"I think the bicycle has done more to emancipate women than anything else in the world." --Susan B Anthony
Fun trivia from my dad as I was getting ready for my California bike trip. The bicycle gives me a sense of empowerment, and it was cool to find out Susan B Anthony felt the same. Having to purchase a new set of wheels last month (I got screwed -- ran over a screw and it went all the way through the rim) my bike shop guys asked what I looked for in a pair of wheels. After sleeping on it, I returned and let them know I wanted to pass guys on bikes more expensive than my own, and I wanted to look good doing it. But seriously, biking is what gives me the strength to work hard at everything else I do. It feels good to go fast and get somewhere, all on my own. I am not myself without my bike. The bike shop guys wholeheartedly agreed and offered the profound advice that "yeah, if you don't look good doing it, then why do it at all?" So, I got a pair of elite Mavic wheels, the French ones they use on the Tour.
I'm planning a Tour de California, this time not alone, but with my (legal) domestic partner Jay. I'm very nervous because Jay recently got into biking, potentially as an "accommodation" mechanism (as Janet puts it) to make me happy. He's been requesting that the trip be planned exactly and that we need a plan B. I'm not sure he's ready for the unexpected not so fun aspects of bike touring (like riding next to logging trucks during a tropical storm, or the heat, hard work, and exhaustion), but I decide to plan as much as possible, including the routes, hotels, and restaurants. I contacted bike stores in each city and made a file folder for each of us including the daily plan, route, and cue sheet. I feel like I just planned BRAG, and I'll add bike trip planner to my list of potential careers after getting my PhD, along with dancer, bar tender, and personal shopper. I also programmed both of our GPSs and bought an iPhone mount and map mount for the handle bars. There is no plan B, except for hitchhiking.
Jay asks "what do you want to get out of the trip?" I'd like to think there was a deeper reason for the choice of California, but it's that mom has friends in No Cali and I typed in their addresses and they are about 60 miles apart. They are adults I grew up with, and it would be great to connect with them as an adult myself. I'm not sure the type of work they do, their histories, or their political orientations, but I sure hold some funny memories of dogs, boating, vacationing, celebrating, cousins, etc. I'm grateful for those childhood experiences and for their love. They've impacted my life, and I think it's important to trace back your roots and hold on to them strong.
But now that we're researching it, I realize California is the land of explorers, adventurers, entrepreneurs, environmentalists, and counterculture. They are the ones who sought how things could be otherwise, took risks, and some did it in harmony with the natural world. And they all have stories of transformative roadtrips -- those who traveled West, Jack London, John Muir, Jack Kerouac. Roadtrips are in my blood. Dad has stories of driving cross country delivering cars, and his brother got a van with shag carpet after graduating the Air Force, as opposed to the traditional sports car. In fact, he drove the van from Atlanta to my parents' wedding in Reno in 1981. We travel the road to leave behind societal constraints and engage with our surroundings, with the hope of finding something more genuine.
So this trip, I'm curious about what may be the counterculture of my generation -- living harmoniously with the environment, committing to a life long partner, embracing multiculturalism, and regaining authentic connection. My peers and I have seen the detriment of our environment, regarding it as object rather than unity and supporter of living things. We struggle to find an example of life-long happy marriage. We see the constant drawing of boarders in a world fully connected. And we see people stuck in phones and wars fought with robots, where living has become something virtual. Across generations, there is the constant struggle for freedom, unity, and greater consciousness. What better way to seek this than on a bicycle.
We are in for a journey, can't wait for the ride!
Great writing!
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