C
Cycle America
Guest
Skot Paschal finished his ride from Boise to Salt Lake City
a day early. This after he had spent the night previous
camped on an island in the middle of the Great Salt Lake.
Never mind that he couldn't find drinking water for almost 2
hours (he had entered on the wrong road), or the fact that
brine shrimp filled the shallow warm water of the massive
body of liquid he was surrounded by making it not a worthy
escape from the heat, the quiet, the sunset and the antelope
and the bison that he saw all made up for it. Nor could he
wait to tell Lisa Romeny, the Salt Lake City bike
coordinator, how poorly the state of Utah accounts for its
cyclists. While the conditions did improve in Salt Lake
City, Skot tells us that, for him, the ride was over as soon
as he entered Utah where he saw not one bike lane or road
sign that mentioned the existence of bicycles. In fact it
was so bad that he called me from a pay phone and asked if
he could end his ride a day early.
Not wanting to subject Don Loomis to the same torture, I
called Lisa and asked if she could greet him a day ahead of
schedule. Always cheerful, and always willing to help our
cause, she cleared her own schedule and went down to meet
Skot for a photo op which U can see at http://www.BikeRoute.com/NationalMayorsRide2004/#Anchor-
46384
Soon we will have Skot's always awesome pix on line and
hopefully his final report but for now, here is some Haiku
from the man himself:
========================================
Out there in the air is where it can be found.
children have it all around.
Be a childkid once more it is waiting in a
sound.........whrrrrrr(gear). sk.
========================================
Don Loomis had made a heroic effort to get there on time and
was poised to do so when I called him to let him know he'd
be better off avoiding the Salt Lake City detour. He was
disappointed but also relieved that to make his next city,
Steamboat Springs, he only has to do 60 miles days. In
Steamboat, Riley Polumbus, the Chamber of Commerce director
there, has a soak and shower waiting for him and Patrick in
a downtown hot springs. Maybe if they are lucky even a room
night!! Besides the reception with their city council....
We will close with Don's report, but first I want to
tell U about some of the other excitement that has been
taking place.
- I just talked to Montana Norvell and his group of four
cyclists (Matt Yoder, Alex Montgomery and Andy Sapinsky)
who just this morning got the New York City Mayor's
proclamation from Josh Kinberg and are biking it down to
Philadelphia. And all four of them were at the Tokio
Ballroom in Philadelphia until 2 in this morning for Janet
Bressler's (http://janetbressler.com) well received NBG
show. Hopefully we can get a report on that soon as well
but for now Montana is pushing for Philly and their
reception there at Love Park tomorrow. Montana also tells
me that the Bilenky Boys, the popular Bilenky Cycle Works
band, played last nite as well!!
- On Friday July 2, Larry Black, widely celebrated owner
of two east coast bike shops that both have huge
followings, will bike from Baltimore to Washington DC on
an attention getting antique late 1800's High Wheel
bicycle. His ride will be a part of the 3rd Annual 2004
National Mayors' Ride. Traveling with a supporting cast
of other cyclists, he and his group look forward to
receiving the NBG Day Mayor's Proclamation from DC Mayor
Anthony Williams himself.
- Here is the text from the awesome New York City
proclamation that Mayor Bloomberg signed:
WHEREAS: ASIDE FROM BEING A WONDERFUL WAY TO MORE VISCERALLY
ENJOY THE SIGHTS, SOUNDS, AND SENSATIONS OF SUMMER,
BICYCLING SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVES THE QUALITY OF LIFE IN NEW
YORK CITY. WHILE BIKES HAVE LONG BEEN THE PREFERRED VEHICLE
OF THE YOUNG, THOSE OF US WHO THOUGHT WE OUTGREW OUR
BICYCLES THE DAY WE RECEIVED OUR DRIVER'S LICENSE SHOULD
RECONSIDER OUR YOUTHFUL ENTHUSIASM FOR PEDAL-POWERED
LOCOMOTION. BICYCLING PRODUCES NO AIR OR NOISE POLLUTION,
DECREASES TRAFFIC CONGESTION, AND SAVES ENERGY, WHICH IS
REASON ENOUGH FOR ALL NEW YORKERS TO CONSIDER BIKING WHEN
MAKING TRAVEL PLANS. FURTHERMORE, BICYCLING IS A LOW-COST
MEANS OF TRANSPORTATION THAT OFFERS INVALUABLE HEALTH
BENEFITS. WHETHER YOU RIDE FOR YOURSELF OR FOR THE SAKE OF
YOUR COMMUNITY, YOU ARE MAKING A MEANINGFUL CONTRIBUTION TO
THE WELL BEING OF NEW YORK CITY.
