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Cycling Chicago to Warrenville… in the heat

8/5/22

Today was… multifaceted, I guess. I didn’t really enjoy the first half (two-thirds? three-quarters?) of the day, but then the last part was really cool.

I departed my Chicago Servas host Steve’s place about 10:30 am. The route ahead of me was only about 33 miles, but I didn’t arrive at my new hosts’ place until 7:00 this evening. Mostly this was because I stopped and rested a whole lot.

It was a pretty hot day, and I felt it for many hours. Chicago’s high was only to be about 82 today, but humidity was (I’m guessing) around 50 percent, so it felt hotter. And, as I traveled west—away from the lake—temperatures rose. Based on my checks of my phone’s weather app throughout the day, I think it’s accurate to say that some areas I biked through hit 87 or 88.

It took a couple hours on Chicago city streets to reach the Illinois Prairie Path, which I then followed for a good chunk of the rest of my ride. When I did get onto the path, I saw what my friend Gill had told me: it is not a very shady path. It was nice to be away from auto traffic, to be sure, but I would have enjoyed more leafiness on a day like this.

However, I plodded along, and eventually it did get shadier. At one point, I took a short detour to stop for lunch at a Whole Foods, and after that, Google routed me away from the IPP and into several adjoining nature preserves instead, and that is when things really turned around and got beautiful.

The sun and air temperature remained hotter than I would have liked, but it did seem to have cooled down a bit from the peak of the day, especially after some dark clouds threatened to open up on me. (They didn’t, but the air got noticeably cooler.) Meanwhile, the “heavenly” light from the sky was breathtaking.

As I moved from lake areas to forested areas within the nature preserves, the goldenhour light descended and made everything even more magical.

I finally arrived at Gill’s friends Terri and Jim’s place, and they treated me to some deliciously cool sweet tea, while we chatted and I met two of their three cats. (I’m hoping the third, Braeburn, will show his face tomorrow, but I’ve been warned he may not.)

It’s kind of funny how a day can start out rough and become so beautiful in a matter of hours. Good thing to remember in life.

Tomorrow, I’ll meet up with Gill and her partner, and we will explore the local arboretum, which should be a good place to be on a day with a 91-degree high.

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Multifaceted Chicago

8/4/22

OK, I’m back! I had a lovely little “mini vacation” with my friend Zack for a few days in Chicago, after I arrived on the train from Kalamazoo on Sunday. Zack and I did many fun touristy things, such as visiting Millennium Park and The Bean, riding the Ferris wheel at Navy Pier, and taking a sunset cruise on the lake. We also ate lots of delicious food and enjoyed many delicious cocktails.

Yesterday he flew back home to North Carolina, while I pedaled about five miles northwest to the cool co-op home of my new Servas host, Steve. That ride was unfortunately not very pleasant: very hot and sticky weather, busy roads with lots of auto traffic, poor travel surfaces such as freshly poured tar and alleyways littered with shattered glass… and a looming thunderstorm!

When I reached Humboldt Park, about two miles south of my ultimate destination, I managed to duck under a narrow roof on a locked building just barely in time to avoid most of the deluge. The rain poured, lightning flashed, thunder clapped, and the wind blew the trees pretty dramatically. Nearby children squealed as they ran for cover.

A couple of down-on-their-luck fellows joined me in the barely adequate shelter, and we chatted for the better part of an hour while we waited for the sun to return. Bouts of rain kept coming back, and my rig and my pants got pretty well soaked at one point.

Thankfully, all that synthetic material dries pretty quickly once the sun does come out again, and the sky and flowers and trees were beautiful in the aftermath.

Fearing more rain in the next few hours before Steve got home, I sought out a larger shelter, and found it elsewhere in the park in the scenic boathouse. Around that time, I got a call from my friend/former Warmshowers St. Petersburg host Kathleen. (Kathleen, hi if you’re reading this!) It was fun to catch up with her a bit, and talk travel and bicycling and future plans.

