sustainable living bike tour

We're in the La Canada Valley Sun!

2011-12-16T16:06:00.000-08:00

One hundred Crestview Preparatory students team up with the Sustainable Living Bike Tour to clean up the Hahamongna Watershed Park in La Canada Flintridge. Read more here:
Reaching for a greener tomorrow

Bike Tour in the Santa Ynez Valley Journal

2011-12-16T11:15:00.000-08:00

Oak Valley School students learn the basics of bicycle maintenance

Sharing Our Planet with Lessons in Sustainability

Will Teaches Students about nutrient cycling with our Eden Aquaponics System

Lissa teaches students to make their own all natural, plant-based mouthwash and lip balm.

Students check the PH, ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate levels of the bike tour Aquaponics system

The Finish Line

2011-12-13T14:29:00.000-08:00

What will it take to connect a critical mass of people to natural systems? How do we inspire ourselves and others to embrace a sustainable lifestyle? What is quality of life and how can we best achieve it for ourselves and our communities? The answers to these questions come in many different shapes and colors, but year after year, one answer is the bike tour. 14 volunteer cyclist-educators, 700 miles, 23 days, 17 schools, 12 gardens, 15 flat tires, 3 brand new compost systems, and thousands of students. As educators, paid or volunteer, experience has shown us, it isn’t enough to teach with words. We have to live our lesson plan. It isn’t enough to ask students to make environmental pledges without building them the resources to follow through. It isn’t enough to teach the students that pay us. We have to BRING IT, outside of Catalina island, outside of the box, outside of the classroom, and outside of an abstract separation between work and life. And we have to have an amazing time while doing it! Thank you to the countless individuals that made it all possible. Thank you to the friends, families, schools, and churches that put us up for the night. Thank you to the farms and natural food stores that fed us. Thank you to the teachers and administrators that worked extra hours to fit us into their schedule and purchased resources to make their schools a model of an ecologically sound future.

The Homestretch...

2011-12-08T21:40:00.000-08:00

This morning’s ride to Markham Middle School took us through Pasadena Arroyo, Chinatown, downtown LA, and south central LA and into Watts. This was our first time at the school, so it was exciting to be there. We worked together with the non-profit program Enrich LA that has been building a farm project on the school’s campus.

We worked with 130+ students on bike tour and Markham Farm projects including; planting of a herb and vegetable garden, painting compost

signage, constructing a compost bin, and making natural body care products. It was a very busy day with lots of kids getting their hands dirty, trying new things, and expanding their knowledge of where our food comes from. Many thanks to Oscar, Yenny, and Tomas for all of

their hard work coordinating a day on the urban farm. We left at the end of the school day and

had a quick ride to a homestay with the host with the most: Rasheed. This is our second to last day of the tour!

Pasadena

2011-12-08T20:30:00.001-08:00

We continued south on our weeklong lap of LA and spent 2 days in the Pasadena area. We were close to the mainland office of Catalina Island Camps and treated to a lovely dinner by CELP’s executive directors Tom and Maria Horner. We were privileged enough to have Ms Carey and the Hearst Family take us into their homes for 2 nights. We were so thankful their warm houses, good food, and hospitality!

At Chandler School we visited John McCarty’s 5^th grade science class for a slide show and aquaponics program. When asked if any of the students took the CELP principals home after their trip to Catalina we were pleased that the students shared a myriad of eco friendly initiatives. Some of them included water and energy conservation, composting, gardening, and conscious consumerism. It was also neat to see ecological innovation designed into Chandler’s new middle school building. Thanks again to John and his students.

Our visit with Crestview Preparatory was unique because their students got to leave the school campus and go to nearby Hahamonga Watershed Park. There we worked with students in conjunction with the Arroyo Seco Foundation on a variety of creek bed restoration projectsincluding trash pick-up, invasive plant removal, and mulching oak trees. Thanks to Crestview students and the Arroyo Seco Foundation for providing tools, hands, and enthusiasm to make the day come together.

TAKE THE LANE.

2011-12-07T19:56:00.000-08:00

The tour is taking over LA! We spent our weekend preparing for the busiest week of outreach, while cycling down the coast from Carpinteria to Calabasas. We've been greeted in LA with two of our coldest nights of camping, packs of coyotes howling throughout the night, and 8 flat tires on Monday. But otherwise, the weather has been wonderfully mild this entire trip and we are all very lucky to call sunny California home!

Monday began with the tour visiting Viewpoint School in Calabasas where we ran Aquaponics and Urban Homesteading workshops for the 7th graders that attended CELP. On Tuesday, the tour split and visited two schools! The first was Bridges Academy where the riders stayed in the school’s dorms and worked with the high school's green team to build a tumbler compost bin from a 50 gallon almond oil bin. The second half of our group visited Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy (FSHA) in La Canada where the riders worked with the 9th grade biology classes to squirrel-proof the school's panoramic garden. As a FSHA alum, I was impressed with FSHA's persistence in installing a garden even though the faculty and students were only granted a space where a parking lot would probably be built in the next few years. One of our CELP dreams is to see all of the schools that attend our program maintain their own garden. Although I was disappointed to see the students’ failure in properly sorting compostable items at lunch, it was fun to hear the girls reminisce about their experience on Catalina and hear from those who also hope to work at the program some day, just like yours truly : )

Throughout our outreach visits, the program I have facilitated is Urban Homesteading. In this workshop, we try to instill a value in simple living where we teach students how to make things on our own, as if we were pioneers! One of the core activities has been making lip balm from all-natural ingredients; refer to the blog post from Nov 21st for the easy recipe – a great Christmas gift idea. We've also played a cosmetic game with many of the older students, where ingredients found in everyday cosmetics are listed on cards and students must match up ingredients to the corresponding displayed products, by reading the ingredients list. Some of the ingredients are beneficial, like coconut oil. Yet many of the ingredients listed in our sunscreens, lip balms, shampoos, soap, and lotion may have potentially harmful effects. The activity not only teaches students to watch out for potentially harmful ingredients, like sodium laurel sulfates and parabens, but to instill a curiosity about the origin of the products that we put into our bodies every day!

A great resource that many of the tour's riders rely on heavily is the Cosmetic Database, a bible for anyone who uses body products (and cares about their health). This website rates a product’s toxicity and lists the harmful ingredients within the product. The writers dig deep by thoroughly researching the product’s safety for both humans and the environment.
Another easy resource that is available to compare different consumer items and businesses can be found in book form or app form: the Better World Shopping Guide . Many companies are guilty of “green washing,” a business tactic that tricks consumers into believing that a business is not harming the environment and potentially even beneficial for the planet. However, the easiest way to cut costs and increase profits is by funneling costs into externalities. Externalities are costs included in producing a product that are often not included in the market price paid for a good. Common externalities are laborers and the environment. Factory and field workers are often paid wages that are not enough to cover basic living costs and are often exposed to hazards like toxic chemicals and pesticides. In addition, costs burdened by the environment are rarely included in the costs consumers pay; for example, pollution that contaminates our ocean, rivers, and air doesn’t show up on a price tag. These environmental and social external costs are not indicated on a product and can be difficult for consumers to discover. But luckily there are organizations researching the ethics of products that we use! So remember that with every dollar you spend, you can choose to support companies that are paying the true costs of producing goods and services and doing so in a responsible way! And the Better World Shopping Guide takes all of these issues into consideration when constructing their extremely user-friendly categorized lists. Btw, this book makes for a great Christmas gift : )

Happy Holiday Shopping!

Best,

Katie

Look Mom, we're on TV!

2011-12-07T08:59:00.001-08:00

Click here to Watch the Sustainable Living Bike Tour on KEYT.

Two Wheeled Revolution

2011-12-04T12:11:00.000-08:00

Hey Blog fans,

Pedals to the asphalt, what a night of biking festivities!

Arriving in Santa Barbara with the help and hindrance of the Santa Anna winds, we were embraced by the warm hospitality of the Ocean Futures Society making us feel right at home keeping our minds off the somewhat hairy ride. Meeting with John Michel Cousteau, Holly Lohuis and the rest of the crew and hearing about their adventures and ideas are truly inspiring.

Lucky for us we happened to be in town for the monthly Bike Moves event. A 300-strong victory lap of downtown Santa Barbara spreading bike advocacy throughout the city, never have you seen such holiday festivities on two wheels. Bike Moves in

conjunction with BiciCentro and the Santa Barbara Bicycle Coalition hosted our event for spreading the word of sustainability with urban homesteading workshops, an aquaponics display and slideshow along with the chance to raise some money with many thanks to the following for their generous donations for our raffle:

Bicycle Bobs

Wellen

Happy Harry’s Produce Market

Granada Theatre

Yoga Soup

The Wheel House

Island Seed and Feed

Telegraph Brewing Company

Isla Vista Food Co-op

Ocean Futures Society

All this cycling over that last 2 weeks got me thinking about what a great way to get around the bicycle is. Did you know that the bicycle is soon reaching its 200^th year anniversary? Over the last two centuries the bicycle has come a long way, and now bikes number around 1 billion world wide--double the amount of automobiles. Bicycles have had many triumphs: from the ‘freedom machine’ by the women of the suffragette movement to alleviating poverty in rural areas of Africa and Sri Lanka by 35%. Not to mention that daily exercise from riding a bike has been linked to better health and lower risks of heart disease.

Apart from the obvious advantages for your health are the advantages to the health of our planet. Riding a bike reduces the amount of cars on the road, thus lowering the amount of oil being consumed and burnt. Of all of the oil drilled out of the ground, 74% of it is converted into fuel for transportation. Burning all of that oil leads to the release of hydrocarbons that have been linked to global warming and climate change. PCMs, which have been linked to asthma, bronchitis and other respiratory diseases and a plethora of other gasses and minute particles, have been proven to be carcinogenic and hazardous to human health. One gallon of gas powers the average American car for 23.5 miles, whereas the average biker can go 732 miles on the same amount of energy. Makes you think that our zero miles per gallon two-wheeled wonder machines are pretty sweet devices.

With all that biking doing cycles in our heads, we visited Crane Country Day school and Carpinteria Family School to show them how they can live more sustainably through urban homesteading workshops making lip balm, shopping bags from old T-shirts and jar farming sprouts. Also our friend Fussilli made an appearance to show kids how to close in that nutrient cycle. And of course, in the theme of all things two-wheeled: a killer bike maintenance workshop teaching about the ABC’s of bike maintenance and how to repair the all too common flat tire.

Remember before you ride, the ABC Quick Check:

A – Air, check your tire pressure this can make your riding easier and also less likely to get a flat or damage your rims.

B – Brakes, make sure that they are working by fully engaging before the levers touch the handlebars, the pads are not rubbing against the tires and not rubbing when the bike is freewheeling.

C – Chains and Cranks, Make sure your drive chain is working by shifting your gears, make sure you lube your chain (especially after rain) and that all is taut and not going to make your life too difficult on the uphills.

Quick – Quick releases, make sure those wheels are on firmly and not going to come loose, could lead to some expensive dental work if forgotten. Also make sure you re-engage those brakes if you removed the wheel recently.

Check – Check all over for wear and tear and also good styling. Look good out there people!

Well until next time,

Be cool out there and remember to always wear a lid (helmet)!

Ben

Closing the Loop: Aquaponics

2011-11-30T18:34:00.000-08:00

Howdy all!

After working and camping on a lovely organic farm called "The Garden of..." in Los Olivos with our friend Noey, we've had some time to reflect on where our food comes from. Many people are currently aware that the organic movement is growing not only due to health issues related to pesticides and other industrial farming methods, but also the ecological impacts that the large-scale commercial farming industry has on our planet--both locally and globally. Buying fresh organic produce from community farmer's markets is a rising trend, and the demand for responsibly grown food is becoming the norm.

But what about our fish?

Many people fail to question where our aqueous protein diet even originates. Did you know that 30% of the fish consumed in the U.S. is raised in fish farms? Many of which destroy the surrounding natural habitat through waste production that results in ecological "dead zones." Not to mention the spread of disease and occasional release of invasive species into wild fisheries. Ironically, some carnivorous fish raised in farms, such as salmon, are fed a vast amount of wild-caught seafood. This practice is a double-edged sword that depletes the ocean's resources in order to sustain an industry which can have disastrous environmental impacts.

(*Not all farmed fish are bad; check out or download a Seafood Watch Guide to see which types to avoid and which are better wild-caught*)

High levels of mercury and other contaminants that bioaccumulate in a fish's fatty tissue

and biomagnify up trophic levels also concern public health. The hazards of by-catch and over-fishing due to our species's insatiable consumption are threatening all the world's oceans and fisheries at breakneck speed. It seems all hope is lost. But do not despair!

Luckily our species is a clever one, and we have actually had a solution to these problems for centuries. The Chinese have raised fish within their rice paddies to provide nutrients for crops since ancient times. The plants absorb the fish waste as nutrients--essentially filtering the water for the fish, thus creating a closed loop system similar to symbiotic relationships we see all the time in nature. Humans have recently been harnessing this mutualism in a process called "aquaponics"-- the sustainable combination of aquaculture and hydroponics. Simply put: raising fish and food crops together!

This traditional practice has received a modern upgrade and is currently being employed in many countries to produce sustainably-raised fish and produce in a fraction of the space that each industry alone would require. From an agricultural standpoint, this means: less toxic runoff, less erosion, less soil degradation, less water use and a multitude of other benefits. Instead, crops are raised using the same water that cycles through the fish tank below.

And many downsides of fish farming have been eliminated. The harmful byproducts (ammonia and nitrites) are not only contained but actually used as a resource when converted to nitrates by naturally occurring bacteria. The nitrates are a natural fertilizer for the plants being raised above the fish. Most aquaponics systems are above-ground fresh water designs, so the risk of harm to native populations and natural habitats is diminished.

Our hearty team of volunteer cyclist educators has been traveling with a demonstration

aquaponics system that was designed by a wonderful group of people at Eden Aquaponics, based out of San Diego, CA. We teach a workshop at schools that highlights the advantages of this dual-farming method and showcases our star tilapia, whom we've lovingly named Fussilli. (And don't worry--he's become part of our family; we don't plan on eating him.)

*Check out the Eden Aquaponics website for more information about their systems and what you can grow!

**For more information on sustainable seafood and how you can help protect our oceans, visit the Monterrey Bay Aquarium website.

Psssst! Seafood Watch cards make a great stocking stuffer!! You can order them for FREE!

Life is the bubbles,

Fussilli and Nicole

Back to School

2011-11-28T20:07:00.000-08:00

A big thanks to Camp Ocean Pines for hosting us at their beautiful facility. As a way to give back to the camp we planted Monterey Pine trees to help cultivate one of the few remaining groves in the world.

Sunday's ride carried us down the coast to Morro Bay where some cyclists enjoyed a beautiful sunset from kayaks as they explored the richly diverse estuary consisting of 2300 acres of mud flats, eel-grass beds, tidal wetlands and open water. The bay is the receiving basin for the runoff from 48,000 acres of watershed.

Two dozen threatened and endangered species live in the Morro Bay watershed, including the peregrine falcon, brant, brown pelican, sea otter, Morro Bay kangaroo rat, black rail, snowy plover, steelhead trout, salt marsh bird's beak, and Morro manzanita.

http://www.morrobay.com/estuary.htm

A big hardy thanks to Caroline and Whitney for coordinating our school programs this morning and making today so successful. Our crew split to visit both Montessori Children's School and Grover Elementary where both groups enjoyed working along side students sharing our message of sustainability through presentations and work projects.

If constellations had been named in the 20th century, I suppose we would see bicycles. ~ Prof. Carl Sagan

Big Sur or Bust!

2011-11-26T22:24:00.000-08:00

Howdy Readers!

We've spent the past few days traversing the rugged beauty of Big Sur. Since we left the culinary delights of Almaden's hospitable family, our crew has been left to our own devices preparing delicious meals and providing entertainment in the forested wilderness. However, we never seem to lack hearty food and good music around a campfire.

After surviving the thrills, uphills and chills of Big Basin State Park, we cycled 35 miles through Santa Cruz on to Sunset State Beach to camp for the evening. The agricultural terrain of this region provided snapshots of vast strawberry fields covered in rows of plastic sheeting as well as oceans of brussel sprouts being trimmed by workers wielding two machetes each. Even though the farming industry has become largely mechanized, cycling along this coastline proves that the tradition of human-powered techniques still echoes in the fields.

Sheets of rain moistened our journey into Monterrey without dampening morale. With strong willpower and the aid of our trusty SAG (support and gear) bus, we all made it safely to Pfeiffer State Park where food preparation for our actual Thanksgiving feast began under an EZ-up tent due to the weather. An exquisite dinner was served on our damp candlelit picnic table while we all thought of our loved ones both near and far from us and all that we have to be grateful for. Well-marked bicycle pathways made the list.

Thankful for state parks with laundromats, we carried on pedaling through the Redwood forest and scenic coastline from the Pfeiffer campground to the Kirk Creek National Forest campground. Still receiving our nourishment from leftovers, we traveled 45 miles out of Big Sur into Camp Ocean Pines near the quaint town of Cambria.

Today, we stopped to visit the elephant seal rookery at Piedras Blancas along Pacific Coast Highway 1 just north of San Simeon. Our pinniped friends were lazily stretched out on the beach where they come to give birth, breed and molt. We learned that they are able to dive up to 5,000 feet and the longest dive was clocked at 119 minutes. Luckily, they have made a comeback after being driven almost to extinction in the 1800s from overhunting for their oil-rich blubber. One way that you can help protect them is to always keep a distance of at least 100 feet, respecting the fact that they are a wild animal and also receive protection under the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972.

With minor bruises and full bellies, we’ll all sleep warmly tonight thanks to our lovely hosts and hot showers.

Signing off,

Nicole and the bike trippers

Nov 22 - 23

2011-11-24T12:52:00.000-08:00

We woke up Tuesday morning at around 4:45am to start perhaps the longest, most challenging day of our trip. From our cozy accommodations at the Foothills Congregational Church in Los Altos, we set off in the dark en route to Almaden Country day school, where we would be part of what some have claimed to be the largest Thanksgiving celebration west of the Mississippi. After a beautiful, albeit chilly, 22-mile sunrise ride, we were greeted at Almaden by a host of friendly, familiar faces. The student-led welcoming committee helped riders find their way around the school and in no time, sustainable living workshops were underway throughout the campus.

After a morning of bike maintenance workshops, gardening, aquaponics, and organic body care product making, the entire school quickly filed into a sunny courtyard to begin their Thanksgiving celebration. Introduced by the ever-supportive head of school, Ole Jorgenson, our bike tour band performed a couple songs for the crowd. With Danny on banjo, Ben on compost-bucket string bass, Marguerite on violin, Jacob on guitar and vocals, and Laurie and Travis on vocals, the sound filled the courtyard and brought smiles to all. After some additional songs and speeches led by staff and students, the feasting began. Six giant lines of food, 6 courses of tasty homemade Thanksgiving standards, and hundreds of people: a sight to behold. Riders were touched by the student-made letters and Almaden waterbottles marking our seating assignments. A big thank you to the students of Almaden, Cosmo and the rest of the faculty for making us a part of their Thanksgiving celebration and treating us like we were part of the community.

