bike49

by Sara Dykman

It feels almost religious as I crawl along the shoulder of the road. I am bent over the handlebars, like a follower praying to the wind and the road.  I tuck into my bike, trying to make myself more invisible to the wind, and it feels like I am on a pilgrimage to some distant horizon at a sorry speed of six mph. With four miles to town I can see the first sign of a city in the distance: the water tower.  It’s nothing more than a lollipop stuck into the range land of this high desert country, but that lollipop points to the wind breaks of buildings and a break from the oppressive desert squalls.  Water tower in sight, I do what I have been doing for the last 10 days: I keep my head down and plow ahead.

The water tower points to wind breaks

Wind is air moving from high to low pressure. Terrain, the rotation of the earth, heat from the sun; they all change the intensity and direction of the wind. None of that matters when the winds are so strong you must struggle to bike DOWN a hill. I don’t accept the wind though I know that the prevailing winds go from west to east and that it is spring so the winds are even more intense.  No, I don’t accept the wind; I bike with my head down resenting the wind, dreaming of the next wind break.

After two days of slogging through the wind on our westward advancement to the Rocky Mountains it was obvious from both pace and moral that a new strategy was in order.  It is true, no one said it was going to be easy, but that didn’t mean we couldn’t try.

The first strategy was to bike when the wind was calmest.  This meant biking early in the morning and late in the evening, leaving us to wait out the worst of the afternoon winds somewhere on the open road.  This new strategy brought us to a lonely house on a long stretch of road lined mostly with prairie, winter wheat, cow pastures, and oil fields.  After explaining our situation to the woman that greeted us in the driveway, we were invited to relax in the yard. Under the shade of a tree, blocked from the wind by the house, five kids stared at us from the windows.  It was obvious why we had an audience: we were adults, on bikes, picnicking in their lawn, somewhere in the panhandle of Texas. It turns out we picked the right house for such an unusual request.  The kids greeted us with lemonade and ice, we were invited in for showers, and we got full use of the kitchen to cook our vegetable curry.

Aaron biking with one of the kids during our six hour break

Two meals and a shower later, the sun was setting and the winds were calming.  We took off towards California, with little wind and a beautiful view of red sky broken by silhouettes of power lines, oil wells, and neglected homes half swallowed into the plains. And though we managed to get a full day of riding in, we knew that we needed a new strategy.  It is, after all, harder than you think to spend a day waiting out the wind.  You never really rest.  It is more like sitting in a waiting room waiting for your name to be called. And so we concocted our next plan.

Biking into the sun set

Our newest strategy, inspired by the wind and yesterdays affair, began early in the morning. The plan was to bike as many miles as possible before the worst of the afternoon winds. Our morning and early afternoon was devoted to biking with a quick lunch on the side of the road. Lounging was cut from our typical lunch time routine and we settled on stuffing ourselves with PB&Js, crackers, and carrots.  The winds were building, and it almost felt like it was yelling “eat faster, I’m coooommmmminnnnnnnggggggggg…”

A typical view of winter wheat

The wind was coming and we were still 25 miles from the next town, Sunray, TX.  The miles to Sunray were spent biking in a formation similar to flying geese.  The person in the front absorbed the shock of the pounding wind, allowing the followers a chance to rest.  After a time, the person in the front would move to the back, allowing a new person to be the hero and keep us going.  There was no shoulder on the road, and though there was little traffic, it would become necessary to break the formation and loose the wind break when a car needed to pass. We were rag dolls, waving in the wind, watching for Sunray, TX.

Like flying geese we draft

Before Sunray we pass plastic bags entangled in barbed wire fences struggling, flapping to be free.  I gage the direction of the wind and the intensity by looking for clues. I note the wind on my skin, feeling the current of air trespassing through the weave of my worn-out jacket.  I watch the trees and the grasses.  I look for flags.  I never miss a flag.  It is programmed into me to watch where the flags fly, where plastic bags flap.

