where to next?

All of you are probably wondering what I am up to now; now that my bike trip is over. truth is, i've been very very sad. ariel and i had sobfests over the phone the first few days after we left each other.

two days after my trip, my dad drove up to Boston to pick me up. my dad wanted to do some biking with me, so we biked around Boston (to the Arnold Arboretum along the Emerald Necklace) on Saturday, then drove to Cape Cod. On Sunday, we biked the Cape Cod rail trail, and visited the beach. I didn't like the fact that Cape Cod was so populated with tourists, but the sight of the marshes and the ocean were still very beautiful; the vast grand view stretching toward the horizon was something no tourists can taint.

We got back to the good ol' NYC Sunday night. I've been hanging out here since, mostly going to the Manhattan library everday. My parents moved to Queens, blegh. I feel like I'm living in a prison here. My room is half the size it was at WILG, and I always have to mess with the security alarm system because breakins happen in this neighborhood. What a drastic change to go from never having to worry about leaving our bikes unlocked, to having to set the alarm system even to open a window. as i said, BLEGH!!

It seems that I am experiencing such extreme bicycle touring withdrawal that I can't seem to get away from my bike. On Labor Day, my family and I went with the Chinese Mountaineering Club of New York on a camping trip to Taconic State Park. During the day, some people went hiking, and others went biking. I went biking of course. Everyone was also excited to listen to my stories around the campfire, and I was excited to tell them. In the end, though, I found myself reminiscing even more about the last two wonderful months.

Next week, I'm going to fix bikes! I'm spending the next month volunteering for Recycle a Bike, an organization who look for volunteers that do precisely that. I was so elated when I found several environmental organizations looking for bike mechanices. I can't wait to meet more people who understand the magical wonders of bikes, and learn more about repairing and building bikes!! you might be able to tell, i'm SUPER excited.

So what next? i've applied for a working holiday visa in New Zealand and Australia. i am in the process of filling out my documents right now. if all goes well, i will be in New Zealand in mid-october, and hopefully with a job soon after. i am going under the sponsorship of the work and travel program called CCUSA (www.ccusa.com). i plan to stay in New Zealand for a year, and head on to Australia for another 4 months-1 year of work. the thought of all this overseas by myself is daunting, but at least they speak english there, and CCUSA is providing me with a lot of support in terms of finding a job. i do have to learn to fend for myself at some point, why not now?

[bike] from sea to shining sea

Let's go back to where I left off in New York.

It was harder to find places to stay in New York. We ended up staying
in more less-than-ideal places such as patches of grass next to fire
stations. After Ithaca, we ditched our plans of going through the
Catskill Mountains, and instead went to Albany. We were surprised to
find ourselves in an extremely small town with a country kind of feel
about 15 miles from Albany. There, we asked the owner of an antique
store to stay in his backyard.

Donny Doin was an ex-marine and had lots of stories of how mischievous
a child he was. He built an open fire for us, and we shared stories
for the rest of the night. In the morning he cooked us a warm
breakfast: ham and cheddar quiche, home fries, and tea. He had also
experienced a time when he ate only peanut butter and jelly for a
month, so he felt sorry for us.

That day we climbed the Applachian Mountains and entered
Massachusetts. We passed through Williamstown. I thought back to the
last time I was there for a Purple Valley frisbee tournament in
October. I thought: I ate at that Dunkin' Donuts, and now I'm passing
it on my bike!

We stopped after only 50 miles in Plainfield, MA. It was a small town
up in the mountains. The town was so small and quiet that we heard
nothing but the sound of animals during the night, even the howl of
wolves.

On our last night of our trip, we ended up in Wilmington, MA. We were
worried that we would have to leave town because we were constantly
getting rejected for places to stay. Finally, Seager called a number
for a lodge on a telephone post, and reached Ed Torell. He was another
friendly man who offered us full services, and let us sleep in his
camper. Actually, he had phoned two of his friends to come over (as
backup in case we turned out to be bad people.) He almost couldn't
believe himself when he realized he invited three complete strangers
who saw his number on a telephone post, to come to his house. We were
very grateful for his faith in strangers.

