cool blog

Check out this cool blog I just happened upon: non-terrorist persian It has a beautiful video in it.

Biosquat

Today, I visited the Canadians where they were living: in the Biosquat. Now, this was a truly awesome place. Some folks bought a plot of land a while back, and they began to create trails among the trees and build structures and walls and stairs out of earthen materials and salvaged materials. They have solar panels and rechargeable batteries, they have wifi wireless internet throughout the property, they have created "domociles", which are structures for sleeping in--some of which are movable, on bicycle structures and wheels, and some are stationary. They have a composting toilent, they have forts and hangout structures, they have an earthen stove, and then they have the "Mother Ship", which is more of an enclosed room, perhaps it was part of a trailer, and it has a stove, bookshelves with naturalist books and cookbooks, and it has a cutting board, large windows, and a large porch for hanging out in. It has shades for the summer. Inside the Mother Ship is a sleeping board, as well.

The whole project, the whole property has a definite plan to it. It has well thought-out trails, and one of the forts has a beautiful view of the Austin skyline! Dogs and cats filter in and out of the property through its artery network of trails. I hung out with Andy and Shelagh and we discussed anarchy and how it is practiced.

A raft some of the members made, that they plan to use down the Columbia River to Mexico--sometime in the future.

This is a "yert", or a domocile with Finnish design origins. Shelagh and Andy were residing here.

One of the hangout structures constructed of clay, bottles, bicycle frames, bicycle wheels, corrugated metal, political yard signs, and love.

One of the Penthouse forts, with a view of the Austin skyline.

The view of the Austin skyline!

Another biosquat domocile!

The dishwashing station.

The shower station.

Another domocile, on wheels!

The composting toilet, taken diagonally.
What creative use of bicycle parts, to say the least. An amazing creation.

Bike Coops

Bike Coops and Bike shops have helped me tremendously throughout my journey. These images are of the Mt Rainier Bike Coop, a coop I helped form. Other coops I have visited include the Sopo Bikes, Atlanta, and Plan B, New Orleans. Links to other bike coops can be found at BikeBike.org. Bike Coops allow you to come in, work on your bike using the tools available, ask for help from volunteers, and buy cheap used, and sometimes new, parts. Coops need volunteers to run them, and sometimes volunteering is the requirement for participation, as is the case with the Mount Rainier Bike Coop. They are a great way to learn how to fix your bike, interact with other bikers from your community, and help others with their bikes, or just help the project operate.

Update

So I am in Austin, still, though I plan to head out to San Antonio, then Brownsville, then Matamoros, San Fernando, Tampico, Poza Rica, Vera Cruz, Coatzacoalcos, Villahermosa, Belize, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Venezuela, Brasil...soon, in the next couple days.

The Canadians will head towards San Antonio as well; one has already departed for Mexico. Perhaps I will attempt to catch up with her.

I have been researching Mexico and contacting people in Mexico. Those in Mexico City have said that things are peaceful there, but probably not as much in Oaxaca. Overall, throughout Mexico, I expect that along the border will be more sensitive because of the immigration as well as the drug-smuggling element. All throughout Mexico, though, I expect that perhaps an increased motivation to obtain posessions from travelers is present. In the very Southern state of Chiapas, which I may pass by to the North, heading towards Belize, because of the ongoing countryside struggle, a higher prevalence of weapons may lead to increased chance of getting assaulted.

However, if I play it safe and smart, I think that risk can be minimized to a reasonable level.

I am trying to contact churches along the way. I contacted one in the city of Matamoros, just across the border from Brownsville. They said to come by when I arrive in town and they will be able to accomodate me. I am also using myspace to get in touch with people my age there in Matamoros and other cities.

Cycling in Austin

One day, I visited Nelo's Pro Cycles in North Austin. Nelo is, what do you know, Brazilian, from Sao Paulo, and I think he has Italian ancestry. (Many Italians, as well as Germans, and Japanese live in Southern Brazil.) Nelo was happy for my trip, I was "doing a good thing", but he wouldn't go about such a journey himself. He has helped lots of pro racers in his day--Italian, Brazilian, American, and others. He had a big display of Lance Armstrong, seven-time Tour de France winner, who grew up in Austin. Nelo hooked me up with three water bottles with his logo on them for my bike (I had left mine in a parking lot in the last city). Above is a photo of Nelo and me in his shop.