Sunray was everything we hoped it would be.  Buildings blocked the wind and some of the buildings were full of ice cream we could feast on.  The five of us downed 10 twin pops and 10 ice cream sandwiches before we were human again.  We had made it to Sunray, but none of us had enjoyed getting there.  It was time for yet another strategy.

Our next strategy was more a product of circumstance than calculation.   It started the day we arrived in Sunray and were directed to a sizable windbreak: the Methodist church. The church was made of brick, and seemed solid enough to withstand the wind.  The picnic tables, on the north side of the building, were spared from the worst of the wind, and so we waited. As we sat reading, dust collected in the seams of our books, and coated our skin and clothes.  We watched dark clouds of dust and smoke circle the town, and filter through the buildings to our picnic table.

The wind carries what it can.  It picks up top soil from the freshly plowed fields and delivers the dirt miles away.  It circulates pollution, smoke, pollen, and seeds, anything light enough and not tied down.  The wind doesn’t choose what to push down or take away; it pushes what it can and carries what it will. Today in the panhandle it was carrying dirt, smoke, trash, pollen, and our desire to bike through town and far away.

Back at the church, evening came, the winds were still strong, and kids started showing up at the church for movie night.  By the time the stars were out we were eating popcorn, watching Toy Story Three, and planning to spend the night at the church.  The winds never died down that night.

Before the movie the kids gathered around to hear about our trip

The next morning the gusts were still ravenous and we were in no hurry to confront another head wind. We opted for church.  I could digress with tails of our first church service of the trip or my opinions of religion, but at last this is a blog about the wind.  After church we attended a fundraiser barbeque and auction, where a crème pie went for $210.  We returned home, to our swath of land next to the church, had diner, and packed our bags.  This was our third strategy: wait out the day in town and bike at night.

Auctioning off pies and beef to raise money for a church mission

We have not done many night rides on this trip.  It is one of my favorite times to bike.  Cars, with their bright lights and loud engines stand out in the quiet of night and this makes me feel safer.  I can hear and see the cars coming long before they pass.  Night riding also feels faster than during the day.  Your sense of perspective is skewed and it almost feels like floating. Lights from distant farm equipment blink on the horizon.  Because it is so flat, the blinking lights form a 360 degree ring around us that mimic the stars not lost in the moons glow.

Waiting out the wind at a coffee shop

I could continue with more and more of our strategies to cope with the wind, but they are really all versions of the same.  We ride the most when the winds are bearable.  When the winds make us want to scream we trudge along until an acceptable wind break lets us rest.  We find wind breaks behind buildings, in libraries, and roadside diners.  Of course finding the wind break is only half of it, the other half of the time is deciding what to do.  We read, we wait, and we ask each other what to do.

“what do you want to do?”

“I don’t care. What do you want to do?”

“should we ride?”

“I don’t care, do you want to ride?”

It goes on and on like this, us indecisively determining our blustery fate.  And when we finally ride, when the others look like nothing more than a dark blemish on the road, I have conversations with myself.

“What are you doing out here sara?”

“This is not fun, biking is just not fun”

“I hate the wind”

Head down I see only what the next few feet of pavement has to offer.  I look up to see the approaching mountains we have been dreaming about for so long.  I look up to see pronghorn, elk, deer, scissor-tailed flycatchers, cows, meadowlarks, and the layers of distant mesas, but only for a bit.  Then my head goes back down to watch my wheel.

scissor-tailed flycatcher

It sounds depressing, and maybe it is just that we have not taken a break in awhile so my body is tired and my motivation is deflated.  I have taken up the habit of turning on my ipod and listening to This American Life, one hour-long episode after another.  It is a great distraction from the wind and gives my mind something new to think about.

I can’t really compare the last two weeks of biking to a pilgrimage. For starters, I don’t consider Nevada (our 49th state) as the promise land, and the glimmering lights of Las Vegas are certainly not shrines.  It also seems to me that on a true pilgrimage you couldn’t escape the worst winds by having pancakes in a diner, reading books at the library, or drinking lemonade in the windbreak of a house. No, these last windy weeks have tested us, but we are not pilgrims.  We are just bikers, blowing in the wind, trying to make it to the next wind break.

the wind is strong enough to have windmills

By Matt Schiff

Our day to visit Delaware Ridge Elementary finally came and like most anticipated events – Christmas, New Years’, your birthday – was gone all too quickly. For weeks and months we’ve looked forward to spending a day with these students and when it was over, it felt like the culmination of the more than 100 presentations we’ve done before this.

