Finding our groove

When trying to accomplish a big goal it is often that I can forget to stop and appreciate the little goals that have been accomplished or even the beauty that is found in the process of reaching a goal.  By our second day of travel I had to start contacting hosts to let them know we were falling behind in our schedule and would not be reaching them on the days I had originally asked that they host us.  For one particular host couple this was never a problem and I really feel like they have become my “zen masters” of touring.

I don’t always think I need a “zen master” or believe such mentors to be limited to certain pursuits such as meditation.  But cycling IS a form of meditation, relaxation, and this tour is ultimately about much more than a destination.  It is about the journey.

Day 3

After a good night’s sleep and the first words of wisdom from my zen masters LP and I started this day off with a bit more of a relaxed outlook and a motto: “slow and steady, consistency is key.”  Slowly but surely we made the trek along route 2A through small towns, up and over small and large hills, and with far less frustration than we had previously faced.

As we had previously, with each new town we heralded the cry, “New town!”  But this time LP and I were more relaxed and started to

Scarecrow face on side of road

notice distinguishing features of each town, or catalog the dates each was established and then compare them to towns we had previously encountered to determine the oldest and youngest that we passed through.

One such town was Gardner: the chair city.  While mostly a manufacturing town it was one of the more notable being earlier in the morning as well as having a giant yellow chair (2-storeys high) right around the corner from this sign.

The Chair City

One trick, or technique, I had read about in my preparations for this trip was that sending stuff home after the first night could be a big morale booster because there is a seeming reduction in weight.  While neither our second or first nights involved our own cooking we did camp the first night and then the second I chose to completely unpack and set aside any items that were not used at all (besides camping equipment).  These we then mailed home from Templeton, Ma.

Around 5:00 PM LP and I began to see more populous areas and signs that we were nearing the town of Greenfield.  The day had been rather overcast and the solar panel I have, was not able to keep my phone charged.  Unsure of the next step LP and I stopped at the beautiful Free Library of Wendell.  Their website does not even begin to show the beauty of this building.  While small, there was a multitude of resources and even a great little playground for LP to run around in while I printed off our final steps to Greenfield and Shelburne Falls, where our second host was waiting.

However, after climbing the hills of Wendell Depot Rd., and then going through Wendell State Forest more hills were really the last things my legs needed.  Therefore, around 6:00 PM I had enough battery and just enough reception to call the host and find out just where we were in relation to them.  As it turned out we were still 12 miles away and facing some hilly terrain.  So, with no campgrounds all that close and at least three hotels to choose from less than a mile behind us, LP and I made the decision to settle into another hotel for the night.

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The Hampton Inn of Greenfield, while expensive was the first and closest to have a room available.  Much more expensive than the Rodeway Inn of the previous night the hotel staff at this location were incredibly accommodating, kind, and compassionate.  Not to mention they were amazed that LP and I had found our way to Greenfield by bike!  And, as you would imagine, with greater expense comes greater amenities of which Little Prince was more than happy to avail himself of!  The only difficulty we had, was dinner.  For some reason, Tuesdays are not a great day for food delivery in Greenfield and with no in-room microwave I had to make do with a coffee pot to heat the water for our dinner.  But all-in-all we fell quickly to sleep by the time we had settled down.

Day 4

More words of wisdom and encouragement from my zen masters as well as an email reminder from my thesis advisor convinced me that continuing on as we had been was the wisest course of action.  Greenfield is a rather large city in Massachusetts and even has a number of vegan options for food.  Therefore, this seemed like a great opportunity to explore the city and rest our legs from the last few days.

One of the great perks of the Hampton Inn was a free breakfast in the morning.  With the usual offerings LP and I were able to find some vegan options such as a bagel with jam for him and oatmeal with nuts and dried fruit for me.  Then, we packed up the bikes, headed back through the I-91/Rt-2 round-a-bout and into downtown Greenfield.  We loaded up on supplied of anti-sting ointment, vitamins, and snacks at Green Field’s Market, a local coop grocery store and then headed to their local library.  With only an hour of time on their computers I was able to get much of the

Good Crooks Bk. 1

methodology done and transcribe the survey I will be using next spring while LP found a number of great books including Good Crooks by Mary Amato which he wasn’t able to finish but added to a list of books to look for at the next library we visit (there are sure to be many library visits on this tour).