Austin has been impacted tremendously by Lance Armstrong's success. Bike lanes are common throughout the city, and bicyclists of all types are prevalent. Commuters, roadies, racers, BMX'ers, and mountain bikers cruise the streets, hills, and parks of Austin. The driving public, since the advent of the success of Armstrong, has become very used to, and accomodating of bicyclists, often over-yielding for cyclists--deliberate signs of respect and acknowledgement. But it has almost gone too far, with cyclists in some cases abusing that respect and acting like they own the roads, ignoring the road rules, and expecting extra treatment. Some drivers have become incensed and have written editorials about cyclists disobeying laws. On the other hand, some bicyclists have been killed in accidents and sometimes drivers are drunk and other times drivers hit and run--these incidents, of course, have been followed by many editorials criticizing drivers. But cyclists do need to retain motorist's respect by obeying the road rules, learning their rights on the road, and asserting them. I again recommend the book Bicycling Street Smarts--what a tremendous boost to my confidence on the road this manual gave me. And I just realized it is all online!

Times in Austin

This is a parrot hanging out in the garden of the Cafe Mundi in Austin. There, I hung out with Andy Blum, Canadian of "Chain Break", and I also met a couple of girls traveling the country in a "Straight Veggie Oil" vehicle "with bikes on top". They get their fuel from restaurants getting rid of their used vegetable oil; the girls filter the fry grease, and put it in their modified diesel motor fuel tank, and off they go. They are living art. Their acronym is LAF--Living Art Fully. They will do singing telegrams, they sing their own songs (they performed at an open mic at "Trophies" in South Austin, and they do random acts of kindness! Go LAF--that is Kitty and Vanessa (Vanessa once wanted to be called Zoe or PJ because it made her feel like a little child who could do no wrong--interesting).

I also met Ezra there at the coffee shop, and we all talked about the "Barton Springs" natural pool that stays at a constant sixty-four degrees, located in South Austin. Andy went to swim there that evening.

At the coffee shop, I met a woman who lived near Corpus Christi. Andy wanted to know where Camp Casey/Bush's ranch was (it is just west of Waco) and she asked why we wanted to know--so we could go burn it down? Andy wasn't around to answer. I wasn't interested in visiting--though I heard Bush was making some bike trails out there on his property. Waco is north of Austin, so it would be far out of the way, anyway.

I saw a movie with one of the priests here at St. Austin Parish residence, Fr. Ed. We went and saw "Shut up and Sing" about the Dixie Chicks and their recent struggle with folks banning them for criticizing our president. They are now coming back strong as ever and are playing here in Austin on Monday night. Cheapest tickets are sixty bucks--anyone want to send me to the show?:) I have their song now playing on the Dixie Chicks myspace page. Check it out. The film was also good--get to know the Dixie Chicks, their struggle, and their rebound--the long way home.



So one day I visited the Austin Table Tennis Club, and got to play a loved sport that I hadn't played in a while. One guy, John Kim, shown in pick playing with his wife, is 77 years old and he still kicked my butt! He is going strong, rated at 1700 for those familiar with the rating system.

I played the manager there, too, Joe, and I took a game from him, even though he is rated over 1900. I also showed a thing or two to each of three highschool boys who came into the club for the first time--they weren't bad for first timers, though.



So one day after I visited my college mate's aunt and uncle to pick up some t-shirts that were sent to their house (thank you John and Mary Claire in Houston), I stopped at Austin Tricycle. Besides feeding me, they told me about their friend Drew who wanted to bike to Argentina. Everyone told him he was crazy, that it was impossible, and so when he heard my story (I called him right there from the bike shop), Drew was overjoyed as he had just had this idea like two weeks ago, he couldn't find anyone to join him, and now here was someone passing through town doing just what he wanted to do, (well, aside from the fact that Brazil isn't exactly Argentina). Drew (pic above right) works as a manager at a Tex-Mex restaurant, so he invited me over to the restaurant to enjoy a meal, and anything else I wanted, so we could discuss how to go about such a trip.


Wait, here's the image of the folks at Austin Tricycle and I.

Well, I had a great meal at Maudie's (pronounced "Mow-" (rhymes with "cow") "dees"), and I went with college mate Rebecca and her Aunt Mary Anne. (picture follows--you can see how full I got!--and she's wearing our Alma Mater's sweatshirt!)

Mobile, AL

Back when I was in Mobile, AL, I met some homeless folks in one of the parks downtown. They were tremendously engaging, receptive, and interested in my story. And they shared much of their stories as well. At one point, a van pulled up from a church offering bag dinners to anyone, a lined formed, and once we had our dinners, we sat down on the benches and discussed everything from how I would camp out, miles per day, etc, etc, to how to ride on the road, and directions to places in Mobile, etc, and one man began telling me about his adventures traveling around--trainhopping, mainly. He used to live in Miami, where he "lived like a king" with many other homeless, just living on Miami beach. But Hurricane Katrina hit (it was not as powerful when it touched Florida), but this man endured the storm in a bus shelter! He just watched as the wind blew the rain in horizontally, and whipped things around.

