy at the store tonight to give to kids tomorrow, but have yet to devise a way to give the candy to kids without coming off as a weirdo. The kids may have to settle for taking candy from a weird guy on a bike, or we may just end up eating the leftovers on Monday.

As for the next few days:

We head to Chilliwack tomorrow, then an eco village near there the next day.

Then we will probably head to Vancouver the next day, where we will most likely finally meet up with Steve, the newest member of our group, who has been patiently waiting for us for a few days now, since he got in from Ontario.

I think there is a sense of excitement within the group to see the Ocean and the Coast. It will be a very big psychological victory for the group. Everyone has been riding hard for what will be 4 months on Wednesday. Garrett informed me tonight that we have reached 1/3 of our total distance (5327 of about 16,000 kilometres).

I am proud of this group. There has definitely challenges along the way, and there will definitely be challenges over the next 8 months, but I really believe in this group of youth, and we all feel lucky to be a part of this amazing journey.

Thank You all for reading, Lucas and the PEDAL team.

And if you have time to read a little more, I would like to share possibly my favourite lyrics. I find myself thinking about these words when contemplating the distance of a journey, or the bittersweet changes of our lives.

Time is never time at all
You can never ever leave without leaving a piece of youth
And our lives are forever changed
We will never be the same
The more you change the less you feel
Believe, believe in me, believe
That life can change, that you're not stuck in vain
We're not the same, we're different tonight
Tonight, so bright
Tonight
And you know you're never sure
But you're sure you could be right
If you held yourself up to the light
And the embers never fade in your city by the lake
The place where you were born
Believe, believe in me, believe
In the resolute urgency of now
And if you believe there's not a chance tonight
Tonight, so bright
Tonight
We'll crucify the insincere tonight
We'll make things right, we'll feel it all tonight
We'll find a way to offer up the night tonight
The indescribable moments of your life tonight
The impossible is possible tonight
Believe in me as I believe in you, tonight

Viera and Justin from Golden to Rossland

2010-10-28T12:47:00.000-04:00

Here is the story of Viera and Justin, before Rossland.

On our way out from Golden, Viera and Justin lost track of Kristi and Garrett, and finally reunited in Warfield just a few km before Rossland.

We had an alternate experience, staying in various churches, a roadside diner yard in Wasa, couchsurfing in Creston, the Yasodhara Ashram on Kootenay Lake and then a friendly woman in Nelson.

The first night away from Golden, Viera and I were looking for an indoor place, so in Brisco we stopped to ask at a general store about space. We were invited to stay in the old wooden United Church across the street. We ate raisin bread that Kristi baked and items that were donated by the church from the general store. It was a warm place for the night.

The next day, riding through the beautiful Columbia Valley with misty mountains to our left and right we made our way to Fairmont Hot Springs for the night. On the road we left chalk messages on the pavement for Kristi and Garrett. My relatives in Golden talked about a free hot spring just down the hill from the newer resort in town. Viera and I went to search for it after climbing a long hill upwards from the town. Asking along the way, we were getting comments that the old springs have been fenced off for liability issues. At the top we were without luck trying to find the springs, instead we were lucky with good radio reception to call Garrett. They were in Invermere about 10 km behind us and because it was getting dark they looked for a place to stay there. We also managed to call Lucas using Google's phone call option! He was happy to hear from us and informed us about the potluck planned for our arrival in Rossland!

The next evening we had difficulty finding groceries in Wasa (after another day of beautiful riding) so we ended up stopping to have food at a small diner that was closing soon for the night. We ended up being offered space in the backyard. While hanging out inside to enjoy the warmth before sleeping in the tent out side we were also offered to share a pizza with them, then as a dessert we helped finish some end of the season ice cream.

After a cold night we packed up and set sails for Cranbrook, hopefully going to meet up with Kristi and Garrett, as we had discussed. We attempted to organize a couchsurf, but with little luck we decided to phone some churches as a backup. With some contacts on the Lutheran Church answering machine we were able to connect with a clergy man, and the best way to meet him was to join the evening's bible study. The bible study wsa interesting and was also an opportunity to meet a women who offered us warm showers, beds and meals. We met her husband and were given left over Thanksgiving dinner and toast. We left them with the last Batik painting from HELP International and gave them the ukulele. They had been looking for a Uke for a while since traveling to Hawaii, so it seemed like a good opportunity to lighten the load.

