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We're sad to leave our boundlessly gracious hosts in Findlay, but it's time to hit the road again!

Days 1-3

The crew of 7 with our first hosts, Bill and Kathi

The Michigan group is on the road and in the middle of Day Three! Whooo! We started from Rothbury Music Festival on Monday, all pumped up and ready for our first 27 miles. I was driving the support vehicle ahead of the riders and about 5 or 10 minutes along the route, something happened… something we’ll just refer to as “the unfortunate incident”… and we weren’t sure what this meant for the rest of the trip. We knew everything would work out and we’d make it to DC, but we had a pretty huge hurdle to clear. With one of our group member’s father’s hard work and generosity, and the support of a warm, compassionate host family who let us camp at their house, use their shower and washing machine, and offered us food, we were on our way the next morning in a different car with revitalized spirits.

Day two was another sunny, breezy, beautiful day and was a 60 mile ride – the longest that 4 of our riders have ever gone in one day! Our healthy hydration made for many, many “de-watering” breaks, and a few of us learned about the term “bonking.” A stop at a public access point to apply some Chamois Butt’r proved unforgettable when we all heard a scream from the outhouse as Marci discovered that it was not butter-like in the slightest. The familiar looking white liquid had squirted everywhere and left a nice surprise for the next beach-side visitors. Our support vehicle drivers – one who is coming on this trip despite a recent appendectomy! – did a fantastic job marking the route for us along the pavement so we did not have to worry about fumbling with maps and found our way to our second host home in no time. Surprise! She had prepared a delicious meal for us – sloppy joes, pasta salad, veggies, chips, muffins, and peanut butter cake! She showered us with stories of all of the embroidered gifts she has made on her fancy computerized sewing machine while the mosquitoes showered us in bites. After sharing a couple of warm-fuzzy, cold-pricklies (or highs and lows of the day), our crew was ready for the 9 hours of sleep that awaited.

The cool morning air brought with it some sore butts, tired quads, and post-surgery pains, but a nice group stretch session sent us off on another 60 mile day. Our first stop was at a park about 10 miles away where we were interviewed for the Michigan State news about our trip! We were able to talk about how we got involved with the trek, some of the fun things that have happened along the way, and that our purposes for the journey are many, including to let everyone know how serious we are about this climate bill, and how independence from oil can and will be sustained by using our bodies as engines! Before lunch we accidentally left our rear rider in the dust for a few minutes – apparently we all got so used to hearing him yell, “Car back!” that some of the riders nearest to him didn’t notice today when he yelled “Halt! Stop!” During our parkside lunch, Marci found a Buzz Lightyear and a dinosaur toy in the bathroom and decided that the dinosaur, covered in who-knows-what from the bathroom and the little boy’s hands who had most likely been the previous owner, was hungry and should eat a cherry. So she stuck the dinosaur in the bag of our dumpster-dived goodies and he finally grabbed one to munch on. Sadly, a woman on a bike pulling a carrier with two little boys soon pulled up and asked for their toys back ☹

After we finish our East Lansing errands this evening, we will be meeting up with our final two riders in Stockbridge and heading out tomorrow for our last day in Michigan! Sending peace to the rest of the crews across the country,
Nichole and the Michigan Riders.

To Rothbury!

I’ve heard that the week before leaving on a bike tour, you should stop training and let your body catch its breath until the final plunge. Regardless of whether this is true, five of our Michigan riders will be spending their final breaths at Rothbury Music Festival dancing, singing, and of course, telling everyone about the Trek to Re-Energize America.

Rothbury Music Festival isn’t just about the music. They’ve made incredible strides towards sustainability, helping jumpstart Michigan’s “Green Economy.” These efforts include easy-access compost and recycling bins all over the festival site (a psychedelically-themed forest and campground), bio-diesel generators, wind power carbon offsets, and daily “Think Tanks,” a concert-like venue of environmental experts and activists. This is where I come in. I was invited to be a speaker on a Think Tank panel called “Voting for Change with Your Everyday Actions: How YOU Can Join the New Green Economy and Why It’s the Right Thing to Do.” I think this is a perfect title because going on a tour like the Trek to Re-Energize America isn’t something I do every day (it will be for the next three weeks, of course), but riding my bike is. Cycling to D.C. from all over the country, we’re showing people that riding your bike is a sustainable, efficient, and fun form of transportation. If we can help inspire people to fix up that old bike and give commuting another shot, all of the work will be worth it.

