Dear Blog,



David here. I'm in Charlottesville, VA visiting my sister Jessica. I've been on the east coast now for about 2 weeks now. Casey and I flew out of San Francisco and into Washington DC using the buddy passes so bounteously bestowed upon us by our pilot friend, Jeff. I must apologize. I have been the worst blogger of all time. I think the hardest part about being a delinquent blogger is not so much that I leave people hanging, but that when I finally actually sit down to write, I have forgotten everything. So I sit here now, comfortable in a warm home, showered, well-fed, wearing clean clothes, and well-socialized, trying to reengage the psyche of the traveling David. I am always struck by the ability of my brain to adjust itself to new environments so quickly and completely that I'm no longer granted access to memories and thoughts associated with previous settings. But this is why I take pictures. So I will take a moment to browse my photos for inspiration.

Well the last we talked, we were about to enter a period of rain and boy did it ever. It rained for about 2 days and two nights. The days were mostly a mixture of showers to drizzle to heavy fog. There was a stretch of road that was rather terrifying during a foggy state. I think it was around the small town of Manchester, just north of Point Arena. Close your eyes and imagine for a moment this road. No, wait. Read the next few sentences and then close your eyes and imagine for a moment. The road was very windy and its elevation profile would read something like corduroy. On one side was a high cliff hundreds of feet above the tempestuous Pacific ocean. On the other side was farm and pasture land. Since we were heading south, we were of course, on the tempestuous Pacific side of the road. And this side very seldom had any guard rails. And since we were on route 1, there was no shoulder. And since we were high up and it was rainy, we were inside a cloud. A very dense cold soupy fog. Visibility was about 10 feet. Our surroundings were reduced to a narrow band of grey road, grey/yellow stripes on the road, and whatever grey things happened to be on the side of the road. It was probably good that I couldn't see the ocean so far and frothy below us, otherwise I probably would have been unable to go on. But being the brazen explorers that we are, Casey and I donned our most fluorescent clothing items and navigated ever so cautiously until we descended below the clouds in the late afternoon.

That night we set up our tent in a clearing under a large conifer that was in the middle of a wheat-colored grassy field high above and overlooking the ocean. As night settled in, we realized that we were camping in a family of deers' home. They walked up as a family and looked at us with confusion and alarm, eliciting heavy a guilt in Casey in me. We sang them a song with ukulele and guitar for a while to try to get them to share the spot with us, but I think they were too scared.

The next night we ended up staying in a campground with a couple we met at a gas station in a tiny town, I think it was called Stewart's Point. Initially we weren't going to stay there because it was something like 20 dollars for a spot and Casey and I have made a pact to never pay for camping. But it was getting quite dark and rainy and there were no houses or any conceivable camping spots along the road. So we opted to try our luck at arranging a wort trade with the ranger. When we got down to the sites, we ran into the couple, Heidi and Danny, and they offered to share their site with us. They made us tea, and in the morning made us coffee, sausage, eggs, pancakes, juice, and took us on a hike to see the Russian fort, Fort Ross.

That night Casey and I didn't sleep well. For one, the tent was pretty soaked. Having set it up in a downpour and then moving already wet stuff inside (including ourselves) there was not any dryness to be found. Then we were kept awake by a little anxiety. Here was the thing: Casey and I generally work in a kind of synergy, coming up with better ideas than either of us would have thought of on our own. But on occasion, we somehow manage to convince ourselves (through some forces that I'm sure a social psychologist could explain) to do pretty stupid things. (cough*sailing into a drawbridge*cough). This time we had convinced ourselves that it would be ok to set up our tent in this low sandy troughy area that was clearly a river bed. We even called it a river bed. And it was storming. We're talking huge raindrops. And it rained all night. It's unbelievable how much it rained that night. And yet Casey and I were too lazy or tired or afraid of getting our dryish sleeping clothes drenched to move our tent to higher ground. Fortunately we were not swept away in a raging river in the middle of the night and that morning we dried our things in the sun, wondering at our collective judgement and thanked our lucky stars.

It only took three more days of biking to reach San Francisco. But in those three days we camped next to a man in a trailer who told us it would be ok if we slept there, but that we should be forewarned that he will probably get drunk and start yelling. Later that night we found out that he also gets drunk and sings along to Sarah McLachlan. We also stayed a night in a place called Dogtown, where we slept next to a nice couple's barn and cooked our dinner on a fire. It was a nice clear night and we decided not to set up a tent; that was, until I had to repeatedly fend off a rat from trying to enter my sleeping bag through the opening around my face.

Have you ever seen a bunch of see lions basking in the sun in shallow water? They look like large identical pieces of driftwood that taper up on each side. It's very surreal.

We had a pretty substantial climb as highway 1 turned away from the coast to head into San Francisco. After crossing the Golden Gate Bridge, Casey and I were overwhelmed by the overstimulating urban experience. It was a good distance to our friend Kristen's townhouse in the Mission-Dolores. At first I was intimidated and stressed out by biking in the city. Not only were the cars pushy and scary, but other bikers would zoom past you in a way that was hard to interpret as anything but resentful. But soon I learned (especially after taking the gear off my bike) that you just need to get in the zone and become a maverick yourself. The cracked and potholey roads, however, were too much to get used to.