He moved from Miami, but today he wishes he hadn't. Miami had more day-labor jobs available compared to Mobile. The way he moves around, typically, is by hopping on freight trains without the crew's awareness. In train yard, he explains, a few places are ideal for hanging out until a time arises when the train has begun moving, up to around 15 miles per hour, and the engine of the train has turned a corner, so teh mirrors the conductors use to monitor the train cannot "see" him jumping into a car. To jump into a car, one must run alongside the train, put one's hands on the platform of a car (a car whose middle door was left open) and throw one's torso up onto the platform, and then climb in. Typically, this man would find a cardboard box, and lay his body into that, and rest. He rides trains at night, and he tries to dismount before daybreak. He once arrived in a city after daybreak, and the trainyard guards began looking into his car. He plastered his body up against the wall, the same wall the door was on, and he guard looked into the car, but did not poke is head all the way in and look against the wall. When the guards moved on, he hopped out and began walking as swiftly as he could out of the train yard. He did not know what city he was in, and he asked the first man he came to, "What city is this?" and the man replied, "Jackson".

He eventually made it to Mobile...and he sleeps in some abandoned train station building.

Update

So, yesterday I talked with a couple of the Canadians, with whom I planned to travel South with. It isn't clear exactly when they will depart Austin. One may break off on her own, head south, and meet her significant other from Argentina on the way, and they may bike together. The others may stick around a couple more weeks. I will probably depart on my own towards Brownsville in a few days. I will stay in touch with the Canadians and see what makes sense. Their route does appear to coincide with mine along the east coast/Gulf coast of Mexico. It is the shortest, the flatest, and the most humid (much of Mexico is desert and/or mountain).

We may hit cities such as Victoria and Vera Cruz, places I believe I both have contacts in, though the more the better, so keep sending them my way, please.

So I hope to hit the border in about ten days.

Internet: I hope to have access in internet cafes and perhaps libraries, and in hotel lobbies, etc. Perhaps won't be as frequent, but will certainly be there, and perhaps my primary form of communication. As far as phone goes, I think I will pick up some calling cards and call folks from pay phones. Perhaps I will keep my phone for emergencies, but the rate will be a dollar fifty per minute.

If you would like to send money, please send to Paul Park, 4405 29th St, Mt Rainier, MD, 20712. There, my father will deposit it into my account, which I can access anywhere.

My health has been excellent--just a sore achilles tendon lately after hightailing it to make it to Austin in time for Thanksgiving. I am thankful for the Salvadoran family that fed me thanksgiving meal, for Ezra for hosting me for three days in Austin (plus feeding me and teaching me how to make tortillas--that pic is me making one), and for the Paulist Fathers here in Austin who are now hosting me and feeding me before I take off again. I am also thankful for all of you, my supporters--family, relatives, friends and those who I haven't met yet. Thank you for keeping up with my trip, taking an interest, and having a look at what effect we might be having on the earth. I truly appreciate all of you who are with me on this journey and who have helped me along the way.

As for my bike, I just had my third flat here in Austin (not bad after 2300 miles). My chain broke once, and my rear cassette/hub came loose outside of Athens. I have had some experimentation with my handlebars. Overall, my bike has been rather reliable and robust.

Where I am right now.

John Keating, Sponsor from Montgomery

When I was in Montgomery, Alabama, staying with gracious hosts Joe and Tricia Crowley, they introduced me to their long-time friend and cyclist John Keating. Now, John is not just any old cyclist. John has traversed the United States at least six times on a recumbent bike, but not only that, but John has just one arm and one real leg! John lost the limbs on one side of his body in a freak accident involving a 16,000 volt electric overhead cable for a train. See his book "The Hand of God: The Story of John Keating and the Power of Love" for his full story. John signed a copy of his book and gave it to me.

John has biked with amputees across the country raising awareness of amputees and support for medical advances and services. When I was in Montgomery, John was going into schools dressed as the Grim Reeper, and he would "reep" a student every twenty minutes, representing the frequency someone gets killed as the result of a drunk driver on the road; that student cannot talk for the rest of the school day.

John met me at his favorite cycle shop, Cycle Escape in Montgomery. John helped me select some gear and equipment for my tour, including a spare inner tube, a yellow long-sleeve jersey (visible, and prevents sunburn), and a rear-view mirrow. The shop threw in an extra chain link, and some spare helmet foam cushions. Thank you, John, and Cycle Escape for your invaluable support. Cycle Escape, Montgomery, AL

Austin

Here in Austin, after 2200 miles of biking, I will rendezvous with three Canadian bikers, and eventually four, as the fourth is on his way from New Orleans.

Allegedly Austin has lots of bats that live under the bridges of the major roads--and the bats put a hitting on the mosquito population.

I have camped out the last two nights, and I visited a Brazilian bike shop (the owner, Nelo, is from Sao Paulo) and a Brazilian music/clothing/food store, Ana Brasil. I spent thanksgiving with a Salvadoran family I met cruising the neighborhoods, and I got a wireless card for my laptop--hello wireless coffee shops!