As you know, Delaware Ridge is where a group of 1^st graders have been following our progress since the start of the school year this fall (Teaching through more than a presentation). They’ve been learning about real people, everything from our eating habits to our navigation methods, and this creates more hands-on, purposeful learning, while still covering the standard skills of reading, writing, and math. This school takes a relatively new approach to learning and best of all is a public school serving a rather diverse community of Bonner Springs, KS.

We arrived the night before, traveling from Norwood, KS, up north, past Fritz’s, and out west to the edge of development, where the prairie takes over. We planned to stay at the school, either camping outside or “camping” inside, and all we needed was a little windy and cold weather to make the sensible decision to sleep in the classrooms. We’ve always joked that one day we’d set up our tents where we were going to present and just stay inside them, pretending to still be asleep as the students walk in. But we still didn’t go for it, perhaps because it wouldn’t be as funny as we thought and would mean a chaotic start to the morning. We met the two other first grade teachers, Miss Rockers and Miss Mayer, who have been working with Molly, and went through some slightly awkward introductions since they of course already knew us.

Entering the school there was bike49 stuff everywhere in each of the three classrooms and outside in the communal pod. None of us have any experience with being a rockstar (of course we’re not), or being famous or infamous for any reason, so to see pictures and articles about ourselves still shocks us a little bit. There were posters for each of us – Tommy, Aaron, Sara, and myself – listing what the students knew about us, what they didn’t know, and what they wanted to know, all gathered from Skype interviews, our online biographies, and blog posts. In the corner, taking up a set of bookshelves, was a museum almost resembling a shrine that included a variety of bike49 memorabilia. There was a post card we’d sent, a water filter, some of our famous quotes – “We’ll just wing it” and “No one said it would be easy” – some bicycle books including Sara’s, “The Flying Giraffe,” some pictures, a newspaper article, and more! It was all a little overwhelming and I was hoping when the students finally got to meet us, and faculty as well, we didn’t disappoint.

Welcome bike49

Scheduled for the evening was a chance for the students and parents to come and meet us and roast marshmallows around the fire. As the kids showed up we went out behind the school and gathered some wood. Waking to the forest we encountered head high grasses (for a first grader) and ruts several feet deep. Molly helped some kids over the deep ruts while some teamed up and helped each other. The forest was full of branches with thorns on them but as we went a little farther we found dead wood to make a fire with. Everyone took a few pieces. It’s amazing how much wood you get with 20 sets of hands. Heading toward the fire pit the goal was to not drop any as we encountered the same obstacles on the way back.

For starting the fire all eyes turned on members of bike49. We all are pretty competent at making fires but we don’t regularly light one. On this trip we’ve made less than 5 fires because we do all our cooking on camp stoves and being tired at the end of the day, tend to go to sleep early. As the students piled sticks around a few pieces of crumpled paper, Tommy and I prayed the fire would start with one try. The wind helped, the wood was dry enough, and all the kids were excellent helpers, allowing the fire to get good and hot quickly. We forgot a quick safety talk before things started burning but with parents supervising their kids, and stinging eyes and hot hands being good indicators of blowing smoke and being too near a fire, there was nothing to worry about. Before long the marshmallows were put onto metal skewers, being cooked four at a time. Some kids roasted them slow and brown like my older sister used to, and others stuck them in the flames letting them char up – my preferred method as a kid. Around the food table some of us bike49 members grabbed some apples and before long realized we started a trend. Many more kids began to grab an apple while they waited for their turn or even passed on making a s’more. One thick cloud blocked out the sun, the temperature dropped, and soon everyone was leaving for the evening.

