We're headed to Bike!Bike!
Wheeled Migration has been asked to present on a panel about "Cycle Touring for Social Change."
We are sharing our stories and visions along side the completely awesome Ryan and Mandi of Within Reach and the very exciting Wanderlust tour.
More very cool things soon..
If ya'll don't know yet all about Deborah Lindsey and what she is up to in Pacific Grove, you can start here. She's also running in her local election, cuz she works like that.
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I can say she and her man Spencer Lindsey, and their home, and their hearts, and their family, and work, and unbridled love for fun, placed Wheeled Migration in a light it had yet seen on the road.
Okay.
So there was this one morning, I was getting bagels and coffee on 2nd, Deborah calls about interview time on her show that afternoon; without knowing much beyond what the phone permits, we agreed to meet later that day from a land line (thanks Mark) and share in some good QA time about the who's, what's, and why's of Wheeled Migration.
And we met on air.
or download mp3.
The interview came at a good time in the growth of things and further inspired context for the project; anyway, from there I couldn't help but see to it that Wheeled Migration met the Lindseys.
And by pleasant and fortunate events, Spencer toured us though Pacific Grove as we rolled into the Monterey Bay, and we all found Deborah's hot tub.
And oh food, so much food. Thank you Francesca Garibaldi!
It was fully lovely, and you can see the pictures (and soon on video too), but to me, this meeting is an illustration of the possibilities for support and sharing that occur on tour.
We shared so much with so many, we'll never know, but the way they enhanced our learning and possibilities to support one another- it's so nice.
As it's going, we're all working to have Deborah join us in Chico for the CSUC This Way To Sustainability Conference .
All for a good thing.
Keep to it.
Love from all us.
Did you see that map!?!?!??!!
Yeah, that's what I want to talk about.
It's pretty clear some real love went into that project and I must give my deep respect to the great Denise Hill and the ever savvy Beau Smith (of Strangecode) in delivering that fine work of art.
D pieced together the route from a Benchmark map project that I was floundering on, I drew up the mile markers and directions (after a 4 day adventure in routing the tour with Max Kee), and Beau put it all together in a delicious presentation.
If you're seeking to meet up with the migration (to ride with us, give us roadside lemonade, or interview us for you blog), find us on that map.
Lip up!
Good Morning fellow superheroes! I'm getting really excited about our ride--I'm already starting to look at Chico as a place I'm in transition through; I won't be here for long now! And am tracking down all the final details of supplies I want to bring to ensure a happy ride. I can't wait to be on the road with all of you, sharing the magical experience I'm sure this ride will prove to be!
I wanted to take a minute to outline for everyone the picnic plan I've been working on for the trip so we can all get an idea of what we're going to be eating along the way.
First of all, let me say I'm really excited about the food I've organized for our trip! Not only will we be eating fresh, organic, vitality-rich produce, but we'll be supporting local small scale farms, CSAs (Community Supported Agriculture), like GRUB along our route. Eating local further promotes our focus on reducing our carbon emissions. By choosing to eat food that hasn't been transported thousands of miles (the average meal has traveled 1,500 miles to reach our plates) we greatly reduce the emissions associated with our diet.
We will be fed at some of the locations we'll be stopping at along the way, but we'll also be packing our own food and making our own dinners part of the time.
We'll be packing our own food for the first 2 days out of Chico, and have received several generous donations (bread from Tin Roof and Hearth and Stone Bakeries, cheese from Pedroso Dairy, rice from Massa Organics, and an array of hearty staples from Chico Natural Foods: dehydrated beans and soup mixes, granola, quinoa, oats and pasta). We'll also be packing some hearty vegetables to cook up a tasty zucchini stir-fry for the first night. We'll have the use of a kitchen on the second night and I've planned for us to make spaghetti together.
For the next four days, we'll have some pretty exciting food provided for us. At the Regenerative Design institute, we will be eating pizzas made in their very own wood fired pizza oven made with goat cheese and produce from their farm. At the Pie Ranch, we'll have the opportunity to berry pick and bake pies with their staff.
Then we'll be making our own food again for the next 3 days, buying from local farms along the way: Serendipity Farm in Monterey and Clark Valley Farm in Los Osos. We'll be getting eggs at Serendipity farm, and I've planned for us to make fritatta (an Italian sort of a crustless vegetable quiche dish), stir fry and, if all goes as planned, a feast of stuffed peppers and corn for our last night before we arrive in San Luis Obispo!
For breakfasts, I've planned for us to eat cereals (granola, quinoa, oatmeal) for a few days, we'll have pancakes on the third morning, and will be enjoying eggy breakfasts near the end of our trip.
So all in all, we'll be cooking for ourselves for 5 dinners and 7 breakfasts. I'll be getting some recipes together before the ride suggesting how to use the produce and staples we'll have available to us. But everyone is welcome to approach meal-making however he or she feels most comfortable: if you're used to eating meat with dinner, there will be opportunities for you to buy some (or whatever else you may want) at the store along the way to cook and enjoy with your meal.
While we will have the help of Myrtle (our beloved SAG vehicle) to transport our cheese, veggies and other perishables, we will each be responsible for carrying our own cooking supplies, utensil, non-perishables and whatever seasonings we may like to use in our cooking. You, or someone you know who will share with you, should plan to bring a cookstove.
