Suzzanne Hurt, the mountain bike riding reporter who joined us last June 14 on our ride from Davis to Folsom, is just now finally seeing the fruits of her labor in print. Well researched and very well written, she did a great job of touching on a representative portion of the many many elements involved. In her piece she wove the human interest aspect of all of what took place on that day throughout her discussion of our National Bicycle Greenway effort as she also tied that into how the local communities up her way fit into the bigger picture of our grand mission.
Not only is there a great picture of Jacques Graber, but we she also helps us peek into the lion sized heart of our TransAm unicyclist, Patrick Thomas, who is now bearing down on Salt Lake City:
http://www.newsreview.com/issues/sacto/current/news2.asp
Also!!
- Just talked to our TransAm unicyclist, Patrick Thomas, yesterday and he is on the border of Nevada and Utah. And as he and I were talking, I found out that his seat has become a major distraction and that he wants to see about getting a gel covered unicycle seat. When we kept discussing his ride, I discovered that he had never tried bike shorts with a chamois in them to absorb the sweat. If there is anyone out there who can help this true prince of a man who tells me people are constantly stopping him on the road with cold water and other treats and just to see if he is OK, U can leave a message on his cell phone 415 335 2034 ..
Not once to complain, he also tells me that he spends a few minutes mending the day pack sized back pak he is wearing out there. And as U may have seen Max Chen ask yesterday, can anyone help him out here as well?? He can receive stuff on the road sent General Delivery to any of towns thru which he will be passing, so if U were to call, U can find out where he plans next to be..
- Don Loomis just sent me an email from Steamboat Springs. Riley Polumbus, the bike riding Chamber director there got him a free room at the Rabbit Ears hotel where he now has internet access, took him to lunch and got him a nice long soak at a local spa! WoW!!
THX for all of U!!
Attn: All D.C. Riders-
Come One, Come All to the National Bike Greenway annual Mayor's Ride
reception in front of D.C. City Hall (1350 Pennsylvania Ave.) on Friday
7/2/2004 at 1PM!!!
Several riders will be coming in from Baltimore on Friday bearing the
recently presented proclamations from Mayor O'Malley and Mayor Street of
Philadelphia to receive a similar proclamation from Mayor Anthony Williams
of Washington, D.C.. These proclamations will then be handed off to the
riders on the next leg of the relay: To be delivered to Pittsburgh and then
on to the final rally in Chicago later this month where riders from across
the country- with Mayoral Proclamations in hand- will converge.
We would welcome your presence as Mayor Williams' proclamation is presented
to the riders by D.C.'s Bicycle Coordinator Jim Sebastian and we give a
rousing reception & send-off to the participants in the ride.
Please pass on the word & hope to see you there!
Check out the details of the National Bicycle Greenway effort at
www.BikeRoute.com.
Phil Koopman
City Bikes Inc.
Adams-Morgan Store:
(202)265-1564
2501 Champlain St., N.W. Washington, DC 20009 Just off 18th St. & Columbia
Rd.
Chevy Chase store:
(301)652-1777
8401 Connecticut Ave. #111 Chevy Chase, MD 20815 At the Capitol Crescent
Trail
Home office: (301)779-1770
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C I T Y B I K E S
http://www.citybikes.com/
Just got this amazing note from Tim Bustos , the Bike Coordinator for America's #1 bike city, Davis, CA. And like all of us who have seen Patrick Thomas in action, he is astonished. What's more is that this is coming from one of Patrick's peers, an accomplished unicyclist. And Patrick has sustained the fury that not enough of of us saw on the Davis to Folsom run that we completed a few weeks ago all the way almost now to Colorado!! Over the Sierra, the Shoshone and Uinata, etc mountain ranges. Phenomenal. If U want to learn more about the heart of a lion housed in the body of a gentle man filled with love, go to: http://www.pedalthewaves.org
Here is what Tim Bustos sez about Patrick:
========================================
I think the average person would consider what Patrick is attempting is
amazing, indeed, what he's already accomplished so far is amazing!
However, from the standpoint of someone that's been unicycling for 33
years, I feel compelled to point out that what he's doing is not just
amazing, it's absolutely incredible!! In the words of Wayne from the
movie "Wayne's World" - I can truly say "we are not worthy."
Please relay to Patrick that we're rooting for him back on the
homefront, and I'll be glad to do anything for him if he needs some help
or anything sent to him (e.g. food, water, encouragement).
Regards,
Tim "Seven-Unicycles-Is-NOT-Enough" Bustos
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More info: http://www.BikeRoute.com/NationalMayorsRide2004/
Skot Paschal finished his ride from Boise to Salt Lake City a day early. This after he had spent the night previous camped on an island in the middle of the Great Salt Lake. Never mind that he couldn't find drinking water for almost 2 hours (he had entered on the wrong road), or the fact that brine shrimp filled the shallow warm water of the massive body of liquid he was surrounded by making it not a worthy escape from the heat, the quiet, the sunset and the antelope and the bison that he saw all made up for it. Nor could he wait to tell Lisa Romeny, the Salt Lake City bike coordinator, how poorly the state of Utah accounts for its cyclists. While the conditions did improve in Salt Lake City, Skot tells us that, for him, the ride was over as soon as he entered Utah where he saw not one bike lane or road sign that mentioned the existence of bicycles. In fact it was so bad that he called me from a pay phone and asked if he could end his ride a day early.