After less sleep than desired, a trend with the past week’s busy schedule, we got up early and planned for the arrival of the students. Our anticipation must have been as great as the students. At 8:10 they came in and on many of their faces was a big smile as they saw us. Some were shy and others told stories, wanting to share anything, bike49 related or not. In my classrooms we passed the time before community circle by shooting bean bags at a clip-on basket hoop. I got down on one knee and tried to block shots resulting in big lobs being thrown up over my head. There was plenty of sharing and when some of the students insisted I take shots, I gave it my best but didn’t do nearly as well as they did. As 8:30 rolled around it was time more community circle, a gathering of the whole school twice a month and the place where the first graders would introduce us.

Along with joking about being in our tents when students arrive, we’d also joked in the past about making a grand entrance into a classroom, riding our bikes right in the door. This is exactly what was planned and happened at community circle. After we were introduced we rode one loop around the gymnasium, smiling and waving as if in a parade, before taking our seats behind the first grade classes. During the next 30 minutes we heard the 1^st graders perform the bike49 song

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they’d worked on in music class and all four of us were nominated as leaders with Sara being described as, “having a perfect brain, like an elephant.” I think the 1^st graders were proud to have us sitting right by them. There were other songs and even rally to get everyone excited for standardized testing. As we left to a closing song, a photographer from the Kansas City Star shot some rapid fire photos on his $4000 dollar setup, making the whole moment go to our heads even more.

Unlike all the other talks we’ve done to date, today was more than just a presentation, but a day to spend time with the kids which is really more enjoyable and relaxing than having a short window of time to talk and make an impression. Back at the classrooms we started with the typical routine of the day called morning circle. Here a few agenda items are taken care of like the date, the day, counting lunch orders, and greeting one another. The greeting would go like this: “Good morning Tommy.” “Good Morning Matt.” “High five, hand shake, or a hug?” “High five.” This takes place in a circle so each person greets and gets greeted. Probably 90% of the students in Molly’s class went for the hug.

After some reading time, we loaded up our powerpoint presentation and all piled in one room. There’s a good chance most of the students had seen these pictures before but from their expression and interest we could see they thoroughly enjoyed our typical presentation. All the students took notes on what we talked about and the goal was not to write down everything that we said because of course that would be too much. They were working on a lesson in shorthand!

Enough sitting and time to go outside! Recess has certainly been my favorite part of school in the past. Several games were played; jump rope, tag, soccer, or playing on the playground, but my favorites were soccer – kicking a ball as hard as you can in any direction and chasing after it – and tag – chase people or be chased, it doesn’t matter. Usually I try not to get the students going too crazy indoors, but with that being the goal of recess, it was not the time to be cautious.

Red light Green light

We took a short break for ourselves but joined the students for the second half of lunch. I took off my hat and one of the students tried it on, pretending to be the real Matt. I took a picture and soon everyone wanted to try on the hat, all pretending to be the real Matt. Soon everyone wanted to take a picture. Small hands are not as certain as older ones but I didn’t worry too much about getting the camera dropped because with the weather I’ve exposed it to, it only turns on half the time as it is. I’ll remember those moments for the laughter and silliness and it was some of my favorites of the day.

In the afternoon we split into four groups and set up our tents and sleep system for all the students to try. I forgot to plan ahead and I made two fatal mistakes. My sleeping pad had no air in it, and knowing how kids don’t sit still so well, did not want to take a minute to blow it up. The other assumption I made was a sleeping bag and thermarest outside the tent would be as good as trying it inside. With 11 kids wanting to test out my system – sleeping pad, sleeping bag, pillow and all – I started outside the tent. But once the tent was up, and this took just a matter of minutes from all the eager hands that were already trying to piece the poles together, everyone wanted to be in the tent, pretending to be camping and falling asleep. While I’d so far gotten no complaints from my half filled air mattress, one of the boys was sure to mention at the end that, “next time you come you should make sure to fill the mat with air all the way.” It’s hard being a teacher and knowing all the tricks and wise methods that appeal to youngsters. We often think of teachers that put in full day every day as the real heroes as they stand there in disbelief on how we could ever ride our bikes 50 miles a day for a year.