WHEREAS: THE NATIONAL BICYCLE GREENWAY REPRESENTS A MAJOR
STEP FORWARD IN THE VIABILITY OF BICYCLE TRAVEL. SINCE 1987,
NBG'S DEDICATED VOLUNTEERS HAVE BEEN WORKING TO REALIZE A
NATIONWIDE NETWORK OF BIKE-FRIENDLY ROADS AND BICYCLE
PATHWAYS THAT WILL CONNECT CYCLISTS TO MAJOR CITIES
THROUGHOUT THE UNITED STATES. THE NBG IS DEDICATED TO
DEVELOPING A STANDARD FOR CYCLE-SAFE THRUWAYS THAT ENHANCES
THE TRAVEL EXPERIENCE OF THE CYCLIST. WHILE WE LIVE IN A
WORLD DOMINATED BY THE AUTOMOBILE, THE BICYCLE SHOULD NOT BE
CONSIDERED ANTIQUATED.
WHEREAS: TODAY, RELAY RIDER GEORGE REYNOLDS BRINGS THE NBG
MESSAGE FROM BOSTON TO NEW YORK AS PART OF THE NBG NATIONAL
MAYOR'S RIDE. WEEKS AGO, RIDERS SET OFF FROM THE FOUR
CORNERS OF AMERICA ON A JOURNEY THAT WOULD PASS THROUGH 40
MAJOR METROPOLITAN AREAS. THEY LEAVE EACH OF THE CITIES
THEY VISIT HAVING INCREASED AWARENESS OF THE MANY BENEFITS
OF BICYCLING, IN ADDITION TO MAKING THE CASE FOR THE
NATIONAL BICYCLE GREENWAY. NEW YORK CITY IS READY TO HEAR
THE MESSAGE MR. REYNOLDS BRINGS, AND WE WISH HIM AND HIS
FELLOW RIDERS THE BEST OF LUCK AS THEY COMPLETE THEIR TWO-
WHEELED JOURNEYS.
NOW THEREFORE, I, MICHAEL R. BLOOMBERG, MAYOR OF THE CITY OF
NEW YORK, IN RECOGNITION OF THIS IMPORTANT EVENT, DO HEREBY
PROCLAIM FRIDAY, JUNE 25TH, 2004, IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK AS
"NATIONAL BICYCLE GREENWAY DAY"
========================================
- And last but certainly not least is the description Faye
Saunders drew up for Don Loomis's ride:
6/25 9:45am
I caught up with Don at a phone booth about 70 miles outside
of Salt Lake City this morning. Since Skot Pascal has
already made it to Salt Lake and picked up the proclamation,
Don is going to head for Steamboat Springs, Colorado. Since
he has been feeling as though he was slightly behind
schedule, he has been pushing hard to get as many miles in
as he could. Now he will be able to relax a little bit and
enjoy the ride.
The last time Don and I spoke, he was leaving Baker and
had planned to camp whenever the sun went down before
arriving in Delta. As darkness fell, a car stopped to ask
if he needed anything. When he told them he just needed a
place to set up his tent for the night, they directed him
to a beautiful spot overlooking a canyon. By now, the
night sky was being lit up with stars and Don decided to
do without the tent and sleep under Mother Nature's
blanket. He was so tired, he fell asleep in his bike
clothes and was awakened by a resplendent sunrise. This
also made for much quicker packing in the morning without
his having to break down the tent.
There has been a little rain, but not much, the result of
which was the most magnificent sunset Don has seen on his
trip thus far. Normally the sun going down would indicate
that it is time for him to find a place to camp, but since
he had decided he would ride into the night last night, he
was able to leisurely take in the entire pink clouded
scenery. This tranquil setting was soon replaced with
lightening bolts surrounding him which were not close enough
to cause any worry, but provided a spectacular light show
for his night time ride.