The ride was only 20 miles from Wilmington to the Atlantic Ocean. We
ended our 2 and a half month journey in Beverly, a suburb just north
of Boston. Up to that point, we still couldn't be too sure that we'd
get to the end without any accidents or troubles. But alas, we dipped
our front tires into the big salty sea. WE MADE IT!

After some more adventures of picking up bike boxes at local bike
shops, and carrying them to FedEx, Seager and Ariel packed up their
gear and bikes. We nearly took over the entire sidewalk in front of
FedEx trying to sort everything out. But within 2 hours, they shipped
everything home. Off we went to the train that would take us to
Boston. That night, we had three dinners: first at Bartley's (famous
burger place), then Toscanini's (lots of ice cream), then the Asgard
(good beer and conversation).

Seager flew back to Eugene Friday morning. Ariel and I baked peach pie
to celebrate the end. This trip has made us all brothers and sisters.
I think we will continue to insult each other endearingly and have
pointless arguments for a long time.

Thanks for all the encouragement and support that you guys gave. It
really did help us keep going when those hills and traffic were bad. I
hope to see you all soon! Maybe even bike tour together someday!

THE END
MinWah

[bike] the East

Sorry I've left you guys left loose since Ohio. We are in fact in Massachusetts now, with only about 80 miles to go. :( It's so sad!!

 

There are full updates at teamroadshow.com/jour , but here are some highlights: At Oakwood, we met a wonderful couple that treated us to dinner, and let us sleep in their camper. I had fried shrimp and sweet potato fries for dinner, what a treat! They also offered their homemade ice cream, and their shower/laundry/bathroom facilities. 

 

Further along Ohio, there were many storms. On one particular day, we got into town just in time, right before a tornado warning! We hid in the library for awhile, and got talking with the people there who were interested in our trip. We got in contact with a nice family that had biked from Hartville, OH to Boston. We were drenched by the time we reached their house, but it was all worth it. They cooked spaghetti for us, but they had all sorts of other homemade goodies. They canned their own tomato sauce, apple-blueberry and raspberry sauces. That morning, Rachel (one of the daughters) had also baked up soft peach muffins and chocolate chip cookies. They showed us the route that they had taken to Boston and we all exchanged adventures before heading to bed. We had a nice warm and dry house to sleep in for the night! In the morning, they cooked up pancakes and other warm breakfast foods for us before we braved the cold, wet rain again. 

 

Our second night in Pennsylvania, we stopped at a small town called Polk. After asking for places to stay at the local grocery store, we were directed to the house of Jim Miller. He generously let us stay in his backyard. But in addition to that, he played in a local bluegrass band, and they were having a concert that night right in his backyard. We met lots of lovely small town folk at the concert, and enjoyed the music as we cooked and ate dinner. The band ended the concert with a tribute to us "the bikers": "I've Been Everywhere" originally by Johnny Cash.

 

In Pennsylvania, I also got to view the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon. Amazing views of green. It's comforting to be back in the East, despite the high population density. The forests and hills are safe havens from the cities; there is just something quite different yet refreshing about nature in the East.

 

In New York, we decided to go through Ithaca to visit a friend of Ariel's at Cornell University. The gorges and waterfalls were majestic. We swam at one of the gorges all afternoon, before heading to the Commons for dinner. Just so happened that a music festival was happening there, making the evening quite enjoyable and relaxing. And having a shower never felt so good that night.

 

Love,

MinWah 

 

     

[bike] from illinois to ohio

We were very happy to finally ride out of Illinois. The suburbs of Chicago were extremely busy and hectic. Once we got into Indiana, the roads were quieter and much more pleasant. We rode through small farm roads that meandered through many cornfields and meadows. It was the first time we experienced an abundance of colorful wild flowers. All the meadows and fields were bright and dandy, even when the weather was gloomy and wet. The air is starting to be heavy due to the humidity.

 

Orian (Karen's fiance) came to visit us in Akron, IN. He brought fresh vegetables from their garden at home...mmm, yum! Stir fry vegetables with fried rice, what a luxury. He only stayed for one night, and in the morning, it was especially unfortunate that he took Kaia and Anders with him. Kaia and Anders were planning to go all the way to the East Coast with us, but had to leave because of some family issues :(

 

Other than that, there wasn't any other free food. It's also getting harder to find places to stay at night because the people seem less open, and many of the parks prohibit camping. We seem to be having some luck by sweet-talking the policemen. 