I met up with Steve in the evening, and it was great to talk with him also about travel, Servas, Chicago, his co-op building (including his family’s beautiful unit, which he completely renovated decades ago) and related topics.

This morning he took me to the Handlebar Café for breakfast, which was cool—a bike-inspired vegetarian place.

Later, I took the train/subway down to the Hyde Park neighborhood, and enjoyed all the aesthetics of transit and cycling on that round trip. On the way back, I stopped at the fabled Chicago Diner, and savored a huge vegan Caesar salad for dinner.

Tomorrow, I’m looking forward to biking the Illinois Prairie Path, about 30 miles west to Warrenville, where my friend Gill and her partner and some of her other friends live. She’s got lots of fun plans for my time there!

Do you have your own dream or project, and would like some support or collaborative brainstorming about it? Use the green “contact” button above to schedule a free one-hour phone or video call with me!

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Kalamazoo and surrounds

7/30/22

Today I met up with my friend Hillary Rettig and her partner Jan. I had met Hillary nine years ago, back when I began my East Coast Empathy Tour in Boston, where she was living at the time; she and her housemates hosted me for a few nights. Shortly afterward, she moved to Kalamazoo to be with Jan, who teaches at a local university, and then she founded Vegan Kalamazoo, which has built up a thriving vegan community in this small city. (Hillary will be organizing the city’s first vegan festival in September!)

They picked me up from the home of my Warmshowers host south of town, and took me first to the local farmers market, then to lunch at a nearby Chinese restaurant. Then we went for a brief walk in downtown Kalamazoo, including a vegan ice cream cone at a local shop.

Then we headed out for a tour of their friend’s permaculture farm, but first we drove through a neighborhood full of houses designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, and then past the Kalamazoo College Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership, a cool building designed by architect Jeanne Gang. Her design was influenced by Native American design elements, including the logs in the walls.

Afterward, we continued out to the small town of Lawton, to see the four-acre edible forest garden their friend PJ has been building and maintaining for the past twelve years. He gave an interesting and informative tour, although it was challenging because the day felt very hot and humid, and there wasn’t much shade. There were probably about a dozen people in our tour group, most of them local folks who were interested in permaculture for their own properties; some of them had been practicing it for some time.

There wasn’t much edible stuff growing at this time—we just missed the window on several fruits, including peaches, pears, apples, and service berries—but I did get to sample a couple new-to-me berries, including a white blackberry(!) which was developed by Luther Burbank, whose name I remember from my time in Santa Rosa.

After the tour, we decided I would spend tonight at their place, since it’s much closer to the train station than my Warmshowers host’s place. That should make it easier to get to my 10:26 am train to Chicago.

I plan to spend a week or so in Chicago, but the first three nights I’ll be taking some “downtime” from the frenetic pace of my travels, hanging out with a friend. So, I may take a break from blogging for the next few days, but then I’ll be back with some sights and tales of Chicago!

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One last day of beauty around Grand Rapids

7/29/22

I’m in Portage now, just south of Kalamazoo. I took the bus from the Grand Rapids Amtrak station to Kalamazoo this afternoon, then biked to the home of my Warmshowers host here. It was a pleasant ride, and I had some cool conversations with the bus driver and fellow passengers when I disembarked with my rig.

I didn’t take many photos today, though; I wanted to instead share more of yesterday’s beauty.

After the Meijer gardens, Karleen and I visited Grand Haven, a little beach town on Lake Michigan. I’m still getting used to the fact that the Great Lakes look like the ocean, with surfable waves and expansive sandy beaches. We walked the boardwalk down toward the lighthouse, and I took a few photos there.

Then we went to a beautiful nature park called Grand Ravines. Shortly after we started along the path from the parking lot, we saw people with fancy cameras aiming them up toward a tree. There was a bald eagle up there! I’m including my poor phone camera just to prove that I saw it, but of course I’m sure the “real” photographers got some much better shots.