Finally, the Picnic Plan does not cover lunches and snacks for the whole trip. I will be making pesto with basil from Pyramid Farm for the first leg of our trip which can be used on sandwiches (we'll have bread, tomatoes and cheese as well at that time) and I've planned a couple of snacks throughout the ride, but it's best to plan on being responsible for your own snacks and lunches. High-carbohydrate, high calorie, healthy snacks are great to bring: nuts, dried fruit, trail mix and, if you've got time before we take off, cookies are always a great treat after a long hill!
Please feel free to E-mail (lisa@wheeledmigration.org) or call me (530 965-0449) with any questions or concerns you may have about the Picnic Plan I've outlined. I'm doing my best to make sure everyone will be happy and well-fed on our trip.
Lisa Kieran
Hello Everyone,
It's nice to at last have the chance to do something other than organize the guts and bones of this project. I've done all I can to avoid the impending scramble of herding unicorns, and thus far, I'm happy to say things are taking shape right on time.
I've been wanting to write you, like me to you, for so long now.
But the things...
They multiply!
Something I've really wanted to share is that I feel an amazing urgency to be fully alive coming from everyone invested in this idea.
Ya'll astound me.
I feel as if we're each embarking for an edge within us. I believe this edge will become our teacher and our companion out on the road. It may first look like someone else on the tour one morning, and later feel like a long hill in the afternoon sun, but trust- it's been with us all along, and it's been waiting to show up.
And well... we're going to ride right into it.
Sound hard? It's that too.
It probably seems difficult because it's a quality of learning we only experience through an exposure of ourselves to ourselves- and culturally, we don't really find that to be very sexy or easy to do, so we don't do it. To make matters worse, we don't allow the space for each other to do it either, because our group storyline tells us that if the group can't, neither can you.
But some do anyway, and they typically end up being people like you.
People that make changes.
So, I believe we will be exposing ourselves to an unfamiliar quality of learning as a group and as individuals very soon. It's a texture of awareness and learning that is available to us once we drop our predictions and agendas- the nature sure has a way about her in helping with that, no?
Some think of this as a process of "breaking down", I like to think of it as a reorientation, but if you like breaking down, I'm sure you can find a place for that out there as well. Regardless, once you mix in the pace of a bicycle, the space of days on days on days, the ever more natural rhythms, the semis, and sea breeze, the personalities, the play- it's gonna be a rich alchemy indeed.
I've also been thinking more about getting myself ready lately, and aside from being completely invested in packing up the most solid Med. Kit for Mertile, I'm thinking about what makes for a profound selection of spices on a cycle tour- we're going to eat sooo well out there!
Lisa will be giving us an update on the food here very soon.
That girl is 1,000% amazing. I can't wait for you to meet her... and hey, what are you carrying out there?
Is anyone packing noise makers?
Any cymbals, whistles, Surdus, lyras, or tin cans? Anyone?
I hope we roll though this state as a cacophony of loud colors and laugher.
**Name Droppings Ahead**
Our sponsors have been so good to us with helping Chico to get out the gate.
Podrozo Cheese just set a ten-pound wheel of their Organic cheese into our lap, and Chico Natural is donating generously to see us off with a spread of carbs..
And the bread!! Oh the bread... Hearth and Stone along with Tin Roof are both going to keep us full and loaded with french toast, sandwich bread, and road loafs, we are stocked.
Chico is turning up for us, and we love you too! Thanks.
Some of us have been talking about how much is stirring in town right now, is something changing in Chico again? Do you feel that??
As ever,
!R
Ya'll!
YEAH it's gonna be a big week!
For about a thousand reasons, but I'll just mention three right here.
Dig:
Thursday!
The good people at Empire Coffee are hosting a bike-in movie night in collaboration with Wheeled Migration.
We're showing Go Further
Saturday!
Oh Saturday... It's already time for the WM send off concert!! Join us for a healthy day of cruzer bikes, picnicing, swimming, families, touring bikes, GRUB gardens, grooves, mountain bikes, road bikes, poetry, magic, fixie bikes, and bicycles.
Chico Natural Foods and Empire Coffee (they are where we are) will be out there, along with the great support of Chico's Sicilian Cafe turning out their legendary Chicken Parmesan and Veggie Lazania for the bands (sorry).
Take your darling to see James at his Cafe, he does it best.
This event has all the makings for great memories, and if you've never been a guest at Riparia farms- take the chance when you can!
If you're not here, you're prolly on your way to that other great music festival happening this weekend... And how far away is that?? Riiight..
Still need more? Lookie here for directions and the line up!!
Monday!
Bon Voyage Chico, we love you!
There will be twenty of us leaving town between 8:30 and 9am on the morning of July21st from the Downtown Plaza.
We'd like to invite you and yours to send us away in a mass of bicycles and best wishes. Please feel welcome to come on down with your bike and see us down the road for a few miles, your support will carry us onward and outward from Chico with a great kick.
...And if you don't want to ride, come throw rice at us.
It should be quite a sight... And there will be coffee too!
That's the pulse I'm getting folks, I hope to see you along the way.
Thanks for riding your bike,
!R