While at the library there was an incident with another patron (I wasn’t involved) that I had never seen at a library.  While largely unaffected, the incident certainly colored my impression of this city and I was pleased with how professional and calmly staff handled the incident.  Though it certainly makes me wonder how often these incidents occur!

Conscious of time ticking away and still unsure of where we would be staying that night LP and I made our way down the street to Greenfield’s vegan-friendly Mesa Verde for burritos.  I had their kale and sweet potato concoction which I highly recommend while LP had the fajita burrito.  Feeling a bit run down from allergies and tired from our days of biking LP asked me to read a few more chapters of Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum, our current reading which is loaded on my iPad and so lunch turned into a two hour event!

Afterwards I decided to check out the local bike shop for advice on area roads as it was looking unlikely that we would make our warmshower in Shelburne Falls and would instead end up at a campground about 10 miles from Greenfield called Country Aire Campground.  The folks at Bicycle World on Federal st. in Greenfield were amazingly,stupendously helpful. They gave me a bunch of free maps of the Franklin County area (super bike friendly by the way), directions on the best way to Lanesborough and EVEN let us use their bathroom before setting out on the road again!

Some artwork under a bridge we found as we double checked our route.

The mountains of Charlemont seen from 2a.

And so, off we went on to Charlemont to spend the night in the same campground as a school group of 8th graders which of course brought back memories of my own class trips in 6th and 8th grade.  Some fun times when you have no care for the adults around you and are more

Pirate Ship sailing the sand seas of the Country Aire playground

worried about who-likes-who and how your peers perceive you.  To me though, these were ok kids who let Little Prince join in their game and play on the play structure with them while I made dinner.  And thankfully they quieted down not long after the two of us had settled in for the night.  The campground itself was one of my preferred locations.  A little too close to route 2A for me, it was a very large area with a playground full of innovative and distinct structures.  The bathroom

Heated bathroom, close to office and rec room

we used was heated (there is an unheated one as well) that was complete with showers and had beautiful wooden stalls in the women’s room.  The next morning it was a bit rainy and cold so Little Prince and I went to eat our breakfast under the awning by the bathrooms.  One of the owners was nice enough to allow us to sit in their Rec room which was also rather large and held a game called “carpet ball.”  I really enjoyed our time at this particular campground, but as I have seen on this trip some stays are too short and so, after breakfast away LP and I pedaled into the mountains of NW Massachusetts.

The first days or, Overcoming F.E.A.R.

Overcoming F.E.A.R. or False Evidence Appearing Real seems to have been the theme for this first week of our trip. Whether it was realizing that some reactions to our adventure were the result of their own F.E.A.R.s or finding the strength to pull through when the hills were too steep and night was coming.

Day 1
D-day went off without a hitch. Even after only four hour sleep we still left on time and made it to our last Chinese classes on time! The principal invited me to talk to the students about our upcoming trip and listen to another student’s trip to Africa during the spring break. LP has also been asked to give a talk when we get back in September, so we’ve got an extra incentive for keeping his log!

After class LP and I had lunch at a park around the corner and while he played on the park I confirmed our directions to our first overnight in Stow, MA. I even had a small nap before we headed out. Arriving around 5:30 at our wonderful host’s home I collapsed next to their backyard pond while LP enjoyed hammock before meeting T and C who prepared an amazing dinner and entertained LP with a homemade Pokemon bingo and even a Staeryue costume for LP to try on! The night was perfect, moonlit, and LP and I were serenaded by nature on our first night on the road.

Day 2
I had read that the second day was one of the worst on a tour and… It was so true! I started out with the best of intentions and ideas of grandeur to get to Greenfield by the end of the day. Our second host was scheduled a month prior and it had been my intention to spend the first night halfway between Boston and this host. However, we ended up unable to a secure a host closer than Stow (17 miles from Boston), which ended up working out since I’d never give up having met T and C! Around 4:00 PM LP and I had climbed a number of hills and been reduced to walking up many of them by the time we reached Princeton, Ma and were only halfway to our intended destination. Then it became a matter of, “well, what do we do now?” And, “what do we feel capable of doing, as far as distance is concerned?” We were pretty close to being in the middle of nowhere as far as tourism and amenities for people not in cars are concerned. The closest possible hosts were about 10 miles north and south and no campsites were coming up on google. Finally, the search for a “motel” pulled up a Rodeway Inn eight miles away. I felt confident we could make those eight miles, and when I put it to LP that we could either do eight miles to the motel or 60 back home, he made the choice to do eight.