Not wanting to subject Don Loomis to the same torture, I called Lisa and asked if she could greet him a day ahead of schedule. Always cheerful, and always willing to help our cause, she cleared her own schedule and went down to meet Skot for a photo op which U can see at http://www.BikeRoute.com/NationalMayorsRide2004/#Anchor-46384
Soon we will have Skot's always awesome pix on line and hopefully his final report but for now, here is some Haiku from the man himself:
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Out there in the air
is where it can be found.
children have it
all around.
Be a childkid once more
it is waiting
in a sound.........whrrrrrr(gear).
sk.
========================================
Don Loomis had made a heroic effort to get there on time and was poised to do so when I called him to let him know he'd be better off avoiding the Salt Lake City detour. He was disappointed but also relieved that to make his next city, Steamboat Springs, he only has to do 60 miles days. In Steamboat, Riley Polumbus, the Chamber of Commerce director there, has a soak and shower waiting for him and Patrick in a downtown hot springs. Maybe if they are lucky even a room night!! Besides the reception with their city council....
We will close with Don's report, but first I want to tell U about some of the other excitement that has been taking place.
- I just talked to Montana Norvell and his group of four cyclists (Matt Yoder, Alex Montgomery and Andy Sapinsky) who just this morning got the New York City Mayor's proclamation from Josh Kinberg and are biking it down to Philadelphia. And all four of them were at the Tokio Ballroom in Philadelphia until 2 in this morning for Janet Bressler's (http://janetbressler.com) well received NBG show. Hopefully we can get a report on that soon as well but for now Montana is pushing for Philly and their reception there at Love Park tomorrow. Montana also tells me that the Bilenky Boys, the popular Bilenky Cycle Works band, played last nite as well!!
- On Friday July 2, Larry Black, widely celebrated owner of two east coast bike shops that both have huge followings, will bike from Baltimore to Washington DC on an attention getting antique late 1800's High Wheel bicycle. His ride will be a part of the 3rd Annual 2004 National Mayors' Ride. Traveling with a supporting cast of other cyclists, he and his group look forward to receiving the NBG Day Mayor's Proclamation from DC Mayor Anthony Williams himself.
- Here is the text from the awesome New York City proclamation that Mayor Bloomberg signed:
WHEREAS: ASIDE FROM BEING A WONDERFUL WAY TO MORE VISCERALLY ENJOY THE
SIGHTS, SOUNDS, AND SENSATIONS OF SUMMER, BICYCLING SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVES
THE QUALITY OF LIFE IN NEW YORK CITY. WHILE BIKES HAVE LONG BEEN THE
PREFERRED VEHICLE OF THE YOUNG, THOSE OF US WHO THOUGHT WE OUTGREW OUR
BICYCLES THE DAY WE RECEIVED OUR DRIVER'S LICENSE SHOULD RECONSIDER OUR
YOUTHFUL ENTHUSIASM FOR PEDAL-POWERED LOCOMOTION. BICYCLING PRODUCES NO AIR
OR NOISE POLLUTION, DECREASES TRAFFIC CONGESTION, AND SAVES ENERGY, WHICH IS
REASON ENOUGH FOR ALL NEW YORKERS TO CONSIDER BIKING WHEN MAKING TRAVEL
PLANS. FURTHERMORE, BICYCLING IS A LOW-COST MEANS OF TRANSPORTATION THAT
OFFERS INVALUABLE HEALTH BENEFITS. WHETHER YOU RIDE FOR YOURSELF OR FOR THE
SAKE OF YOUR COMMUNITY, YOU ARE MAKING A MEANINGFUL CONTRIBUTION TO THE WELL
BEING OF NEW YORK CITY.
WHEREAS: THE NATIONAL BICYCLE GREENWAY REPRESENTS A MAJOR STEP FORWARD IN
THE VIABILITY OF BICYCLE TRAVEL. SINCE 1987, NBG'S DEDICATED VOLUNTEERS
HAVE BEEN WORKING TO REALIZE A NATIONWIDE NETWORK OF BIKE-FRIENDLY ROADS AND
BICYCLE PATHWAYS THAT WILL CONNECT CYCLISTS TO MAJOR CITIES THROUGHOUT THE
UNITED STATES. THE NBG IS DEDICATED TO DEVELOPING A STANDARD FOR CYCLE-SAFE
THRUWAYS THAT ENHANCES THE TRAVEL EXPERIENCE OF THE CYCLIST. WHILE WE LIVE
IN A WORLD DOMINATED BY THE AUTOMOBILE, THE BICYCLE SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED
ANTIQUATED.
