North is done. The next time I’ll be traveling north will be in November, when I reach the Yucatan Peninsula and I’m heading north to Cancun. Now, quickly west, then south, south, south. And that should be the easiest, right, since I’ll be heading down?

After my mechanical woes were behind me, I reached Albany, NY, and there I was lucky enough to contact a gentleman named Andy through warmshowers.org. Andy hosted me for 2 nights, as I took a full day off from biking to rest my knee, visit a brewery, and perform some bike maintenance. Andy had built his own touring bike – he actually had a few bikes – and I was able to use his bike stand and tools to clean my chain & crank and tighten up my racks, fenders, and brakes. I learned a lot from Andy in the short time I was with him, about things like proper exercises to do before and after a day of cycling, and some better ways to support my knee with bandages. I felt like if I were a character on a quest in a video game, my experience points shot up several levels after staying with Bicycle Sage Andy. Andy, I hope to see you and Claudia soon in NYC!

After leaving Albany I made incredible time heading towards Utica because of the Eire Canalway Trail. My average speed jumped up about 4-5mph because the path was paved, there were no cars or intersections, and it was beautiful:

Unlike C&O Canal from DC to Pittsburgh that I biked along earlier this year, the Erie Canal is still in operation, and its locks are functional:

Unfortunately, the paved trail only existed for about 2/3 of the way to Utica, and the 1/3 where it didn’t exist was annoying because there were no signs directing me where to go next. It was almost comical:

It always strikes me as bizarre how bike trails can be so well maintained in some areas, while so poor or non-existent in others. I mean, before you put in park benches and toilets and water fountains, shouldn’t you at least complete the whole trail?

As I pedaled along I ran into a guy named Bob who was out walking his two dogs. He liked what I set out to do on my journey, to visit sites of environmental calamities while just having fun cycling, saying that there’s nothing like seeing things with your own eyes. “I heard there was some flooding in a town nearby several years ago. A friend lived there and I went to go see him. It was really bad, nothing like I expected to see from what I heard on the news.” I noticed the t-shirt he had on was very “peace & love” which led us to talk about how good people can be when traveling around, when he revealed that he used to be a “dead head” traveling with the band. “I’ve been to about fifteen hundred Grateful Dead shows.” I had him repeat that sentence to make sure I heard the number right. Yes, 1,500 shows, from 1978 to 1995. He was only unable to get into a handful of shows during that time while traveling with the band, and at no point did he ever have more than $20 in his pocket. “My only regret is that Jerry Garcia died. You know Monday is the 15th anniversary of his death. These last fifteen years have sucked. I’ve had nothing to do.”

In Utica, Krista was kind enough to let me take a shower at her place and then show me the best BBQ joint in town. We even got to catch a tour of the F.X. Matt brewery where Saranac and most of Brooklyn Brewery’s beer is made:

Farther west, I continued on many rural roads which led past lots of dairies and roadside farmers’ stands. Though I knew I should not stop and keep on biking, I had a hard time not stopping to buy milk or veggies or to just chat with people. Parill, from whom I bought some great zucchini-raisin bread, said that this year his farm was thirty times the size it was last year. “There’s just a big demand.” I wanted to buy some fruit from him, but I was too late – he sold out earlier in the day. “I always sell out. As soon as I put them out there, they’re sold. One guy bought $80 worth of berries from me. That’s 20 quarts. It’s not like there’s any shortage of berries either, they’re all around. People just don’t seem to spend the time picking them anymore.”

Later I passed another house with a farm, and I yelled to a man on his tractor that I’d like to buy some eggs from him. Another super-generous farmer, Dick gave me more lots more food than the 3 brown and 3 green eggs that I wanted, and I ended up leaving his place with a bag full of onions, garlic, small tomatoes, big tomatoes, parsley, and peppers.  This is how I got my eggs:

and my onions:

One of Dick’s tricks is to put dead fish in the ground along with the seeds. “I’ve been ice fishing on the lakes around here my whole life. Actually, there is now about 7 fewer days per year that we can get on the ice to go fishing compared to when I was a kid. Who knows what’s causing it.” Another trick of his is to surround the garden with a solar-powered electric fence to keep the deer away:

The next day I approached Syracuse, NY, knowing that all my stops had put me behind schedule. I got a late start, for some reason I was extra tired and sore, and then to top it off a storm started brewing. I contacted Nate through warmshowers and within the hour arrived at his house. Though I was safe from the rain and had a very nice bed to spend the night in, I was getting anxious about my trip, and Nate could notice. “Man, you really want to getting biking again, don’t you.” To this point I was only covering the minimum about of miles per day that I needed to do, my knee was still sore, and then I got hit with a thunderstorm on the day that I wanted to cover at least 80 miles. Going forward I will really need to change my cycling strategy, and my attitude.

Day 6 stats:

Rest day

Day 7 stats:

Starting Mileage – 186

Ending Mileage – 255

Starting Time – 9:45am

Ending Time – 8:45pm

Bottles of Water Consumed – 6

Day 8 stats:

Starting Mileage – 255

Ending Mileage – 285

Starting Time – 9:20am

Ending Time – 7:15pm

Bottles of Water Consumed – 6

Day 9 stats:

Starting Mileage – 285

Ending Mileage – 317

Starting Time – 4:00pm

Ending Time – 8:15pm

Bottles of Water Consumed – 1

Day 10 stats:

Starting Mileage – 317

Ending Mileage – 346

Starting Time – 10:0am

Ending Time – 6:45pm

Bottles of Water Consumed – 2

Day 11 stats:

Starting Mileage – 346

Ending Mileage – 355

Starting Time – 2:15pm

Ending Time – 4:15pm

Bottles of Water Consumed – 1

No journey would be complete without bad days, no bike tour without mechanical issues, and no bike touring blog with an entire post dedicated to just how much of a pain in the butt getting a flat on the road can be. So here it is; perhaps it will give some insight into some of the struggles one faces while bike touring. I do promise to get all this complaining out of my system now, and be done with it.