Well aware of the ride ahead of them, riders quickly scarfed down their meals, said a gracious thank you, changed and began their 30-mile ride over the Santa Cruz mountains and into Big Basin. The ride up Hwy 9 is known for being both gorgeous and challenging. Riders had plenty of opportunity to work off their Thanksgiving meal hauling up the continuous 11-mile uphill stretch. The hard work paid off when they reached the summit and were treated with a continuous 5-mile downhill through the redwoods. After another 6 plus miles of up and down through wooded mountains, the weary riders arrived to the chilly, remote, and majestic Big Basin campground. Hot soup, hot showers and a hot fire were well needed after an epic day of riding and teaching.

-Travis

Cycling Through the City NOOOOWWWWW

2011-11-21T21:13:00.001-08:00

Hello Friends, Family, and other Followers,

Today we visited our first classrooms! We split our team up into two groups: the first went to Claire Lilienthal School and the second group went to Episcopal Community Services Center.

The four workshops offered to the eighth graders at Claire Lilienthal were Biodiesel, Bike Maintenance, Urban Homesteading, and Aquaponics.

I worked with Lissa and Katie in the Urban Homesteading workshop this morning. Urban homesteading is defined as "transforming a city or suburban home into a property that produces its residents' own food and other subsistence needs." We made our own peppermint lip balm and peppermint mouthwash out of all natural materials and the students were able to take home their very own lip balm as well as a crafty Christmas gift idea!

Most of the kids were surprised to see how easy it is to make your own lip balm and mouthwash. The students compared the ingredients of a "Chapstick" brand lip balm with the ingredients of the homemade lip balm and engaged in a discussion about the pros and cons of urban homesteading. It was loads of fun!

**Check out the end of the blog for the recipe we used**

At the Episcopal Center, Group 2 made re-usable shopping bags out of discarded t-shirts with adult students!

After all the riders finished up with their programs, they went on their way via bicycle around the San Francisco Bay to Los Altos. It was a very fun ride, almost completely flat and through the city. It is so awesome that the Bay Area has a plethora of off-road bike paths to make the ride even more enjoyable :)

Fare thee well Friends, Family, and other Followers

*******************************************************

Make Your Own Lip Balm

You can purchase many of these ingredients at "http://www.organic-creations.com" www.organic-creations.com. Research the safety of your own bath and body products at HYPERLINK "http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com" www.cosmeticsdatabase.com. We purchased our 100% recycled chapstick tubes from the following website: "http://www.thesage.com/catalog/LipBalmContainers.html" http://www.thesage.com/catalog/LipBalmContainers.html

The following amounts should be measured out in weight. I use a small mail scale that measures ounces.

20% grated beeswax

30% solid at room temperature oil (Coconut Oil, Palm Oil, Shea Butter, Lanolin, etc.)

20% brittle at room temperature oil (Regular Cocoa Butter, Palm Kernel Oil, etc.)

30% liquid oil at room temperature (Sweet Almond Oil, Olive Oil, Avocado Oil, etc.)

A few drops of vitamin E (preservative)

A few drops of peppermint essential oil

1. Melt every thing in a small jar set in a pan of boiling water (don't melt over direct heat, it could burn or the wax could catch on fire!) Stir frequently.
2. Next fill the tubes completely to the very top. It contracts when cooled and forms a little dip but you don't want to re-fill this, the layers might not adhere to each other and the top layer could slip off. It's also best not to re-melt the lip balm, it will get grainy.
3. Let sit without moving until completely set up.

The Golden Gate Welcomes Us!

2011-11-20T20:30:00.000-08:00

Hello All Those Near & Dear!

Yesterday we awoke to a nice, crisp, sunny day. Everyones spirits were high & we were ready to conquer the 40 miles ahead, which included the '7 Sisters' climb. The views were stunning (as one would hope them to be at 5000 feet elevation) & muscles were definitely burning. After a long day of riding, Group 1 & 2 reunited in San Francisco at Kathy Rose's house for our official Bike Tour kick off party!

Today we were lucky enough to be able to sleep in a bit. At 10:30am we all met up at 'Sports Basement' for a bike maintenance clinic. Jeff was our humorous and knowledgable host, who we were all happy to see again.
Half our day was spent at 'Sports Basement' purchasing gear and tuning our bikes. 'Sports Basement' has always provided us with such great service & continues to help us out in any way possible.

We wrapped up the day polishing our workshops at Kathy Rose's mission apartment. The tour officially starts tomorrow, with a visit to the Claire Lilienthal School & to Episcopal Community Services. Fifty miles later we will be in Los Altos staying at Foothills Congregational Church.

A big thanks to Kathy, Nikki, Madison, Drew Fink, Dave Seamans, & Nicole for accommodating us the past two nights. And one last 'Thank You' shout out to Sports Basement & The Recyclery Bike Shop!!!

Signed Your Happy Cyclist,

Marguerite : )

Of the West

2011-11-19T07:20:00.000-08:00

Hello Devoted Readers! We kicked off the Bike Tour in high style on Thursday night with a stay at the Occidental Arts and Ecology Center, an intentional community and ecological education program in Sonoma County. Aside from luxurious hot tub and sauna, the real opportunity was found in the meandering gardens that grace the land. The following morning began with a tour and a work project, and it was remarkable how much food the garden was still producing. At a time when many gardens are winding down for the winter, this was an excellent reminder that the mild climate along the California coast is great for growing food all year long! OAEC had many examples of cold tolerant vegetables and greens, including tree collards, kale, cabbage, romanesco, and escarole. Our morning project consisted of weeding a bed of kale and then sowing a cover crop of vetch beneath the remaining plants. This was another important lesson because while it may be possible to grow food throughout the year in some locations, we must remember that gardeners are growing healthy soil first and foremost. Vetch, like all legumes, fixes nitrogen into a usable form with the help of symbiotic bacteria, and so helps replenish the soil with nutrients that our fruits and vegetables had previously removed. As we composted the plants that had been pulled and cleaned the tools, our minds drifted back to our own garden on Catalina and the exciting new crop varieties and techniques we might try when we return to the island! Many thanks to Doug and all the members of OAEC!

Hitting the Road!!!

2011-11-16T09:50:00.000-08:00

The day has finally come for us to embark on our 7th annual Sustainable Living Bike Tour!!! We are all super excited and busy with the last minute logistics. However, everyone's attitudes are off to a great pedal stride. This year's curriculum is going to be better than ever with Workshops in Aquaponics, Urban Homesteading, Sustainable Gardening, Bike Maintenance, and Biodiesel. Hundreds of volunteer hours have gone into lesson plans, provisioning, and fundraising. Our dedication & optimism never ceases to amaze me every year.

Group 1 departs today over to Los Angeles, heading to Fresno for the night and then on to Occidental. Thanks to the Langen family for their support.

Group 2 departs on Friday to meet Group 1 in San Francisco, where we will reunite for our sustainable journey down the coast.

Many thanks to those of you who have supported us in the past & who continue to support us & our mission. Next blog will be from the road!!!

Peace, Love & Bicycle Grease

Marguerite : )

Movie Premiere Fundraiser!

2011-11-08T18:48:00.000-08:00

'Under the Sun' Surf Movie Premiere
Showing Saturday 12th November on Catalina Island in Two Harbors.

Viewing starting at 7.30pm on the sand out in front of the general store. $5 donation would be loved.

BBQ and other gifts available in support of Catalina Ecology Project's Sustainable Living Bike Tour.

Come along, hang out, support a good cause and watch a great movie.

2011-10-26T21:44:00.000-07:00

Sustainable Living Bike Tour Compost Bin Timelapse from Gordon Eick on Vimeo.

The Sustainable Living Bike Tour stopped at a school in Santa Barbara to help build a compost bin for the school. Thanks to Dan Sullivan and Gordon Eick for the sleek timelapse.

sustainable living bike tour: How to Sprout

2011-10-24T16:34:00.000-07:00

sustainable living bike tour: How to Sprout: David Klingenberger shares the wisdom...

Gaining Speed

2011-10-11T21:22:00.000-07:00

As our 2011 voyage draws near, we have been busy preparing a slew of original DIY crafts in a community effort to finance the ride up California's beautiful coastline.
In the cozy staff kitchen area, our dedicated group of educators have been creating the following items, which will soon be for sale at events in Avalon--and beyond:

*A unique Howlands Landing line of lip balm, all encased in 100% recycled lip balm tubes
*Hand-poured soy candles in hand-cut recycled glass
*An assortment of sprouting kits for a fun, healthy family project

If you're in Avalon this coming Thursday, October 13th, please come by the booth at the Fall Festival and check out our authentic goods!

Attention California Schools

2011-09-28T12:02:00.000-07:00

The Sustainable Living Bike Tour will be riding through your school’s neighborhood soon. For the seventh year, this group of volunteer-cyclist educators will cycle down the California coast, engaging in service projects and delivering sustainability workshops along the way.

Click on the link to the Bicycle Tour Questionnaire: http://fs3.formsite.com/Catalina/form46/index.html to learn more about the tour and secure early preference for your school visit.

New FALL 2011 Bike Tour Workshops

2011-09-28T11:44:00.000-07:00

Aquaponics: Students assemble a floating-raft aquaponics system and learn about nutrient cycling, fisheries, and sustainable food production. Aquaponics combines hydroponics (growing plants in water without soil) with aquaculture (fish farming). The system contains a fish tank with tilapia, and a floating grow-bed for plants like lettuce. The fish waste feeds the plants and the plants filter the water.
Urban Homesteading: Students work on a variety of hands-on, do-it-yourself projects, from making their own chapstick, deodorant, or toothpaste to sprouting alfalfa and using a biodigester.
Bike Maintenance and Biodiesel: Students work in small groups to master the basics of bicycle maintenance, from replacing tubes, lubing chains, to brake and gear inspections. Students experiment with biodiesel emissions and observe a biodiesel-production demonstration. This workshop also highlights public transportation, as students test out online tools to map out bus, train, and bike routes.
Sustainable Gardening: Whether working in an existing garden space or breaking ground on a new project, our educators come equipped to teach students how to implement principles of permaculture, while building garden beds, sowing seeds, transplanting, and enjoying the fruits of their labor.
Composting (material purchases required): We work with students, faculty, and staff to build a three-tiered hotbox compost system. Students practice rotating compost duties and master the science of composting. Faculty learn how other schools manage the workload of composting.
Ecological Service Program (may require transportation to nearby field site): Partner with a regional conservation institution to restore a local ecosystem or conduct a field-based research project.

Tips on Making This Holiday Season More Sustainable!

2010-12-16T17:05:00.000-08:00

The last night of the bike tour we passed around a piece of paper asking for ideas on how we can make this holiday season more sustainable for our family and friends. These are some of the ideas we came up with and would like to share with you. As individuals our choices and actions can have a large impact, often beyond what we will ever realize. We encourage you to consider how we can make decisions that will ultimately have a positive impact on our health, community, and environment.

Gift Ideas

Try to purchase gifts exclusively from companies that score an A- or better in the Better World Shopping Guide.
Purchase gifts from re-sale shops.
Use Newspaper for gift wrapping.
Hand Crank Blender
Home Composter
Seeds and potting soil
Sprouting Jar
Gardening Tools
Bike Tools
Rechargeable Batteries & Charger for those electronic gifts

Stocking Stuffers

Seafood Watch Cards
High Efficiency Light Bulbs
Re-Usable Bags
Re-Usable H20 Bottles

Ideas on how you can lessen your environmental footprint:

Shut off holiday house lights when leaving the house and sleeping.
Try buying ingredients for holiday meals that are:

Local
Organic
Vegetarian/Vegan

Try carpooling as much as possible to holiday gatherings or ride a bike (if there isn't 3 feet of snow outside)
Don't buy a real Christmas tree, instead:

Plant a tree & decorate it!
Use a tree/plant you already have
Get creative and make a tree with things you find around your house

Don't Buy Anything! Make Stuff...Donate to an organization in someone's name.
Make your own Christmas Cards, Send E-Cards, Use Recycled Paper Cards
Purchase food in bulk, avoid individual wrapped treats

What other ideas can you come up with?

If you're going to San Francisco

2010-12-13T08:20:00.000-08:00

Let's take a moment to bring everyone up to speed on the events of the past week...

Tuesday, November 30th (Morro Bay to Cambria)

Exploration of Morro Bay's estuary by kayak afforded a glimpse into the wildlife of the bay and the shorebirds of the tidal flats
Chris, from Camp Ocean Pines, gave us a tour of the facility and allowed us to help feed Rufus, a rescued Red Tail Hawk who lives on-site.

Thanks to Camp Ocean Pines for hosting us!

Wednesday, December 1st (Cambria to Kirk Creek)

Approaching Big Sur we rode past zebras grazing in front of Hearst Castle and stopped at San Simeon to see the Elephant Seals

Did you know that Elephant Seals could dive between 1,000 and 2,000 feet and stay underwater for up to an hour and a half? Daaaaaaaaang!

We then began climbing the hills of the majestic coast line of Big Sur
While setting up camp the day came to a close with a stunning sunset, which cascaded an array of beautiful colors.

Thursday, December 2nd (Kirk Creek to Pfeiffer Big Sur)

A scenic 30 mile ride through the heart of Big Sur.

Friday, December 3rd (Pfeiffer Big Sur to Monterey)

Lunch stop at Point Lobos (The Gateway to Big Sur)

The unique geographic area contains a rich diversity of plant and animal life found both on land and in the water.

Point Lobos Ecological Reserve was created in 1973 and is considered one of California's most well-known and longstanding "no-take" zones prohibiting the catch or removal of organisms.

Monterey's famed 17-mile drive was an appealing option for some riders, boasting panoramic views of the bay and the coast's most beautiful white sand beaches.

Saturday, December 4th (Monterey to Sunset State Beach)

Morning excursion to the Monterey Bay Aquarium

Close encounters with Sea Otters, Jelly Fish, Pink Flamingos, Penguins, Shore Birds, along with many of the familiar organisms of the Kelp Forest.

Informative visual aids presented sustainable issues along with action strategies to lessen our environmental impact.

Check out their website to learn more about the organization and the resources they have to offer. www.MontereyBayAquarium.org

Sunday, December 5th (Sunset State Beach to Santa Cruz)

Arrived in Santa Cruz in the rain and made our way to our respective home stays.

Thanks to our hosts:
Brian
Kim, Robin, Emma, Zach and their dog Gigi
Becca
Kim

Monday, December 6th (Santa Cruz to Big Basin)

A visit to the UCSC farm provided great discussion points on how we can make gardening more accessible to children.

"The Center for Agroecology & Sustainable Food Systems is a research, education, and public service program at the University of California, Santa Cruz, dedicated to increasing ecological sustainability and social justice in the food and agriculture system."
http://casfs.ucsc.edu/

Following our visit to UCSC we cycled up Empire Grade and into Big Basin experiencing first hand an important aspect of the Redwood ecosystem, the fog, which provides up to one third of their annual water needs.

FACT: Of the nearly 2 million acres of original forest, approximately 95 percent has been logged in the past 200 years.

What YOU can do: Visit National and State Parks in your community to help with funding while gaining an appreciation and respect for natural spaces.

Find a park near you: http://www.nps.gov/findapark/index.htm

Tuesday, December 7th (Big Basin to Half Moon Bay)

A 12 mile hike on the skyline to sea trail from Big Basin to Waddell Creek changed up the pace of the bike tour as we explored the Redwoods, stopping along the way to see Banana Slugs, California Newts, and a beautiful waterfall at Berry Creek.
After a break relaxing on the beach and some lunch, we pushed through a 30 mile cycle to Half Moon Bay where the rains began moving in and surfers were on 24/7 call to surf the giant waves of Maverick's.

Wednesday, December 8th (Half Moon Bay to San Francisco)

We awoke to rain and rallied to make the epic ride into San Francisco where we found shelter at Kathy Rose's apartment.

Thursday, December 9th (San Francisco to Bolinas)

No "Sustainable Living Bike Tour" trip to San Francisco is complete without a ride across the Golden Gate Bridge. We rode across the bridge with fog flanked beside it into the town of Sausalito. We had a very late start on the day, so knew we would be riding into the earlier parts of the night. Our ride was only about 30 miles, but very hilly and wet due to the mist.

The ride to Bolinas was definitely one of our hardest days of climbing. The inclines were relentless and spiral along the mountainsides; the elevation was so high that our ears were popping.

The views were stunning from Panoramic Highway in Mill Valley. We then rode downhill for miles in thick fog along the wetlands of Stinson Beach.

Our ride finally ended in a beautiful, beach side, hippy town called Bolinas. We were welcomed by Signa and a note from her roommates Sol and Andrew. We were provided with amazing hospitality within a house that inspired us all for many reasons.

Thank you Signa, Sol & Andrew for sharing your beautiful haven with us all.

Friday, December 10th

The 2010 Sustainable Living bike Tour culminated in San Francisco with a festive gathering hosted by Kathy Rose and roommates Rob and Sean.

Thank you so much for opening your home and helping us celebrate!

The past three weeks have presented the volunteer riders the opportunity to look more closely at our relationship with our surrounding environments, the people who live in them, and how we can learn from these places to continue to grow as educators. The information gleaned will be instrumental in the continued growth of the Sustainable Living Bike Tour as an educational tool.

Many thanks to all those who played an integral role in making this bike tour possible through donations, accommodations, and through inspiring change in your communities.

Santa Cruz Island

2010-11-30T22:29:00.000-08:00

Wednesday Nov. 24, 2010 - Santa Cruz Island

We all awoke in good spirits & hit the road by 5:45am. We had a 9am ferry to catch to one of California's 8 Channel Islands, Santa Cruz Island. Santa Cruz Island is located 20 miles off California & is the largest of the Channel Islands at 22 miles long & 2-6 miles wide. Santa Cruz is also the most diverse with interesting geological features including two mountain ranges, many canyons & a rugged shoreline. There are at least 600 plant species, over 120 species of land birds & a vast expanse of wilderness area.

Our early morning ride to the terminal went great & we all arrived in Ventura Harbor on time! It was a lovely yet brisk day full of heavy winds, which led to us having a very adventurous ride to Santa Cruz Island; one that will definitely go down in our book as the most memorable boat ride for the sea worthy & not so sea worthy fans.

As we approached the island, a bit north of Anacapa Island, we can already notice the dramatic scale of its mountains in comparison to our home, Catalina Island. Sea lions, seals & sea birds were easily found in masses.

By the time we settled at Scorpion Campground, some restored their bodies by napping in tents while others took advantage of the last few hours of daylight to discover the island.

Our first night was a challenge for all do to the 35 degree weather. I think most of us wore every layer we brought on the trip, however didn't let that prevent some of us from doing a short night hike to Scorpion Cove just below our campground.

Thursday Nov. 25

Today was a swell Thanksgiving; Or as we called it, 'KatesGiving' in celebration of Kate Clovers birthday. Since it was our first full day on the island, we all packed up lunches & headed on a 7 mile roundtrip hike to Smugglers Cove. Even though we were on a totally different island, there was an aspect of it that felt familiar; to that of living on Catalina.