 

Today was our first day into Ohio. We got a tour of a seed production company, and the people there are giving us a place to stay in the town of Oakwood. Also, Karen's odometer hit 3000 miles!!   

[bike] trekking on

The end of Ragbrai sure was sad. So many friends, so many bikers, all gone within a few hours on Saturday. We still have lots of miles to go before reaching the East Coast, and alas, we must keep trekking on. After Ragbrai, we continued our trip with 3 extra members: Tim, Anders, and Kaia. Tim was going to bike with us to Chicago, where he lived. Anders and Kaia, well, we met them at one of our juggling shows and they decided we were so cool they wanted to keep biking with us to the East.

 

We all had to get used to biking on the road with the weight of our loaded bags again, and without being surrounded by thousands of enthusiastic bikers, and slow cars. I guess we realized we were approaching the East when all the cars were zooming past us at scary speeds these few days. On Sunday, we crossed the Mississippi River, finally leaving Iowa and entered into the Land of Lincoln: Illinois. Illinois hasn't been very impressive: the roads are covered in potholes and busy cars rushing to go somewhere.

 

We stayed at Lanark, IL Sunday night, and biked to Franklin Grove the next day. At Franklin Grove, we met a lady at the grocery store, who offered us to stay at the historical village just outside of town, where her husband was restoring houses from the 1800. There, the workers were very nice to us. One of them gave us $50 for groceries, and the other came back later at night to give us fresh juicy watermelon. Of course, we ended up spitting watermelon seeds at each other all night. Also, there was a campfire pit, so we lit up a campfire and sang wonderful songs before going to sleep.

 

Tuesday was nothing too special: the road was a lot less hilly than Monday, YAY. We got to Aurora, the suburb of Chicago where Tim lives. His parents let us get into the pool at no charge, and fed us an amazing dinner: brats and grilled chicken. Their corn dip was especially good. We decided to take a day's rest and go into Chicago on Wednesday to visit people.

 

When I got into Chicago, I was amazed at how I needed to adapt myself to the city again. Somehow biking for such a long time through a lot of middle-of-nowhere places really puts you out of tune with city life. The people, the buildings, and the traffic seemed funnily unfamiliar. We ended up not being able to meet up with people, but I have been yearning for Chinese food all this trip. Finally, I satisfied my cravings when we went to Chinatown. How I miss Chinatown in New York!! Chinese food, Chinese people, Chinese words on the awnings. Ahh, I like to be reminded of home sometimes.

 

Ba-ma-pii (until later in Ojibwe),

MinWah

[bike] ragbrai: unloaded

More than 18,000 bicyclists attended this year's Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa (RAGBRAI), including Lance Armstrong. We rode a total of 477 miles in 7 days. The main essence of Ragbrai, however, is in 1) the ride itself and 2) the people you ride with.  

 

The Ride Itself

Ariel and Seager had been obsessing about Ragbrai for weeks, and now I have finally discovered the glory of Ragbrai. On Saturday, everyone started storming into Rock Rapids with their bicycles. Every patch of green in the town was covered by tents, bicycles, and buses. The streets was bustling with crowds of people and bikes. As the cars were trying to meander through town, it seemed as if the cars were bowing to the bicycles. They all drove slowly past, being sure not to seem "in the way" of the bikes.

 

Sunday was our first day of riding. Even when I woke up before 6 am, I had to stand in line for the port-a-potties! Once we got on the road though, I was so happy to see so many bikers. I could be immersed among friendly strangers and not have to smell any exhaust from cars! Alongside the road, there were all sorts of signs: handmade signs made by the locals who were advertising their food. "Free Water--3 miles! Dad's Belgian Waffles at Denver Fire House! All you can eat Breakfast-$5 next right!! Smoothies: Free Samples!"...and so forth. And as you passed each sign, you would get hungrier and hungrier, so you would bike faster and faster to get there.

 

Each day, we would bike 50-80 miles from the start town to the overnight town, and there were about 5-6 towns interspersed within the day's ride. Boy was it fun to stop in towns about every 10-15 miles!! Each town had its own mini county fair: all sorts of BBQ foods and activities. Often we stretched and napped under trees. But even more often, we ate. Pie is a Ragbrai specialty (especially with ice cream on top), so we were sure to have it daily, sometimes even 3 times a day. My other favorite activity was buying corn on a cob and eating it while watching streams of bikes go by.