After getting a fairly late start leaving Tivoli, NY, I eventually crossed the Rip Van Winkle Bridge just a few miles up the Hudson River. Now on the western side, I reloaded my water and Gatorade supply at a gas station, and then noticed that my rear tire was a tad low on pressure. I spent a few minutes pumping up each of my three wheels (including the one on my trailer) and started on my way again. No big deal, right? About 200 feet down the road from the station I nodded to a police officer talking to someone as I passed him, and then, BANG. An absolutely incredibly loud pop. It easily could have been a gunshot. What was funny was that the cop turned quickly back at me because the sound came from my direction, while I instinctively looked back at the cop, because he’s the one with a gun! Then I realized it was me, my bike, Clyde, had blown his first flat of our trip.

I overinflated the tires, I was sure. Darn it. I guess 90psi was too much in 98 degree weather. Looking at the time I thought okay, 30 minutes, I want to be back pedaling again in 30 minutes. I walked my bike out of the scorching sun in the shade behind Sprinkles Soft Serve and went to work, only to find out that I had the wrong tubes with me. I had been carrying 2 brand new Schrader valve tubes, but my bike’s wheels were drilled for Presta only. I couldn’t believe I was on the epic journey of my lifetime and I brought the wrong tubes. Something like Indiana Jones forgetting his whip. So, my iPhone said no bike shops in Catskill, NY, with the closest one being 6 miles away. I really wasn’t sure what to do, so I went over to the cop and he suggested Wal-Mart, and said he’d give me a ride but he was “busy.” I then called Wal-Mart myself to see if they had the right tubes for me. It went something like this:

“Electronics.”

“Hi, um, I need a very specific bike tube.”

“I work next to Sporting Goods. What do you need?”

“700 by 35 to 40′s, with a Presta valve.”

“Okay… Sorry, we only have gel-filled resealing tubes.”

“Uh, that doesn’t mean you don’t have my size. What are the sizes you have?”

“What do you need?”

“700 by 35.”

“We have mostly kid’s tires.”

“I don’t need a tire, I need a tube.” Then I tried to explain how bike tube sizing works.

“Okay, let me check… Oh we have lots of them.”

“Now you have lots of them?”

Yea, so this went on for a while until I decided that I should go check out the selection anyway. After waiting 30 minutes for a smoke-stenched $3 Crown Victoria cab to take me to Wal-Mart, during which time the lady driving never stopped talking on her cell phone while driving way too fast for having my $2000 bike in a half-opened trunk held down only by a crappy bungee, we arrived, intact, and they actually did have two of the tubes I needed. But only two. Not a problem, except the first one blew up in my face as I tried to inflate it. Yes, the second thunderous bike tube explosion that actually blew air in my face. So I went back inside, had a nice Wal-Mart dinner after pretty much taking a shower in the Wal-Mart bathroom, came back outside, tried the second tube, worked fine, was about to embark after 3 HOURS had past, and then realized that my brakes weren’t working. I had started hearing a clicking sound halfway across the parking lot, that metronome-like evil sound of impending doom that all cyclists fear. The weird hard drive noises coming from your computer before the blue screen of death appears. My rim was bent, and my bad day just got worse.

The only eatery open in the area at 9pm was McD’s, and apparently they all now have WiFi, so I was able to have a milkshake and get online to figure out what to do next. Closest bike shop was now 12 miles north. Not going to try anything at night on a malfunctioning bike, I did what any seasoned bike touring would do, I looked for a dark place where I could pitch my tent without anyone seeing me. I’d be up and gone early in the morning, most likely before anyone would see me. The grassy field behind the dumpster at McD’s would have worked, except I ran into midnight smokers while scoping out the area. Google led me to a nearby park, where I ended up camping beside the left field wall of a ballpark. The score of the game that night: 4:40am police patrol 0, Jeff 1.

I only slept about 3 hours that humid night, and in the morning I rode Clicking Clyde without proper brakes about 40 minutes to the nearest bike shop. Even the “things are starting to brighten up” treasure I found on the way turned out to be a fake, and I just left it stuck in the hot sticky tar:

At the bike shop, Josh told me that the flat wasn’t my fault – it was a rim failure that just happened to happen to me. Pretty darn bad:

This actually made me feel good, since he was saying it was the rim’s fault and not mine after all. I have to say Josh was the nicest bike shop dude I’ve ever met, and was extra nice dealing with a cranky, stinky, sleep deprived me. Thanks so much.

So, that’s it, a really long, boring post for my really bad day. No more complaining from here on out, I promise. Were there any highlights? Well, the name of the town where I got my bike fixed was called Coxsackie. Really:

…but it’s actually pronounced Cook-Sock-ie.

A loud lady next to me in McD’s yelled at one of her unruly kids, “Sit Carter! And watch the exercise man!”

And Marty McFly pulled up in a sweet vintage DeLorean while I was at war in the Wal-Mart parking lot.