From Cranbrook we rode to Creston. Around Yahk we found a house to ask for water refills. We met a friendly women who offered to drive us in her truck over the next major hill, due to the time we had left of daylight. We loaded our hefty bikes into her truck and then made our way over the large hill. About 3/4 of the way to Creston, we found a place to continue the ride when I realised all my water bottles were missing. After some discussion, our driver decided it was best to drive back to get the bottles. We also went to eat spagetti and play with Thai, her grandson. We then drove back, and because it was getting too dark, she drove us all the way to Creston, where we had yet to figure out our accomodation. With luck we contacted a couchsurfer, Kristen, who drove to meet us downtown and we walked back together to her house. We made diner and talked about Katimavik and Canada trivia. In the morning on the way out we enjoyed concord grapes growing on a vine outsied her back door. My first time eating sweet grapes off the vine, organic too!!

The next day Viera and I set off for Kootenay Lake for a 2 day stay at the Yasodhara Ashram. After a beautiful ride along the waters edge we found a ride to take us to the Ashram for the evening. Our ride shared stories of hitchhiking and local issues. At the Yoga Ashram we gardened and learned about the sustainable projects happening on the property. www.postcarbonmeal.com and www.lightwaves.cc

After allowing some time for Kristi and Garrett to meet up, we headed to Nelson to see if we could the find them. The ferry across lake was beautiful and the ride along the road was also enjoyable, lined with artisans and creative looking properties. In Nelson, a woman and her guest saw me stopped for a few moments to wait up for Viera. She invited us over to make some calls to warmshowers hosts. With little luck, besides finding the host for Kristi and Garrett (who could only take 2 guest), we were offered to stay at her place in the studio. We enjoyed a warm meal and hospitality.

Finally after Nelson, we were now close to Rossland and made our way to Warfield so we could meet with eveyone and stay at Lucas's brother and family. It was sure good to see Lucas's face again and ready ourselves for the next adventure!

And as we head on down the road; The piper will lead us to reason

2010-10-28T03:09:00.002-04:00

We departed from Midway on the nicest day we have had since leaving Rossland. For the first day since then we were not rained or snowed on, and it helped keep morale high. What an amazing ride it was. The climb from Rock Creek to the Anarchist Summit was both challenging and breath taking. Mix that with actual blue skies and we were happy as could be. We still had a solid supply of pizza we made in Grand Forks.

As it was getting later in the day we started our descent into Osoyoos. Making my way down the steep, winding mountain I felt like a formula one racer at times. I learned that I am in desperate need of some new brake pads by the end of it (but really only needed to break once as my adrenaline urged me on down the mountain. The view was spectacular of the desert valley of Osoyoos.

I enjoyed a great ride with Viera and we talked at length about various philosophical things as we rode towards a couchsurfers house named Gordon. We got set up, and watched some planet earth on his tv, while he gave us some cooking tips. He has done much world travelling and is going on a bike trip (motorized kind) to Argentina within the next year.

In the morning Kristi and Garrett went on ahead back into Osoyoos; Keremeos being the goal for the day. Viera, Justin and I rode towards a wine town named Oliver on the hunch of a so called short cut. Viera had gotten much ahead of Justin and I, as the two of us stopped for the pretentious task of trying a wine tasting at a fancy vineyard. We both tried it (Justin the grapes and I a couple thimblefuls of wine) and then were on our way.

As we left Oliver we got onto an old dirt road that seemed to climb and climb and climb. I had wanted to never walk my bike up a single hill on the entire trip and until today I had kept that promise. Unfortunately this logging road was way too steep so Justin and I ended up walking our bikes for the majority of two and a half hours. We did have a great lunch though, stopping on the side of the road and snacking on the contents of our bags. It is a rather fun game to open them up and see what food we have left over. As negative thoughts were starting to brew in my head, a hunter drove up the road in front of us, so I waved him down and he informed us that we were indeed (and thankfully) at the summit.