Throughout the day we were introduced to plants & animals, old & new. While hiking we saw a familiar Catalina invasive, fennel. Another Santa Cruz invasive plant identified was mullein. The endemic manzanita shrub & Santa Cruz Island Fox were often sited as well. It was interesting to also see some similar wild flowers growing on Santa Cruz; like the white morning glory flower, which will soon be happening on Catalina Island. Definitely excites us all for a green spring arrival on the island.

We headed back to camp in different waves & soon got to preparing 'Katesedillas,' in substitution for a turkey. Kate Clover's favorite food is quesedilla's & it was her first Thanksgiving celebration since she is from Burmingham, England. To substitute pumpkin pie.....cookies from Trader Joe's.

Friday Nov. 26

Do to high winds on Wednesday & Thursday, we were advised to not kayak till Friday. We rented four double kayaks which some got to enjoy while exploring the islands great ocean caves & snorkeling the cold waters to see the abundance of sea stars & sea urchins. The other option was to hike to Potato Harbor, which offered stunning north views of the island, steep ocean cliffs & mainland in the distance.

Our time on the island came to an end late afternoon. The waters were very smooth & the wake of the boat welcomed hundreds of dolphins halfway through our ride. Fortunately we just had a 3 mile ride to our accommodation in Ventura @ Kyla's friends house & were welcomed with great hospitality. A big 'Thank You' to Scott, Casey, John & Kaitlin for letting us all crash.

Los Olivos Organic Farm

2010-11-30T22:18:00.000-08:00

Sunday, November 28th

After setting up camp on “The Garden Of” organic farm, we took a tour of the near-complete cob house that members of the bike tour helped to build last year. Then we picked her brains about organic farming. Here are some highlights of that discussion:

• Nothing about growing crops should be a “battle,” but rather an attempt to maintain a natural balance and allow the farm to completely self-regulate when failures occur.

• Noey explained that the primary insect prevention method utilized on her farm is planting the right crops at the appropriate time; good planning is the best way to avoid crop loss due to seasonal predators and the temptation to use any kind of pesticide.

• Always think at least two seasons in advance when planting any crop.

• The farm uses a combination of compost, manure and cover crops (usually nitrogen-fixing plants) instead of chemicals to fertilize.

• Mulch is a “lazy” way to retain moisture and is actually very accommodating to pill bugs and other pests. Noey suggests turning the soil manually (once the top layer hardens after watering) to mix in the varying soil components already present in a garden.

• Although the term “organic” and its practices have become somewhat main-stream, its introduction into pop culture should be considered a victory for proponents of sustainability. Despite the fact that many organic farms plant monocrops and rely heavily on plastic sheeting to retain moisture/inhibit weed growth, these industrial organic farms still must follow important organic guidelines, such as:

o No synthetic fertilizers, herbicides or pesticides

o Transparency in use of approved soil amendments (updated records)

o No ionizing radiation

o No bioengineered seeds

o Utilization of renewable resources

o Water and soil conservation practices

The next morning, before embarking on an eighty-mile cycle, we volunteered a few hours working on two projects preparing the farm for the winter:

• We helped build a greenhouse for saplings that is not only strong but also flexible, so that it can sustain winter winds. The simple materials involved (many of which were salvaged for re-use) are mostly available at Howlands, and we expect to utilize these new skills for our own garden program at Catalina.

• Another group helped de-string the support structures for tomato plants in order to prepare the plot for winter crops. Vetch and beans will be planted as cover crops to maintain nutrient-rich soil before the spring planting.

Surrounded by corporate farms that invade entire landscapes, the family-owned and operated organic farm was a beautiful breath of fresh air. “The Garden Of” farm represents what farming used to be: a relationship between farmer and environment that celebrates natural cycles and strives for limited human impact. Our cheery, welcoming hosts were testament to the ethic that organic farming supports—feeding healthy food to people who promote a healthy planet.

Twice Thankful

2010-11-27T13:17:00.000-08:00

For the SLBT (Sustainable Living Bike Tour), Thanksgiving Day 2010 was a demonstration in adaptability and unconventionalism. For many of us, it was our first time not eating traditional foods, in copious amounts on Thanksgiving Day. We confirmed a hypothesis- a good way to make a holiday memorable is to do something different.
A significant highlight of previous bike trips has been Thanksgiving Day- a day where we reunite and catch up with former island friends, cook, reminisce, and feast together. Being secluded out on Santa Cruz Island, we missed celebrating the fall, food, and family with the broader CELP community. So after returning to mainland town, we rode into Santa Barbara and began to gather supplies for a holiday soirée. And in SLBT fashion, we made a commitment to be as green as possible. A goal was set to make a Thanksgiving Dinner with all local (grown within 100 miles), organic, preservative-free foods.
Thanks to local conscious food growers and the Santa Barbara Famers market, we did pretty darn good. We acquired all the fruits and vegetables needed from local certified organic vendors, and even found some pies for dessert that fit our standards. We hit up a bakery in town as they were closing up and were gifted bread galore-saving dozens of fresh loaves and baguettes from being tossed into the trash. Then it was off to the health food store for the rest. This is where things got tricky. We had to start weighing our commitment to Mother Earth with our palate and our budget. When feeding twenty-some people, sometimes the local and organic option is out of price range. In those instances, instead of compromising our moral values, we rethought our menu and our recipes and allowed our meal to be dictated by what was in-season, organic and grown and made locally.
We cooked up a storm, with new friends and old, and feasted on delicious foods like apple n’ herb stuffing, mushroom gravy, green bean casserole, yam delight, organic herbed turkey, sautéed Kale, and garlic mashed potatoes. And a good time was had by all.

A big thank you to the farmers at the farmers market, Grandma Sudman Laurie Henry, Nate Larson, Susan Boorujy, Ashley Bowen, Paula Glosserman, The Carey family, The Horner family and everyone in the CIC/ TSC office!

On the road...

2010-11-23T20:33:00.000-08:00

Phew! We made it out of LA. Our day started like any other: a group of bright-eyed youths scrounging for coffee and left-over pizza while gathering our plethora of supplies (and cyclists) from various corners of Santa Monica. Our homestays were wonderfully accommodating and gave us one last taste of home comfort before an arduous week of camping. It was a treat to reconvene with our hostess and previous "Celpster," Ashley Bowen, who bravely led the first 3 mile leg of today's bike ride to the local REI for some last minute gear and riding essentials.

We had a sandwich lunch at the park that runs alongside Santa Monica Boulevard, showing passersby that high-priced bistros can't wave a stick at a good ol' fashioned oceanside picnic of fresh veggies and homemade bread. After fueling up, the riders took off and spent the afternoon on a 30-mile ride along the Pacific Coast Highway, with the sun on our backs and the wind on our faces (literally--the headwinds were fierce, but the view wasn't too shabby).

We noted the familiarity of many roadside plants, including the beloved Prickly Pear cactus, Laurel Sumac and the Lemonadeberry plant that we study on Catalina Island. In the strip where the Santa Monica mountains meet the sea, the botanical similarities our island community are striking--though the industrial landscape is a bit more pronounced in these parts.

We arrived at the Sycamore Cove campground not long after dark to establish our village of tents. Rains began midway through dinner preparation, so we scrambled to pitch tarps over the bikes and moved the cooking operation inside of the mini-bus. This apparently roused the attention of many other campers in the area. 8 people crowded inside of the short bus all chopping, spicing, and dicing until a delicious veggie couscous entree was prepared then shared with some rather motley utensils.

An early morning tomorrow as we have a 9:00 AM reservation for the ferry to Santa Cruz Island. We are super stoked to explore the ecosystems and communities on a sister Channel Island.

Cheers,

The Howlands Crew

Fundraiser at the Avalon Organic Co-op

2010-11-13T11:02:00.000-08:00

Thursday evening the riders of the Sustainable Living Bike Tour and some friends made their way to Avalon to visit the Catalina Organic Co-op for a fundraiser. The Co-op meets weekly to provide Avalon residents access to fresh organic produce. They graciously invited us to set up a fundraiser for the bike tour at their event. We baked no less than 800 cookies, 16 loaves of Focaccia Bread, a dozen or so loaves of homemade bread, and three varieties of hummus with crackers made from scratch. It was a huge success and the donations made will go a long way in helping with expenses such as gas, food, and accommodations for the bike tour. A big thank you to the Catalina Organic Co-op and also to Autumn for taking some pictures and organizing our event!

Just over a week before we push off for the bike tour and the energy level is very high. Everyone now has a bike, food orders are being placed, and our route has been established. If we can stay away from the 200 or so leftover cookies we will be ready to embark on our journey next Monday!

the 6th annual trip is soon underway...

2010-11-07T11:40:00.000-08:00

Greetings from Catalina Island! Our fall environmental education program is coming to a close and we have begun gearing up for our next adventure, the bike tour! On November 22nd, 15 educators from the Catalina Environmental Leadership Program will saddle up and hit the road for the 6th annual Sustainable Living Bicycle Tour, a 600-mile volunteer ride along the California coast. Our mission is two-fold: to both educate and inspire the communities that we visit, and to gather knowledge and inspiration to bring back to our program on Catalina.

Throughout the three-week tour, we will be visiting schools, community centers, farms, nature preserves, and local businesses, engaging people of all ages in a discussion of sustainability. The tour provides amazing opportunities for us to deepen our understanding of the complex environmental issues that we teach about on Catalina and use that knowledge to design programs that are meaningful and relevant to the lives of our students.

We will be posting tour updates on our blog and hope that you follow us on our journey. Some blog highlights to look out for include:

~ Tips on making this holiday season a sustainable one
~ 10 things you can do to give back to your community
~ Links to farmer’s markets and other community events
~ Information on current environmental topics including alternative energy, sustainable transportation, wildlife conservation and more!

Embarking on this journey is no easy task. In addition to the physical challenges we’ll face in riding our bikes from Los Angeles to San Francisco, there are many logistics associated with outfitting, housing, and feeding 15 cyclists. The tour relies on support from friends, family, businesses and the schools we visit. Support can be in the form of food, housing, gear or monetary donations.

Thank you for your time and support. This journey wouldn't be possible without the love and dedication of family and friends. Check the blog for updates and
pictures along our journey!

14 days until we hit the road!

The Sustainable Living Bike Tour

2010-02-17T14:51:00.000-08:00

The AOTE Sustainable Living Bicycle Tour starts in San Francisco and heads south to the border of Mexico, visiting schools, universities, businesses, community events, farms, and other public and private venues.

Our cycling educators give presentations and lead workshops on “Composting and Organic Gardening,” “From Bikes to Biodiesel: Supporting Alternative Transportation,” “Protecting Our Coast,” and “Greening Your School.” Presentations are tailored to the needs of each stop.

Our riders reach an estimated 3000 students and teachers each year, as well as the thousands of Californians who pass us on the road, read about us in the newspaper, hear us on the radio, see us on television, and visit our website.

and the 2009 trip comes to an end...

2009-12-12T10:48:00.000-08:00

As we approach the Mexican border, we start trying to measure our success. We review just how many miles we’ve put on our bodies, on our bicycles (800), the number of schools we’ve visited (17), the number of flats and bike tubes we’ve needed (23), the number of sheltered evenings where we were so generously hosted (11), the number of grocery stores and farmers’ markets who supported us with generous food donations (5), and the meals that gave us energy to keep riding (many!).

Our bike trip is not merely about numbers, however. What is significant about this adventure is everything that is immeasurable. The brainpower that went into curriculum, route, and food planning. The time we’ve spent together. The benefit our muscles received in the last 3 weeks. And all the laughs we’ve had that cannot be calculated. Most importantly, the lives that were inspired along our route, both by the physical demands of a 750- mile bike trip, and the environmental information shared at each stop.

As the 5th successful Sustainable Living Bike Tour comes to a close, we have to acknowledge how the previous years’ successes have supported this tour. We know that we inspire and touch many lives, whether students, parents,teachers, curious onlookers, or the cycling and environmental enthusiasts, as well as each other. It is moving to not only teach about the environment, but to also serve as an example and, essentially, bike the bike. We teach kids applicable and practical solutions to environmental problems and show them that we are living these solutions and following those guidelines by using sustainable transportation, cycling down the coast.

Each year we see schools making progressively more environmentally responsible changes through gardens and composting, among other changes, and in the process taking pride in where they live. This change happens because schools are moved to action. Inspiration may not always be measureable, but it IS the reason that we keep on riding.

Through the rain, into the wind, up the mountains, we ride. And hope others will ‘ride’ with us with practical environmental solutions for their communities, for something that IS measureable.

Our last day

2009-12-11T14:35:00.000-08:00

With Mar Vista only a few blocks from Camp Surf, we woke and pedaled onward, toward our last school visit of the bike trip. After giving the Poseiden Academy an introduction as to how the Sustainable Living Bike Tour began, Whitney, Kamron, and Travis gave a slideshow of our trip. The presentation took the students on a virtual tour down the coast and dove into topics such as California’s role in global issues with an emphasis on what students can do personally in their communities. After the slideshow Kyla, Meagan, Lissa, and Marguerite facilitated an activity about the effect of plastics on land and in the ocean (an issue that really hits home for all of our coastal schools and for those in Imperial Beach). Reducing our dependency on plastic materials is a significant way to help the environment and decrease our reliance on petroleum-based products, such as plastics. Plastic makes up of 90% of all marine debris, which can have detrimental affects on animals that depend on the ocean as a primary food source. Up to one million seabirds and 100,000 marine mammals die each year as a result of plastic. We can all help reduce the number of animals affected by our actions with more intentional behavior regarding plastics and our trash.

After we left Mar Vista, we made it to the border as it began to rain, but didn't let it get us down- we arrived feeling accomplished and hopeful. We are hopeful that the students we encountered on this trip were able to take a piece of the inspiration we feel and use this inspiration and the information shared to make change in their communities. We are hopeful they too will promote a healthier world, because we are all connected to what has happened in the past and what will happen in the future. Through interacting with these kids, we know there is hope for the environment and future generations.

A Day in the Life of the SAG

2009-12-10T17:20:00.000-08:00

A Day in the Life of the Support and Gear Vehicle, aka the SAG. You want attention? You want to make friends everywhere you go? Have folks just staring at you everywhere you go, to the point where you look around to see what people are staring at, only to realize its you? Well then jump in the short bus. For a traveling show such as ours, you need a support crew to match. To carry all of our food, gear, and teaching supplies we have an adapted short school bus. We removed the seats, installed shelves, and racks, added a roof rack and Voila! A support vehicle to envy. Of course we follow our principles of sustainability in everything we do including our bus. We run on Bio-diesel, and have solar panels to charge computers, phones, and cameras’ batteries. Of course we left enough seats to collect folks should they fall ill or have any injuries. The rest of the bus space is dedicated to storing bins of food, curriculum, surfboards, and camping gear.
Some may think that a day in the life of a SAG driver is easy. I mean, hey, you’re not riding your bike up-hill for 50 miles right? Well it is still a very rigorous job. Packing is quite a feat! You need to make sure that everyone’s belongings are secured on top of the bus, however they also need to be able to reach their day-bags. Food for the day must be accessible for riders to get to snacks, coolers, and lunch supplies. Water of course should be available as well. After all is said in done you need to secure EVERYTHING so that you don’t get clobbered by flying objects should you decide to apply the brakes.
After the riders leave for a school, the SAG finds the quickest way there, which is not always the bikers path. Bikers take a bike friendly route with no hills and good lanes (ideally). The SAG however would like to get to the school before the riders, so that people can change into their presentation clothes, and access curriculum supplies. After a school visit, or during the ride, the SAG finds a lovely/convenient place to station lunch. As soon as everyone has had lunch and is re-charged and ready to go, the SAG moves on to our night stay. Then they start the process of unloading everyone’s gear, and setting up the kitchen for dinner. Often times the SAG also runs many errands picking up donations, buying batteries, getting gas, etc. It is not the most glorious job, however it is a very necessary position that all depend upon and appreciate.

As far as school visits for today, we (Meagan, Sara, Travis, Kyla, Lissa, Stuart, and Adam) rode 17 miles to visit Nativity School in Rancho Santa Fe, outside San Diego. The school visit started with them offering riders a generous lunch. We then gave the school a slideshow and our ‘protecting your coast’ workshop. After leaving the school at 2pm, riders had to travel another 40 miles before arriving to our evening destination, Camp Surf. Half of our crew got an early start but those of us who visited the school ended up arriving in the dark. Luckily, the SAG was there through it all so when the late riders arrived a delicious hot vegetarian chili and salad was all ready to be served for all. We will sleep well tonight as we have had much practice and have only one school left on our bike trip which we will be visiting bright and early tomorrow morning, Mar Vista’s Poseiden Academy, a short 10 minute bike ride away. The green short bus is there for us through it all.

Miles traveled today: 57
Written by 2nd time bike-tripper: Sara Cartwright

To Orange County we ride

2009-12-09T20:57:00.000-08:00

After a glorious day of riding we arrived in Placentia. Miah, as our local guide and gracious host took us to the ‘Placentia Tamale Festival.’ The night ended with a viewing of ‘Breaking Away’ (an inspirational and comical 1979 cycling film).

In the morning, the coastal crew moved to Carlsbad from Newport Beach and the Inland crew made their way to Holy Family Cathedral School. The morning included a slide show for 7th graders followed by the creation of informational compost signs, composting presentations (to practice for teaching the younger students about their new compost and garden), activities about arable land and a lesson on alternative transportation.

After a brief lunch the Inland crew traveled for eight miles along the Los Angles River. I, Marguerite, having never seen the L.A. River, was shocked at the varied state of the cement river. The river went from dry, barren cement walls to a vast waterway, to what appeared to be a slough of surprisingly thriving life. The inland crew saw a copious array of bird species and vegetation.

We were shocked to learn LA once acquired a majority of its fresh water from this very small looking stream that spans 51 miles from the San Fernando Valley to Long Beach. With the recent rain our thoughts kept coming back to urban and agricultural runoff and its effects on the once flourishing river.

After a three-mile mishap in Newport Beach, we decided to take the ferry (with the help of our friend Owen—who appeared in the nick of time) instead of backtracking, and we made our way to Pacific Coast Highway.
Along our way the crew went through the military base ‘Camp Pendelton,’ first time bike tripper Kamron observed that “Camp Pendelton has the opportunity to foster more bike culture” but he was “stoked to be able to pass through”. The ride was long, the head wind strong but most of us made it to Carlsbad before dark.
When the Inland group approached the destination, excitement grew about reuniting with the coastal group. We shared our stories and battle scars over pizza and celebratory music. As the trip’s finale quickly approaches, we are reminded that the journey truly is the destination.

Flats 2 = Adam & Kyla
Miles Ridden = 75 miles
Written by 1st time bike-trippers: Marguerite & Whitney

Planting a Seed

2009-12-08T18:23:00.000-08:00

The thermometer registered 39 degrees when we (the Coastal crew) rode to Wilmington’s Banning High School at 6:30 AM this morning. However, the warm welcome of thirty smiling familiar faces quickly restored feeling to our fingers and toes.

The visit to Banning High School is my favorite part of the bike trip. The students there are sensitive, resilient, knowledgeable, and motivated to take advantage of all positive opportunities. They know all about environmental issues and pollution, but less from books, media, or hype. They know it from the diesel fumes in the air they breathe, and the oil sheen on their coast.