Day 4 stats:

Starting Mileage – 125

Ending Mileage – 147

Starting Time – 11:25am

Ending Time – 11:45pm

Bottles of Water Consumed – 3

Day 5 stats:

Starting Mileage – 147

Ending Mileage – 186

Starting Time – 6:20am

Ending Time – 9:00pm

Bottles of Water Consumed – 5

My second day up the river was quite productive. I awoke outside of Nyack and was on the road by 7:30am. I ended up covering over 70 miles on Day 2, which was both good and bad. Good because the following day would end up being a shorter day, and bad because around mile 60 I started to feel an ache in my left knee. Instead of calling it a day, I pushed onward for about 10 more miles which surely aggravated the joint even more. It’s feeling okay, but I’ll be sporting a super-fashionable CVS knee brace in photos from now on.

My trip to Rhinebeck, NY included a talk with a cyclist in a cafe in Garrison. We discussed the terrain, good cycling routes, and some stories about other long distance cyclists. Derek spoke of a guy who was doing a tour and had a critical frame failure and couldn’t go on. “Ah, bummer,” I replied warily. Then he mentioned an Australian girl he met close by who was preparing to cycle across the States. “She was just doing a test ride around here to check out her equipment before her big trip,” Derek said. “So a while later I looked up her site just like yours to see where she was and how she was progressing. She apparently had some kind of accident at the beginning of her trip in Virginia where she blacked out and fell into a ditch. She was found several hours later and was rushed to a hospital. It’s a real shame, you know, after putting in so much planning for the trip.” I slowly nodded in agreement.

Now, did you know Chelsea Clinton just got married in Rhinebeck? Well, if you didn’t, you’re sure to be made aware of the recently concluded spectacle by every person, newspaper, street sign, fire department banner and church marquee in town. The Clintons were even inspiring new lunch menus in Rhinebeck:

Luckily, Linda, my warmshowers.org host for the night, thought the craziness to be, well, as crazy as I did. “Who cares?!” she kept saying. “But look, see, here we are, talking about it too.” The chatter was loudest in the town coffee shop where photos of a not-yet-completely-white-haired Bill Clinton hung on the wall. I guess the Clintons have been a Rhinebeck staple for some time now.

Day 3 was supposed to be a light day so my knee could heal up, but of course those plans went awry. Though I didn’t cover very much distance, I tried taking a path through the woods at one point which was much more cumbersome than I expected. About halfway through I had to take a break to rest my legs from all the lifting of my bike, bags and trailer, each individually, over the rocks and trees and creeks. When bike touring gives you lemons, make lemonade, which I did, so I cooked lunch and practiced my ukulele in the woods for about an hour, then pushed on.

Once in Tivoli, NY, I had a great time with Anneka and her housemates and friends. Tivoli is a very quaint, very small town, where everyone knows everyone, and if you don’t yet know everyone in town, just ride a bike around for a half hour or so and you’ll meet everyone (like Tivoli Mike). One of the most interesting things I found out about Tivoli was the way the town handles its trash, as I happened to arrive the day before garbage pickup day. In Tivoli, each bag of garbage requires a special tag, and will cost you $3 each:

That’s a heftier price than I’ve ever heard of for garbage, as well as being the first time I’ve known a municipality to charge on a per-bag basis. However, recycling in the town is free, and the money raised from the $3 garbage tags goes toward funding the recycling program. Maybe this type of system is actually common but it’s the first time I’ve ever heard of it. As long as people are willing to not cheat it somehow, I think this is a great way to encourage recycling and even composting in a community.

Lastly, I’d like to share my favorite “Where are you going?” story so far. You see, when you’re such a bizarre sight out on the road like I am (bike, trailer, 3 flags, gaudy jerseys – think clownish), you get lots of Where are you goings from passersby and people I’m passing. I was eating a banana outside a gas station watching all the fossil-fuel consumers (haha) come in and out when a man walking back to his car approached me.

“Where are you going?” he asked.

“Mexico,” I said.

“GEEZ!” the man screamed as he took off his cap and spun around as if I just shot him in the foot. His reaction actually startled me.

“Here -” the man reached into his pocket. I think I tried to say something but he quickly said “SHH” and wouldn’t let me speak. He took out his wallet and goes, “Now, I know it isn’t much,” and handed me a $5 bill.

“Aw, really, it’s okay sir,” I said back to him.

“SHHH! TAKE IT! Buy yourself some water or SOMETHING, PLEASE!”

I was kind of afraid of what would happen if I continued to refuse so I took his money.

“Well, thanks so much,” I said, and I gave him my website on a piece of paper so he could follow me if he wanted to. “I’m Jeff,” I said as I offered to shake his hand.

“I’m Henry,” he replied. ”Henry HUDSON.”

“NO WAY!” I said laughing. “I heard about you!” Now I was the eccentric one. “Holy cow, I’ve just met Henry Hudson!”

“Yea, yea,” Henry goes. “Well, let me tell you, I’m still waiting to see my piece of it!”

Well, I hope you read this Henry, and if you do, please leave a comment or email me. And thank you so so much for the 5 Snickers bars

Day 2 stats:

Starting Mileage – 40

Ending Mileage – 111

Starting Time – 7:25am

Ending Time – 8:40pm

Bottles of Water Consumed – 6

Day 3 stats:

Starting Mileage – 111

Ending Mileage – 125

Starting Time – 1:15pm

Ending Time – 7:30pm

Bottles of Water Consumed – 3

My trip is now officially one day old.  Saturday July 31 I reset my bike odometer to 0 in the middle of Bushwick Park outside my apartment. After a few pictures with the help of my roommate Adam, he gave me two hugs and the encouraging words “If you die, it won’t be that big of a deal to you” and then off I went, the wrong way up Irving St, on the sidewalk. I was leaving Brooklyn for Manhattan, and after crossing the Williamsburg Bridge I met up with Matt and Mark, my esteemed former roommates. We had an unexpectedly terrific sandwich (thanks Matt), bid him adieu, and set sail from the city with Mark. Though both cyclists, he and I were outfitted quite differently for our afternoon trip up the Hudson – Mark on a racing bike with matching shoes and an orange & black cycling outfit straight out of a Campagnolo catalog, and I on my SUV-style Tricross with fenders, racks, four panniers and a trailer totaling some 65-pounds of additional weight. We cycled up west side bike path which is just newly opened all the way to the George Washington Bridge. Along the way I got some words of support from fellow cyclists, most of which began with “Where are you going?” then “Mexico?” then “You’re going the wrong way.” Yes, I know, well, it’s not actually the wrong way if you want to go through Canada first.

