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A family's odyssey across America, on bikes

June 09th, 2021

6/9/2021

5 Comments

 
The Two Day Slog
Well, another two day slog is in the books. And, we really have left the shadows of Portlandia in the helmet mounted rear view mirror. (Yes, I am aware that I have entered old man bike age with that mirror) Gone are the food trucks, the hipsters, and city dwellers escaping for the weekend. They have been replaced by cattle trucks and camouflage decked locals who told us "you have people living next door to.you? It's been eye opening for the girls to say the least.

But this is in part what this trip is about. I biked across the US in 1992 and that trip truly changed my view of the country, for the better. I had just graduated from college from UC Santa Cruz, where the college rule book literally said "clothing optional. I felt at that time that I could not be more different from the country I was about to see. I wrongly assumed that my interactions with the locals would mostly not come naturally at best, and contentious at worst, but I was proved wrong, completely.

This is the America I want my daughters to see. And this, I think is in part what they are seeing. Every day we'll have multiple interactions with the locals and while they definitely note the differences, they can take away their humanity and kindness. Anna put is best when she said that most people don't start out friendly, but they end up being kind later on. But then again, that saying " you reap what you sow" could end up being true. Today a woman told us that their town sees a lot of cyclists, but that most are "snooty, not nice a like you girls.

Maybe they'll take away that no matter what your ideology, kindness will mostly win out in the end, mostly
Picture
5 Comments
Craig Dalton
6/10/2021 04:53:02 am

Great thoughts and comments! So true !
Missed your blog entries but can imagine how tired you must be at the end of each day.
Keep on peddling guys!

Reply
Fernando
6/10/2021 08:31:47 am

Craig
It’s not so much being tired is the fact that I have to write on my s
Phone

Thanks for reading

Reply
JB
6/10/2021 07:51:17 am

This is great. I'm so impressed. Keep it up!

Reply
Kevin
6/12/2021 07:51:28 am

F&S - Following your journey with not a little envy! Loved this post. You all should have “Nice, not snooty” made up into t-shirts. The theme of this blog entry is so reminiscent of Bryan Stevenson’s “Power of Proximity” message.

https://youtu.be/1RyAwZIHo4Y

Keep going!

Love,
Kevin & Bethany

Reply
Rachel Pearson
6/12/2021 09:39:09 am

Following your grand adventure... Wishing the wind at your back!

Reply



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