The good thing about grade school is how the days are organized and to keep things fun we were always changing course. Next we headed outside for a hike, into the same woods where we had gathered firewood the night before. I packed up my tent and got things in order before joining them. After a quick sprint I caught up with the tail end of the hikers and amused them by claiming I flew in from the sky, even though they weren’t having any of  it. Molly then led everyone in an activity of what we notice about being outside. Many noted they were far from the school or saw cows or buffalo. Some noted the temperature and others the animal tracks and something else – ew, animal poop.

The day was going by so quick and had a very surreal feeling to it. Back inside, Sara read her book about a flying giraffe. It’s about a giraffe that grows up and drives a car but realizes it doesn’t provide the excitement he’s looking for until he comes upon a… bike! It’s a book Sara created on this trip and finished while her ankle healed in Kansas City, finding a printer and making 100 copies.

The last activity was closing circle. Some of the students recounted their favorite part of the day and then we left them with a gift we’d created – a friendship bracelet with the bike49 colors of orange, black, and a little light blue. They loved them. Some slid them up their arm and joked that they didn’t have one anymore or lost it. A few took them off and boasted how easily they could untie the knot. One girl promised she’d wear it forever.

The influence we’ve had on this group of first graders and the impact they’ve had on us has been huge. We’ve been studied and idolized and hopefully we’ve lived up to the reputation as the real thing. These first graders have been a great influence on us. We think of them in our daily lives when choosing what actions to take and what message we’ll leave behind. If we feel like quitting we remember them and we don’t want to let down people that are counting on us.

In the pod we all said goodbye and this time it was all hugs, no high fives or handshakes. After all the stops in Kansas City, and finally this last one at Delaware Ridge, we left feeling like this was the culmination of bike49. It could end today because we’ve completed everything we wanted to. But this is not the case. We’ve got mountains to look forward to and the desert southwest and many more children to introduce to the world of bike touring.

Saying goodbye.

Without further ado.

A sneak peak at the bike49 movie.  Enjoy…

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by sara dykman

So there I was, back in high school, doing what scared me most in high school: standing up in front of the class and giving a speech.  Only this time, standing in front of a familiar classroom, talking to one of my favorite teachers and 20 high school students, I wasn’t scared.  I was excited.   I was excited to return to a familiar place changed; to picture myself eight years earlier unaware of the paths life would lead me down.  Biking to my hometown and presenting to my old schools was a real highlight of bike49 for me.

Matt speaks to the generation of students at Sara's old high school

As we rode through Kansas City the roads became more and more familiar the closer we got to my parent’s house where I grew up.  We took a route through the city that I had cycled many times before on a commute to a summer job.  There was none of the normal stress of a city.  Not only did I know where we were going and how to get there, I knew the best roads.  We traveled through Kansas City to my parent’s house pointing out childhood haunts, landmarks they had heard about from stories, and soaking in that feeling of being on familiar ground, of feeling at home.

My old commute through the city. Now I am followed by my friends from California

We arrived at my parent’s hours earlier than I had expected.  Turns out a mile in middle school or even high school is not as far as a mile now.  Perspective changes as you ride more and more miles.  What was an epic nine mile commute to work is now a few more miles that you don’t even think about.

Thanks Dad!

My parents pulled out the red carpet for us.  We ended up staying six nights, the longest of our trip.  They organized a reception, so family and friends could come, visit and meet the rest of the gang. My mom cooked mountains of food, and aside from the award for longest stay, my parent’s get the award for the most home cooking.  It was a real treat to be pampered, and take a break from our camp stove meals.

My mom and dad pulled out the red carpet for us. THANKS!!

Of course I don’t really know what to do in cities.  Exploring a city to me is usually going on long walks or bike rides to nowhere.  So, I showed bike49 Kansas City like only I would.  We biked through different neighborhoods, visited the local bar and grill to play shuffleboard, took the neighbor’s dog for a walk, bought candy from the popcorn store I use to work out, and went shopping at the local thrift store.   And then to really make the Kansas experience complete I took them to my elementary school, middle school, and high school.

not bike49's typical hang out place

Speaking to the next generation of students at my old schools was especially rewarding for me.  Not only was I exposing some kids from Kansas to the mountains of Alaska and the Swamps of Florida, but I was proving to them that even kids from Kansas can grow up to see those places for themselves.  As I spoke to the classes I looked out and saw myself 8,12,20 years ago listening to a guest speaker and dreaming of the adventures I would have.