 

It was impossible to get bored riding on Ragbrai, even though the scenery of corn, soybeans, and hog farms never changed. Cornfields were famous for being nature's port-a-potty. The corn stalks were tall, so no one on the road would see you. And the smell of corn overpowered the smell of urine. Everyone peed in the cornfields! On top of that, all sorts of interesting teams were present on the ride. Team Roadkill decorated all the roadkill on the pavement with beads, leis, and flowers. Team Killer Bees were dressed in yellow and black stripped spandex...and they road so fast in a pace line that it really sounded like bees going past.

 

 

THE PEOPLE YOU RIDE WITH

Our team was Team Roadshow. Our team was founded by some jugglers and unicyclists, who decided to do road shows in the overnight towns on Ragbrai. I didn't know the tiniest bit about juggling or unicycling, but by the end I must admit, I was a bit obsessed. On the first night, everyone on our team was practicing their stunts--juggling, hula hooping, and unicycling. I felt left out, so I started to teach myself to juggle by watching others. I kept on practicing, and I learned to juggle in a night! Every night I'd practice, and get a little better, but I'm still far away from doing any shows.

 

Each night our shows had the same setup: some juggling with balls and clubs, then Bak Choy would hula hoop. Then they would juggle and hula hoop with fire! Our team members are very talented. However, my favorite part about our road shows was the fact that we came up with new tricks to do every night. We would perform our shows, then spend the rest of the night experimenting with new stunts for the shows. It is very empowering to discover the many things that you can do, just by having your friends around you. 

 

On our last night, the crowd was amazing. A huge ring of elders, adults, and children surrounded us. When Team Roadshow members started screaming, the crowd would answer back in a roar. At the end of the show, a lot of people stuck around to talk to us, and a few were even very eager to join our team! I became friends with many of the team members just within these 7 days of riding together, and I wouldn't be surprised if they became lifelong friends. Somehow bicycling always makes the world seem like a better place.

 

I love Team Roadshow, You should too!   

[bike] the land of corn, soybeans, and pigs

We have made our way to IOWA...and in fact, to the start town of Ragbrai, the annual 7-day bicycle ride across Iowa. By Saturday, not only will thousands of people be here, but TENS of thousands of people will be in Rock Rapids to participate in this bike ride. We arrived in Rock Rapids today...5 days early and plenty of time to rest our sore muscles. Since we're here very early, we will be helping to set up for the biking madness.

 

From Winner, SD, we crossed the Missouri River and made our way into Platte, SD. We were hanging out at the library in Platte, when we met Dr. Bentz. Ariel was telling him how one of the best things about this trip is that "we get to meet interesting people". As a result, Dr. Bentz left for awhile, and then returned with "an interesting person", ILO VANDERBLOOM. Ilo was a funny and charming old man (he's turning 90 in two weeks). He brought us to the dinner theater (a dinner followed by a show). Everyone in town knew who he was. At dinner, people kept asking Ilo, "Who are these girls?" and Ilo would put his arms around us and say "The doctor is trying to kill me." He also liked to crack jokes such as "Have you gotten enough of the corn here?" I said, "I haven't seen any corn on the road." He says, "Why, that show was corny, wasn't it?" That night, we all slept well inside Ilo's house.

 

Yesterday we left Parkston and headed for Sioux Falls, the largest city in South Dakota. We started noticing fields and fields of corn and soybeans. There were also gorgeous sunflower fields along the road. However, when we got to Sioux Falls, our two contacts there were not available. Then we somehow got the idea into our heads that it would be fun to try a century ride (break 100 miles) that day. At that point we had already done 73 miles. But just after we decided to ride 100 miles, the wind started blowing strong right in our faces! Despite that, we did not give up. We finally rode into Larchwood, Iowa...with a grand total of 101.92 miles, and very very hungry stomachs. We pigged out on pizza, subs, and fried food, and went to camp at the park.

 

The next morning (today) we found out that Rock Rapids was a mere 15 miles away. Yay, we made it to the start of Ragbrai!!