“Wilmington has the 3rd dirtiest air in the nation,” said one tenth grader, as he looked at the slides in our presentation. That statistic didn’t come as a surprise. Right next to Wilmington, the San Pedro Bay Ports are the two busiest container seaports in the United States and the fifth busiest in the world. The ships, trucks, trains, motorized equipment emit nitrogen oxide and particulate matter in a region that already has some of the worst air quality in the nation (Port of Long Beach, 2009). It is also where all CELP staff and students depart for their journey to Catalina Island.

But the students at Banning weren’t there to talk. They were excited to get out of the classroom and build a garden from scratch. With faculty members, Merina and Nicole Grant and the council of the high school’s Global Environmental Science Academy (GESA), we filled ten naked planters with broccoli, peas, strawberries, and herbs. For many of these young adults, this was their first gardening experience and they were excited to make it part of their legacy at the school. To them, these new plants represent a very small solution to the problems of our nation’s fossil fuel-based economy, located next door.

The other crew worked toward a better world inland at Crestview Preparatory School and Flint Ridge Sacred Heart Academy, where they gave slide shows, planted with students in school gardens, and presented a workshop on water quality.

We would like to recognize Gaye and Keith Simmons in Manhattan Beach for welcoming six very soggy cyclists, treating us like family, and feeding us the most delicious meal to be served yet on the bike trip. Thanks also to Owen Farcy in Newport Beach for making us truly feel like his home was ours.

Miles traveled today: 45
Flat tires: 2- Travis and Danny
Written by 2nd time bike- tripper: Lissa Eidelman

Rainy days in LA

2009-12-07T22:26:00.000-08:00

While the coastal crew was busy with their flat route (hehe) to Marina Del Ray last night, they were no less busy with school visits today. The crew (Kyla, Travis, Danny, Lissa, and Stuart) visited Environmental Charter High School today while some of the inland crew (Sara, Adam, Abigail, and Heather) conquered even more hills today on their early morning commute to Aveson Charter School. The other part of the inland route crew (Kamron, Whitney, Marguerite, Miah, Jacob, and Meagan) were lucky enough to wake up already at Bridges Academy ready to build compost bins and then forged a rainy ride to Ribet Academy to talk about alternative transportation. With three more schools to visit tomorrow among the whole dispersed group, riders are busy readying curriculum, supplies and gear for our final and busiest days of the whole trip. Below, we catch up with the inland crew, hearing each riders highs and lows for the day.

Glows:
Meagan: highly sophisticated and entertaining alternative transportation skits with the 5th graders at Bridges Academy
Heather: when a 3rd grader at Aveson perfectly articulated environmental concepts I learned as a 26 year old
Sara: being back on my bicycle after being out of commission, felt so good to ride!
Adam: students at Aveson were super
Kamron: powering through building a compost bin with power tools
Jacob: clean air and nice views, seeing everything washed from the rain
Whitney: building a compost bin for bridges academy
Marguerite: cycling through puddles
Abigail: getting treated to wonderful food and stimulating conversation with the students at Aveson
Miah: watching the students mull over the design of the sign for their compost bin

Glums:
Meagan: my tire getting caught in a rut and almost crashing into a car
Sara: being back on my bicycle, in the rain, on a mountain (1000ft elevation gain in 3 miles!)
Adam: numb everything on the ride to Aveson
Kamron: wet socks
Jacob: not wearing my rain pants, feeling my tights wick water from my skin and drain into my shoes
Abigail: holy hills at 6am with a belly full of oatmeal, in the rain
Marguerite: frozen numb feet and waking up at 6:30am
Whitney: my jacket not being waterproof
Miah: sitting in 2 ½ hours of traffic (not on a bicycle)

We were all very lucky to interact with amazing students all across Los Angeles today. The rain reminded us, again, of why we are doing what we are doing. The ride was wet, slick, and challenging. As we facilitate and teach students about storm drains and non-point source pollution, it is amazing to see this happening in action. As the rain waters the plants and washes dust off of buildings, leaves, streets, and parks, we can appreciate the beauty in the new life that is inherent after plants get a big drink of water. This same water acts as a catalyst as it also washes the streets’ and fields' oil, trash, soap, dirt, pesticides, and pet waste, along with whatever else is in its path, down storm drains. The storm drains become a passageway to the open ocean, potentially affecting every animal, plant, and person in its path. Like the plants, we, after riding in the rain all day, are refreshed and rejuvenated, with new opportunities to grow and to serve as the catalyst to initiate that growth in young adults across the state of California.

With bellies full and a warm sheltered place to sleep, we are very grateful to the Horner Family and the staff of Catalina Island Camps/ Tom Sawyer Camps for their hospitality.

Miles traveled today: 20
Written by 2nd time bike-tripper: Abigail Johnston

Divide and Conquer

2009-12-07T22:21:00.000-08:00

Woke amongst twisted Sycamore trees, wished everyone luck in their respective Los Angeles journeys and hopped back on the saddle. We enjoyed a nice ride along miles of undeveloped coastline, all the while watching the city grow closer. From Malibu, we got our first view of Catalina Island since leaving two weeks ago. The adjacent Santa Monica Mountains reminded us of the hills behind Howlands Landing; California sage brush, laurel sumac, lemonade berry, black sage, elderberry welcomed us home to southern California.

Interesting facts

- Approximately 10 million people reside in Los Angeles County, making it the second largest urban area in the nation, after New York City

- The LA five-county area is the worlds 11th largest economy

- Los Angeles is the largest manufacturing center in the U.S.

- The Los Angeles metropolitan area is the most car-populated urban sprawl in the world, with 1.8 cars per person.

-The LA freeway system handles over 12 million cars a day

- Residents of Los Angeles spend an estimated 4 days each year stuck in traffic

Miles traveled today: 70
Written by 1st time bike-tripper: Kyla Langen

To Malibu we go

2009-12-05T21:06:00.000-08:00

Another 50 miles of cycling through Ventura and Oxnard and we find ourselves setting up camp at Sycamore Canyon along the Pacific Coast Highway north of Malibu. With the weekend upon us we took advantage of the surf in Ventura and a small crew explored the Channel Islands National Park Visitor’s Center where we were reminded of the natural beauty and diversity found on the Channel Islands.

Tonight we feast on Senegalese Peanut Stew, enjoy our last night of camping, and prepare for the ride through the Los Angeles area where we will visit 9 schools over three days. To accommodate these schools some riders will head inland over the Santa Monica Mountains, through Burbank, Pasadena, Orange County and then down to Carlsbad. The coastal crew will make their way through Santa Monica, Hermosa, Newport, and then to Carlsbad where everyone will be reunited.

The energy amongst the riders is very high and we are excited for the hundreds of students we will see over the next few days.

Miles traveled today: 50
Written by 3rd time bike-tripper: Danny Sudman

Ducks in a Pond

2009-12-04T22:32:00.000-08:00

A pelican using the updraft of wind created by a wave glides effortlessly above the ocean's glassy surface. Orange, pink and purple seep over the craggy green mountains as I peddle briskly into a fleeting sunrise. Warm colors and biting air, I ask myself for the umpteenth time, “How is California so beautiful? And WHY don’t my gloves have fingers?“

Our crew split in two. Some rode to the Carpentaria Family School for lessons in protecting your coast and alternative transportation, and others headed to Montecito. I ventured to the latter, to one of the most beautiful, well-put-together schools I have seen - Crane Country Day. The campus is polished, with pretty courtyards, careful landscaping, and big bowls of fruit scattered about for the kids. Welcomed with warm smiles, bagels, juice and coffee, we enjoyed breakfast and got ready for the morning. Kamron and I facilitated team-building games while Sara and Jacob helped students make an informative sign for the school’s compost facility. Three years ago the bike trip helped Crane build a three-bin compost system. The whole school is educated on proper waste disposal, and the 6^th graders are in charge of monitoring and maintaining the bins. We brought old retired neoprene wetsuits to cut up and use for the sign and helped formulate accurate information on composting. The students creatively constructed an educational sign highlighting the steps involved in composting. It’s always neat to help a school create something usable and long-lasting, and to return year after year to see it in effect and help it improve. Every morning, the entire school congregates in the theater for an assembly. Announcements are made, songs are sung and various teachers and guests speak. We were the “spotlight” for the morning, and Travis gave a short presentation and slide-show on our trip for the entire school. Thank you Crane Country Day for sharing your close, healthy learning community with us.

We reunited with the others in Carpentaria for the last school visit of the day and got an update of the Carp Family School visit. They too were given an incredible welcome, with a nice sign and homemade delights to make them feel special and appreciated. Working with their K-5^th graders, the instructors got a good sense of their tight, family-oriented community. We finished the day with the Canelino Elementary School. We had seven different protecting your coast activity stations and 75 excited students thinking, discussing, playing, and learning. One activity we do is called ‘Ducks in a Pond’, where we interactively discuss migratory bird habits and critically think about the problems and solutions of shrinking their habitat. I’m always amazed by how aware kids are of human’s destructive behavior and how knowledgeable they are of the solutions. If only it were as easy as it sounds to preserve open space and protect habitats.

We rode to Carpentaria State Park and pitched our tents by a pond with birds of all sorts bathing and fishing. My brother Travis and I jumped out in the ocean for a sunset surf. The view was dynamic, with the Channel Islands Anacapa and Santa Cruz clear and scenic, and ten or so oil derricks dotted in front of them. Gazing out at the twinkling rigs I couldn’t help but wonder- ‘are we just like ducks in a pond?’

Miles traveled today: 20

written by 1st time bike-tripper: Kyla Langen

Santa Barbara!!

2009-12-03T19:53:00.000-08:00

This morning the group converged from our scattered nighttime abodes (several of us were fortunate enough to stay with Danny’s Grandma as well as various other friends in Santa Barbara) at La Colina Junior High in Goleta. We taught Non- Point Source Pollution to the eighth grade class and were pleased that the students demonstrated high levels of eco-literacy and an in-depth understanding of their surrounding county.

Later in the afternoon we reconvened downtown at the Wheelhouse in Santa Barbara for the Bike Moves First Thursday event where the Sustainable Living Bike Tour was showcased. A slideshow was projected on the side of the bus while the inside was open for viewing and seafood watch cards, compost wheels, t-shirts, and sprouts were available for the taking. With the “fancy” theme in mind, we even dressed the part as well. The Isla Vista Food Co-op donated healthy snacks which were then made available to Bike Moves participants. Most importantly the event promoted bicycles as a healthy and fun choice for transportation. Santa Barbara is a great example of how a community can make it convenient to ride one’s bike with the many bike lanes throughout town and the accompanying bike friendly drivers. The attendees/bike riders concluded the Bike Moves event with a critical mass bike ride down State Street to the end of the peer and back, finally wrapping up a long day for the fifteen riders.

Miles traveled today:20
Number of flats: 1, Kamron
Written by 1st time bike-tripper: Kamron Sockolov

Los Olivos to Santa Barbara

2009-12-02T22:10:00.000-08:00

Today we divided and conquered. Some of us went to Oak Valley Elementary School while the other members of the Sustainable Living Bike Tour were helping Noey back at the farm. They picked vegetables to take to the upcoming farmer’s market, planted garlic, and continued working on the cobb house. It was nice to be so connected to the land and even the building of her house! We were thankful to be able to help in any small way after the generosity we received when staying on the farm.
The other riders awoke to an early ride out of the farm. Happy to not see frost outside, we headed a cool 10 miles to receive a warm welcome from the Oak Valley Elementary School 5th graders complete with signs each child had made.

Our volunteer crew facilitated a Protecting Your Coast workshop after a slideshow with the 5th graders (who recently attended the Ambassadors of the Environment program at El Capitan Canyon). After seven rotations of different activities on non-point source pollution (pollution coming from a non-stationary source), we were even able do a small trash clean up on school grounds. Oak Valley students were asked solutions to help protect our oceans and hopefully came away with a greater understanding of our role in these pertinent and prolific issues.
On our way home we were lucky enough to get even more donations from Amy at New Frontiers Market in Solvang. We teach students every day that everything runs on energy, and we are so very thankful for the food donations we have for our human powered energy on our bicycles. At this point in the trip, it’s especially nice to have great produce, which both Noey and New Frontiers have generously contributed.

It was after 1pm before we finally left the farm, reluctant to leave the view of sustainable living in practice, seen through a cobb house, home grown vegetables, and fields of grapes on a farm. But, leave it we did, in the hopes of making it up and over the San Marcos Pass, a mountainous ride, to head into Santa Barbara before dark. Once into Santa Barbara we separated to various home stays, weaving our way through town with bike lights and impending darkness, happy to have warmth and friends around us.
Thanks to everyone hosting us- the hot showers, bowling, hot tubs, home cooked meals, and maybe even beds- what a treat.

Miles traveled today: 55
Written by 2nd time bike-tripper: Abigail Johnston

Avila Beach to Los Olivos

2009-12-01T17:23:00.000-08:00

When we worked up the courage to unzip our tents this morning at 6:30 AM, a frosty surprise awaited. Cold bathing suits from the hots springs last night held their form and a hot breakfast did little for our chilly toes. As 60-mile days go, it was not roasty-toasty going in the morning, but layers had to be shed in the afternoon. Specifically notable was our lunch stop northeast of Lompoc on Highway 154. Our camouflage bus pulled off in a rocky area with green backdrop where we indulged in Indian cuisine and thin-mint treats for lunch, thanks to great donations from New Frontier yesterday! A large rock-pile also made for entertaining rest (and pebble wars).

Today we rode through agro-central in the Lompoc Valley. Food for thought... according to BeachCalifornia.com:

California has been the #1 food and ag producer in the US for more than 50 consecutive years
More than 1/2 the nation's fruit, nuts, and vegetables come from here
California is the nation's number one dairy state
California's leading commodity is milk and cream ~ grapes are second
California's leading export crop is almonds
Nationally, products exclusively grown (99% or more) in California include almonds, artichokes, dates, figs, kiwifruit, olives, persimmons, pistachios, prunes, raisins, clovers, and walnuts
From 70 to 80% of all ripe olives are grown in California
California is the nation's leading producer of strawberries, averaging 1.4 billion pounds of strawberries or 83% of the country's total fresh and frozen strawberry production
California produces 25% of the nation's onions and 43% of the nation's green onions

As important as feeding the world is, it is good to mention the energy- and resource-intensive nature of conventional farming. Organic, specialty farming is making a comeback all over California and the rest of the US, providing (once again) small-scale and family farmers with the good living they deserve!

For instance, we cruised today and by 2:00 PM we saw ourselves turning into a long driveway in Los Olivos that led to "The Garden of...", an organic farm run by Noey and family. She not only was gracious enough to let us set up tent next to the hoop house and lawn next to the bee boxes, but she got us involved in building her home! Pretty soon we were stomping and turning cobb in our bare feet. With muddy hands, we carried bricks of mud, clay and straw to the upstairs where others packed the last foot of her south wall up to the roof. Her house is amazing! Cobb walls, restored windows, a green roof... and just big enough to meet all of her needs. We LOVE this farm stop (period). Music and great food followed before we tucked into bed for the night.

Miles traveled today: 60
Written By: Adam Hammes

Morro Bay to Avila

2009-11-30T21:21:00.000-08:00

Last night’s sleep was probably the coldest we have had yet. We pulled bike shorts on while shivering, reluctant to crawl out of our warm sleeping bags and change out of fleece pants. The warm tea beckoned and we were compelled to wake up and pedal.

Today the group split. and because of the small group at Montessori Children’s School, half of us visited the School while some ran errands to acquire produce donated by various grocers in San Luis Obispo (a big thank you to Frontier Groceries!) and others biked around Montagne De Oro, a nearby scenic spot. A few volunteers were even able to take advantage of the early morning surf and hit up the nearby surf spot in Morro Bay before we headed off on our bicycles.

Whitney, Danny, Stuart, Meagan, Kamron, Jacob & myself had a nice and easy ride to the school with time to spare before getting started on our projects. We were welcomed by Carolyn, Kit, Andy, and Eric, who were delighted to see us and were full of activity ideas to do with students in the garden.

We started off our visit with a slideshow hosted by Danny who introduced the objective of our outreach, complete with how humans impact the environment. Following the slideshow, we broke up into groups with the students & started our garden projects. Jacob, Danny & I worked in the back garden sifting composted soil, planting lettuce, broccoli, & celery, and helped start a new worm compost bin. Meagan, Stuart & Kamron worked in the front garden-planting natives.

The students and staff were a joy to work with and so enthusiastic and appreciative. As a ‘thank you,’ they fed us a fantastic lunch and we left the school feeling accomplished, welcomed & full. After riding a flat 5 miles to ‘The Avila Hot Springs’ some of us had reservations about our accommodation situation when we realized we would be resting our heads off highway 101 & sleeping on a more gravel ground. We soon focused on other things after realizing we would probably be so tired and relaxed from riding (our bikes) and soaking (in the springs) we would not have any trouble sleeping after all and we headed into the beach town of Avila.

At around 5pm we all met at the campsite and relaxed in the hot springs which was much needed & well deserved for our muscles. In the words of Whitney, it was ‘sulfertastic!!’

Tonight we are all hoping to get a good nights sleep for our 60 mile ride tomorrow to Los Olivos.

Miles traveled today: 22
Flats: Kyla, 1
Written By 1st time bike-tripper: Marguerite Nesteruk

Cambria to Morro Bay

2009-11-29T22:04:00.000-08:00

We had a comfortable night at Camp Ocean Pines and woke up to a very sunny morning. Thanks to Camp Ocean Pines, we were able to do some much needed composting. With our decomposition out of the way, we took a little time tending to some oak trees that the camp had planted as a restoration project. Shortly thereafter, we headed out. Our ride was short and relaxing and with the wind at our backs, we felt as fast and powerful as a hawk. After a quick stop in Cayucos, we made our way to Morro Bay—the view was as picturesque as a landscape painting.
Following a brief laundry stop in Morro Bay, the riders split up and found various adventures to occupy our free afternoon; some went surfing, some to a local craft fair, some enjoyed the beach and a local book shop. A handful of riders took to kayaks in the late evening, and as the boats slid across the glassy waters of the bay they encountered brown and white pelicans, a variety of waterfowl, and even a few sea otters enjoying the incoming tide.
Seeing endangered species in the wild is quite a special occasion. The sea otter has historically been hunted for their fur, the densest fur of all mammals. Unlike other marine mammals, sea otters rely on their fur rather than blubber for warmth. Sea otters eat urchins, among other things, and therefore help keep the population of sea urchins under control, which in turn promotes healthy kelp forests too! Sea otters spend 1/3 of their day preening themselves, creating air bubbles in their fur to help them float. These air bubbles are essential to their survival and make sea otters significantly susceptible to oil spills which have also affected their population; an interesting connection to our society and effect we can have on natural surroundings. Our kayakers used human powered energy today; no oil spills happening there!
After kayaking, surfing, and biking around, we caught a magical sunset as we made our way to Morro Bay State park campground. Our friend Owen heads home tomorrow and will be missed until we see him on our way down south!

