The route looks something like this

 

 

Michigan and Ontario will look a little different.  And maybe New York. But that's the gist!

24 hour turnaround!

Last night I tried again to make a penny stove.  Well, my friend Cale apparently can pop out four alcohol stoves in an hour (or something), but I can't quite get it after two tries.  It might have been helpful if I had the proper tools... but who's got time for that?

And here's how it should be:

I'll get it in time.  I just need to get some razor blades.  Or something.

But today!  Somebody sent these three books in the mail.

 

 (AC DC's Highway To Hell, Black Sabbath's Master of Reality (33 1/3), aaaand T&T Clark Companion to Methodism (Continuum Companions))

What a nice graduation gift!  Which should I take on the road?

What you can do #1

How can you support this ride?*  The easiest way that you can do this is simply to move over a little when you're passing a cyclist on the road.

Yep. 

In some states, the law requires cars, trucks, and motorcycles to give cyclists three feet of space when passing.  (Even Florida, my dear home state, requires it.  Even Florida.)  Seems like a good idea, ya?

It's pretty scary to be buzzed when you're on a bike.  Cars have ridden too close to me many times, and if you know a cyclist who's been on the road, she or he has too.  Sometimes people just don't know.  Other times people do it as a way to threaten cyclists.  Sometimes, car drivers are pissed that bikes are on the road, and so by buzzing cyclists, the drivers think they're teaching a lesson.  Well, that sucks.  And it's poor logic, too.

Sure, sometimes bike riders are jerks (ahem) and that's pretty irritating, but that doesn't mean they deserve to be threatened (especially the I'm-gonna-kill-or-injure-you type of threat that buzzing somebody is).  Nope, they don't.  Just take a deep breath and move on.  Feel free to shake your head at them, but please don't buzz them.  It's incredibly scary.

So that's it!  Three feet and a little more care when your behind the wheel can go a LONG way to making our roads safer.







*sawbucks accepted too.  (j/k! or not!)

Why this bike tour? (RD)

Why not?

OK.  That might not be a sufficient answer for many folks.  For bike people, you understand.

There are a bunch of reasons for this kind of bike trip that come together to form one big push out the door and on the road.

let's go

1. Biking = fun.  Mucho.  Racing is fine and everything, but the real thrill is biking to places and seeing cool things.  Why not use a car or a train? Well, when you're on a bike, you get to connect with your environment a lot better and greet more people.  Plus sitting still all day seems really unpleasant.
   

   

   
   

   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
      
   
2. Why a northern route in the U.S.?  A couple of years ago I decided that I would try to leave the country every year if I could swing it financially and professionally.  A friend suggested that seeing more of the U.S. would also be pretty great, too.  So I added seeing more of this country to the ol' bucket list, and here I am.
3. I just graduated from seminary with a Master of Divinity. degree  If you spent three years doing a master's degree you might want to clear your head a bit, too. 
   

   

   (Why aren't you studying?)

4. But!  I'm also at the very first stages of beginning ordination with the United Methodist Church, and I'd like to visit churches to hear and see a little bit of what they're experiencing.  What are their challenges?  What do they celebrate?  What do they believe?  What do they preach and teach?  
5. I'm as interested in hearing from people who do not believe in God, who have left churches, or who have been excluded by churches.  Hate religion?  (You're not alone.)  Why?  I'm afraid that our churches do too much to cut off people from God, and I'd like to learn how we can get out of the way of God's embrace.
6. Apparently hospitality is alive and well, though you may have to look a little for it.
7. National parks.  Can you believe that we have them?  They're wonderful.
   
   
8. I want good stories to tell when I'm 75. 
9. I've never been to Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, or Canada.  I know!  Can you believe it?  (or Arizona or New Mexico or Oregon or Utah or Missouri or Arkansas or Maine.  Or Africa or Asia or Australia or Antarctica.  Yeesh.  Time to get moving)
   
   
   
10. They (the infamous they!) say that the church is dying.  That might be true.  I just graduated with a bunch of youngish ministers that mostly think otherwise.  If it is, why?  If it's not, then who's in it?  It's time for a little first-hand research.  (Books!  Away!)
    
11. Roadside diners
    
    
    
    
    
12. The chances for a chunk of free time like this in the future are slim.  Carpe diem, friends; whatever your diem brings.