After we passed the eagle, we walked through beautiful shaded paths, then emerged into sunny meadows and even a cornfield. (This is the Midwest, after all!)

It was a wonderful way to wind down my time in Grand Rapids.

I’ve got one full day with friends in Kalamazoo tomorrow (we’ll be touring a permaculture farm) and then I’ll be continuing on to Chicago. Michigan has been a wonderful portion of this journey.

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Frederik Meijer Japanese Garden

7/28/22

Wow. This place did not disappoint.

My friend Karleen and I visited several different places today, and I can’t possibly fit all the photos of the beauty we saw into one post, so I’m just going to focus on this garden today (and mostly the Japanese garden portion of it) and then maybe tomorrow I can post the photos of our other destinations.

I met Karleen in Portland, some years ago, but a few years later she moved back to her home state of Michigan, specifically the Grand Rapids area. I hadn’t seen her in a few years, but today she picked me up in the late morning—after the early morning rain had stopped—and we headed out to the garden.

Most of you know what a Japanese garden aficionado I am. I have visited probably close to two dozen of them on this year’s journey alone. But this one—new to me—was especially poignant, because the man who designed it, Hoichi Kurisu, is the same master Japanese garden designer who designed (and re-designed, over and over) and then helped to build, the Japanese healing garden at the Oregon State Penitentiary. Many of you also know that my then-romantic-partner (and now close friend) Johnny Cofer—who is still incarcerated at OSP, 24 years into his two concurrent 26-to-life sentences—dreamed up the idea of this garden back in 2014, and the two of us spent the following five years advocating to the administration to build it, and then putting together a wonderful team of inside and outside supporters and volunteers to make it a reality.

I had previously visited another of Mr. Kurisu’s creations: Anderson Gardens, in Rockford, Illinois. (I will probably visit there again in a couple of weeks, in fact.) It is beautiful, so I was excited to also see the Meijer garden.

And it was glorious, especially with today’s sunshine, blue sky, and puffy clouds to reflect on the pond.

I’ll let the photos speak for themselves.

After the Japanese garden, we walked the path of the adjacent sculpture garden, which included many impressive works of art, including a replica of a horse sculpture designed by Leonardo da Vinci.

Tomorrow I’ll board a bus to Kalamazoo for the next segment of my journey. Tomorrow evening I’ll probably post the photos from the rest of Karleen’s and my explorations today.

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Grand Rapids is gorgeous

7/27/22

Today was a day of bicycling around to different parks, plus a vegan bakery.

It was a good day.

First I stopped at a nearby locally owned natural food store, Harvest Health Foods, where I discovered a very decadent locally made cookie called a Fugly Chocolate Chipple. (Any old-time vegans reading remember those amazing Liz Lovely cookies? This was similar… and made right here in Grand Rapids!)

Then I headed north to Riverside Park, which my friend Karleen had recommended. It was lush and beautiful, with a great bridge in the middle and Canada geese roaming around. I sat on several benches and enjoyed the feel of the place.

Then I went back south, toward downtown, to grab some late lunch.

I had hoped to hit up the vegetarian Egyptian restaurant A Taste of Cairo, but sadly when I arrived at 4:10, the owners were just leaving. (Google Maps had erroneously told me they were open until 6:00.) I grabbed a hummus and fatoush wrap at another nearby restaurant, and then biked west to reach the vegan (and gluten free) bakery called Rise Authentic Baking Company. The large selection in their two cases made it hard to decide, but I finally landed on a “Mostess” cupcake, and enjoyed it while recharging my phone.

Then I was able to reach my next destination of Millennium Park, about a half-hour ride away, entirely on car-free paths through adjoining parks, which was very pleasant.

Millennium did not disappoint. It is a huge park with many forested trails, beautiful bridges, and sunny areas near various lakes and creeks. I basked in the feel of it for a couple of hours, alternating between relaxing on benches and pedaling around the various paths.

By the time I got ready to leave, I found myself in a golden-hour paradise along the creek. The tree groves were absolutely magical in that light.