Miles traveled today: 24
Signing out: Whitney, Owen and Abigail

Kirk Creek to Cambria

2009-11-28T21:00:00.000-08:00

What a beautiful campsite we woke up in! We started our morning on the ocean front Kirk Creek campsite and continued riding through the mountains of Big Sur. Some took a quick hike (and dip) to a waterfall,
and then continued up and down the hills. As sad as it was to leave the dramatic cliffs and coastline of Big Sur, it was nice to get into some more “mellow” and flatter rolling hills where we were excited to see castles, cows, zebras, and elephant seals in San Simeon.

Now at Camp Ocean Pines (big shout out to those who have let us stay here!), we sit indoors by a fire listening to the sounds of Travis playing piano. We think about how special and wonderful this bike trip has become. We (Nicole and Kathy) don’t work for CELP anymore, but after a few days of riding, surrounded by new and old friends, we are left feeling inspired by the energy and commitment this mobile community brings to those they encounter along the way.

We think of the bike trip in its first year, 5 years ago, when 10 of us rode our bikes across the desert from LA to San Diego to Phoenix. Our gear was not close to as jazzy as the stuff riders wear these years. But, it’s not just the fancy spandex and racy bikes that impress us…this trip has become impressive in so many ways. Each aspect of the trip has a mini committee behind it- the route, the curriculum, the food, overnights, even this blog. Each rider takes responsibility over the riding, the cooking, the cleaning, the documenting, the exploring and the teaching. Each bin is color coded and labeled- an accomplishment we never could have imagined. And most importantly, more students are being reached with engaging lessons and workshops.

The Sustainable Living Bike Trip--- once a goofy and outrageous idea that came about while chatting and turning compost in the Howland’s Landing garden---is now something real, something huge, and something sustainable in itself. That is inspiring. We go back to our lives in San Francisco tomorrow remembering that with enough passion and determination, anything can happen!

Miles traveled today: 47
Flats: 2, Kyla and Danny
Written By: Nicole & Kathy

Pfeiffer Big Sur to Kirk Creek

2009-11-27T20:13:00.000-08:00

Well rested and fed after our Thanksgiving feast, today was all about soaking up as much of the majestic Big Sur coast as possible. With just less than 30 miles to ride to the next camp, we took lots of opportunities to stop, enjoy the views, take short walks, and appreciate the ecology of the area. Some riders were immediately struck by the similarities to Catalina. With hillsides smattered in coastal sage, California fuscia, Indian paintbrush, monkey flower, and lupine, many of the native plant communities appeared very familiar. Another similar feature was the presence of dominant invasive species. Fennel is one of the most widespread on the island, and although we’ve seen plenty, pampas grass fills the role in Big Sur. Every eroded slope we passed bristled with their plumed seed heads; a constant reminder of the pressure exotic species exert on native ecosystems.

A state symbol of changing habitats and communities can also be found along this stretch; the California condor. Once reduced to fewer than 10 individuals, their numbers have grown to 300 with the efforts of the California Condor Recovery Project. While still very endangered, this is one of four regions they inhabit, the others being Inland Ventura, the Grand Canyon, and northern Baja. Currently, the biggest threats to their survival are loss of habitat to development and lead poisoning from unrecovered game animals shot by hunters.

Only a couple of us were lucky enough to glimpse one today, but we were all treated to dramatic bluffs, a windswept ocean, and multiple rainbows through the isolated drizzles before arriving at our cliff side campsite.

Miles traveled today: 28
Written by: Jacob Scheidler

Sunset State Beach to Big Sur

2009-11-26T20:42:00.000-08:00

With a full night’s sleep and the bus back and working the Sustainable Living Bike Crew woke to Thanksgiving with a fresh start. We departed Sunset Beach State Park in good spirits heading south towards Moss Landing and were thankful for Kyla’s friend Kim Mayer who took our leftover compost from Almaden Country Day School’s Thanksgiving feast to a local farm. With no schools to visit, our only plan was to put miles under our wheels and enjoy California’s majesty. We were pleased to ride in the safety and ease of the coastal bike route that is mostly well marked from Santa Cruz to Monterey.

As the agriculture lands surrounding the areas of Sunset State Beach and the adjacent state parks faded the Moss Landing (natural gas) Power Plant stood in stark contrast to the surrounding threatened coastal wetlands that are critical to the path of migratory birds and home to numerous other plants and animals. Originally a whaling village, Moss Landing has retained its sea faring sensibilities and is also a popular with tourists en route to Monterey Bay or Big Sur.

After a quick snack stop in Monterey we headed to Point Lobos. California’s Coast Highway 1 does not offer the same amenities to cyclists that we had experienced during the previous half of the day. As cyclists, today we were often relegated to a small shoulder and speeding cars but that was a small price to pay for the view of California’s rugged coastline. Finally we wandered into Big Sur and marveled at its natural beauty as our fifth day on the road came to an end and we prepared for the night’s Thanksgiving feast.

What am I thankful for this Thanksgiving? Morgan gallantly captaining the sag (support and gear) wagon, the green shortbus.

Miles Rode: 65
Flats: O
Broken Buses: 0
Written by 1st time bike-tripper: Kamron Sockolov

Big Basin to Santa Cruz to Sunset State Beach

2009-11-25T21:15:00.000-08:00

We woke at Big Basin after a crazy night's sleep and still had no bus. With more help from friends, Travis and Sara were able to borrow a car to return the warm layers supplied by Nicole's cousin in Felton. They then headed up to the broken bus to get all of our stuff in case the bus wouldn't start any time soon.
Riders left the campground and cruised on into Santa Cruz. With time to spare, we treated ourselves to the fruits of civilization. Some sipped coffee at a rootsy cafe, others sat and got waited on at a Thai food joint. We hit up a bike shop, a health food store and checked out the cozy city. So much to see and do in too little time. Santa Cruz is a close, open, bike friendly community, with lots of beautiful parks and nooks, florishing farm and garden projects, entertaining people, and quality establishments. Though they have their share of issues, they have a lot of regard for the environment and for the health and well-being of the people.

At 3pm we met up to continue riding towards Sunset Beach State Park, still 20 miles away. We arrived to the campground at sunset and what passes us on the way in but a glorious, shining, purring bus! Thankful and excited to have the group back together again, we enjoyed a delicious meal and some well deserved, warm, peaceful rest.

Miles rode: 47
Flats: Travis, 1
Written By: Abigail & Kyla

Los Altos to Almaden to Big Basin

2009-11-24T10:54:00.000-08:00

We woke up in the recreation room of Foothills Congregational Church ready for another early start. We rode a chilly 20 miles before arriving at the Almaden Country School in San Jose at 8:30am. Upon arrival, we were greeted by some of the seventh graders who were so enthusiastic and welcoming. They gave a great tour of the school by means of a scavenger hunt introducing us to where each of us would be volunteering our time for the next few hours. They had even created some amazing signs all over the room we were given to put our stuff, change, etc. Almaden is a K-8 school so we spread ourselves out in order to visit and interact with as many of them as possible through games, interactive lessons, slide shows and working in the garden.

The students were so enthusiastic and it was great to see all the familiar faces. We were lucky enough to arrive on the perfect day at Almaden- the day of their Thanksgiving feast! The decorations were amazing and we ate delicious food after a song from our own Travis, Jacob, and Kyla.

After we ate plenty of delicious food- enough to power us for the next big push up the Santa Cruz mountains, we waved goodbye to many kids as we pedaled onward and attempted to make it up the big hill before sunset. We made great timing and everyone finished strong. We made it to Big Basin Redwoods State Park campground and learned that the bus had broken down. After a generous ranger let us stay in the lodge an extra hour, let us use the phone, and then gave us wood, we made our way to a raging campfire started by a few of us still dressed in spandex. Nicole was able to call her cousin and Emily and Nick arrived with food and warmth for 15 hungry, cold cyclists. After the bus made it up the hill, it gave out again, but Morgan and Sara were grabbed any warm clothes or sleeping bags from anyone's bag and sent it to the campground with a kind stranger and Sara. Some of us were then already asleep on a tarp with all the amazing layers Emily and Nick brought, others were just telling more stories by the fire and enjoying each others' company. Tents were assembled, layers were dolled out, some sleeping bags were shared, almost no sleeping pads were around, and we did the best with what we had, in a very sustainable fashion. It was an amazing night, regardless, and we are thankful for all the help we had along the way.

We were able to spend time in Big Basin Redwoods State Park, which is the first State Park in California, founded in 1900. Redwood trees are unique in that only 5% or less of the Redwood forests in California still exist today due to excessive logging. Much of this logging happened after the San Francisco fires to rebuild the city. Species like the marbled murrelet bird depend on old growth forests for nesting sites. The decrease in redwood forests has led this species of bird to be labeled as a threatened species.

This bike trip has given the riders a great opportunity to learn about not only the students' communities who visit us on the island, but also gives us a glimpse of many other unique and diverse communities. The knowledge we gain from these experiences will surely help improve our ability to learn more about the areas our students are coming to us from as well as make us better educators.

Miles rode: 60
Flats: none
Written By: Abigail & Danny

First School Visit

2009-11-23T19:50:00.001-08:00

We awoke at 5am with visions of being ready to head out by 6. At 6:30am we finally left, after the bus was packed, our water bottles were filled, our daypacks set with clothes for our first school visit at Claire Lilienthal, and we had eaten enough to sustain us for at least a couple hours. Right away we got an amazing view of the city at sunrise, with skyscrapers showing through the Golden Gate bridge. With fingers frozen we pedaled on, through tunnels and back across the bridge in order to be changed and ready to facilitate program with 8th grade students (almost all of whom visited Catalina this Fall) by 7:45am. Whew!

Upon arrival we noticed potted plants in sections of the parking lot. The plants were not there in previous years, and it was great to visit this school and see its progression, getting greener every year. Each area even had a sign that identified which classroom had worked on what area. This commitment to the students' roles in changing the school's natural asthetics in a very urban setting helps us understand just how students can take our lessons on Catalina home with them. Their dedication to our program, their support for the bike trip, and responsibility to the environment are inspiring to us riders. Seeing ecological principles and values we talk about in action are an indication that we have willing and listening ears for the message of bettering our world, for everyone.

One aspect of the visit focused on the decrease of open space, particularly in the bay area. Claire Lilienthal is located just a few blocks from the water and where it stands used to be wetlands. From the mid 1800s through the late 1900s more than a third of the original bay was filled in and often built on. Through planting native plants at the school we are able to open up a dialog with students about how our actions can leave a positive impact. With a little time and energy students will continue to see the creation of new green spaces in their communities.

San Francisco serves as a fabulous example of how to make being environmentally aware a city wide expectation with green trash cans for composting. Convenience is often a factor in society's choices, and with city wide composting some environmental choices just got a whole lot easier to make.

Tomorrow we are looking forward to another early departure to make a 20 mile ride to Almaden Country School where we will visit with students who attended CELP last month and some who will visit us in years to come.

Life is like riding a bicycle - in order to keep your balance, you must keep moving. ~Albert Einstein

Written By: Abigail & Danny

Miles rode: 56
Flats: none

San Fran to Point Bonita!

2009-11-22T21:50:00.000-08:00

Today was an eye opening experience as some of our riders found themselves part of their first large group ride through the city of San Francisco. We woke to a light rain, but didn't let it dampen our spirits. We packed the bus and geared up for a short ride through the mission district to the Sports Basement. Past murals and cafes, cars and weekend walkers, we shook the dust off our helmets, or for some- made our debut to the streets.

At the Basement (a giant warehouse that sells quality sporting goods at outlet prices), a charismatic mechanic named Jeff gave us an abridged, yet entertaining and informative Bike 101 class. He spent several hours going over road safety, adjusting your bike, how to fix flats, true your wheels and perform other road side repairs. We left feeling prepared and ready to ride! Big thanks to Jeff and the Sport's Basement crew!

From there, we enjoyed a beautiful ride over the Golden Gate Bridge to the Point Bonita YMCA where we are staying the night. The contrast of wild, gorgeous coastline and dramatic city skyline was a symbolic view for our first day of riding. After a delicious meal we divided into small groups to go over curriculum for our first school visit at Claire Lilienthal in the Marina neighborhood. Suddenly the lights dimmed and in came a flaming cake to celebrate the birthday of Kamron, one of our beloved riders and first season CELP instructor. We indulged in decadent, organic, vegan carrot cake, and got ready for tomorrow's ride and school visit. We are looking forward to seeing students who attended CELP earlier this season and working with them in their home environment. We are curious to see if and how they have integrated what they learned at CELP into their school and home communities.

It's been a great first day and everyone is settling down to get some rest before our early departure.
Day 1 miles rode: 16
Flats: Kyla, 1
Written by: Danny, Kyla, and Abigail

On our Way!

2009-11-21T09:16:00.000-08:00

The riders of the 5th annual Sustainable Living Bike Tour, after weeks of preparation, have finally set sail for the mainland. The riders have been working hard to accomplish the laundry list of tasks needed to be completed before our departure from the island, amidst a busy CELP season.

Our mission to teach sustainability to the schools we visit and the folks we meet on our way down the coast starts at Howlands Landing. The small community we live in requires us to work closely with one another and make choices that will ultimately have impact on our surrounding environment. Each CELP staff brings a variety of skills, knowledge, and expertise to the table. The diversity within our staff is a key factor in bringing successful programming from the island to the larger communities we encounter on our way down the coast. In order to complete the lengthy list of tasks needed to prepare for the bike trip responsibilities were spread out amongst the staff.

Routes have been finalized, food has been packed, the final touches have been put on curriculum, gifts have been made for donors and home stays, and all the while staff were facilitating programming with our last few schools of the season.

As we study and observe the CELP forest with students on Catalina Island we learn about the importance of the roles that each organism plays in maintaining a successful community. As a CELP staff we strive to mimic this effectiveness by drawing on our different strengths and talents in order to maximize productivity and add value to each task. In short, we are exhausted after a successful CELP season, but are invigorated by the prospects of reconnecting with our students as the journey unfolds.

We look forward to getting to San Francisco, ready to ride. Stay tuned!

Written by Danny and Abigail

17 days to padded shorts!!!!

2009-11-05T17:36:00.001-08:00

With less than 3 weeks before the start of the 2009 sustainable living bike tour, riders are dusting off their shoes, pulling out their jerseys, and maybe even doing some training rides. We are adapting our curriculum for a new crowd, finding sponsors and donors (a huge THANK YOU to everyone who's already donated), asking loved ones on our route for shelter, getting the food gathered to feed 14 hungry cyclists for 3 meals a day for 3 weeks, booking schools left and right, reserving campsites, and maybe even finding a surfspot or two along our route. We are doing research about ecological issues. We are putting our goals for this ride at the forefront of our mind as we think about what to bring. We are finding the motivation to work out in the midst of a very full work day, if only because we are encouraged by the knowledge of these workouts paying off during those first few long days and mountainous rides through Big Sur. There is still much to be done, but the anticipation is building as the number of days until the start of the bike trip are decreasing.

The schools who leave the island at this point in the season might just likely hear a "see you soon!" and not a "goodbye." We've got 14 schools booked in our itinerary and plans to revamp or even build gardens and compost bins at as many schools as will put our hands to work.

We had a bike trip meeting tonight, to remind us to (again) work out so that we don't just survive the bike trip but we actually enjoy it. We were updated on the itineraries, the schools added, and the understanding of what all we needed to bring with us (as little as possible to save some room in our Support and Gear vehicle, our SAG wagon, the shortbus): biking gear, camping gear, warm clothes and layers for the evenings, and "school"clothes for presentations.

We have been lucky enough to have enough gear, across almost all of these categories, donated over the years.

Our staging area looked strangely like a bike shop! The first job is looking the part, I suppose.

We are eager to ride, both to teach those schools a lesson and those hills one too! 17 days to padded shorts!

Beyond the Bike Tour

2009-01-03T20:51:00.000-08:00

Three weeks of cycling through California have given the volunteer educators from the Sustainable Living Bike Tour an amazing opportunity to reach a diverse audience of community members.

We have been able to return to schools and see changes each year that promote environmental stewardship. For example the compost bins we built in 2006 at Crane are continuing to flourish and provide rich compost soil for their garden, and at FHSA an empty field and big plans have given way to a beautiful emerging garden. The young adults of the Poseidon Academy shared innovative ideas on how they could continue to green not only their school, but their community as well. Young minds at Bridges Academy shared ideas of uranium powered cars and exercise machines in gyms that put electricity back into the power grid. Some of these ideas may seem farfetched, but history has shown that many such ideas subsequently changed the course of our civilization. By no means are we able to take credit for the changes schools have made to lessen their ecological footprint, but we are proud to be educational partners with these institutions as we share ideas and learn from each other.

In addition to students we chatted with farmers, community leaders, people on the street, business men and women, the hosts of our home stays, and many others while we were riding. The most inspiring part of these interactions was the positive attitudes towards sustainable practices and the goals of our trip. It brings the meaning of what we’re doing to a new level when you reach people that you never expected.

These are just a few examples from a collection of the incredible things we saw and heard on our trip. The little things that you don’t always see such as picking up a piece of trash or buying your food at the local farmer’s market are what really add up to make a big difference in the scheme of things. It is hard to calculate the exact impact we had on those we worked with along the way, and this is what is so amazing about education. Some may get it right away, for others it may take weeks or even years for the substance of a message to impact an individual. We were fortunate to see so many examples of how planting a seed, physically or ideologically, can spark growth in a community.

Dec 6th - But wait, there's more (there usually is)

2008-12-07T22:35:00.001-08:00

December 6th was the last day we spent all together. A morning of recouping, sorting, and packing quickly lead to an afternoon of departures. First Adam to the airport, then
Miah, Jenna, David, Lissa in the first car. Sean, Abigail, Courtney, Meagan, & Travis headed north to HB and Emily Fox's wedding. Alexis' dad came to pick her up later in the afternoon. That left Danny, Ashley, Libby, Morgan, Julie, Jacob, and Becky with the very last, almost forgotten task of the Bike Trip... The Encinitas Holiday Parade.

We can still remember when Courtney asked us if we were interested. "How do people feel about being in a parade at the end of the trip?" Enthusiastic hands shot into the air, "I WILL NOT BE THERE TO HELP" he insisted, "I am so excited" "This is going to be awesome" was all that came back. None of us really remembered that conversation this day as we teased him "Thanks for signing us up for this, Courtney." I had spent the morning with Travis at the DAV (frequented Oceanside resale shop) looking for used holiday decorations. His keen eye scored a wreath, some tinsel, lights, and bobbles for under $20. I picked up some sweet new jeans for $4. With a few choice items borrowed from the Langens we had a rough enough idea to get rolling for the decorations.

People were electric when we returned, chomping at the bit to get started... Okay, not true, people had just ridden their bikes for three weeks straight and were tired. The outlook was grim. We'd been tossing around the idea of not even participating. There were a lot of factors against us. First of all most people wanted to or already planned on departing on the 6th. We thought there would only be 5 of us, I was kind of gutted. For awhile we were not going to be able to have the bus... Five people on bikes, whooo hooo Happy Holidays kiddos. Then there was a packet of information we were suppose to bring to the parade... that was sent to the island a couple of days before.