As he was leaving Baker, Utah, on Hwy 50 he saw a car
stopped up ahead with a person standing beside it. The
person turned out to be a bicyclist named George who was
riding from Philadelphia to San Francisco. George was on a
mountain bike towing a Bob trailer and, like Don, was
carrying a heavy load of gear.
As for the the car, there were women in it that Don referred
to as Thelma & Louise, from the 1991 movie. They were both
brain cancer survivors from the state of Washington and had
just visited Moab National Park where part of the Thelma &
Louise film was shot. They even found the man who has the
'66 Thunderbird used in the movie stored in his garage and
had their picture taken in it. Don told them about Patrick
Thomas, the unicyclist riding across the US raising money
for the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. They left a
message for him on his cell phone. When one of the women
mentioned she had written a book, Don told them about Martin
Krieg's story and gave them the bikeroute.com web address.
Their message that stuck with Don: "It is important to
follow your dreams."
Don also ran into the pushamerica.org bike gang again. It
appears they are taking almost the identical route that Don
is into Chicago. Their plan is to arrive in Chicago two days
before Don, so he will most likely cross their path again.
A couple of guys passing in a car stopped to talk. One of
the men told Don about his Easy Racer and Bike Friday that
he rides. The fellow was from Marin and now lived in North
Carolina. Don gave the gentlemen the bikeroute.com website
to look up when they get a chance.
Breakfast this morning was at the Family Tree Restaurant in
Santaquin, Utah, named so because the walls are covered with
family portraits. The home baked whole wheat bread with jam
was delicious. Today he will take Hwy 6 to Helper, Utah,
connecting to Hwy 40 which will lead him into Colorado. Don
is curious to see what it will be like crossing the Rocky
Mountains. Now that he has some miles on his legs, will it
be easier or tougher than the Sierras were?
Don's quotes for the day: "I'm loving this." "I don't know
if I'm going to want to go back to work after this."
The stories that Don tells of the people he meets shows us
that the Mayor's Ride is a very effective way to spread
the word of a vision of a National Bicycle Greenway. As
Don and Patrick and the numerous other riders meet people
out on America's roads, they are reaching people who never
would have thought of such a thing. Thank you Don, and all
the NBG riders for spreading this consciousness to
everyone you meet.
a day early. This after he had spent the night previous
camped on an island in the middle of the Great Salt Lake.
Never mind that he couldn't find drinking water for almost 2
hours (he had entered on the wrong road), or the fact that
brine shrimp filled the shallow warm water of the massive
body of liquid he was surrounded by making it not a worthy
escape from the heat, the quiet, the sunset and the antelope
and the bison that he saw all made up for it. Nor could he
wait to tell Lisa Romeny, the Salt Lake City bike
coordinator, how poorly the state of Utah accounts for its
cyclists. While the conditions did improve in Salt Lake
City, Skot tells us that, for him, the ride was over as soon
as he entered Utah where he saw not one bike lane or road
sign that mentioned the existence of bicycles. In fact it
was so bad that he called me from a pay phone and asked if
he could end his ride a day early.
Not wanting to subject Don Loomis to the same torture, I
called Lisa and asked if she could greet him a day ahead of
schedule. Always cheerful, and always willing to help our
cause, she cleared her own schedule and went down to meet
Skot for a photo op which U can see at http://www.BikeRoute.com/NationalMayorsRide2004/#Anchor-
46384
Soon we will have Skot's always awesome pix on line and
hopefully his final report but for now, here is some Haiku
from the man himself:
========================================
Out there in the air is where it can be found.
children have it all around.
Be a childkid once more it is waiting in a
sound.........whrrrrrr(gear). sk.
========================================
Don Loomis had made a heroic effort to get there on time and
was poised to do so when I called him to let him know he'd
be better off avoiding the Salt Lake City detour. He was
disappointed but also relieved that to make his next city,
Steamboat Springs, he only has to do 60 miles days. In
Steamboat, Riley Polumbus, the Chamber of Commerce director
there, has a soak and shower waiting for him and Patrick in
a downtown hot springs. Maybe if they are lucky even a room
night!! Besides the reception with their city council....
We will close with Don's report, but first I want to
tell U about some of the other excitement that has been
taking place.