We crossed the bridge, and soon found ourselves on Henry Hudson Drive, a wonderfully natural, serene, tree covered road overlooking the river. Mark commented, “It’s amazing how quickly you can get out of the city and be on one of the nicest biking roads I’ve ever seen.” Around 7pm, we reached the Palisades Interstate Park Commission building, and Mark and I parted ways. Mark turned around and started pedaling back into the Metropolis, and I continued onward, north, alone. “Here we go” I thought. Next to enter my head was “Where am I going to sleep tonight?” A ways up 9W I stopped for a Chinese food dinner, the sun set, and it was time to sleep. Schuyler Town Park right outside of Nyack was eventually where I ran out of gas (figuratively speaking), pulled over, turned off my lights, and pitched my tent. Weird forest creatures patrolling around me or not, by 9pm I was fast asleep.

Day 1 stats:

Starting Mileage – 0

Ending Mileage – 40

Starting Time – 2:10pm

Ending Time – 8:45pm

Bottles of Water Consumed – 5

Your support is greatly appreciated. Sign up to receive updates as my ride progresses.

Onward!
Jeff

Now I live in a West European city, made rich over centuries of exploiting the rest of the world. I live in my girlfriend’s apartment, it’s a comfortable situation. I don’t pay rent, I have a warm bed to sleep in every night with the bonus of a warm person inside it, I have a job, despite the fact I’m just pulling pints, so I have been able to slowly pay off the debt I incurred from my long journey. I just attended the wedding of Ricky Tart, the film-maker who was documenting my journey and traveled the last exciting month with us from Berlin to Copenhagen. Life, it would appear, is back to something resembling normal.

Except that I can’t wait to be out in the wild again, my plans to cycle across Africa, the Middle East and India are slowly simmering, and I am still focused on helping the human community find a way to become sustainable. I’m organising Ride Planet Earth 2010, for 28th November of this year, the day before the COP16 in Cancun. If Copenhagen wasn’t a success then we have to do everything we can to make sure Cancun is.

There is at least one person I know who is going there personally to try to have a positive impact. He is travelling there on his bicycle. From New York City. I think that is something like 6000 kilometres but he’ll be able to tell you exactly once he arrives. His name is Jeffrey Katrencik.

Jeff sets off soon. He is going to be writing blogs of his journey and experiences on a weekly basis as he travels south. He will be travelling through areas where the impacts of climate change are already apparent, where humans have destroyed their environment in search of money and power. But he’ll also be discovering the places where solutions are being developed and utilised, and meeting people who are working out how we can live on this planet in a sustainable way. I for one am really looking forward to finding out what he discovers. If you want to contact Jeff directly you can reach him at Jeff@rideplanetearth.org.

Other people are doing the same things, except they are not heading to Cancun, they are travelling all over this little planet of ours, from Alaska to Tasmania. They are also spreading the message of climate action and going to places a few thousand kilometres off the beaten track. The benefit of travelling by bicycle is that by necessity you travel through places very few other people see or hear about. I will be interviewing these journeymen and women and reporting their experiences. What they are see of climate change and human greed destroying the planet, but also what people are doing to protect it.

I hope that all these people experience a little of what I did. The magic of the universe, the planet and our existence on it. The thrill of meeting people who are inspired to act and have a positive impact on the world around them. The excitement when someone was inspired through our contact and interactions.

Lastly, Chris Keene, who joined the Cycle Change Convoy in Denmark last year, and organised the Zero Carbon Caravan, had instigated the Zero Carbon World Concert initiative which takes place over the weekend of the 27th and 28th November, linking in really well with Ride Planet Earth 2010. Much like Ride Planet Earth people are invited to set up a concert wherever they are in the world to demonstrate what is possible without fossil fuels. In this case, music, entertainment, hope and inspiration. Chris and the team are currently writing the zero carbon concert guidelines which will be available to everyone to put on their own concerts. The details will be available at www.zerocarbonconcert.org.

As always if you’d like to get involved please email me at kim@rideplanetearth.org. Set up your own bicycle rally or zero carbon concert, or do whatever you can think of that’ll make your life and those of the people around you more sustainable. Thanks.

Check out this link to a cool video of a bicycle action in Brasil!

As I write this from Nova Scotia, in Atlantic Canada, I am listening to a rather unnerving soundtrack outside the window. There are no squeaks and squeals from bicycles coasting by, for there are no bicycle lanes. There are no footsteps from pedestrians, for there are no footpaths. There is no distant train whistle, for no trains operate here anymore. Buses? They are almost non-existent, and ferries? Well, those are struggling to stay in operation. What I am listening to is the drone of cars going up and down the road in an endless stream.

Despite being considered as a ‘progressive’ country (the most university educated population in the world, universal health care, 1 year maternity/paternity leave), Canada has its share of shameful statistics. One in four people in Nova Scotia are obese, the average Canadian uses 329 litres of pristine tap water per day in their homes (the second highest rate in the world after the Americans), and they produce among the highest emissions per capita in the world,

Sometimes it is not so much about what we know, as about what we do.