Fear not, things turned around; we logistically worked out a way for the bus to stay in Carlsbad, Julie Libby and Morgan decided to stay back, Travis' brother's school was also in the parade and could give us most of the info on start times, etc... but the ball really started rolling once Ashley saw the tutu. Travis and I were picking through old dress up clothes for people to wear, at this point Libby was considering riding on the top of the bus in a leotard and needed a skirt. We picked out a couple of options and then Travvy pulled out the tutu - a no brainer. I was showing Libby what we had picked out back at the Beach House, and Ashley's eyes perked up. "It really was the tutu that sold me." White with a red sequin trim and just about 4 inches of skirt, she slid that tutu around her waist and it was business time. Before long people started showing up and my anxiety washed away like an outgoing tide. Julie and Libby took on antler making, Morgan - lights, Jacob - directions and bobbles. Before long our little short bus was a delight of holiday making. Quickly we slipped into red and green bike gear, (thanks again, Voler!) stuck our cardboard antlers into our helmets, and we were off for Encinitas.

We pulled into the "staging" parking lot where all the other floats were putting together final touches. The floats that surrounded us were pretty impressive. You could tell they weren't whipped together in an afternoon and that lots of time and money had been put into them. Humbled, we watched as tiny boyscouts zoomed past on bikes and scooters with hand sewen antlers in their helmets wrapped in battery charged christmas lights. We still had to hang lights, bobbles, and our sign made out of outdated Seafood Watch Cards and we were late. Everyone that was riding went to go find our spot in the lineup since the directions were confusing. We sat in our alloted space "Red 66" and waited. We about busted with pride as our little bus turned the corner. Fully light up with christmas lights powered by our solar panel Ashley rocked up to our spot sporting the only brand new item we bought of all of the decorations - the Santa hat on her head.

We were buzzing as we turned off the main route that finished the parade. "That might have been the best thing we have EVER done" said Ashley. To the good people of Encinitas that were so incredibly supportive of our float and of our ride - THANK YOU. "Look at that bus!" "I love biking" "That float's my favorite!" and "San Francisco to Mexico? That's a long way" were just some of the comments were heard coming from the crowd. We also heard "You're almost to Mexico! Keep going!" but we didn't need to correct anyone, it was so rewarding to hear so many people excited about what we'd done. When the announcer explained that we were riding in celebration of 700 miles, the crowd exploded in applause. "My face hurt because I was grinning so much" said Ashley. Our only regret was that the rest of the riders didn't get to be there with us.

December 7th - finally no plans. We dropped Morgan off early in the morning, and Julie was picked up in the early evening. It was 11ish before we were coaxed out of the house by Jacob speaking of ride-able beginner's waves.

Tomorrow a small crew of us head back to the island - and finally we will all be underway with our winter plans, not to regroup until mid-February. Good luck to all of our friends reading this from home and abroad, we could not have asked for a better trip.

Happy Holidays, and enjoy doing things other than cycling all day every day for a bit... we did.

Dec 5th - The Big Finale

2008-12-07T17:45:00.000-08:00

Eighteen people in the Beach House is a lot, but we did it. Our agenda today was to set up a booth at the afternoon at the surf shop Patagonia in Cardiff by the Sea. We chatted up customers about protecting the ocean while Sandy from the Solana Center educated folks about composting. After a bit we got to talk to Kaley and Sandy about what their organications. Sandy talked about how the Solana Center sets up gardens and compost systems for schools and the public in the San Diego area amongst many many (many) other things. After hearing about some of the classes the center offers we got all hopped up about potentially becoming "Master Composters" accredited by the Solana Center. Hope to see you or your staff on the island soon, Sandy! Kaley from Patagonia about what makes the Cardiff store special - and it's the more ecologically minded surfboards and wetsuits. Kaley will tell you that despite it's simple appearance, surfing is by no means an ecological sport. The materials used to make surfboard foam and wetsuits can release harmful chemicals in production. Patagonia is approaching these items from a new persepctive. Extruded foam in the boards and merino wool in their wetsuits. Sound crazy? It's working. Check more out at patagonia.com

We slept in Pacific Beach with former island staff Jenna Y (thanks for the Thai J-yo) and at Alyssa's house in Ocean Beach. Alyssa left for the night and it was a good plan with 12 people sleeping in the house. People described it like playing tetrus with bodies and sleeping bags.

The next morning we met up at the ferry stations in order to go to Coronado Island. Coronado's not an island, and the school isn't there, it just makes the ride shorter rather than going around the San Diego Bay - check the google map for details. We were a little panicked when we didn't see a sign for the 8:20 ferrry we were planning on, but there's a reason why. Early in the morning the ferries are for commuters and subsidized at no cost to us! Whoo hooo! We and our bikes piled on and the boat got us there in less than 10 minutes. It was a beautiful ride down "the strand" - basically just a lane or two of highway with ocean on either side. With $3 burning a hole in our pockets from the free ferry ride, we swung into Star Dust Donuts for an early morning treat. Julie had been trying to go to a donut shop just about since we hit Santa Barbara and never really had any takers, but they sounded pretty good this morning. If in the area the "old fashioned" comes highly recommended.

Mar Vista is the only school we have visited on all four bike trips, and one of the schools that has been coming to our program on Catalina the longest. We have always felt such strong support from this group, and the same was true today. Thanks so much to the young adults in the Poseidon Academy for spending time with us. To see young minds at work you know there is hope for the future. We can't wait to see you in the spring.

Mar Vista is in Imperial Beach, the most southwestern city in the entire country and quick jog to the border. We visited the state park there on the bike trip two years ago, and we thought it'd be nice to return. We rode past the usual horse ranches, and saw a new blossoming community garden as well. The road to the very corner of the United States where the fence dividing our country from Mexico goes into the sea was too muddy to cross again this year (someday!) but we head out to the beach for some views of ocean.

We had a little celebration in the parking lot. Not the most scenic place but we had a lot to be proud about; 750 miles; safe, sound, & satisfied. Congrats to everyone on such a monumental ride.

A trip back up to the Beach House and our friends Jenna, Mary, Sam, and Owen were already there. John Leo & his oysters showed up later to celebrate too. Dinner up at the Langens was a treat as always (thanks Janice and Richie! We are blessed by you always!!!) thanks for swinging by Issac, Erin, and the tumblers Reya and Iris.

Dec 4th - Carlsbad to San Diego

2008-12-06T22:20:00.000-08:00

How to Sprout

2008-12-05T18:31:00.000-08:00

David Klingenberger shares the wisdom...

Wednesday December 3rd - Reunited at the Beach House

2008-12-04T00:07:00.000-08:00

FIRST AND FOREMOST - HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO OUR FRIEND AND SHORT TERM RIDER KATHY ROSE!! WE LOVE YOU LADY, THANKS FOR SPENDING YOUR B-DAY TRAVELING SO YOU COULD BE WITH US.

We woke up in different houses but we found each other on the corner of Broadway and PCH1 in Laguna Beach. Team Sean’s house realized we didn’t pack any of the maps, so we went by the old stadby “just go south” on Pacific Coast Highway. It was a beautiful morning cycling past Huntington and Newport Beach. Libby got a flat, her 4th of the trip. We stopped to enjoy the beautiful scenery and wouldn’t you know it Team Heather’s Mom’s House rolled up.
Together we rode on to Dana Point Harbor for lunch. We passed Blue Lantern Street, Amber Lantern, Violet Lantern… we wondered if the Green Lantern would be around the corner. Are there actually colored lanterns in Dana Point? “I’ve never questioned it” commented local and SBLT supporter Will “Coach” Steinreide. Will met up for lunch, and got to hear how much the students at Banning had asked about him. We were so happy to see him we didn’t even notice the seagulls that were feasting on our lunch.

Back on Pacific Coast Highway we “wiggled” through the fun hills in San Clemente, then cruised through San Onofre State Beach. We regrouped before we passed through the marine base at Camp Pendelton. Cyclists (but not cars) are allowed to ride through to avoid the 5 Freeway as long as they have a valid ID - sorry Courtney. Libby had already suffered a second flat, and the tire decided to go out with a bang on a hill in the middle of the base. Patched with a dollar bill she was able to make it out of the base then make it into the van.

Cycling along the beach through the Oceanside and Carlsbad we enjoyed the beautiful sunset, and pulled into the Langen family beach house just about dark. The bus had already vomited it’s contents onto the back patio and had a through cleaning. The sweeps Abbey and Danny showed up about six, and finally we were all together. Reunited and it feels so good! We ate well and shared highlights from the split and Sean got his hair French braided. Thanks to the Langens for making us feel at home. Tomorrow we make it into north San Diego with a visit at Patagonia Cardiff.

Tuesday, December 2

2008-12-03T23:37:00.000-08:00

The Inland crew had two missions today.
1) to garden with the ladies of Flintridge Sacred Heart
2) to get to Huntington Beach (50 miles away) before (too) dark.

Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy is a beautiful school, a former a hotel converted to an all girls Catholic high school. It’s located on the top of a hill in La Canada with an unmatched view of the LA basin. I still remember the first time I talked to the Youth Minister about visiting the school. “You should definitely come… we are on the top of a hill though.” “Oh we’ll have climbed Big Sur by then, we can do it” “Mmmm…. it’s quite a hill.” She wasn’t kidding the hill is a big deal, it’s even in the fight song. We were definitely taken by surprise three years ago when we first visited FSHA, and to add insult to injury we were coming from the vallly in Burbank. We were strategically placed in Altadena this year, and it cut out at least ¾ of the climb. There were still parts that had me convinced that I was going to fall out of my seat backwards. And the elements were still against us, as we were banked in by a heavy fog. Danny got a flat, and Julie lost a chain, but we didn’t lose anyone in those windy hills thanks to Alexis, an ’03 graduate of the academy.

The AP Environmental Science (APES) teacher met us with the sports medicine class bundled up in blankets. They showed us around the campus and lead us to the new garden & compost area. We’ve been hearing about this space for awhile and we finally got to dig into it. Two APES classes came down to the huge space to turn compost and help install a new bunny fence. We were so impressed last year when we saw the student run composting system in place. There is a small container for compost by the cafeteria area and biology room, then it’s transported to a composter nearby, and eventually brought down to the garden area. The APES class is responsible for emptying the containers, and service hours can be counted by working in the garden. These ladies are always a pleasure to catch up with, and we loved getting to spend time in their growing garden. We left hoping they’ll return to the garden often and leave their mark in the first steps of this garden. We were given a great lunch – compostable plates and spudwear forks and knives – and got to eat with anyone student or chaperone that wanted to catch up with us. We had a lot of Catalina chaperones stop by as well as some students (Block 7 Family, where were you??) and we traded stories about the last visit (and pictures of Jacob), but soon we had to get going.

The path along Rio Hondo and San Gabriel River was long. Don’t get me wrong, they are AMAZING bike paths. Amazing in that it makes it possible to go from north east LA to north Orange County with no car traffic to speak of. We rolled into Seal Beach by dusk and Huntington Beach awhile later. It was cold in Pasadena and didn’t let up for the rest of the day. Cold, tired, and exhausted we rallied together to get back on Pacific Coast Highway to get to Sean’s parents house. Throwing aside crew rivaries, the OC group and members of the coastal crew greeted us warmly as we came together to form Team Sean’s House. We snacked, we dined, we took a dip in the hot tub… what a delight. Many thanks to Scott and Sue for spoiling us with food, drink, and air mattresses; thanks for putting up all 11 of us.

Message from the Founder

2008-12-02T21:15:00.000-08:00

That Inland Crew Just Can't Get Enough

2008-12-02T00:07:00.000-08:00

We may not clock the longest miles at the end of the day, but as for vertical gain... the Inland crew is simply King/ Queen of the Hill. Not only have we taken on the Malibu Mountains (peaked out at 2000ft from sea level) and the foothills of the San Gabriel Mts. (school visit is at 1400ft) in a short span of 60 hours, but we slept in the Valley the nights in between. Dubbed "Team Biker Chicks" by a server in Burbank (all long-hairs except for Morgan); Julie, Alexis, Jacob, Danny, Morgan & Becky have really been teaching LA a lesson these last few days. We left Leo Carillo early Sunday morning with a task ahead of us, we like to call that task "Encinal Canyon Road." There was a thick layer of fog to chill the riders as we approached the passage. A biker that had just come down the hill let us know that the weather was deceiving on the coast, and it was hot as heck up there. Before we turned the first switch back we were all in our lowest gears. We pounded down for over an hour before we hit the top of Encinal Canyon. The fog was long gone at that height, and we were in a full on sweat. It was Sunday in Malibu, so the windy roads were peppered with joyriders of all types. Fancy cars, motorcycle clubs, and even a couple of cycling groups. Thanks to those that chatted us up along the way! Advice from one rider had us depart our scheduled route to take Mulholland Highway down into Calabasas... which we did with no regret. Jacob always says you have to "earn the turns" meaning all that cranking up hill pays off for a screaming downhill, and boy does this one pack a punch. Downhills in Big Sur you can lay off the breaks and let your bike do the work, not so here. Tight curves and strange banks can send you right off the cliff, so you hold on tight with your breaks and go for the ride of your life. A biker (as in motorcycle and bicycle) restaurant was packed with all kinds of rides and signaled the end of the downhill. Turns out Mulholland Hwy goes on for quite a long time, lots of sustained up and downhills... for miles. Our heroes Adam and Ashley showed up in a red Vannagon with water to fill our bottles and cheers to fill our hearts. They dropped off lunch food at the Vons in Calabasas, which we promptly devoured (some of us even took naps).

Climbs were over but we still had some considerable mileage ahead of us. An established bike path following the Orange Metro line took us most of the way, with a stop at Encino to drool over the local Velodrome. We highly suggest this route to any LA biker, just remember that "Busway" where the Metro runs is not a bike lane, otherwise you might have a local 5-O remind you (whoop whoop). We spent the night at our amazing friends Nate and Sue's place in Burbank. We went out for some Italian eats and mangia-ed until our bellies were bursting - and then had a taste of gellato as well. Grazie to our hosts - Nate has had us at his place for three years running, and we still laugh about the time 20 of us showed up after a week of limited showering, we always have a good time.

Early wake up time because we had a lot on our plate Monday morning. A stop to the southwest in Studio City, then back east to Glendale, then finally up north to Altadena for the night. We rolled into our Studio City school and - boy what a spread - they fed us breakfast! Bagles, juice & and hard boiled eggs, etc. a biker's delight. We checked in with our friends that had come out to Catalina from so many grades, and some that haven't made it out yet as well. We had lots of questions, critical thinking, and outside the box thinking going on today, thanks to our hosts - students & chaperones for the great visit.

It was back on our bikes for some serious city riding. We made it about 100 ft from the school will fate twisted us in another direction. Danny was momentarily distracted by the city traffic and dropped into a nasty rut. The poor road condition was not to have the best of this rider though, as he was able to hold on and come out without taking a spill. The bike casualties were steep, and two visibly bent rims meant some SagWagon time for Danny. Travis and D-bo took off for a bike shop, and the rest of the crew soldiered on through Griffith Park to Glendale. We had a solid idea of a route, opting for some city riding vs bike lanes to save us some time... then quickly got lost. It was probably when we were challenged to a race by a homeless man at one of the stoplights. Luckily a local rider was heading in a similar direction and lead us through the park to near our destination. When he first approached us he said "Looks like you're picking up a straggler" meaning himself. But even though he was on a hybrid he smoked us, that's some serious city riding.

Glass ridden routes lead us to our second school, and we beat Travis in the bus (once again) due to heavy traffic. While we mowed down some lunch on the lawn, Danny was in for an appointment with the mechanics at the Bicycle Doctor off of York Blvd. Treatment for the incident called for two new rims, a new tire, and new tubes. A little bit of fork damage as well, but nothing that couldn't be worked out. Danny was back at the school within the hour, in plenty of time to prepare for the presentation. Thank you so much to the folks at Bicycle Doctor that got Danny back on the road so quick. When D-Bo got on the bus in Studio City we could tell he was bummed, but he was all smiles once we saw him again. He let our students at the Glendale school know that this bike shop comes "highly recommended" by him, you can check them out too at http://www.cycleworxla.com/.

The school visit in Glendale was a riot. So many familiar faces from years past, as well as an AMAZING face lift in the garden. That beautiful space looks like it is getting the attention it deserves, and kudos to those taking care of it for the school to enjoy! Skits, games, and surveys filled the afternoon, and before we knew it, it was 3:15 and school was out! Exhausted we filled up on snacks (from Mr Cline - thank you thank you thank you!) and pulled ourselves together. Although google maps doesn't show any elevation in Altadena, we knew it'd be uphill. A cruise down Colorado Blvd and the stands for the Rose Bowl Parade let us know we were in Pasadena, a little bit farther and we'd made our destination for the night; the CIC office. Thanks to the Horners, CIC & TSC staff (especially Tom & Nick who came to visit & Rasheed who waited for us!) for the roof over our heads for the night. Alexis' dad & family made an incredible meal for us -we got to taste wonders of Persian cuisine with the apex being the Rosewater ice cream - thank you thank you thank you, we're still raving about it.

After checking in with other crews via the blog, and some work on the Google Map - be sure to zoom in or click "view larger map" to check out all the different routes that we're taking through the LA/OC area - we hunkered down with the satellite radio for a good nights sleep. Tomorrow we conquer the hills of La Canada, and Alexis gets to visit her Alma mater.

Until then; just keep pedaling
The Inland Crew
TEAM BIKER CHICKS

Venice Beach to Manhattan Beach - Coastal Crew

2008-12-01T21:50:00.000-08:00

During each school visit, we see, breath, and interact with the communities that mold our students. This is the part of the bike tour that empowers us as educators. These community experiences help us to better incorporate local environmental issues and interpret the natural world in a way that is personally relevant to our students.

Today, we set off from Venice Beach at 5:30 AM, and made our way through pea soup fog to Bethune Middle School in Inglewood. At 7:30 AM, we met about ten classes of seventh graders. Students rotated through three workshops on ecological footprints, non-source point pollution, and alternative transportation.

After Bethune, we rode ten miles and past fifteen donut shops on our way to the Environmental Charter High School (ECHS), in Lawndale. The ECSH is always an inspiring experience with energetic students and pioneering staff. The campus was gorgeous, with trees, gardens, and signs of a growing consciousness and sustainable successes. Compost bins built of reused materials, a native plant garden, and an organic vending machine show the school leading the way toward a future of green schools.

When asked about the most memorable experiences of the communities surrounding these schools, cyclist, Kathy Rose, said,

“There was a stark contrast between the access to healthy, affordable foods, in the wealthy affluent communities and the prevalence of donut shops and liquor stores in Compton and Watts. It made me think about food justice, food security, and how everyone deserves access to nutritious food that is healthy for them and the planet. As we rode on Crenshaw street, I thought of the Watts Garden Club, founded by Anna Marie Carter, which helps distribute healthy, organic food to low income communities and raise awareness about food issues. I hope that in time, there will be more of these types of organizations, helping local communities eat sustainably.”

When we arrived at the end of our journey in Manhatten Beach, we were welcomed with generous support by Ally, Gay, and Keith Simmons, from the Jean-Michel Cousteau family camp. They gave us a great dinner feast and we celebrated the evening surrounded by even more friends connected by family camp and Catalina’s Howland’s landing.