As we soared down the old road, any feelings of negativity instantly vanished. We were riding down the valley of two mountains, down an arid region of tumbleweeds, old fences and cattle. The dirt road wound like a beautiful snake down into the luscious valley below, and past that stood giant mountains with snow covering their peaks. As we road down we watched the setting sun project shadows taller than our souls along the dirt road behind us.

We arrived in Keremeos at a church called Elim tabernacle, to a friendly pastor named Jason and his amazing family. He had bought us ingredients or dinner (all local and organic) as well as a couple steaks for the meat eaters. He and his family showed us amazing hospitality and we are so thankful for their amazing kindness. We will try for Princeton tomorrow then a night in Manning Park, possibly making it to Chilliwack the next day, so you may not hear from us for a while.

Thanks for reading and take care out there, Lucas and the PEDAL team.

The Incredible kindness of others

2010-10-27T00:42:00.000-04:00

Hi folks, Lucas here again. A quick update on our progress. We are still making our way west, having left Rossland on Saturday. We had a pretty good (though busy) time in Rossland. We had a great and very successful pot luck dinner on Thursday night, where we had a chance to make some powerpoints and show some friends what we have been learning. We also made a quick movie while we were in town about what our trip is all about. We have posted it on the website www.youth4sustainability.com so please check it out and vote on it ( we would forever be grateful). We headed up a wet and cold pass when we left Rossland, and personally I was quite sad to leave my family, friends, and community behind. Everyone in the group was really supportive and it helped me through the tough time.

Kristi, Garrett and I started getting quite cold as we got to the summit of the first pass. We stopped in at the cabin at Nancy Greene Provincial Park to make a quick tea and warm up. Then we headed out again (Justin and Viera left earlier in the morning and had gotten ahead). We were stopped on the side of the highway on the second pass when a car stopped and told us a cougar had run across the road ust ahead of us. I think I had just told Kristi and Garrett a little earlier that they had nothing to fear about bears, it was cougars that make us locals a little nervous, in hoping to comfort them. I thought the majestic cat would be long gone, but a minute or two later we looked up the road to see the cat running across the highway back onto our side of the road. Suddenly my tough lumberjack/woodsman meme didn’t quite feel so reassuring. We rode on for a couple nervous minutes, right by the side of the road were he ran by we saw his tracks, and he was a fair sized guy. We watched the deep brush beside the road pretty quickly as we rode by. It sure was neat to see such an amazing creature though, I have only been lucky enough to see them a handful of times in the woods, and the first time for Kristi and Garrett, unfortunately we had no time to snap a picture as we only saw it for a few brief moments and our minds were quite focused on more important matters.

We ended up staying with an amazing couple who were the grandparents of a good friend of mine in Christina Lake, John and Jean. They were so generous and so understanding, it was really great to spend the night with them. Meanwhile Justin and Viera stayed in Grand Forks with a pastor and his wife, Brett and Diana.

The next morning Justin and Viera went to church with Brett, Diana and there amazing two kids, while Kristi, Garrett and I caught up. John rode behind us as a chase car for a good amount of time in the morning and provided us with a good amount of security.

When we caught up to Justin and Viera they were at Brett and Diana’s house. The first thing Brett did when we were introduced was offer me a big bowl of soup with I gladly accepted. As a group we decided that it was too far to the next town especially with the weather as horrible as it has been, and the days getting shorter.

Brett and Diana were quick to offer up their home to us, and we were happy to be able to stay with them. That night we all made a whole bunch of pizzas in the church as Brett practiced for a play, and we had a great pizza feast (though we went a little overboard, making about 12 pizzas). That night we stayed up late playing a board game with Brett and talking about things way too deep for human beings to understand.

In the morning we rode off towards Midway after a great breakfast courtesy of Brett and Diana.