However, choosing and doing are two very different things, and about halfway in I was reduced to tears as the mountain just kept going up and all I wanted to do was pitch our tent and call it a day! I had a little boy who needed to be fed and I just wanted somewhere warm and dry for the night. But Massachusetts is not a friendly place to the stealth camper, or maybe the virgin-stealth camper. Both sides of the road were at steep grades or over ditches and were still fairly visible at 5 in the afternoon to the roadway. But, my little prince prevailed and turned my words back on me. So what could I do but get up and get moving?

An hour later Little Prince and I pedaled up another steep incline, registered for a hotel room, and found ourselves showered and exhausted eating microwaved dinner while watching the Mighty Ducks before turning out the light.

Performances, languages, and homeschooling

One of my main reasons for choosing to homeschool is to give Little Prince the opportunity to experience the beauty of language, and the expansion of world view that comes from learning a language other that into which you were born.  And so, every Sunday morning this past year we have been rising with the sun to head out to Newton and attend Chinese classes with the Huaxin Chinese School, an extension of the Greater Boston Chinese Cultural Association.

LP is also a natural-born performer, so while school’s often have many showcases for kids to perform for their parents and prove that they really are learning something.  I see LP learning every day and there are not many outlets for this type of expression for him.  Which is why I was really looking forward to the Speech “contest” (for LP it was more recital) in early April.  And I know LP looked forward to it as well and as you can see, he had a LOT of fun with it:

LP’s performance at Chinese School 4/5/14

While he clearly enjoys performing he is very anti- “on-demand” as far as performing.  And be honest former (or current) language learners: how often do you have some witty comeback for the stranger/friend/family member who discovers you are learning/speak x language and wants you to say something in that language?  As LP’s homeschool coordinator I often feel on trial when people do this to him (mostly in language and math), and that should he fail to answer appropriately is a direct reflection on my supposed “inability” to properly educate my son.  However, my belief is that education, especially early education, should be child-centered.  That rather than worry so much about ensuring our 5-12 year old children are “ready” for college we – adults – should worry more about guiding them in their struggle to understand the world in which they exist.  And there are many, many, MANY different strategies to learning this.  Whether through structured lesson plans, or interest-led discussions that randomly crop up through out the day.  Children are constantly learning and that learning should be encouraged and painless.  Which is what I love about the Huaxin Chinese School’s philosophy: they are there for the child and to make learning fun.  They want their school to be a place that kids WANT to come to (especially early on a Sunday morning) and they know that there may be times a kid doesn’t want to get up, or just doesn’t want to do the homework and that is OK.

LP and I truly enjoyed our first year with Huaxin Chinese School, and if you are in the Boston area and interested in learning Chinese, I can not recommend this school highly enough.  They offered a great resource as far as learning and an outlet for LP to do what he does best: perform!  We are both sad to have had to cut our year short but will certainly be back to continue our lessons in the fall and are trying to spend some time each day speaking to one another and reviewing what we already now.  Did I mention that they offer concurrent adult classes?  No?  Well, they do.  And I think that is stupendous!

Mother’s Day/D-day

And we’re off!  Today, Mother’s Day 2014, is also our D-day.  (That’s “Departure” day in case you’re just tuning in.)  This is the day LP and I load our panniers on the bikes and begin our epic journey to cross the country and back in four months.  Whether or not we pedal the entire way has yet to be seen but even the small bit we do will be more than we did before.

It is coincidental and yet – in a way – appropriate that we leave on this particular holiday.  Because seven years ago a similar turning point occurred: I graduated from American University.

Graduation May 2007

The ceremony really didn’t mean much to me.  What that day really meant to me was that I was done with school – for a while – and could focus on being a mom to my Little Prince and everything that came with it.