18 years ago it was me sitting in this crowd listening to guest speakers. Yes it is true...we would have liked to see a few more smiles.

The guest speaker I particularly remember spoke to my elementary school.  I don’t know his name, but he came every year and told my entire school about the exotic places he had been and showed pictures of the animals he had encountered.  Sitting cross legged in the gym, feet falling asleep, I began daydreaming about when I would get to see the animals of the world. That man opened a door that has lead me to where I am now.  I hope our presentations in Kansas have opened doors to the next generation.

we ate school lunches with the next generation of middle schoolers.

I spent the first 18 years of my life in Kansas.  I learned to ride a bike in Kansas.  As bike49 pedaled through Kansas City to the house where I grew up, we rode the roads that first molded me into a biker.  We passed several of my early commutes where I learned how to find good biking roads in a busy city.  We passed neighborhoods I had gotten lost in, have crashed in, and have struggled to get too because I thought they were so far.  It was in Kansas that I became addicted to that feeling of accomplishment and independence that comes with going on a long ride or getting somewhere with your own power, and to return on my bike after so many miles was a triumph for the little kid in me still learning to ride no-hands around the block.

Like mother like daughter. My mom was a pro at shooting a typical bike49 photo. Thanks mom!

by Sara Dykman

The last few weeks have been especially fun for me, as we have been biking through my home turf. We made it to St. Louis and took a ride up into the arch, thanks in large part to the $100 bill I found in Illinois. From St. Louis and the “gateway to the west” we made our last substantial turn of the trip and are now more or less headed straight back to California. The ride across Missouri was a lot of fun. Thanks to Rails-to-Trails we were able to leave the roads behind for a few days and pedal the Katy Trail across much of Missouri. You can read more about the trail at http://www.bike49.org/2011/03/the-katy-trail/. Missouri also surprised us with 6 inches of snow. Luckily we were doing a few presentations in the town my mom went to college, and thus had a warm place to stay.

After crossing Missouri we landed in my home town of Kansas City. It was a great experience to pedal familiar roads to the house where I grew up. It is one of the first cities of the trip that at least one of us was really familiar with, and thus our time spent lost was greatly reduced and our time on fun side roads was increased. In Kansas City, my parents welcomed us for not only a few day, but 6 days. Thanks mom and dad for letting us take over the house and eat all the food in the kitchen! We did 10 presentations in Kansas City, including my old elementary, middle, and high school. More than once, during a presentation, I thought: wow, I am back in middle school but this time I brought three boys from California. I certainly didn’t see that coming when I was in middle school 12 years ago.

Between presentations we have been checking out the sites, relaxing, and even managed a radio interview on the public radio station. We have done a few radio interviews via phone, but this was our first in-studio interview and it was a lot of fun. Listen to our interview with Steve Kraske on Up to Date. Starts at about 1:45 into the broadcast.

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or go to http://www.kcur.org/uptodate.html and find our March 23rd interview.

Kansas (state 42) is also where our fifth member, Alyssum, is re-joining us. She pedaled the first 3,000 miles with us and now will pedal the last 3,000 miles back to California.

Today we are headed only 20 miles out of town to a elementary school that has been following us for our entire trip. We are very excited to share our stories and pictures with the first graders in person. You can read more about this incredible class at http://www.bike49.org/2011/02/teaching-through-more-than-a-presentation/.

I hope everyone is enjoying the beginning of spring. Now is the time to dust off the old bicycles from the garage, pump up the tires, oil the chain, and head out on an adventure of your own. All of us on bike49 started off with small trip to the store, work, or school; and now have pedaled 12,200 miles around the country. Maybe a small trip to the store will be help you prepare for your own trip.