We had a great time in San Fran, going to a dance party for Obama, cooking, exploring the city, working on the website, watching movies, and doing lots of eating. We saw the Blue Angels, went to a 25 cent machine museum (way more awesome than it sounds), attended an astronomy lecture at UC Berkely, I went on a guided bus tour while Casey went hiking and swimming in a cold lake, helped to host a presidential debate potluck party, and visited friends from New College during which we learned about the long now project (http://www.longnow.org/).

I flew to DC a day before Casey. On the plane I met an interesting guy who was on his way to interview for a high position in the Department of Homeland Security and had ideas on how to end US dependence on foreign oil within a few years, and how to overthrow the Iranian government without firing a single bullet. He also thought that gay marriage was a bogus idea, despite being a gay man himself and owning one of the largest gay bars in San Francisco. It was interesting for me to hear his opinion on Obama, especially because everyone I had been surrounded recently by has been so excited about him.

In DC I stayed with Aunty Martha, which was very nice. At this point in my life I am really appreciating family. It was wonderful spending that time In Mercer Island getting to know my cousins there, and speaking to family on the phone has been especially warming. I am not sure if it has to do with biking or being so far away or just a part of getting older, but family is very dear to me right now. So it was good to see Aunty M. I also got to spend brief but quality time with Annie, Isaac and Carly (all friends from New College) and Kathrin, Jake, and Emily (friends from camp).

I took a Greyhound to get to Charlottesville and have been visiting my sister for a few days now. We went to Monticello, saw a really great concert featuring a woman named Teressa Andersson (http://www.youtube.com/user/theresaandersson) and a sister duo called Vermilion Lies (vermilionlies.com). Both performances were awe-inspiring and exciting.
Jessica and I have been having a nice time. She works during the day, and I figure out ways to pass the time. The other day I cooked a huge pot of soup and we hosted a dinner party with a bunch of Jessica's friends and that was a lot of fun. Yesterday I found 11 dollars, bought a pair of cheap sunglasses, and visited a friend from camp, Christine.

So in case you don't know the plan: Casey and I are flying to Tampa (thanks Jeff!!) and then we're going to take care of some business at New College, visit friends, and then bike to Miami. From Miami we will bike up the east coast and then into Atlanta. We need to be home by November 20th-ish, so we will have to push it. It's about a 1000 mile trip. I am excited to work on more recordings and take photos. Oh that reminds me... I don't think we have made this very public, but our mission has changed slightly. We are now concentrating on documenting our trip through soundslides (slideshows with audio). We are doing slideshows on as many aspects of our lives as we can, striving for a more accurate representation of the lifestyle of the touring cyclist. This doesn't mean we have stopped trying to learn from others. In fact, it has made us more in tune with our surroundings. When you are armed with an audio recorder and a camera, the world comes into a more artistic focus, and you see and hear with the eyes and ears of an artist. Or at least I like to feel that way. We are constantly learning, but sometimes these conversations or experiences are hard to capture. So you might notice that the website has some buttons taking you to the soundslides. Those are our new project, and we are constantly improving upon them and making more. There is a lot of progress to be made as we get used to working with the medium, and I am excited to do this next leg of the trip.

Until who knows when,

David

Where to begin?

Dear Blog,

I am ashamed for leaving you for so long, but you must understand, I have been so busy. You know how it is, once you hit a city and meet up with friends, life just takes off. So now, one whole month later, I have come back to you; but only for a moment.
Gosh, I have so much to tell you that I can hardly start. Well, Casey and I are in California. Fort Bragg, CA, to be exact. We have biked here from Portland. And guess what? I have done the whole distance without the bike motor!! Yeah, I took that old thing off in Portland after a short overnight bike trip with Casey and Gabe made me realize that I can bike again. My knee has healed, and Casey and I have been careful to ease into the tour.
So here I am with over 1000 miles on my bicycle computer and going strong.
I can't begin to describe how good it feels to be in a well-functioning body. I feel redeemed; feel a new confidence in my ability to go adventuring.
The views have been stunning. From the lands of craggy coast line in southern Oregon to the towering ancient trees of the California Redwood forests, I have been reveling in the landscapes of this part of the country. One of the coolest parts is being so intimate with the changing land. You really know when you have gone through a mountain pass because you pedaled your way to the top and then coasted to the bottom. You passed the through the timberline and panoramic views of the land below, and then leveled along the lush ferny and mossy river valley. I am constantly stopping to document natural scenes I find myself a part of, but feel frustrated by my camera's inability to capture their magnificent wholeness.
Casey and I have managed to live very inexpensively, only really spending money on snickers and lentils from the Grocery Outlets. We have racked up a significant amount of karmic debt to local food banks along the coast as well. Our ecological/ economic footprint seems nearly microscopic with this lifestyle and that feels awesome. It is especially interesting for us to think about the major events and impending changes in our nation and world regarding the global financial crisis. We have chosen a lifestyle that is probably the most directly unaffected we can think of. We are trying to keep as updated on it as possible, downloading The News Hour podcasts and listening to them on our mp3 players.
Oh boy... we've got some rain coming our way. It's looking like it might be heavy and cold. We're a little under 200 miles from San Fransisco. Once we get there we will try to update the website with content and stay with housing cooperatives if they will let us. Then we will fly to Washington DC using the buddy passes Jeff the pilot gave us. From there Casey and I will go our separate ways for a few days and then reunite to bike our way back to Atlanta. That's the plan for now.
I guess I will end this and try to post some pictures, but I wanted to make sure the Blog readers hadn't given up on us. We're working hard, taking all kinds of pictures and audio recordings, and definitely having fun.

Until next time!