One of the big events of the day was the group finally getting snowed on, we were very cold and very wet, so a stop at the bakery in Greenwood was very much needed, where we met a man named Jonathan; a man whose life goal is to give a blanket to those who need a lift up in life. He is travelling through Canada right now and it is possible we will meet him again in Portland Oregon. We were wet, cold, and in need of a life, but of course we couldn’t take a blanket on our bikes; room is far too precious as it is. So instead he told us to close our eyes and gave us M&M’s telling us we made the world colourful just like these little chocolate candies. He was yet another interesting character.

We got into Midway in the afternoon, and by chance ran into a lady named Amanda who was just locking up a church. She had her two boys with her, and after talking with her a few minutes she let us stay in the church. It turns out it is no longer a church but a place where people can come to find free things: clothes, furniture, toys, or a good meal.

She stayed for dinner and we really enjoyed her company as well as the company of her new boys. The church has a wood stove which is helping dry our soggy clothes.

What I really wanted to write this blog about, and what can’t really come across just in the surface stories of the people we meet, is the true kindness that people have shown for us. When we are warm, or cold, or just need a lift, people have consistently shown us the amazing and heart warming gift of kindness. It gives me an amazing feeling inside to see people take complete strangers into their homes and help them in a time of need. I (and everyone in this group) cannot wait to pay it forward in whatever way I can. I would hope to encourage you to help someone, anyone, around you. It is an amazing feeling. To those that have helped, and I am speaking all across our journey, and before it, Thank you so so much for your generosity. When you receive as much as we have, you know that words can never be enough to show how much we appreciate what you have done. Please know that probably greater than any thanks we can give is the heartfelt desire we have to give on to others when we can. Please feel happy and content in that, and once again, thank you so much for everything you have done,

Lucas and the PEDAL team.

P.E.D.A.L. Team Arrives In Rossland

2010-10-20T17:56:00.001-04:00

Hi everyone, Lucas here, and happy to finally be back with the team again.

It has been an anxious wait of late as I have been anticipating the teams arrival here in Rossland. Wednesday Night the weary travelers arrived in Warfield BC, where we all met up and shared a great meal courtesy of my mother and sister in law. We all stayed the night with my brother and his wife and 3 young energy filled boys. The team said they felt very welcome by the amazing hospitality and we are all very thankful for my mother and sister in laws amazing dinner. In the morning I nervously did an interview with the radio station KBS, which I think went great. Afterwards we made some mediocre at best pancake art for breakfast.

Then we saddled up the bikes and prepared for a big ride up a short distance. We were making the big climb up to Rossland, which as the crow flies is not very far from Warfield, but quite the vertical descent. We left in the morning with a special guest rider, my young nephew, he took us on a "secret route" and it was quite the adventure riding with him. It was a beautiful fall day, and we took advantage of the nice temperature and clear skies by riding up the old railroad tracks to Rossland. It was an amazing ride out in the wilderness, especially with all the fall colours and the leaves falling.

Eventually the group made it to Rossland, where we rode down main street triumphantly to talk with Andrew from the Rossland News. We met many helpful and kind people uptown, and the team was impressed by the Kootenay hospitality. After a quick and well deserved late lunch, we hiked up Kootenay-Columbia to get a view of Rossland, Castlegar, and Trail and view the miles the team had just conquered as well as a breathtaking sunset over the mountains to the West. We came home and enjoyed a great super of baked bean wraps, then got down to work, as the group has a lot of catch up to do.

Today has been a major work day, and it feels like a big newspaper company right before press release; lots of hustle and chaos. Tonight we are having a pot luck and talking with the Rossland Sustainability Commission about our trip and the projects they are working on in town here.
Viera and Justin went up town today and stopped in at The Nature's Den Health Food Store in Rossland where the generously donated many useful supplements.

Tomorrow we will hopefully have get some work done in the morning and then be able to enjoy a nice day around town. Thanks to everyone for reading and all the support, I hope to be updating this quite often again, take care everyone and talk to you soon, Lucas and the P.E.D.A.L. gang!

Rossland Bound!

2010-10-14T20:18:00.002-04:00

Hi everyone, it's Kristi here, writing from Cranbrook at the south end of BC.