Once the five of us finish celebrating our kick-off at Rothbury, we’ll meet up with four more Michigan riders and start our 900-mile journey to D.C. Even after reading blogs from those of you who have already been riding since May, we still don’t know exactly what to expect once we hit the road. Our crew of nine had drastically differing levels of cycling and advocacy experience, but what better time to start than now? I am so incredibly excited to see everyone bring their own positive personality and individual talents to our group! Until we meet in Ohio, West Virginia, Virginia, or D.C., ride on!

P.S. Here's our route for the first week:
July 6: Rothbury to Greenville
July 7: Greenville to Ovid
July 8: Ovid to Stockbridge
July 9: Stockbridge to Metamora, Ohio
July 10: Metamora to Findlay
July 11: Findlay to Richwood
July 12: Richwood to Columbus

Biking to Washington, Maybe We'll Meet Steven Chu?

Reading Rolling Stone magazine last night, I came across an article about Steven Chu, a Nobel Prize winning physicist and Obama's Energy Secretary. Typically you see pictures of him dressed in a suit, like most people in Washington, but Rolling Stone featured a photo of him decked out in a helmet and spandex shorts. Chu is a legit biker, and according to R.S., his only luxury is his $5000 carbon-fiber Colnago bike.


He doesn't even own a car, although this wouldn't be too difficult at U.C. Berkeley, the country's most bike-friendly campus. Moving from Berkeley to Washington, however, he now has a gas-guzzling chaperone.

I realize that Steven Chu's appearances on two wheels are part of a press stint, but I'm glad we have a biker as our Secretary of Energy. After all, biking is one of the most efficient uses of energy!

One week to go

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Counting Down the Days

In less that two weeks a group of seven riders will depart from Rothbury Music Festival on bike. Actually, we might take a quick car ride down to Muskegon to avoid complications with 40,000 people leaving the small town of Rothbury, Michigan at once.

I can hardly believe that it is so close! I've been organizing the ride from Michigan since January and it's been on my mind since I first heard of the Trek to Re-Energize America last August. Here's a post that I wrote for a major youth climate blog, It's Getting Hot in Here:

From Rickshaws to Road Bikes: A Journey to Stop Climate Change from Michigan

I’ve been a cyclist nearly my whole life. My family has pedaled across lower Michigan three times, and my brother would rather ride 45 minutes of hills on his home-made fixed gear than drive 15 minutes to class. Are we crazy? Maybe, but last summer as I was biking through the cornfields of East Lansing, I knew I wanted to bring together my passion for biking and my motivation to fight climate change. Serendipitously, that very night I first heard about the Trek to Re-Energize America.

Spending last semester in Bangladesh, the effects of climate change took on a new light. I met the farmers whose land might be totally flooded in 10, 50, or 100 years. I met their wives and children. What a cruel joke that a country that pales in comparison to America’s carbon emissions now must suffer the consequences. Coming back to Michigan, climate justice has become more than a cause to me; it is for the Bangladeshi children who can’t go to school because of flooded roads, the farmers who lost their crops in a cyclone, and the strong women who are fighting to keep everything from falling apart. It is for the rickshaw pullers, for whom biking is not a pleasure, but a desperate way to subsist in poverty. This summer, I will be biking for them.

Now back in Michigan, I am ecstatic to see that my fellow students are mobilized to fight for sustainable solutions to climate change. From campus groups to our statewide network, the Michigan Student Sustainability Coalition (MSSC), the young leaders within our state are ready to demand change at a national level. Two weeks ago nearly 200 Michigan students gathered on a frigid weekend to talk and learn about climate change at the MSSC’s ReGeneration Summit. In three weeks we’re sending seven commercial buses full of students to Washington, D.C. for Powershift 09. The youth climate movement is going full speed ahead, so don’t miss the bus. Better yet, get on your bike!