- I just talked to Montana Norvell and his group of four
cyclists (Matt Yoder, Alex Montgomery and Andy Sapinsky)
who just this morning got the New York City Mayor's
proclamation from Josh Kinberg and are biking it down to
Philadelphia. And all four of them were at the Tokio
Ballroom in Philadelphia until 2 in this morning for Janet
Bressler's (http://janetbressler.com) well received NBG
show. Hopefully we can get a report on that soon as well
but for now Montana is pushing for Philly and their
reception there at Love Park tomorrow. Montana also tells
me that the Bilenky Boys, the popular Bilenky Cycle Works
band, played last nite as well!!
- On Friday July 2, Larry Black, widely celebrated owner
of two east coast bike shops that both have huge
followings, will bike from Baltimore to Washington DC on
an attention getting antique late 1800's High Wheel
bicycle. His ride will be a part of the 3rd Annual 2004
National Mayors' Ride. Traveling with a supporting cast
of other cyclists, he and his group look forward to
receiving the NBG Day Mayor's Proclamation from DC Mayor
Anthony Williams himself.
- Here is the text from the awesome New York City
proclamation that Mayor Bloomberg signed:
WHEREAS: ASIDE FROM BEING A WONDERFUL WAY TO MORE VISCERALLY
ENJOY THE SIGHTS, SOUNDS, AND SENSATIONS OF SUMMER,
BICYCLING SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVES THE QUALITY OF LIFE IN NEW
YORK CITY. WHILE BIKES HAVE LONG BEEN THE PREFERRED VEHICLE
OF THE YOUNG, THOSE OF US WHO THOUGHT WE OUTGREW OUR
BICYCLES THE DAY WE RECEIVED OUR DRIVER'S LICENSE SHOULD
RECONSIDER OUR YOUTHFUL ENTHUSIASM FOR PEDAL-POWERED
LOCOMOTION. BICYCLING PRODUCES NO AIR OR NOISE POLLUTION,
DECREASES TRAFFIC CONGESTION, AND SAVES ENERGY, WHICH IS
REASON ENOUGH FOR ALL NEW YORKERS TO CONSIDER BIKING WHEN
MAKING TRAVEL PLANS. FURTHERMORE, BICYCLING IS A LOW-COST
MEANS OF TRANSPORTATION THAT OFFERS INVALUABLE HEALTH
BENEFITS. WHETHER YOU RIDE FOR YOURSELF OR FOR THE SAKE OF
YOUR COMMUNITY, YOU ARE MAKING A MEANINGFUL CONTRIBUTION TO
THE WELL BEING OF NEW YORK CITY.
WHEREAS: THE NATIONAL BICYCLE GREENWAY REPRESENTS A MAJOR
STEP FORWARD IN THE VIABILITY OF BICYCLE TRAVEL. SINCE 1987,
NBG'S DEDICATED VOLUNTEERS HAVE BEEN WORKING TO REALIZE A
NATIONWIDE NETWORK OF BIKE-FRIENDLY ROADS AND BICYCLE
PATHWAYS THAT WILL CONNECT CYCLISTS TO MAJOR CITIES
THROUGHOUT THE UNITED STATES. THE NBG IS DEDICATED TO
DEVELOPING A STANDARD FOR CYCLE-SAFE THRUWAYS THAT ENHANCES
THE TRAVEL EXPERIENCE OF THE CYCLIST. WHILE WE LIVE IN A
WORLD DOMINATED BY THE AUTOMOBILE, THE BICYCLE SHOULD NOT BE
CONSIDERED ANTIQUATED.
WHEREAS: TODAY, RELAY RIDER GEORGE REYNOLDS BRINGS THE NBG
MESSAGE FROM BOSTON TO NEW YORK AS PART OF THE NBG NATIONAL
MAYOR'S RIDE. WEEKS AGO, RIDERS SET OFF FROM THE FOUR
CORNERS OF AMERICA ON A JOURNEY THAT WOULD PASS THROUGH 40
MAJOR METROPOLITAN AREAS. THEY LEAVE EACH OF THE CITIES
THEY VISIT HAVING INCREASED AWARENESS OF THE MANY BENEFITS
OF BICYCLING, IN ADDITION TO MAKING THE CASE FOR THE
NATIONAL BICYCLE GREENWAY. NEW YORK CITY IS READY TO HEAR
THE MESSAGE MR. REYNOLDS BRINGS, AND WE WISH HIM AND HIS
FELLOW RIDERS THE BEST OF LUCK AS THEY COMPLETE THEIR TWO-
WHEELED JOURNEYS.