This is just a quick update... we stayed in Wasa last night, with our gracious host Murray. What an awesome person; he lent us a trailer to stay in and even signed Garrett's guitar. One day when he becomes a karaoke star, that guitar will be priceless!

The landscape is changing around here: it's more dry and grassy and the hills are softer and lower. Today we met an awesome three time Otesha tour member, who gave us advice on where to stay and also a grocery gift card. He must know about cycling to know the thing we enjoy most is food :) Give The Otesha Project a google if you aren't familiar. Their mission is very cool and similar to our own.

Now we're headed toward Rossland, hoping to arrive within the week and be reunited with the long lost Lucas Karn. We hear a potluck is planned for when we get there, which is so exciting!

We'll be back soon with more pictures and stories.

Kristi and Garrett
for the PEDAL Team

PEDAL Team Reaches Golden BC

2010-10-10T00:29:00.000-04:00

Posted by Ken Mahy - 9 October 2010

The PEDAL Team has been "Kicking Ass Through Kicking Horse Pass" (if you will pardon the expression in the interests of a little poetic embellishment) and have reached Golden BC where they are visiting Justin's cousin. They departed Canmore for Banff on Wednesday October 6th - travelling off-road along a dedicated bike path! From Banff, they headed up towards Lake Louise where they spent a night camping and then headed up through Kicking Horse Pass to Field BC the following night.

Hopefully they'll get a chance to post some vivid descriptions and picturesque pictures shortly!

Three Milestones

2010-10-04T00:25:00.003-04:00

Garrett here!

Today has been a landmark day! Three milestones:

1. We've entered the Rockies! We were surprised to coast down into the mountains; we reached the top of an especially high foothill, where we were treated to the sight of those awesome peaks -- the sight of exhiliration and exertion, of elevation and elation. From that foothill, we coasted down... way down... into a river valley, and we kept on coasting until we were surrounded by the mountains' conifer slopes and stoney peaks.

2. Today marks the third month of the tour! If our timeline is correct, that means we're fully one-quarter of our way to Costa Rica!

3. Our timeline is indeed correct; today also saw us passing the 4000 km mark! Once again, that signifies one-quarter of the tour's distance!

All in all, circumstances aligned exceptionally well today! You can expect me to post again soon to gush about how mega-fantastic mountains are.

A Ride To Remember, and a Long List of Thank-Yous

2010-10-01T02:47:00.002-04:00

Garrett here!

The four of us have reunited in Calgary! Kristi and I cycled in at sunset on the 22nd after covering our largest distance yet: 131 km! With no tailwind it was a bit of a slog, but I enjoyed a perpetual enthusiasm fuelled by the promise of our arrival.

As we passed the city limits the sun set directly ahead over the centre line of the Trans-Canada. With barely a transition, it dipped below the Rockies, and suddenly the dramatic sawtooth peaks struck a bold silhouette: pastel evening blue mountains stood in stark contrast to the blazing orange sunset sky, like two dichroic facets of the same brilliant landscape. They looked surprisingly massive and close, and I felt giddy as my nose went tingly and my eyes watered. I'm so excited to cycle among those mountains!

First, though, what has come before: the journey to Calgary has probably been the most memorable singular stretch of this tour so far. Having parted ways with Justin and Viera until Calgary, Kristi and I left HELP International in Weyburn, Saskatchewan into the brunt of a westerly wind. The wind was strong, and remained so for several days. I quickly learned how uncompromising and bloody-hell frustrating a prairie wind can be. It's relatively steady, but with enough sudden gusts so as to prevent you from ever achieving a steady cycling cadence. Our speed was cut down to one-third of our typical pace -- some days to one-quarter. The landscape around us seemed fixed in place as we fought the headwind, and a daily distance of even 40 km felt like a significant achievement. With the lack of velocity and scenery to provide the typical sensory cycling pleasures, Kristi and I focused inwards, on each other and on our own thoughts and musings.