Tomorrow I will meet up with Karleen, to visit the Meijer Gardens and the beach town of Grand Haven. We also plan to visit a vegan Ethiopian restaurant for lunch. The rain early tomorrow morning is forecast to clear up before we head out. Should be a great day!

Do you have your own dream or project, and would like some support or collaborative brainstorming about it? Use the green “contact” button above to schedule a free one-hour phone or video call with me!

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Glorious ride to Grand Rapids

7/26/22

Wow, what a beautiful day it was today. The weather was perfect for riding, and the scenery was incredible, in a variety of different ways. And, I even had some company for more than half of the 40-mile ride!

I awoke in Allegan this morning, and had a leisurely and delicious granola-and-fresh-fruit breakfast with my hosts Rian and Paula, while we talked more about travels and life.

After breakfast, I packed up my rig, and so did Rian! He decided to come along with me for a good chunk of my ride today, which used to be his occasional commute when he worked in Grand Rapids. He also brought along his own bike trailer, so we were kind of “bike twins” out on the road, which was fun. The auto traffic along most of the rural roads was pretty quiet, so we were able to ride side by side and chat for a good portion of the ride.

At one point, I thought I heard something a bit “off” from the trailer. I looked back, assuming the rain/visibility cover had shifted itself over and started rubbing against one of the tires, which it does sometimes, creating drag and an audible sound.

But when I scoped out the situation, I found instead a large screw embedded in the trailer’s tire! It had been flat for the past mile or two, we estimated, because Rian noted that he had seen something bright and seemingly flashing in the tire when he was riding behind me to let cars pass.

Argh… but I was so grateful for Rian’s presence and bike-mechanical expertise! We pulled over into the shade of a tree in the yard of a rural house. (Fortunately we never experienced the dog a sign posted to a tree warned us to beware of.) I dug around in my trailer bags and backpack, pulling out my Tern multitool, some tire irons, a spare tube, and my full-sized tire pump. Meanwhile, Rian quickly and expertly put all these tools to use, fixing the flat in short order. (Rian, if you are reading this, thank you again for saving the day!!)

We packed everything up again, and got back on the road. Before too long, the road turned into a lovely shaded bike path. It reminded me a bit of the 21-mile Banks-Vernonia rail trail, just west of Portland. At one point, the path passed through a golf course, and we saw some golfers heading across the “overpass” in a cart! It was kind of funny.

Once we got through a tunnel, Rian decided to turn around and head back home, having already traveled about 30 of the 40 miles I needed to go. We said farewell, and I continued along the path until it opened up into roads again.

Before much longer, I reached another beautiful shaded bike path, also along the side of a park that included a golf course.

When I stopped in the park for a much-needed restroom break, I was blown away by the quality of light against the trees and grass. The scale and spacing of the trees—mostly oaks, I think—reminded me of the otherworldly feel of the oak grove in Salem, Oregon’s Bush’s Pasture Park. In both cases, I stood mesmerized for some time, doing my best to capture the feeling in photos, but not quite succeeding.

Just before I was ready to leave, I glanced down at my feet and saw a tiny, adorable toad hopping around in the grass. They were probably about the size of half of my thumb. The photo quality isn’t great, but you can get the gist.

Soon thereafter, I encountered yet more friendly-looking wildlife, as I came upon a deer having a snack near a creek.

Then I went through a city park, with lush rolling hills and trees on the edge. It was a whole different park aesthetic, and I loved it too.

Soon afterward, I arrived at the home of my Grand Rapids Warmshowers hosts, Diane and Skip. They had just had a large family meal last night, and the leftovers were plentiful and delicious, so we feasted on a wide variety of healthy dishes while we talked about family (they have six grown children, and many grandchildren) and traveling.

After dinner, I wanted to enjoy the perfect weather and light a bit longer, so I walked three blocks to their neighborhood park, which I reached just at golden hour. I basked on a bench, savoring the slow waning of the day.

