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Health & Fitness

Climate Ride Day 0 From Bus to Bike

I’ve just returned from one of the most challenging and rewarding journeys of my life.  Due to the lack of internet connection and cell phone service I was not able to communicate during the journey itself.  So now I will begin a day by day retrospective of the Climate Ride. On Saturday, May 18, 130 bicyclists from around the Bay Area and from across the country converged in San Francisco and boarded two buses to head north to Fortuna, California – our starting point for our journey south.  The majority of these men and women were far stronger riders than I, but just as committed to the cause that brought us together – to respond to the warming of the planet with promoting the alternative future no longer dominated by fossil fuels.  We spent the months leading up to this day raising funds for 50+ organizations that promote bicycling, green energy, resource conservation, green business support services, and education programs on the consequences of Climate Change on the one planet that we call home.   Climate Ride was founded by Caeli Quinn and Geraldine Carter, former tour leaders for Back Roads, who got together over Free Trade Coffee one day,  and hatched a plan to sponsor bike rides with a purpose:  To bring awareness to, what should be the most pressing global issue of our time, but instead is barely registering on the back pages of our newspapers.  The people on this ride were not just ordinary bike enthusiasts.  The vast majority serve the very organizations for which we were raising money.  We were directors, board members, staff and volunteers for agencies that are helping to incubate the various puzzle pieces of an ecological way of living.  We took the time out of our already busy lives to do this one crazy act of endurance by biking 320 miles down the Coast of California. I had already met some of the riders through my work with Safe Routes to Schools and also by participating in training rides sponsored by the East Bay Bicycle Coalition.    We taken a spin along the Bay Trail, crossed bridges to lunch in Benicia and climbed up to the Morgan Territory.  A few came out to a ride I sponsored to the Point Reyes Lighthouse.   For those who want to try this last one, beware those last four miles after Drake’s Beach – it steep climbing, rough roads, and strong winds. After a lunch stop at Real Goods many dozed the rest of the way to our campground in Fortuna.  We set up our tents and walked over the Eel River Brewing Company for a hearty meal to fuel us on our journey.  We met the staff who would be supporting us with roadside assistance, medical care, preparing meals and posting signs – mostly volunteers who had raised money themselves for the privilege of serving us. Then it was off to curl up inside our sleeping bags for a good night’s sleep, before our great adventure begins.                                   

www.climateride.org
Wendi’s donation page
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