Our morale was buoyed by the consistent generosity and hospitality of the Saskatchewanians we encountered. One of our first nights along this leg of the journey was spent in the obscure but archetypal Saskatchewan small-town of Lang: an island of poplar trees on the horizon, surrounded by a sea of sweet green and yellow grasses, enclosing the town in a ring of rattling leaves and wind relief. Get closer, and the requisite grain elevator comes into view. It looks perhaps two km away, but you're gradually reminded of the vastness of this landscape as the image remains on the horizon, perhaps for another hour or so, before you pass the first poplars. Anyways, the important thing is the people. The owner of the local grocery store kindly invites us to camp on her store's lawn, and as we prepare dinner over our camping stove, local gent Ray Beck pulls up in a pick-up and extends even greater hospitality; he and his wife Judy run a hunting lodge, but as duck hunting season has not quite begun, the lodge sits empty. After a day of strong headwinds and driving rain, we're invited into the comfort of a warm cottage. We shed our wet gear with a series of dull splats and don our PJs. Kristi sets a pot of chicory tea to brewing on the kitchen stove, and we get better acquainted with our hosts.

Next snippet: we're west of Moose Jaw with a blissful tailwind that's predicted to last several days. The land has begun to undulate, and it feels as though it's sloughing us westward with a serpent's motions. From the very modest elevation of the hilltops, we can see immense grassy plains that stretch into the next set of hills in the faded blue distance. To my uninformed imagination, it looks alternately like the wild grasslands of eastern Africa and the stark desert hills of western China... but it's right here, and it's stunning. We arrive in another small town (Saskatchewan has a great slew of them, but most include little more than a few houses and a gas station). This time, the town's called Morse. It's dinner time, and we enter the highway-side cafe in which a total of one couple is dining. We ask the server about good places to set up a tent, and before the server can think of the ideal spot, the woman over at the table at the far side of the room puts down her fork and walks over to us, smiling. She's Gloria Weppler, the Morse town administrator, and she's handing us the key to the local community centre. Kristi and I now have another warm place to bed down (night-time temperatures are getting down into the single digits at this point) and a spacious kitchen in which to cook. So if you're heading along the Trans-Canada in western Saskatchewan, stop in at the Morse town hall and say hello to Gloria for us!

Another instance of unabashed kindness: not far beyond Morse, we've entered Swift Current, the last major city before the Alberta border. It's early evening, and right at the edge of town is the East Side Church of God. To be honest, it looks a bit like Las Vegas material (I'm not sure, but the cross might be made of neon bulbs) -- yet churches have been consistently hospitable in allowing us to camp on their properties, so in I go. There's a choir practice happening: upbeat piano and folksy acoustic guitar accompany a small group singing in the sanctuary, and I mill about for a few minutes, not wanting to interrupt. The song ends, and I peek my head into the room. Broad grins greet me and beckon me in; we're welcome to get warmed up until the church closes up at 8pm. We can camp on the lawn, absolutely, and there's a garage we can set up in too if we like. Pastor Dave even offers to call some friends who might host us. I ask if I can play the piano. It's the absolute best piano I've ever played (not that I've played a lot), and the acoustics in the sanctuary are fantastic. Halfway through a song (Nuvole Bianche by Ludovico Einaudi), Mary Henderson, one of the singers, comes right over and invites Kristi and I to her home nearby. She and her husband, Steve, are unbelievably kind. As avid campers, we find we have much in common, and their daughter shares some of the wisdom she earned cycling through Mexico and Central America. We're given the spare room, and have yet another cozy slumber thanks entirely to the outgoing kindness and trust of others.

Another: a bit farther west, in Gull Lake, we stop in for dinner groceries, and are approached by local farmer Earl Line. He's 87 years old, and he's consistently working sixteen hour days on his farm and cattle ranch. He invites us in for dinner, and we end up making a vegan concoction for the three of us. Kristi and I are unsure of whether this freaky food will be appreciated by our rural rancher host, but Earl enjoys the departure from the usual fare.