This Mother’s Day I’m not really done with school, in fact I will be working on my thesis throughout our journey.  But, while the destination is important it is the journey that I have been most looking forward to.  This journey is a chance for me and LP to reconnect.  To leave the distractions behind and re-center ourselves.  LP will be learning about science, geography, and some history of both USA and Canada.  But more importantly, I hope he will learn a bit about journeys.  Life is a series of journeys and often the destination is far less important than the journey itself.

Cherry Blossoms in Kyoto

One of many shrines in Kyoto

In fact, I’m reminded of another journey I took during my first “technical” Mother’s Day.  Mother’s Day 2006 I was in Kyoto, Japan and about six months pregnant.  It had been my dream since I was 8 years old to go to Japan and when I finally had the opportunity even a pregnancy wouldn’t stop me from fulfilling that dream.  And, actually, I feel as though my time in Japan was enriched by pregnancy rather than hindered. Because I saw a part of Japanese society that few foreign students do.  I became intimately aware of and knowledgable about the healthcare system and specifically their prenatal care.  Which, I have to admit was amazing.  But the spirituality of the country was also impossible to avoid.  Shintoism is in the culture so deeply that it is nearly impossible to separate and proliferation of temples and history inspires the imagination and stirs the soul.

Back then there were people who thought I was crazy as well, and actually they still do when they learn of this particular journey.  But this is what I wish to pass on: don’t let anyone or anything stand between you and your dreams.  The more audacious the better.  The greater the obstacles, the greater the reward.  And when you are afraid and uncomfortable, you are on the right track.  People don’t learn from comfort, they don’t grow in what they already know.  People grow in places of discomfort, in places of challenge.  And that is what dreaming and reaching for those dreams does: it enriches us and makes us stronger.  LP and I may not bike all the way across the country, but we will have tried and that is the whole point: to try.

To my own amazing Mother: you tried, you believed, and you loved.  And you’re still doing that because you never stopped being a mother and I love so much for it!  Happy Mother’s Day, I hope we can spend the next one together.

Just a few hours before we role on out

Over the past week LP and I have been working hard to make final preparations for our departure (D-day) on Sunday.  There are a few loose ends that will probably still remain once we hit the road, but I am confident that I can tie them up while on the road.  Right now our main concerns are packing (gear on the bikes, care packages that will be shipped along the way, and a house that will hopefully have a sub letter in a few weeks), saying goodbye to wonderful people who we will miss dearly, and final upgrades to our bikes.

Packing

Decisions, decisions!  I’ll be posting a gear list in a few days but needless to say this has probably been the hardest trip I’ve ever had to pack for since more than just weather and activity are affecting my decisions.  I also have weight, lessons, and cleanliness to worry about!  I’ve finally decided to just stop worrying so much about it.  We’ll be bringing two day outfits and one night.  One iPad for blogging and reading bedtime stories.  And our camping gear.  After a couple of nights camping in the living room I think we got it pretty much figured out.

Upgrades

As the amazing mechanics over at my favorite bike shop, Ferris Wheels, said, “it’s not the most traditional setup [for touring].”  And no, nothing about what we are about to do is traditional. For a while I wondered if I’d even be able to pull this off with my Fuji crosstown bike.  But with a little help from some great classes at REI and Bikes not Bombs I figured out ways that I can make it work.  So a lower gear ratio, some clip-in pedals, and new brakes and I already feel like I can tackle the next big mountain!

Goodbye

This is probably the hardest part.  May is when people just start coming out of winter hibernation here in Boston so to just be saying “hello” only to say “goodbye” or “so long,” has been really hard on Little Prince.  Just as his friends are emerging and the warm weather LP is going on an adventure which he’s still not 100% sure he wants to go on.  Back in November when we started planning it sounded like a fabulous idea to him, especially since May was so far in the future.  But, D-day is upon us and he’s afraid – I have surmised – of missing out on amazing things with his friends.  It’s a lesson we all have to learn at some point and maybe this is setting LP up for success: learning that he must live his life his way and not worry about what he MIGHT miss out on when his path takes him away from the paths of those people he has grown close to.  Even as an adult I have trouble with this, so I certainly understand where he is coming from.  But, this is the trouble with making choices: rarely may we have our cake and eat it too.

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