Life in the Broken Glasshouse

I was living in Europe at the time that it dawned on me that I was an environmental hypocrite. I had always liked to think of myself as ‘green’, but the reality, I reflected, was uncomfortably different.

Never-mind that I had read The Weather Makers, Tim Flannery’s shocking and powerful analysis of the impacts and solutions to climate change, I had continued to drive long distances to work every day, saving up money which I would later cash in on the cheap flights phenomena.

Ah yes, global warming, that BIG ISSUE, that ticking time bomb, that great challenge of our time. Something overwhelming, yet paradoxically caused by something that you can’t see, touch or smell, making it dangerously easy to ignore in the daily grind. And ignore I did.

I knew the problems, I knew some of the solutions, yet I was still guzzling more than my fair share of fossil fuels. That was about to change, and in a rather unconventional way…

Walking the Walk, Pedalling the Pedal

I was discussing the idea of ‘green-travel’ with my girlfriend Zoa, and in particular the popular travel tip to explore your own backyard rather than globe-trotting. This didn’t sit well with either of us. Both of us have itchy feet and oodles of wanderlust, and besides, I was still aiming to get back home to Australia.

“We could always cycle there.” Zoa said.

“Cycling around the world!?” Ha! “Yeah right… bicycles are for around town, not for around the world!”

But Zoa was serious, and a quick Google search proved she was right. Thousands of cyclists are traversing countries and continents at any given moment. The idea seemed absurd, yet irresistibly epic. Sign me up!

Only one small problem. Well, actually one medium sized problem, and another big, hairy problem. Our two dogs! Can you believe it? Nobody wanted to look after them while we cycled carefree into the sunset. Hmmmm….

In a mad two month dash we quit jobs, sold almost everything we owned (including a car), and sought out the equipment for the job. For our 40 kilogram dog Jack we found a suitably heavy duty dog trailer, and for our 15 kilogram scruff-ball Paco we found a long tail bike fit to carry a large basket mounted over the rear wheel.

Sixteen months later we had pedalled over 17,000 kilometres through 18 countries, and were further away from Australia than when we started. Along the way we experienced an unforgettable, life changing, life affirming ride, often joyous, sometimes bitterly challenging.

So What?

Not everyone in the world is in a position to just pack up, sell everything and pedal into the horizon, and of course not everyone would want to. But along the way we had the luxury of coming to a few realisations.

Cycling long distances is easy… (and FUN)

The good thing about cycling long distances is that you don’t have to do it all in one day. If you don’t make the mistake of tying yourself down with a rigid itinerary, a rainy day is a good excuse for a sleep in, a sunny day is a good excuse for exploring an unknown town. And if you are leading a simple life with some wild camping and stays with hospitality clubs like CouchSurfing or WarmShowers thrown in, it doesn’t cost much at all.

Over time strength and stamina will build up until leg muscles start to take on Incredible Hulk proportions, the kilometers tick by, and the line on the map starts to look more impressive. Life becomes routine, but at the same time filled with endless surprises.

Most cyclists agree that the hardest part about a long distance bicycle trip is getting out of the front door in the first place. Judging by the number of blogs on the internet about cycling adventures, it is fairly safe to say that travelling by bicycle is something people want to share and promote, and not for reasons of eco-guilt, but because it is simply one of the most rewarding ways to travel.

The weather is indeed getting wackier

Along the way a common thread of conversation we had with locals was just how unusual their weather had been lately. Abnormally high rainfall and snow flurries in Spain, record snowfall followed by a heat wave in Slovenia, and an unusually hot summer in Norway (unfortunately we got there too late to experience it!). It made for challenging cycling at times, but re-confirmed just why we were on the bicycle saddle.

Cycling wastes fuel?

During our cycling trip we found that our appetites increased enormously, especially by hauling the extra weight of our dogs around. Like Hobbits, second breakfast became a daily routine, and serving sizes seemed to double. This is not an entirely bad thing. What better way to get fit than by cycling, and what better way to fuel yourself than by eating?!

But it is worth noting that hungry cyclists need fuelling too. For us there was the literal fuelling of our camp stove. And yes it does feel good to roll into a petrol station and only fill up a 1 litre container (which lasted us more than one week of cooking) rather than a 50 litre tank.

But there is the other type of fuel. Food. If you really want to minimize your carbon footprint, you should take note of what ends up on your plate. Eating locally produced, organic food is ideal where possible, if only for the taste. Some of our most delicious moments came from road-side fruit and vegetable stands in Denmark, or a fromagerie in France where our entire supply of goat’s cheese was devoured before we left the car park. And one last thing to think about…

David Pimentel of Cornell University calculates that it takes 145 times more energy to produce beef than potatoes, and nearly twice as much fossil energy to produce a typical American diet than a pure vegetarian diet. This works out to around an extra 760 litres of fossil fuels per year for a meat-eater. Cutting back on meat is one of the easiest ways for a healthier body and a healthier environment.

You don’t need to be a mechanic

When we set off on the trip our mechanical knowledge of bikes didn’t extend much beyond adjusting the height of the seat-post. When our first flat tire took a frustrating three hours to fix we were slightly nervous of bigger problems that might follow. The good news is that bicycles are not rocket science, and that when something did go wrong it was only one thing at a time. What better way to learn bicycle mechanics than to have to sit down and nut out a problem. And if worst came to worst and we couldn’t fix something, there was always a garage or a bike shop somewhere out there, and someone willing to give us a lift there (eventually).