We've also found camaraderie with fellow travelers. In Chaplin, just west of Moose Jaw, we stop at a cafe to have a cup of tea and warm our toes. Just as we're leaving, up saunters Justin Young, a First Nations youth from Kamloops, BC. He's walking the length and breadth of North America during a four-year odyssey: from Kamloops to Winnipeg to Halifax to Mexico and back to Kamloops. He's walking for self-healing and to help motivate others to overcome challenges and reach their full potential. Each day, he dedicates his walk to a different cause, and he gives motivational talks at schools. Before we leave, Justin hands us a gift: a braid of sweetgrass for smudging. We burn some of it several days later on my birthday, to celebrate and to relieve our exhaustion. It's the smell of kindness and perseverance.

Farther along, at another cafe in Sidewood, a cyclist pulls up and gives us a jovial greeting. We haven't seen any cycle tourists since Manitoba... possibly since Ontario! Even more remarkable, he's headed west like us, and he began in Waterloo, right next door to our very own Guelph! So we join up with this Ian for a few days, and we enjoy it so well that it feels like weeks. We all make the landmark crossing into Alberta together. The terrain at the border is incredible. We careen down the biggest hill we've seen since Lake Superior, surrounded by surreal slopes: domed grassy mounds so uniform in shape they look like a hobbit housing complex.

Ian's arranged for a place to stay in Medicine Hat through the online cyclist's network, WarmShowers.org. We're all invited to stay with Doug and Bonnie, and their hospitality is unprecedented -- a hot meal, warm showers, and our own rooms await us immediately upon arrival, and Doug does our own laundry for us! Their motivation for accommodating bicycle tourists resonates well with us; a few years ago, they cycled the US and Mexico for nine months, and were floored by the generosity shown to them everywhere they went. They decided to pay it forward by joining up as WarmShowers hosts. I have every intention of doing likewise.

Now, Doug's a physiotherapist, and the next morning he does an assessment of my knees and Kristi's too; he offers to custom-fit our seats and pedals so as to better account for our tendinitis. I've found the difference quite significant since then, and I owe both Doug and Bonnie a great deal of gratitude.

We parted ways with Ian after that, and here we are in Calgary, in plain sight of the Rockies' powdered peaks... or are those what they call the foothills? If those are foothills, the thought of mountains gives me shivers of excitement.

Calgary!

2010-09-28T18:24:00.000-04:00

We are sticking around in Calgary for a few more days due to Kristi's illness :(. Luckily, Calgary's International Film Festival is going on and we get to stay with Garrett's interesting cousin Bev and her husband who spent 5 years in Indonesia, so we are not at a loss of things to do.

For a couple of days Justin and Viera were staying at Prarie Sky Co-Housing (http://www.prairiesky.ab.ca/). It was a very inspiring place. 18 households and 55 people on 3 acres, which would usually house 2 families. Literally reducing their ecological footprint. The landscape architecture is very well done. They built the houses to be as environmentally sound as possible, which now saves a lot on their costs. The houses are so well insulated that they don't even have heaters, they just use the water heater. The people there were very kind. It seems the place very actively encourages community. It was very cool to see because it was successful, whereas many eco-villages/ co-housing units are struggling to keep people, and it was urban, which is accessible to more of the 80% + urban population of Canada than some of the rural places we are visiting.

On the way home one night Viera and Justin were whistled at and then a man ran across a highway to invite them to a Hare Krishna vegetarian feast! It was a highlight of the day.