Malibu Crusin'

2008-12-01T00:14:00.000-08:00

Today was an easy day for us in mileage and we had a great chance to cruise through scenic Malibu and into Santa Monica. The ride was beautiful and easy so we stopped for some Thai for lunch and then wandered through Venice Beach and Muscle Beach; people watching and adding to the scene in our gorgeous spandex attire. The day was fast and relatively uneventful, but we can’t talk enough about our meal and accommodations for the evening.

We stopped by David’s mum’s house in Venice for an absolutely wonderful dinner and great all round evening. We feasted on a variety of wonderful dishes with the same key ingredient… love. All the food was amazing, bought locally at farmers markets and prepared from scratch it was a delight and well enjoyed by all. Thank you very much Helen and David St John for your amazing hospitality!

For our accommodations we would like to give a HUGE shout out to the Venice Eco Cottages (venicebeachecocottages.com). We were given a tour by owner operator Karel and shown the wonderful concept that he with his wife has developed. Built in 1922, the cottages and have a varied past but the development kept the original cottages and refitted them with a new environmental consciousness. Everything and I mean everything, was “green”; from the organic cotton shower curtains to walls insulated with shredded denim jeans to ol’ skool 1950’s burners and ovens refitted, the whole cottage was right in line with what we were thinking and how we were operating. Karel showed us all the amazing facets of his cottages… but best of all they are only a big stone’s throw right from Venice beach.

All in all, it was a great day. We all are getting ready to get to bed early ready for a huge day tomorrow starting in just a few hours at 4:45 and going to 2 Schools. We’re really excited to get into the city and teach, after all, this is what the tour is all about.

Sunday November 29th - JULIE'S BIRTHDAY

2008-11-29T00:01:00.000-08:00

Emma Wood to Leo Carillo

Miah, a 2nd time SLBTer, recently returned to the tour after spending the days around Thanksgiving with his family. Miah’s had a rough first part of the ride, going down with a nasty cold which some riders have succumbed. He has not ridden since we passed through Cambria, but joined us today in Ventura. While under the weather instead of riding Miah took on the important role of “sagging.” Primarily this means that you drive the Support and Gear (SAG) vehicle, but it takes on many other behind the scene responsibilities. “Sagging was great. I got healthy and got clear insight of what needs to happen daily.” Captaining what became the “Sicksie Bus” for three days with the other infirmed; Ashley, Sean, & guest appearances from David, Miah etc took on many tasks daily.

Riders of the Bike Tour get all the glory, but their days are incredibly smooth due to the sags hard work. The first job of the day is to pack up the bus, not a small feat. Any special errands that need to be run are their responsibilities. For example; pick up pre-arranged food donations, buy additional lunch goods, find biodiesel gas stations, fill up propane, charge essential appliances, get campground reservations, meet up with chaperones at schools, help riders with directions... these could all happen before lunch. Lunch by the way is a production in and of itself. Set up the table, whip up some tuna, slice cheese, make hummus, cut bread, silverware, water, snacks… there’s a lot to be done… and then clean it up after the tornado of hungry riders tears through. The perks are that you get to go to the store and pick up your favorite juice you haven’t even see in two weeks, or get tacos whenever you want. “We were at Vons, and David had been pretty quiet just laying on the counter of the bus because of his bad back… then he just came to life saying ‘We need tacos’, and there was a taqueria right there…. We had carnitas” explained Miah. But he says the best part of sagging is other people’s reactions to the woody short bus. “You can see people stop and look at it, and you know they are thinking ‘What is that?’ Then they just have the biggest smiles on their faces.”

The crew enjoyed a leisurely day in Ventura. Friday was “Buy Nothing Day” a protest against the consumerism of the holiday season. Luckily we hit the Patagonia headquarters store on Saturday what we deemed “Buy Everything Day.” Out of respect for the wood panel floors we left our muddy cleats outside, regardless there’s no way 20 unshowered bikers couldn’t make a scene in the store. After two hours of shopping for responsibly made wares we finally departed, glowing from our screaming deals (thanks, Chris ;).

We were free to enjoy the morning, with the guideline to be sure to be leaving Ventura by 1pm. My group didn’t leave until two. Here’s why… 1) Courtney was really having a hard time deciding if he should buy a base layer that was made from recyclable capilene or the petroleum free merino wool . 2) We decided to buy tamales at the Farmers Market & got sucked into listening to a middle school aged punk band playing on the curb & 3) we stopped into the Channel Island Visitor Center. The Visitor Center gave us an insight into the subtle differences between Catalina and the other channel islands, and some major differences. The center has a fossil of a pigmy mammoth found on one of the islands. The docent told us that it probably floated or swam out to the island and then shrank in size, a perfect example of the breadbox theory. We didn’t get out of Ventura until after 2pm.
The next bit of riding was especially pretty. “It was like a movie, it was perfect” described Miah. He continued, “From Pt Mugu to Zuma Beach there were slightly rolling hills overlooking the beach. The sun was low in the sky, everything was a golden color, and the waves the way the waves were coming in… It was a moment that made me so glad that I didn’t stay at home.”

After celebrating Julie’s birthday for awhile with custard and French fries, we came into Leo Carillo. This was our last night together for the next three days and we had mac and cheese as well as cakes to celebrate Julie’s day. After dinner we fell into work, we needed to divide food, curriculum, and gear for the next day. Since we have so many schools in the LA area we actually need to break up into smaller groups to be able to hit all of them. We had 10 schools to visit and only 48 hours to do it in, every crew would be visiting two schools on Monday. These are the routes

INLAND: Day 1) Over Malibu Mountains to Burbank, Day 2) Studio City & Glendale then Altadena, Day 3) Altadena to Huntingon Beach.

COASTAL: Day 1) Leo Carillo to Venice Day 2) Lawndale and South Central LA to Manhatten Beach day 3) Meet with Inland at Huntington Beach

ORANGE COUNTY: Day 1) 80 miles Leo Carillo to Fullerton, Garden Grove and Orange, to Huntington Beach then Irvine.

Orange County crew left early in the morning so they’d roll into Miah’s parents’ house before dark. They almost got their by lunch

Inland left next to get ready to go over Malibu

Coastal Crew laughed for 4 hours after Courtney ripped his spandex shorts on the bus door and didn’t leave until noontime.

Next we’ll be hearing from the individual crews on their journeys.

Friday November 28th

2008-11-28T20:34:00.000-08:00

Santa Barbara was good to us, but we were on the road again today. Not too many miles from SB to Ventura, but an interesting one. On the way a crew met Bill at a hot dog stand just before we got on the 101 to ask for directions. Danny told him what we were all about, then asked if he had any Gatorade. Bill said no but he had lemonade, and we’d probably like it. We got 5 and he gave it too us for free. “It was really good” said Libby. Then he came out with some red vines because we “need some sugar for that bike ride” according to Bill. He gave directions and just then two other people came up to get hot dogs. As they rolled up he said “Sorry I was just playing Santa Claus to a bunch of non profit” Libby described it as “the highlight of my day”.

Libby and Adam both got another flat tire today. The personal count of flat tires for those two in the last two days stands at this; Libby 4, Adam 5. That’s 9 within 48 hours. There’s talk that half of all the flats we’ve had have been from those two! What’s causing this bad luck? According to Libby she was talking to Danny just before we had the Bici Centro event about not having a single flat yet. Danny said, “yeah, knock on wood”, Libby just laughed. Now she’s learned her lesson. Adam’s take? “I hate Santa Barbara” And well he should.

Tonight we sleep at Emma Wood, one of those campsites with character. Really an RV park, we’re staying in the small tenting cul-de-sac behind it. Sandwiched within a hundred feet of both the 101 and a railroad, it’s so noisy there can’t even be a video blog tonight due to the highway noise. It is home to some of the most fantastic sunsets. “ The sunset tonight was one of the best I’ve seen” said Libby. It was even clear enough to see the channel islands as the sun set behind them.

It’s a return to camping for the crew for the next two nights. “Tents have become like home, today when we set them up it was like, ‘oh here’s our little home again’” said Libby. We usually roll into our campsites just before dusk. From there, we have a little routine that generally we follow;
STEP ONE: Quick set up your tent, you’ve got to do it before dark . Find a good spot, level & protected from the wind. If you’re lucky enough to have a tent mate then you get them to help you set up.
STEP TWO: Even quicker change into your clothes you’ve been dreaming about for the last hour, cozy slippers and warm pants etc. Hang spandex on a nearby tree for the night.
STEP THREE: See if you can catch a sunset,
STEP FOUR: Try to help cook dinner in the bus. There’s not always enough jobs or enough space for everyone, so when it’s obvious that you can’t help you succumb to washing dishes afterwards.
STEP FIVE: Eat a hot meal
STEP SIX: Wash the dishes
STEP SEVEN: Meet to talk about the next day. Talk about the route/ school/ anything special you need to know. Set up who will sag and who will sweep. Sweeps ride last and make sure no one is stranded with bike trouble. Ideally a sweep always has a tube, a pump, a patch kit, a tool, a cell phone to call the bus if the need it, and the knowledge of how to change a flat tire. More on why this is important later.
STEP EIGHT: Brush teeth, etc. get to bed, you have a big day of riding in the morning

THE ORIGIN OF SWEEPS
“I always knew you were good with a broom, honey” -Courtney

The SLBT first established “Sweeps” on the very first bike trip to Phoenix. I bet you didn’t even know there was a bike trip to Arizona, there’s not even a blog for it’s that’s how primitive it was. On day two of riding, Kathy Rose got a flat tire in Camp Pendleton. Camp Pendleton is a barren stretch of road that goes through the military base between Orange and North San Diego County. Civilian cars are not allowed, but cyclists can go through if they have a valid form of ID, it’s about as scenic as it sounds. From Kathy, “I was riding my upright bike with a basket and a tiny walkie talkie. Because it wasn’t a road bike, every one else could ride more efficiently and it was hard to keep up. I’d also never had a flat before and I didn’t recognize the funny noises the bike was making, and was finding it increasingly harder and harder to keep up. I skid out going down hill, and by then it was obvious that the rear tire was flat. I pulled out my tiny walkie talkie to call for help. After many attempts to reach someone with “This is Kathy, do you hear me? I need help!” I realized the walkie talkie had a range of about 10 feet. It was time to attempt to fix my first flat tire, which I had never done before. We’d been shown how too,… maybe I don’t remember. I got out the tire levers and was about to take off the wheel,… and then realized that I didn’t own a pump, and had no way to get more air into the tire… so taking the tire off wasn’t going to do any help. I went back to the radio, and started pushing my bike . I’d get really excited when I heard any static back- maybe someone heard me. I was stranded, I realized that I’d be waking for awhile, and I did. My only company was military men driving by, slowing down to give me weird looks but not to help. The rest of the crew had stopped miles ahead wondering where I was. After what seemed like hours, but maybe was only 45 min, my friend Erica was sent back to check on me, she had a pump and knew how to fix a flat, my savior.” From that night on we decided that a sweep must know how to change a flat and have a pump, and there needs to be two of them, and we threw out the radios. And so now we learn from our mistakes.

Before we go to bed for the night we want to send a shout out to our friend Chris who always makes us feel at home in Ventura.

Friday Nov 28th - With Full Bellies & Clean Clothes We Left Santa Barbara

2008-11-28T08:47:00.000-08:00

Our parents would be proud. We really pulled off a spectacular Thanksgiving last night. We gathered together at dusk at a park near Chris E's house. He lives up on a hill (a really steep hill, ask Courtney, Meagan, and Laurie) that overlooks the beautiful city of Santa Barbara. A lot of work went into preparing our 30 guests, here's a partial list;

Mashed Cauliflower - ingredients from the Farmers Market
Squash Soup - Jenny
Romaine Salad - Farmers Market
Green Beans - from Farmers Market
Homemade Salsa & blue corn chips - Jenny & Nicci
Stuffing - donated bread from Trader Joes
Squash - Farmers Market
Cranberries - Dakota!
Fruit Salad - donated from several farmers markets
2 different potato dishes - I know Dakota made one of them
Rolls - homemade and donated from Farmers Market
Chocolate Chip Bread - made by Julie
And of course we had a Turkey - prepared by Brent
Chris E and Laurie hand made all of the desserts - Pumpkin Pie & Pecan Pie

There may have been others food, but I got so sleepy I had to take a nap in the bus for awhile. After dining at dusk at the city overlook, we washed up the dishes and sat around singing and telling stories. The only thing that would have made it better was if our families were with us.

We leave Santa Barbara today, but could not do so without thanking our gracious hosts; Brent & Dakota (Buster & Lola), Chris E, and Danny's Granny. It takes a special kind of person to take in a group of bikers (who had been camping for the previous week) and let them take over your homes for 4 days. Thank you, thank you, thank you! we're blessed by your generosity. And to all of our friends who joined us for Thanksgiving - we could not have asked for a more special & unique celebration. We're blessed to have you in our little Catalina family. And please get let us know when you've got the "Transitioning from Catalina" manual finished.

Today we pull out our fresh and clean spandex and jump back in the saddle (don't call it a bike seat, for whatever reason when you're serious about biking it's more like you're riding a horse then just sitting) and head out the 30ish miles to Emma Wood just outside of Ventura.

Thursday November 27th THANKSGIVING

2008-11-27T12:52:00.000-08:00

It's just about 1pm and the kitchen at Brent and Dakota's smells amazing, and things are cooking up at Danny's Granny's too. We've got so many friends in town - Nicci, Jenny, Whitney, Owen, Laurie, Chris, Dakota and Brent - all together with us to celebrate Thanksgiving. It's a beautiful day in Santa Barbara, the rain has passed and the beautiful warm weather that we've been enjoying has returned!! We'll get together later this afternoon to dine together. Our food will be a combination of the foods we've had donated, food from the Santa Barbara farmers market, and dishes our friends have made.

We'd like to send a big HAPPY THANKSGIVING to all of our family members that have tolerated us being away for the holiday. We miss you and love you, and can't wait to see you soon!

Wednesday November 26

2008-11-27T09:03:00.000-08:00

A lazy rainy morning, people did what they wanted to until later afternoon when we met up in Isla Vista. This was such a rad event, we had some folks from Bici Centro come meet us at the Isla Vista Food Co-op for a ride into the city and workshop. Bici Centro is a volunteer bike kitchen in Santa Barbara. They provide education and events to the community for free and boost bike culture. Thomas, Jonathan, and other Bici Centro volunteers met up with us as we started on the Bike trail through UCSB. We hadn't gotten too far before the rain started, then Libby got flat tire. We all waited for her and Courtney to change it, cheered when it was all wrapped up, got about 200 yards and Adam got a flat. Awwww too bad.. then Libby got a flat, then Adam again, and again. Five flats in a 12 mile stretch, it took us 2.5 hours to get there. Adam just decided to walk the rest of the way on his 3rd flat...

We were famished once we got to the bike kitchen and ate the meal Travis prepared for us. After that we tore into our bikes. We got full use of the facilities, Thomas said "this is a community bike kitchen so now it's your kitchen too." Jacob replaced his bottom bracket, Courtney worked on his brakes, I learned how to "true my wheel" (spokes pull your bike wheel into opposing directions, if one gets loose it can actually change the shape of your wheel so that it is not a "true" circle, what you do is systematically tighten and loosen the spokes where the shape has bent until it straightens out). We kept stopping and looking at each other to say "I can't believe we got a whole bike kitchen to ourselves!" What a blessing. We finally wrapped it just before 9 and rode home in the rain... and got three more flat tires (what happened!!??)

Tomorrow Thanksgiving!

Tuesday November 25

2008-11-27T01:50:00.000-08:00

THE ELEMENTS

Headwinds, rain, and city riding.

Whooo. We're beat. Forty miles from Lompoc to Goleta and headwinds the whole way. Headwinds is a wind that is blowing towards you and turns your body into a sail. This means you get to pedal your heart out uphill, and keep pedaling on the downhill. After miles and miles of monotanous biking we dropped onto the 101 and rode along the highway for a bit. At El Capitan we ate lunch and that's when the rain started. Personally, I was half estatic. I've been living on Catalina for awhile and haven't seen real rain since January. We were also really excited to finally use the rain gear that we've been lugging around for the last 4 bike trips - it's the first real rain we've even encountered on bikes! Soaking wet by midday, we finally arrived to Santa Barbara. We dropped people off at the different homestayes we'd be staying at for the next couple of days (awesome to have a roof over our heads during the rain - Thanks Danny's Granny, Chris, Brent & Dakota).

We regrouped at Ocean Futures to meet up with our friends Karen & Nancy. They had a full spread out for us and we mowed it down, especially the group that rode down State Street in the rain (keep an eye on the buses!). Lots of the OFS team is out on expedition in Norway studying Orca whales, so the office was a bit quiet. The latest news was that the bilge exploded on the ship (ewwwwww). We hope butter luck comes to our exploring friends up north. We also got to sneak preview some uncut clips for an upcoming special (my favorite was "Pink Dolphins") and generally just got to hang out in the office. Our friend Laura B who works one of the AOTE cruise ship programs showed up later and that was a special treat because she used to work out on the island as well.

We hit up the Farmers Market with her later. Divided into teams we asked the vendors there if they'd be willing to give us anything they didn't want to take back home with them. We came home with bins and boxes and bags full of great food. A couple of things worked in our favor 1) it is the biggest day for the Farmers Market in the year and it was raining 2) the food bank that normally picks up food didn't come today, 3) People were really friendly and overwhelmingly generous!

Monday, November 24

2008-11-25T20:21:00.000-08:00

El Churro, San Luis Obispo Montessori, Guatalupe, Lompoc

El Churro Regional Park provided us with so many cultural opportunities; Cuesta "College", a Mens Colony, Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant. It was hard to leave the beauty but we had visits to make. We split into two groups, well three groups if you count the small army of sick people accumulating in the SAG (Sicksie Bus; Ashley, Miah, & Sean).

One group head to Grover Beach to check out the Voler (pronounced to our surprise with a French accent vo-lay, not vo-laire like we've been saying for the last two years) factory. The folks at Voler have donated extra jerseys and shorts to us for the last two years. This has helped make an expensive sport (jerseys alone can run $40-$60) affordable for we environmental educators. We got to see the entire screen printing process and even see some pretty cute Twin Six brand jerseys being printed and sewn together in the plant. We had some fun with some of the ladies in the plant, thanks to them and Jeff for showing us the place, and assisting us so much with this trip. Most of us however headed to San Luis Obispo Montessori and got to garden with the 4th, 5th, & 6th graders for a couple of hours! So much fun to learn with and from those students in the garden and compost.

We met up at Pismo State Beach for lunch, but 50 miles and the Harris Grade waited for us before Lompoc. This was a huge day, not big hills, but lots of miles before sundown. Frankly we flew, we made amazing time down PCH1. When we met up at Guatalupe Jacob figured that we were making 15 miles an hour. The Harris grade is 8 miles of uphill, but once you get there you're just about homefree. Little regrouping at the base, and lots of encouragement on the way helped, but really it was nothing compared to Santa Cruz mountains!