People are great, people suck

If you read the newspaper you will get the impression that everybody sucks. If you ride a bike around the world you will get the impression that everyone is great. I like to think that we can be anywhere on the spectrum of ‘good’ or ‘bad’ at any given point in time. Positivity tends to breed more positivity, and misery likes company. Our experience was that living our dreams and feeling good about what we were doing on our cycling trip seemed to bring out the best in people, making for some amazing interactions and hospitality. Of course we still received many warnings from adults wary of monsters under the bed … “you will freeze to death… watch out for gypsies… you will never make it over that mountain… keep everything locked up… make sure your tent is hidden from the road... beware of radioactive thieves” Thankfully in over 16 months of cycling and wild camping nothing was ever stolen from us, in fact we didn’t really have any ‘bad’ situations beyond flat tires and broken rims.

The less you have, the more you value it

Selling everything that couldn’t fit on the back of our bikes was scary, then liberating. Not only did we not miss or think about anything that we sold, it became a case of trying to minimize even more STUFF from our overloaded bikes to make mountain passes that little bit less strenuous. Sure, we didn’t have endless choices for ‘entertainment’ at night, but sometimes lack of choices left more time for the simple pleasures like enjoying sunsets, reading books and star snuggling.

Without the luxuries of central heating our motto soon became ‘there is no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing’. Clothing was layered to suit the temperature rather than changing the temperature to suit the clothing and any holes were patched up straight away. Likewise wild camping meant that a shower with hot water became a truly joyous experience, we became much more aware of our use of electricity, and once we approached drinking water as something that is drained, sip by sip, from a quickly emptying container, we never took it for granted.

Don’t get me wrong I am not advocating that we all lead lives of self-deprivation, but at the same time there are lessons we can learn from less, and the chirping bird in its humble nest.

We influence the people around us (even when we are not trying to)

One of the great things about travelling by bicycle is having constant interaction with the environment and the people around you. You can notice wildlife and appreciate views and easily strike up conversations with people on the side of the road. Passing from town to town on bicycle gives you the chance to see how drastically us humans as a group feed off the culture and the energy around us. A town which seems to be full of grumpy and grizzling grinches, might be soon followed by an otherwise identical town that is a serene smile-fest. Likewise trends in the way we dress, eat, decorate our houses, how we choose to get around town, and carry our groceries back from the store can all change from community to community.

So all this adds up to make me think that the problem we are facing is not one of climate change, but one of human change. What capacity do we have to inspire each other to re-think and re-shape our communities before the inhabitability and bio-diversity of this beautiful old rock is greatly reduced? Being the change you want to see in the world seems like an easy way to start.

So excuse me now while I sit down, shut up and pedal.

cyclinggypsies.wordpress.com

Its been over 2 months since I last wrote, and my life has changed so much I almost can’t recognise it. Turns out its harder getting back into real life than it was leaving it.

I’m in Holland, in considerable debt, unemployed and homeless. My visa runs out soon and I don’t know where to go. But I feel safe. I feel like the world is looking after me. I have friends who are so good to me I can barely contain my happiness and gratitude. I am healthy, and so long as money keeps coming out of the machine, I usually have a full belly. I hope I can find I job before I am forced to return to Australia prematurely and bankrupt.

There is so much to do, things I have to do while I’m still on this side of the planet. I at least want that opportunity before I return home.

Well that’s me, but the planet? It is still in peril, greater than just over 2 months ago when the COP15 talks were still ongoing, the result still undecided. The failures and dashed hopes of those 2 weeks in December have all been covered in acute detail already, but the reality of what it meant for the world seems starker to me after months have passed and everyone has gone home. We are living in a time bomb. We are staring catastrophe in the face and simply choosing to close our eyes.

I live by a personal rule to never focus on that which is negative, it serves no purpose to me and creates stress and worry. Instead I must insist that I gained commitment, determination and a genuine feeling of optimism during my weeks in the Danish snow. Optimism, its more precious than gold.

…

More than before I see the task is to be left to the ordinary people of the world. The action that is needed to protect the planet, the leadership and change, will come from the immense well of ordinary humanity, one of the few resources increasing in quantity.

What I learned in Copenhagen were some fundamental rules of politics. Change is inevitable. Change is constant. But change will never come from political leaders whose livelihoods are built upon the will of the greatest majority. These people follow trends, they don’t start them. To change the politic of climate change, to prioritise ensuring a safe planet for future generations, the majority of public opinion must change first. Politicians must believe that if they don’t take the necessary action they will lose their jobs. In Copenhagen, for the leaders of the powerful, rich, industrialised nations, it was the other way around.

To change nearly the entirety of a global social and economic system is one hell of a challenge. But it is far from impossible. Change is inevitable. Change is constant. Our social and economic system is totally and entirely different from what it once was in our history. It will also be so in our future. But we need to take control of the process of change now, for the good of the planet. Take control away from those people who use it only for the good of a few.

I left Denmark with an increased commitment to engaging myself in this monumental effort. I promised myself I would do everything in my power to help shift public opinion and behaviour. To become more political, more active, and influence more people.

I saw many people on the brown, wet streets of Copenhagen who want a revolution. To bring an end to capitalism, and replace it with a system that places the rights of the poor, the majority of the planet’s population, along with all life on earth, above the compulsion to accumulate wealth. This is an honourable aim, it is probably exactly what is necessary to ensure that sustainable future. But the revolution has a fundamental flaw. As far as I can see, the majority doesn’t want it.