Viera and Justin also attended a Food is Life festival. The first night they attended an event with the owner and chef of Forage, a restaurant that uses 80% local food and has a partnership with 43 restaurants. Some interesting things they learned were:
-in the past year Calgary has gone from 12 community gardens to over a 100! Wow!
-as well as being more healthy and better for the environment, eating local food can also bridge the current rural-urban social divide
-Meals on Wheels is able to accomplish what it would take the government 10 times as much money to do! (if there was a partnership between Meals on Wheels and local food, that would really set things off!)
-Many farmers markets struggle with the fact that most of the people there are resellers and so the profits go to them rather than to the farmers. Local farmers often can't afford the high costs of having a stand (the tables at some farmers markets, such as the Strathcona one in Edmonton, are subsidized)
-a study showed that kids in Britain can no longer name their veggies (compared to in Italy they can)
-The average age of a farmer in Alberta is 59! (losing the younger generations since it's such a hard living to make)
-Keeping farmland farmland: if not, costs go up since land is so much more valuable being developed. BC tried to make a land that all farmland had to stay farmland. It kept costs down but they're coming to the end of that experiment.
-the idea of sharing things in the community, such as lawnmowers
-ennobling farming
-example of a high producing organic farmer having 18 inches of topsoil compared to 3 on all the non organic farms around him, and holding a lot more rainwater. Response to when a lot of people say organic is great but it doesnt work on a large scale.
-for every dollar spent locally, you keep $2.50 in the community
-Canadian statistic is that 38-50% of our food ends up in the garbage
-believe in something and make a stand for it but also know that your perception of it will change with time.
-the SPUD distribution system seems to be very efficient in Calgary in linking farmers to and distributing food to urbanites.

They also went to a Backyard Beekeeping session, which was especially intersting to learn how easy it is to keep a smale scale bee house in your backyard, and that Canada is the worlds 3rd largest producer of honey and Alberta produces 80% of Canada's honey.
The next day we also went to some sessions on Vegetable Gardening in Calgary and Gardening in Small Spaces.

Before Prarie Sky Viera and Justin stayed with Viera's friend Kathryn, who head the Sustainable Alberta Association. She hooked them up with all sorts of environmental stuff going on in the city, hosted them at her house, advocated civic involvement, and talked to them about her Commuters project which encourages businesses to encourage their workers to get out of single occupance vehicles!

In other knews Viera got bung-lip (a bungee chord in her lip, which is funny since Otesha that Viera and Kristi did used to talk a lot about Bung-eye). Justin also got a trailer for his bike donated by Good Life bicycle shop in town.

Hope to head to Golden and visit Justin's aunt soon, as soon as we get Kristi's results!

Edmonton

2010-09-19T13:35:00.000-04:00

Viera and Justin hurried to Edmonton, with the news last Wednesday that Kristi and Garrett were past Medicine Hat. Aiming to improve organization, Viera spent hours immediately called all the tv stations, radio stations, and newspapers in the city. However, the success rate was low, as only one radio station (630 ched) and one tv station (global news) interviewed, and the global news clip (which can be seen by googling edmonton global news, going to the second tap of video, clicking on September 17, were at about 11:11 into it), which didn't even mention the website! So maybe next time it would be more useful to spend a bit less time on it. Viera found an Amnesty International Building Bridges Conference going on at the university, so her and Justin attended that and learned some things about prisoners of conscience around the world and local aboriginal issues and wrote a couple of letters to the prime minister of China. In the evening they visited with Viera's brother and aunt and uncle. They also biked around town, got some donations. Especially Viera is looking at bike shops for donations of bike pedals and clip in shoes, which she now requires since her knees started hurting. They also watched the Sound of Music (it was Justin's first time seeing it). They are really enjoying Viera's mom's wonderful cooking, including leco and plum potato dumplings and poppy seed roll and lots of other stuff :). Today is Sunday and many stores will be closed so we will go to a concert and then tomorrow check out stores for donations. Oh, this morning Garrett called and said they had just arrived in Medicine Hat. Like Viera suspected, somewhere there was a miscommunication before, and their hurry and skipping of meeting wonderful couchsurfers was for nothing, but oh well now there is more time to do things. We will head to Calgary after this, originally there was a plan to climb Mount Robson with Viera's brother but it was determined to be too expensive, as well as a bit impractical with timing.

An update on Garrett and Kristi, they are staying in Medicine Hat through warmshowers (a hospitality service like couchsurfing, except by cyclists for cyclists), which was arranged by a fellow they met on the road, who is cycling from Waterloo to Vancouver. Hopefully we can bicycle with him, although he might not want to stay in Calgary for a few days so we'll have to see. It's Garrett's birthday tomorrow! Unfortunately he did not make it to Calgary to celebrate it with his mom but the celebration will just have to be postponed to later.