Giddings, TX

I am in Giddings, TX, 57 miles from Austin. I should be in Austin by tomorrow afternoon to celebrate Thanksgiving with Rebecca--a college classmate, and the Canadian bikers.

Stopped at the Blue Bell Ice Cream factory today and received a complimentary scoop of Mocha Almond Fudge, with a dab of Cinnamon Ice Cream on top--excellent!

Then I went to Mariachi's Mexican Restaurant (these were both in Brenham, TX, the "birthplace" of Texas) and met some highschool soccer players. One of them was the owner of the restaurant!--Giovanni, who inherited one of the three Mariachi restaurants when his father, the owner, passed away. Giovanni's two brothers run the other two joints, one of which is just outside of Austin--I plan to stop there for lunch tomorrow!

Giovanni comped my lunch, and I signed an autograph for him. One of the class places I have stopped at--hit them up if you are in the area and mention my name for some special service and conversation.

Houston to Austin

I am in a suburb south of Houston, and tomorrow I will head to Austin to celebrate Thanksgiving with a college classmate and meet up with some Canadian bikers who will travel through Mexico. The trip will be 173 miles over two days.

I am staying tonight (and last night) at the home of Mary Claire and John Upton; Mary Claire was a college mate of a friend of my family, Lynn Welch.

Johnson's Bayou

Today, I biked 105 miles. When someone bikes one hundred or more miles in a day, it is called a century. Today, I biked my first century of this trip, and of my life for that matter!

I took Louisiana highway 82 along the Gulf Coast. The beginning of the trip was gorgeous. Unending swamp on either side of the road from Forked Island, where I camped last night at Cajun Diner, to Pecan Island, which is more on the coast. Lots of big, beautiful birds take off and squawk as I pass. White crane-like birds. They kinda look like white Great blue Herons, though a hair smaller. Great blue herons were present, as well as at least three other species of grey to black large birds. I say other eagle/hawk-like birds, and I saw many red-wing black birds including a flock of them. I saw a dead alligator (a baby, maybe three to four feet long), several dead nutra, which is like a great water rat, raccoons, and others.

I was stopped by two separate couples interested in my trip. One of them had seen the article in this morning's paper in Lafayette, LA, The Advertiser. They signed the petition and made a donation. Another man they told about also signed and donated. The other couple was a couple of ladies, Peggy and Zulu, and I snapped a photo of them and I.

On the way, at mile sixty, I stopped at a baptist church to eat some peanut butter and jelly sandwiches I packed. A mexican man named Emiliano was working and I chatted him up, he sign the petition and gave me some contacts in Vera Cruz, Mexico! These are actually my second contacts in Mexico--the first I got in Lafayette from a man who bikes, who was from Texas and was working in Lafayette, and wanted to help. He signed also.

Along the route today, I witnessed lots of hurricane destruction--not from Katrina, but from Rita, which took place just a month before Katrina. Towns hit especially hard were Cameron, and all the towns just West of it. Just annihilated. Blank cement slabs everywhere. All remaining structures were severely damaged. A few houses were being rebuilt, but really, there is just about nothing left. Quite striking.

I am now in a town called Johnson's Bayou, which is the last little town before crossing into Texas! Wonderful town--it has a community little grocery store where everyone passes through and everyone knows each other and has a ball just talking each other up. Old to the very youngest, all have a place and all are very verbal. It is really quite stimulating just sitting there observing it all. They made a hot cheese pizza for me and offered snacks. One of the fire department personell arranged for me to get a hot shower at the station and he will let me sleep in a camper he used to use after the storm hit. I am very grateful and blessed to be welcomed and accomodated as I have been here.

They mentioned that just a couple days ago, another biker who apparently was also biking to Brazil! passed through! How did I not know about him? Does he know about me? I have to find this out, hopefully catch up with him. I will be like a detective and a hound figuring this one out.

Moving towards Houston

I set out momentarily towards Houston along the Louisiana Gulf Coast. Should be very swampy, with nature reserves and campgrounds along the way. Oil rig workers, I anticipate, will be the main other users of the road I take. The trip to Houston is 280 miles, and it should take about five days.

Lafayette has been a wonderful stop, with gracious hosts Mike Clayton, Justin, Josh, Dr. Griff Blakewood, Susan, and other SPEAK (Society Promoting Environmental Action and Knowledge) members at USL. All the students at the SPEAK meeting signed the undoit.org petition, as did many students I ran into in the student union. I even met a Brazilian from Northeast Brazil (Fortaleza).

After I ate a vegetarian meal at Lara's II, which they comped, I was interviewed by the local paper, The Advertiser. I'll post the article on the site when it comes out.