NOW THEREFORE, I, MICHAEL R. BLOOMBERG, MAYOR OF THE CITY OF
NEW YORK, IN RECOGNITION OF THIS IMPORTANT EVENT, DO HEREBY
PROCLAIM FRIDAY, JUNE 25TH, 2004, IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK AS
"NATIONAL BICYCLE GREENWAY DAY"
========================================
- And last but certainly not least is the description Faye
Saunders drew up for Don Loomis's ride:
6/25 9:45am
I caught up with Don at a phone booth about 70 miles outside
of Salt Lake City this morning. Since Skot Pascal has
already made it to Salt Lake and picked up the proclamation,
Don is going to head for Steamboat Springs, Colorado. Since
he has been feeling as though he was slightly behind
schedule, he has been pushing hard to get as many miles in
as he could. Now he will be able to relax a little bit and
enjoy the ride.
The last time Don and I spoke, he was leaving Baker and
had planned to camp whenever the sun went down before
arriving in Delta. As darkness fell, a car stopped to ask
if he needed anything. When he told them he just needed a
place to set up his tent for the night, they directed him
to a beautiful spot overlooking a canyon. By now, the
night sky was being lit up with stars and Don decided to
do without the tent and sleep under Mother Nature's
blanket. He was so tired, he fell asleep in his bike
clothes and was awakened by a resplendent sunrise. This
also made for much quicker packing in the morning without
his having to break down the tent.
There has been a little rain, but not much, the result of
which was the most magnificent sunset Don has seen on his
trip thus far. Normally the sun going down would indicate
that it is time for him to find a place to camp, but since
he had decided he would ride into the night last night, he
was able to leisurely take in the entire pink clouded
scenery. This tranquil setting was soon replaced with
lightening bolts surrounding him which were not close enough
to cause any worry, but provided a spectacular light show
for his night time ride.
As he was leaving Baker, Utah, on Hwy 50 he saw a car
stopped up ahead with a person standing beside it. The
person turned out to be a bicyclist named George who was
riding from Philadelphia to San Francisco. George was on a
mountain bike towing a Bob trailer and, like Don, was
carrying a heavy load of gear.
As for the the car, there were women in it that Don referred
to as Thelma & Louise, from the 1991 movie. They were both
brain cancer survivors from the state of Washington and had
just visited Moab National Park where part of the Thelma &
Louise film was shot. They even found the man who has the
'66 Thunderbird used in the movie stored in his garage and
had their picture taken in it. Don told them about Patrick
Thomas, the unicyclist riding across the US raising money
for the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. They left a
message for him on his cell phone. When one of the women
mentioned she had written a book, Don told them about Martin
Krieg's story and gave them the bikeroute.com web address.
Their message that stuck with Don: "It is important to
follow your dreams."
Don also ran into the pushamerica.org bike gang again. It
appears they are taking almost the identical route that Don
is into Chicago. Their plan is to arrive in Chicago two days
before Don, so he will most likely cross their path again.
A couple of guys passing in a car stopped to talk. One of
the men told Don about his Easy Racer and Bike Friday that
he rides. The fellow was from Marin and now lived in North
Carolina. Don gave the gentlemen the bikeroute.com website
to look up when they get a chance.
Breakfast this morning was at the Family Tree Restaurant in
Santaquin, Utah, named so because the walls are covered with
family portraits. The home baked whole wheat bread with jam
was delicious. Today he will take Hwy 6 to Helper, Utah,
connecting to Hwy 40 which will lead him into Colorado. Don
is curious to see what it will be like crossing the Rocky
Mountains. Now that he has some miles on his legs, will it
be easier or tougher than the Sierras were?
Don's quotes for the day: "I'm loving this." "I don't know
if I'm going to want to go back to work after this."
The stories that Don tells of the people he meets shows us
that the Mayor's Ride is a very effective way to spread
the word of a vision of a National Bicycle Greenway. As
Don and Patrick and the numerous other riders meet people
out on America's roads, they are reaching people who never
would have thought of such a thing. Thank you Don, and all
the NBG riders for spreading this consciousness to
everyone you meet.
