Join the Oteshites!

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

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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!

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Atmosphere of Change

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!

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!

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

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?

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

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