WHEREAS: TODAY, RELAY RIDER GEORGE REYNOLDS BRINGS THE NBG MESSAGE FROM
BOSTON TO NEW YORK AS PART OF THE NBG NATIONAL MAYOR'S RIDE. WEEKS AGO,
RIDERS SET OFF FROM THE FOUR CORNERS OF AMERICA ON A JOURNEY THAT WOULD PASS
THROUGH 40 MAJOR METROPOLITAN AREAS. THEY LEAVE EACH OF THE CITIES THEY
VISIT HAVING INCREASED AWARENESS OF THE MANY BENEFITS OF BICYCLING, IN
ADDITION TO MAKING THE CASE FOR THE NATIONAL BICYCLE GREENWAY. NEW YORK
CITY IS READY TO HEAR THE MESSAGE MR. REYNOLDS BRINGS, AND WE WISH HIM AND
HIS FELLOW RIDERS THE BEST OF LUCK AS THEY COMPLETE THEIR TWO-WHEELED
JOURNEYS.
NOW THEREFORE, I, MICHAEL R. BLOOMBERG, MAYOR OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK, IN
RECOGNITION OF THIS IMPORTANT EVENT, DO HEREBY PROCLAIM FRIDAY, JUNE 25TH,
2004, IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK AS
"NATIONAL BICYCLE GREENWAY DAY"
========================================
- And last but certainly not least is the description Faye Saunders drew up for Don Loomis's ride:
6/25 9:45am
I caught up with Don at a phone booth about 70 miles outside of Salt Lake City this morning. Since Skot Pascal has already made it to Salt Lake and picked up the proclamation, Don is going to head for Steamboat Springs, Colorado. Since he has been feeling as though he was slightly behind schedule, he has been pushing hard to get as many miles in as he could. Now he will be able to relax a little bit and enjoy the ride.
The last time Don and I spoke, he was leaving Baker and had planned to camp whenever the sun went down before arriving in Delta. As darkness fell, a car stopped to ask if he needed anything. When he told them he just needed a place to set up his tent for the night, they directed him to a beautiful spot overlooking a canyon. By now, the night sky was being lit up with stars and Don decided to do without the tent and sleep under Mother Nature's blanket. He was so tired, he fell asleep in his bike clothes and was awakened by a resplendent sunrise. This also made for much quicker packing in the morning without his having to break down the tent.
There has been a little rain, but not much, the result of which was the most magnificent sunset Don has seen on his trip thus far. Normally the sun going down would indicate that it is time for him to find a place to camp, but since he had decided he would ride into the night last night, he was able to leisurely take in the entire pink clouded scenery. This tranquil setting was soon replaced with lightening bolts surrounding him which were not close enough to cause any worry, but provided a spectacular light show for his night time ride.
As he was leaving Baker, Utah, on Hwy 50 he saw a car stopped up ahead with a person standing beside it. The person turned out to be a bicyclist named George who was riding from Philadelphia to San Francisco. George was on a mountain bike towing a Bob trailer and, like Don, was carrying a heavy load of gear.
As for the the car, there were women in it that Don referred to as Thelma & Louise, from the 1991 movie. They were both brain cancer survivors from the state of Washington and had just visited Moab National Park where part of the Thelma & Louise film was shot. They even found the man who has the '66 Thunderbird used in the movie stored in his garage and had their picture taken in it. Don told them about Patrick Thomas, the unicyclist riding across the US raising money for the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. They left a message for him on his cell phone. When one of the women mentioned she had written a book, Don told them about Martin Krieg's story and gave them the bikeroute.com web address. Their message that stuck with Don: "It is important to follow your dreams."
Don also ran into the pushamerica.org bike gang again. It appears they are taking almost the identical route that Don is into Chicago. Their plan is to arrive in Chicago two days before Don, so he will most likely cross their path again.
A couple of guys passing in a car stopped to talk. One of the men told Don about his Easy Racer and Bike Friday that he rides. The fellow was from Marin and now lived in North Carolina. Don gave the gentlemen the bikeroute.com website to look up when they get a chance.
Breakfast this morning was at the Family Tree Restaurant in Santaquin, Utah, named so because the walls are covered with family portraits. The home baked whole wheat bread with jam was delicious. Today he will take Hwy 6 to Helper, Utah, connecting to Hwy 40 which will lead him into Colorado. Don is curious to see what it will be like crossing the Rocky Mountains. Now that he has some miles on his legs, will it be easier or tougher than the Sierras were?
Don's quotes for the day: "I'm loving this." "I don't know if I'm going to want to go back to work after this."
The stories that Don tells of the people he meets shows us that the Mayor's Ride is a very effective way to spread the word of a vision of a National Bicycle Greenway. As Don and Patrick and the numerous other riders meet people out on America's roads, they are reaching people who never would have thought of such a thing. Thank you Don, and all the NBG riders for spreading this consciousness to everyone you meet.
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