And so the efforts, of those whose faces were marred by pepper spray and batons, to wrest power directly from the leaders hidden in the depths of the Bella Centre, proved ineffectual. Because without the support and the will of the majority such a revolution will continue to remain out of reach. This is the hardest part in the struggle for our future. Because we are not struggling against some great unknown, not against the evil, the corrupt, the damned, the inhuman. We are struggling against ourselves. We are struggling against our own way of life, what we have come to take for granted. Before we can change the social, political and economic systems, we have to give up our luxuries. It is the hardest struggle but the one we have the most control over. If we can do that, then we can do anything.

In order to put what I write about into practice I am continuing to organise another worldwide cycling/climate action to urge and encourage all of us to stand up and make a difference. If you don’t like bikes that’s fine, don’t get involved in this. Get involved in something else. Ride Planet Earth 2010 is on 28th Nov. People will get on their bikes and take over the streets all over the world. We did something good last year. All those people that took part in Ride Planet Earth not only showed their willingness and capacity to take action, not only sent messages directly to the Australian Prime Minister and the world, but demonstrated that an act as simple as riding a bike is an act that will help secure our future.

We didn’t convince Barack Obama, Hu Jintao or Kevin Rudd to put national interests aside for the greater good but we still made an impact. A small but important impact. For each person who steps out of a car and onto a bike is making a significant personal step towards protecting this planet. Don’t let anyone tell you one person cannot make a difference. Every great social change is made up of many, many individuals making individual changes, each one personal and significant. We need to keep doing that, and the impacts will get bigger and bigger until we have created a way to live that can be sustained into the future. Free of a dependency on resources that are fast diminishing, that when we burn destroy the life that surrounds us.

Jeff Katrencik is cycling from New York City to the COP16 in Mexico this year to arrive on 28th Nov. He will be adding his thoughts to this blog. Other long distance cyclists will also be adding their thoughts and words of inspiration. If you want to get involved email me at kim@rideplanetearth.org

I am sorry I haven’t written anything for so long. I have been in Copenhagen for over a week. Its not really fair on all those who have followed this journey to wait so long to write. But I’ve been busy. This is like nothing I’ve ever seen before. I feel like one of the thousands of bloggers here those role it is to keep the masses informed about what is going on. People are here representing what seems like every university, environmental group, business group and political party. They sit in the giant room I am sitting in right now in the Bella Centre typing away and keeping everyone hooked up.

So now its my turn. There is so much to say. Since Berlin, which now seems something like light years away. I have to make it brief because there is still so much to do here.

I left a man alone on a bike with a desire to do something to help the planet. In 2 days I have a brief meeting with the Prime Minister of Australia, Kevin Rudd, where I plan to hand him a DVD with messages from around the world, from the participants in Ride Planet Earth, demanding action now.

After Berlin the group, the Cycle Change Convoy, grew fast. Rico and Lena joined Rich and I, with Rick along to video and document. In Hamburg we went with 5 Spanish cyclists and 2 more from England. By the time we crossed into Denmark we were 10, by the time we reached Copenhagen 60. Including those cycling in solidarity around the world, some thousands.

As the group grew and we neared our destination we started to do more of the things I wish I had done throughout the journey. We created a giant banner, representing the creation of a sustainable world. The banner started as a blank circle, and people were invited to draw or write on it what they believed would contribute to a sustainable world. People drew windwills, solar power panels and bicycles, and wrote messages demanding action and describing hope.

We campaigned, speaking to people on the street, recording more video messages, chanting and singing and making speeches, we made ourselves more visible so people who saw us knew why we were cycling and where. As we crossed into Denmark my excitement grew, but it was dampened by a persistent cough and weeks with minimal sleep, as I tried to do everything I could to make sure the Ride Planet Earth events would take place successfully.

Then finally the 6th Dec came. Its funny how certain dates gain notoriety, some amongst us all, some just our families and friends, dates when great battles were won or lost, birthdays and anniversaries. 6th Dec is going to stand out for me.

We finally set off from Roskilde on the morning of the 6th. It was cold, overcast, damp. I was happily surprised to find a considerable group of local Danes waiting for us in front of the Roskilde train station. As we cycled throughout the day more and more people joined us. We cycled slowly, I was carrying our banner with a guy named Doug who is from Boston. He probably had the loudest voice and chanted for all the city to hear. The baner got caught in our wheels a few times and got pretty dirty. Laurent from France beat the drum I had bought in a hamburg subway, singing improvised bicycle environmental songs and making us all laugh. Many of the people who had helped us throughout Denmark, providing accommodation, food, support and wonderful company, joined us too. Anna, Morten, Ane, Nynne, Maja, Mette and others. Leon from China and Oxford, who had been emailing me since Sichuan meet us on the outskirts of the city and brought his irrepressible vitality. Richard wore his bird mask and used the taped together megaphone to continue chanting, even though Leon had knocked it so it had fallen and broke into several pieces.

There weren’t as many people as I had hoped. I had hoped, eventually, for over 100, but I knew that by the time we hit the streets in Copenhagen, already hundreds had hit the streets in so many other places around the world. I knew we were doing something important, something special, and I was happy.

When we finally arrived at the COme2gether cafe, set up in a Folk High School in the middle of Copenhagen to run workshops on climate change I made a speech. It wasn’t necessarily good, although I hope it was, but everyone there responded and cheered. Later I thought again about how it had been when I left Brisbane, how I had been then. Alone, with no-one but my friend Dave there, taking any notice. It had been a hell of a journey.

Later, after the euphoria had settled a bit, and most of the cyclists were leaving to find their couchsurfing couches or find long lost friends they had discovered lived in Copenhagen, I started checking my emails and facebook. I had the immense pleasure of seeing the wonderful things others had done around the world on the 5th and 6th Dec. Rides had taken place in many locations around the world. I watched videos from Yogjakarta, Paris, Yerevan, Brisbane, Bucharest, Paris and more. All these people cycling to stop climate change. I listened to their messages and was reminded why I had done this. Why I had come here. And it made me resolve to do whatever I could here to further their cause. Our cause. To save our planet.