Superfun downhill, rolled through town, and we got into the RV park before night. We have not stayed in Lompoc for two years, and we were really looking forward to the bowling alley only to find out that it had recently been torn down. The locals at the restruant we stopped at were equally dissapointed. Next day we get to Santa Barbara for a couple days, yeehaw!!

Sunday November 23

2008-11-25T15:22:00.000-08:00

Camp Ocean Pines to El Chorro State Park Campground

There are days on the bike tour where we rush and huff and puff and sweat rivers to reach a school and then continue in a hurry to make camp before dark. Today was not one of those days. Instead, hungry riders gathered around the Camp Ocean Pines breakfast hall at a leisurely 8 o-clock in our pajamas. After breakfast, Camp Ocean Pine’s Naturalist and Raptor caretaker, Scott, introduced riders to two rescued raptors, a noble great horned owl and a juvenile red-tailed hawk. Although the birds fulfill a similar ecological niche, the two birds might be each other’s prey, the owl vulnerable by day, and the hawk, at night.

With our photographer, Dan Sullivan, on board for just one more day, riders celebrated his birthday dressed in fabulous flare. With our hosts waving, a cowboy and cowgirl, Evel Kneivel, a Hawaiian hula girl, a stop sign, a gymnast, and batman’s Robyn tore out of the camp and headed south toward San Luis Obispo. Riders stopped twenty miles down the road at Morrow Bay Estuary to see what happens when fresh and salt water mix. One rider, Abigail went out looking for white pelicans and came back with stories of rare sea otter sightings. Seals and sea lion also attract harbor and great white sharks into the estuary. Taking the day to learn and recuperate, riders witnessed one way that dams and levees can impact animal habitat. With water diverted from the floodplains, sediment flowed through the levee and dumped into the estuary, threatening its very existence. Fortunately, farsighted conservationists advocated for the levee’s removal. With the floodplains largely restored, sediment is now dispersed throughout natural waterways, before reaching the Morrow Bay Estuary.

Saturday November 22

2008-11-25T14:34:00.000-08:00

Group Interview (in “Van Gogh” cabin at Camp Ocean Pines about ride through Big Sur)
Interviewees: Abigail, Julie, Libby, Laurie, Alexis, and eventually Danny

How are you feeling?
Abigail: My body is talking to me… It’s saying ‘Stretch me, give me a break...’ But also feeling awesome and so accomplished
Julie: I feel like I want to ride
Libby: Flying down those his I felt like ‘this is what life is all about’
Laurie: (sigh) The California coast never ceases to amaze me.

What were your High/Low for these last few days?
Julie: (low) not being able to ride (Julie had hot water spilled on her foot, and got some blisters that are keeping her from riding)
Alexis: My high and low were the same day. Just before lunch after climbing that hill in Carmel was my low, and coming into Big Sur was my high.
Abigail: (high) Such amazing backdrops and hills that kick your butt
Libby: (high) The moments you forget you’re on a bike and take your breath away
Abigail: Looking back down and a mountain and thinking ‘Look at what I did… and look at the view!”
Danny: (high) Jumping in the ocean (low) When my bike broke (his derailleur actually broke off of his bike while riding)
Laurie: (low) My tummy hurts (high) Sunset last night at Plaskett Creek on the bluffs. There were the biggest most intense waves & you could feel the power of the wave shaking everything
Libby: I caught myself just grinning ear to ear…
Abigail: Yeah, forget your tush hurting, my face hurts from smiling

What will you come away with after riding Big Sur
Julie: A sore foot
Laurie: A sore butt
Libby: Sunburn
Danny: A better understanding of life
Abigail: No more intimidating hills
Danny: Bigger calf muscles
Abigail: The feeling that you can do anything
Libby: A deep appreciation of my granny gear.

Friday November 21

2008-11-23T09:28:00.000-08:00

My, Everyone Thought He Rode Around Not Getting Enough Recycling.

Here she comes, Big Sur!

“Big Sur has been good to us every year, good weather, not too much traffic, and beautiful scenery” from Jacob, three time Sustainable Living Bike Tour rider. The Big Sur section of the tour is held in the hearts of SLBT cyclists with anticipation and anxiety. Riders spend three days riding up and down the hills of PCH1 as it hugs the jagged coastline of central California. We took a moment with Jacob to see how this trip compared to the others in 06 and 07. “I took an especially causal approach this year, as I’ve become increasingly familiar with the ride I knew how much time I could take. There was a general feeling of un-hurriedness, and attempting to really soak it in.”

One of the first of several stops was at the Spirit Garden “the cultural hub of Big Sur” according to Jacob. Essentially a gift shop and bakery next to the Shell gas station, it is a place of respite for travelers. Woven “birds nest” tree houses lined with pillows and blankets gave us a nice overlook of the garden when we first arrived. Jam packed with worldly artwork and crafts for sale, it was an explosion of color and sound in the serene redwood setting.

Jacob also made time to see the Julia Pfeiffer waterfalls, watch sea otters, and observe the California condor. “The burn damage [at Julia Pfeiffer-Burns Park] was especially hard hitting” said Jacob. Since the fires were squelched earlier in the year, the focus has been turned to mudslide prevention, important with the close proximity of Pacific Coast Highway 1. In addition to closed trail there was evidence of bridges removed, and chain link fences installed to catch debris to keep it off the road.

Later in the day the group ran into a research assistant for project from UCSC and got an update about the state of sea otters in California. Big Sur used to be the last strong hold of sea otters in California, and while the population there has held steady it has increased in other areas like Monterrey Bay. The concern now is that the overall population has not grown in awhile, and scientists are not sure why.

While this not her first time to this area, Lissa a first time SLBT rider told us her impressions of biking the mountains, “Oh my God, (laughs) what glorious beauty lies before me… And it pains me… every time we approach a mountain (all laugh).” Great job, we’re sure it will be easier next year, Lissa.

It was our third trip to Plaskett Creek, and for being such an intimate campsite it is usually a memorable stay. The campsite, is just off the PCH1, on the ocean side of the highway there is trail to the beach, and usually an amazing sunset by the time we arrive there. We were well attended to by the staff member at the campsite who was patrolling the site from his pick-up truck, and made friends with our neighbors there. Last year we feasted on an endless falafel dinner, and have basically been raving about it ever since. So we revisited our favorite meal once again, finishing off the night with cakes, pies, and singing (thanks for a beautiful birthday, friends).

Thursday November 20

2008-11-22T17:21:00.000-08:00

One of the unique things about traveling is the people that you meet along the way. Today we had two inspiring encounters with like-minded folks. We left New Brighton State Beach and stopped for breakfast at the homestead of Freddy and Ellen in Aptos. The family lives on a highly productive mini farm and orchard. Our rider David was impressed by how they were “quietly and methodically” putting into practice the principals of permaculture that we teach on Catalina. We got to sample from a wide variety of heirloom fruit organically grown on the farm. David’s favorite was a pink fleshed apple that he described as the crispest and most delicious apple he’d ever had, “it sparkled in my mouth”. Another highlight was Ginger the most well cared for cow any of us had ever seen . “Her eye lashes were miles long” said Jenna. Riders still comment on what a pretty cow she is. It was equally impressive that her owners grew and gathered majority of the biomass or food that Ginger needs to eat. Here’s a list of what it takes to feed Ginger daily:

7-10 pumpkins
50 apples
6 mangle fodder beets
30 lbs organic hay
12 lbs of organic alfalfa – but she only eats the leafy bits, not the stems.

Daily Ginger produces 5 gallons of the purest most refreshing milk that we had ever tasted. Thanks to Freddy and Ellen for their hospitality.

The next bit of biking exposed another of farming. We rode past acres and acres of conventional strawberry farms. Growing strawberries in southern California isn’t a simple task. We got to see plasti-culture, a common form of agriculture to grow strawberries in several stages along the route. Fields are covered in a sheet of plastic and holes are burned into it for the plants to grow. The plastic helps with water retention, weed suppression, heat acceleration and fumigation - to kill any potential threat to the strawberry plants. As we cycled past some fields were just being covered in sheets of clear plastic, while others had piles of it on the side of the road where it had just been pulled off. As we passed by workers in various stage of protective clothing, it made a striking juxtaposition to the scene on the mini-farm earlier in the day.

The bike path through to Monterrey is long and scenic. Along the way we got the chance to meet Mike and Max who are biking self-contained (meaning no SAG vehicle to carry their gear like us) from Alaska to Argentina for the next two years. Our rider Jacob met Mike while we were riding through Golden Gate Park during Car Free Sundays. Alexis and I found him on the side of the road looking for Max. In lieu of using their maps that they left in San Francisco, they made a plan to just head south. Mike asked if he could follow us to highway 1. So we rode along with him (and Max once we found him) until we found the bus to grab a snack. We were inspired by their trip, and more than a few of us were temped to join along. They have already been riding for four months, with no complaints and a pretty easy going attitude, Like their countryman Courtney said, “I’d wish them good luck-but I don’t think the need it.”

Next stop, Big Sur

We’d like to take a moment to give a huge thanks to the folks from Grove Market Food for their generous food donation. We were able to walk away with:

box of bananas
bread, pasta, sauce – which we devoured tonight.
So many greens
and 10% discount on anything else we wanted to get

November 19th - Santa Cruzin'

2008-11-20T10:21:00.000-08:00

The Bike Tour’s third annual trip to Almaden Country Day School was a blast. After the flat but long cycle, we arrived just as the middle school was wrapping up a play. We got to work with the 5th graders – who especially enjoyed the Organic Corn game, got the 6th graders pumped for Catalina with a slide show, and revisited our friends from the 7th & 8th grade. A few lucky riders got to read “Diary of a Worm” with the Kindergarten as well. The last two times we have come to Almaden, we have been invited to their Thanksgiving Feast that is prepared by students and parents. I’ve heard it’s the second largest Thanksgiving festival this side of the Mississippi, but maybe I made that up. Because our schedule changed a bit this year, we were a week early for the official fest – but the 7th grade parents wouldn’t let a little scheduling change get in the way of that!! We were treated to a delicious organic lunch; soup, salad, pasta, fruit from their trees at home, chips, cookies and much more! We dined with our gracious hosts the 7th graders, and left the school satiated.

Danny and Sean actually took a side detour and visited DeAnza Community College and the Kirsch Environmental Center ~ check it out on-line. They got the first LEED Platinum certification for any building in the USA at a community college.

After that we had a big climb ahead of us. It was only about 20ish miles until our campsite, Big Basin. It’s just that about 13 of those miles were in the Santa Cruz mountains. I took off with a lady peleton; Julie Meagan and Libby. After about a half an hour of climbing we stopped for a snack, stretching, and photo taking. Travis pulled up in the bus to check in with us. We asked just about how much farther we had to go. Spirits sunk when he told us that if the length of his arm was the full distance we were going, we were at about his fingernail. It was slow going, so slow in fact that Jenna had enough time to watch a banana slug crossing the road. But we made up ways to amuse ourselves. Libby made up songs about the mountains and biking really really slow. Lissa challenged Abigail to bike faster than she could walk… Lissa (the walker) won, but returned to the saddle when Abigail reminded her that this is not the Sustainable Living Walking Tour.

Turns out Travis might have been exaggerating about only being a miniscule way up the hill, but it got us in the right mindset for the day’s climb, and the future ones in Big Sur. Best of all we had the redwoods to keep us entertained with sweeping views of the mountains and a beautiful golden setting sun. Most of us reached the campsite by dark, and the rest of us were swooped up into the bus for a ride into the campsite.

We had been enjoying unseasonably warm weather in San Francisco and San Jose, just about until this point. When the sun went down in the redwoods that day it got cooold. Some waiting at the camp decided to head out to the sites we had reserved. And we waited, and waited. Desperate times call for desperate measures, so we piled into the tiny womens bathroom. Eight of us were huddled in there at it’s highest capacity playing team building initiatives… you can take the instructors out of camp, but you can’t take the camp out of the instructors. Matty P, our friend from seasons past came and joined us for a bit as we hunkered down for the night.

It was a chilly morning, but we had a nice downhill into Boulder Creek out of the mountains. Julie and I stopped into an antique shop and found an old booklet of Catalina postcards that we’ve never seen in Avalon.

We all met up at the home of Kristin and Mark Sullivan in Capitola, lovingly referred to as the Straw Bale house. The home features;

walls constructed of renewable straw from a farmer they knew
highly effective passive solar design
extensive water catchment system
use of salvaged wood
native plant landscaping
an organic garden and more!

Thanks to Barbara Graves, Kristin and Mark Sullivan, and members of the cycle group that showed up.

We wrappd the day up at New Brighton State Beach. I woke up in the morning with huge bags under my eyes. Not just “I climbed over a mountain and slept in a tent” eyes, bags so big they actually distort my eye shape. This is happened the last two times I’ve stayed here on the bike tour, unfortunately on days that were on or surrounding my birthday. This caused me to be convinced I’d gotten a bunch of wrinkles and aged overnight. In a conversation about this phenomenon with Heather she mentioned that I was probably having a reaction to something at the campsite. Oh… Guess that explains why years came off my face after moving around for 20 minutes. This year instead of having a panic attach, I just woke up half an hour before everyone else.

In the morning we will stop by a local homestead and get our first taste of Big Sur, ending up in Andrew Molera.

Nov 18th - If you're going to San Francisco... bring your bike!!

2008-11-18T11:49:00.000-08:00

San Francisco treated us well. Not only did we benefit from the support of our friends and sponsors there, but we were able to benefit from the car-free culture in San Francisco. The bike lanes in San Francisco are plentiful and well mapped, we comfortably shared them with so many other cyclists.

We stayed at the YMCA in Point Bonita, so we were especially lucky to have a dedicated bike line across the Golden Gate Bridge. On our way there we realized that it was Car Free Sundays in Golden Gate Park, so we got to enjoy the full breadth of the road with so many other walkers, bikers, and roller skaters. A lot of us got to see Disco roller skating for the first time when we took a break to watch them. A big climb and a speedy downhill gave us a little taste of the Santa Cruz mountains that we will be climbing tomorrow. We pulled into the YMCA with enough time to watch the sunset from Point Bonita. We joked that we got to find out why it was called “bonita” this year, because last year we arrived in pitch black and fog!

The next morning we had to get up at 5am to visit our San Francisco school. I took a turn at “sagging” meaning that I was responsible for driving our SAG (Support And Gear) vehicle. Travis is still a bit laid up from his injury so he joined me. We got to enjoy the simple pleasure of crossing the Golden Gate Bridge on a crystal clear day just after sunrise. As we reached the end of the bridge Travis and I scrambled to find money to pay the toll. As I rolled down the window with some cash crumpled in my hand, the attendant let me know that since we were technically a carpool the $6 toll charge was waived. Kind of funny to think of a 20 passenger bus with only 2 people in it as a carpool, but glad to take advantage of this carpool initiative (and hold onto the 6 bucks).

We got to the school early and were ready to talk to the 8^thgrade. We were split up into three different activity areas around the campus thinking critically about our environmental footprint, exploring the depths of non-point source pollution, and thinking creatively about solutions when using alternative transportation.

Thirty-five miles of urban riding later, we pulled into the Foothills Congregation Church. We’ve been so luck to be able to stay at this community’s facilities for the last three years where they have given us shelter and a hot shower (kind of a hot commodity on the bike trip). We’d also like to send a shout out to the choir that was practicing there that night – you sounded amazing, and send our apologies if we were too loud to the meditation group that met in the morning.

Next we get to visit our friends of many different grade levels at Almaden Country Day School, but we’ve got 25 miles before we get there in the morning!

Sunday, November 16

2008-11-17T20:12:00.000-08:00

What a way to end the weekend! Waking up relatively early, I actually had the pleasure of going to Cafe Gratitude for breakfast, while others got their stuff organized. This little restaurant is all organic, vegan and mostly raw food, plus the people are just the most chipper you can ever imagine. The team all converged on Kathy's at 11 AM to get the bus packed. We held a mini reminder meeting about safety while we bike as a large group then headed back to Sports Basement for last minute fixer-uppers.

Golden Gate Park and Presidio were beautiful rides. Reconvening at the parking lot below the bridge we were able to cross the Golden Gate together, this year in the light of day, haha. Also, this year we decided to head to the coast instead of cutting through the tunnel so we had a large climb and then a very steep and very fast downhill to Point Bonita YMCA, where we watched the sunset and had a wonderful meal (thanks David, Lissa, Julie, Meagan, Travis and Morgan!). After some late night planning, we tucked ourselves into our beds and dreams of sustainability presentations danced in our heads.

Saturday, November 15

2008-11-16T17:49:00.000-08:00

Today was amazing! The weather was great and we came together as a whole team in the waning hours of the day, which always ties things together well before we begin the major riding. The morning had us gathering together at the Sports Basement, where Jeff gave us a bike maintenance workshop - and a world class performance to say the least. Hilarious and in good taste, he had us rolling with laughter; I even thought I saw some tears :) There were crackers, cheese, veggies and dip, not to mention a 20% discount for gear in the store and tune-ups for all our riders. While we took hours sifting through 3 floors for cheap equipment, a few bodies went to the Alemany farmers' market to get some goods for the evening extravaganza at Kathy's in the Mission District. I rode in from Laurie's house just as the van and the 2nd crew - Travis, Julie, Danny, Sean, Alexis, Abigail, Becky and Morgan. Even Matty P made a surprise visit. The evening party was ripe with guests from San Francisco: friends of Kathy's, people from the building, friends and past staff members, etc. There was great food (veggie pasta, salads and desserts) and good times. A few drums, guitars and vocal wonders made there way to the back room for a jam session and the night ended with a more contemporary dance session, DJ'ed by none-other-than Miah at the iTunes desk.

Second Day First School..

2008-11-13T21:33:00.000-08:00

Once on the mainland we loaded the bus with curriculum supplies, food, camping gear, and bet you can guess….18 bicycles!!! Following that feat we made our way from the Long Beach Catalina Express terminal to Santa Barbara where we were welcomed by Traci Cope at Crane Country Day School. The school graciously fed us and allowed us to stay in their library for the night. The next morning we were able to tour the campus and catch up with some students and teachers before starting activities. Visiting the garden started with checking out the stairs, trellis, and compost bins that the Sustainable Bike Tour ’06 helped construct. Crane has taken their goal of becoming waste free to heart and has a school wide composting program led by Janie and the 6th graders. All of the sixth graders that visited us this past fall gathered in their groups from Catalina and participated in challenge initiatives and garden projects. Lissa had the honor of reuniting with her group where they worked through team challenges reinforcing what was learned while at the program. In the garden David, Miah, Courtney, and Meagan delved into fun and active projects with two groups. Twenty five students, 4 instructors, and two Crane staffulty cleared a huge pumpkin patch, removed iceplant, and remulched garden spaces completing in 45 minutes what Joel said would have taken him hours to do. Gardening provides real life examples for the sustainability week the students just completed. Topics such as the use of mulching, seasonal eating, and composting of green waste were discussed with students. We had such a great time with students we really didn’t want to leave. We can’t thank Crane, Traci, Janie, Peter, Joel, and all the energetic student enough for hosting us and sharing a fun and productive morning.
As I write this we are on our voyage North to San Francisco through the stunning wine country. We will be writing more as events unfold.