I can’t say I have any idea what I am doing here. Soon after arriving I was passing through metal detectors and showing my passport to get into the Bella Centre. I was overwhelmed and awe-struck. The place is a giant chaotic circus of laptop olympics. People rush from one end to the other, all grasping laptops and emailing furiously and continuously. For a long time I didn’t know what to do, I just wandered around disorientated. I cycled for 16 months to come here?

But I have something to do. And I am still trying to do it. I arranged meetings and press conferences to show the messages people have given me or uploaded, to try to advocate on their behalf to the delegates, particularly the Australian delegation, to take the action needed to stop climate change. Like so many have reminded me for so long, its hard. Really hard. I have certainly had the feeling that no-one cares. But I stop myself, of course they care. Of course our actions are important. We might not have the strongest, loudest or most numerous voices, but our actions speak, and they join the growing chorus of voices saying take action now. That chorus needs every voice within it, and it needs more voices to join in. So I have to use this opportunity to get our message across. We are taking action, we will take more action. All our leaders know the reality, even if they don’t like to admit it, despite the influences of the richest and most powerful industries in our society, they must take action now.

I am learning a lot here. More about the science, the political negotiations and process, the groups that are trying to move this world in the right direction. I am getting inspired, and thinking about ways to best consolidate the action that has led to the COP15 and must continue afterwards.

For 18 months I was focused purely on 6th Dec 09. But this fight will continue. Now I am thinking about 6th Dec 2010, 2011, 2012… So here is what I am proposing.

Whatever happens here at the COP15, here in the Bella Centre, a huge change is still necessary in our society to change the way we interact with our environment. We need to stop abusing it, exploiting it, and destroying the balance that keeps us alive on this planet in the process. Ride Planet Earth can contribute to that positive and necessary change.

So we will keep Ride Planet Earth going. Each 6th Dec 09 until this planet is safe. We will encourage more people to join in, and keep building the movement to include more places and countries.

We will encourage more people to join the Ride Planet Earth Challenge. Not just to use sustainable transport before the COP and while I have been cycling, but to use it always. We can use this group, all the participants, to demonstrate to politicians, business and the world that ordinary people are taking the lead on this issue and everyone else better catch up.

We will use this website and network to link cyclists and environmental activists. We will help to show society that not only is change necessary but it is also possible. Even by doing something as simple as riding your bike.

So please, if you want to help, to become a greater part of this project, please email me at kim@rideplanetearth.org. Thank you for your interest and participation in our project. I look forward to seeing you on the street, on your bike, somewhere in the world.

(We will be publishing information about new Ride Planet Earth projects on this website in the coming weeks.)

Cheers,

Kim

Its only 3 weeks to go from here and the reality of a finish line is setting in. Its hard to know what I feel about it. On the one hand its an incredible relief, after travelling for so long the end is in sight. I can finally rest my legs for a while. But on the other hand I am starting to think about what I am going to have to do afterwards. What am I going to do? I have put off answering this question for about one and a half years but I can’t any more. Get a job?

Now that I am nearing Copenhagen there are a lot of questions I need to answer. The practicalities of arranging the Ride Planet Earth event takes up most of my time when I am not cycling, telling media about what the COP15 means, telling people who want to join me for the final stages of the journey what they need to bring and what they should expect from travelling on the road. But I have to ask myself, has it been worth it?

Increasingly I read that government leaders have already decided Copenhagen is too soon to agree on a path towards stopping climate change. So what are we all doing? All the many many thousands of us, environmentalists, activists, mad cyclists, who have devoted so many hours, weeks and months to convince the international governments that they need to take action now. It many ways it seems in vain. The negotiations may come and go with no discernible legislative change, with no concrete plan to reduce emissions to safe levels or fund the actions necessary to keep people in the poorest countries safe from the droughts, floods and storms that are hitting them ever harder.

Well, on a personal level at least I can say it has been worthwhile. My universe has changed. I have seen so many things I never imagined. Surreal landscapes that looked to me as if I had cycled onto another planet. Beautiful people living simple lives, pre-industrial lives, that are harsh but tied so closely to the environment around them that they have something, a special relationship, that we in the developed world have all but lost. The most inspirational thing has been the people. I have met such incredible people, people doing everything they can, people wholly committed to the protection of our planet, working at it in the most unlikely places, East Timor, Kazakhstan, Mongolia.

I have learnt a great deal about myself, about what I am capable of, I have learnt to appreciate and enjoy solitude, my own company. I have learnt to survive in harsh weather and harsh terrain and to be constantly optimistic. Whenever a problem occurred in was eventually solved, even when it seemed unsolvable. I am much more confident than I was before, confident in my own abilities, confident in the kindness and hospitality of people all over the world, that we can all get along with one another if we take the time to get to know each other. I am glad that I have changed, because I think it will help me in the future. I met challenges, and overcame them, and now I have the belief that I and we can keep doing that.

So back to Copenhagen. Has the part of my journey that has been about encouraging, motivating, mobilising action on climate change, has that been worth it? I think so, I’m sure of it. I believe, more than before I left Brisbane, I believe that the human community has the capacity to make the changes necessary to protect our planet. I think Ride Planet Earth is just one of the examples of people already taking action. I think that with so many good, willing and committed people, working so hard to look after the planet, we can’t help but be successful, even if the governments start following the people instead of the other way around.