Tomorrow it might rain; we’ll see. I hope to get out and begin exploring the city of Grand Rapids. In the evening, I might join Diane and Skip at a bike race 20 miles away that their son is organizing; we’ll see how things unfold.

Do you have your own dream or project, and would like some support or collaborative brainstorming about it? Use the green “contact” button above to schedule a free one-hour phone or video call with me!

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Ann Arbor to Kalamazoo to Allegan

7/25/22

Today was another multimodal travel day. This morning I boarded the train from Ann Arbor to Kalamazoo (and oof, was it a tight squeeze loading everything into the sold-out coach car, with two wheelchairs already in the car!) Then I biked 25 miles from Kalamazoo up to the small town of Allegan, Michigan, partway to Grand Rapids.

I’ll mostly let the photos speak for themselves. I did stop for lunch at Kalamazoo’s co-op (since 1970!) which was cool.

When I arrived in Allegan, I was met by the coolest Warmshowers couple, Rian and Paula, and their two adorable cats, sisters Thelma and Louise, in their beautiful 1936 house overlooking the river. (I always take note of houses built in the 1930s, since that was such a rare occurrence during the Depression. I remember staying in a really cool 1936 house in San Francisco, too… and that is the same year the Golden Gate Bridge was completed.)

The three of us shared some great conversation about bicycling, traveling, and life, and they fed me abundantly, including a decadent dish of vegan So Delicious ice cream! It was a perfect evening, after a near-perfect day of beautiful mild sunny cycling weather and lovely bike paths.

Tomorrow, on to Grand Rapids!

Do you have your own dream or project, and would like some support or collaborative brainstorming about it? Use the green “contact” button above to schedule a free one-hour phone or video call with me!

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Want to support my vision financially? I am in the process of manifesting $50,000 in lieu of a “salary” for the year of this journey. You can make a one-time or monthly contribution, or even become a Fairy Godfunder! (Heartfelt thanks to all my patrons and supporters!)

Visiting the Arb

7/23/22

I have visited many arboretums in my travels. (Arboreta?) I usually make a point to go see the local one in each new town, if it has one. Usually it will have an official name, such as the Hoyt Arboretum in Portland, or the Dominion Arboretum in Ottawa. But generally people just refer to them generically: “Have you been to the arboretum?”

Never have I heard that word shortened to “the arb” until I arrived here in Ann Arbor. Perhaps it’s because the city’s name itself is related, but that’s what everyone calls it here, and I think it’s adorable.

It had been on my list to see while I was here, and I did so today. I was very glad for its shady trees; the day was very hot and muggy.

First, I bade farewell to my Warmshowers hosts on the southern edge of town, Emma and Benny. Around noon I set out on a ride of about an hour from their place to the northern edge of town, to meet my new Warmshowers hosts Rod and Amy. I passed some pretty scenery on the way.

After I arrived and had a brief chat with Rod about travels, both domestic and international, he gave me a ride back downtown—with the bike folded in the back of the car so I could pedal back—so that I could see a bit more of the art fair on its last day. However, the crowds soon felt like more than I wanted to navigate, so I headed a few blocks north to enjoy another lunch at the all-vegan Vedge cafe (not to be confused with the non-affiliated vegan restaurant of the same name in Philadelphia) where I enjoyed a delicious BLTA and some potato salad.

Then I biked over to the arboretum, where I met up with a local fellow I met on Bumble, and we ambled through the shady paths for an hour or two. The trees were towering and beautiful.

After we said goodbye, I pedaled back downtown to grab some dinner at the co-op and a treat at the local Cinnaholic. (It had been a long time since I’d visited a city with a Cinnaholic! Fort Worth, perhaps…? The one in Cary, NC was sadly closed when I visited.)

The way back to Rod and Amy’s place was beautiful, especially in the waning light. It’s such a pleasure to be able to travel by bike, taking in all the natural beauty without any filter.

Tomorrow I will drag myself out of bed early to receive a woefully overdue professional massage, and then see what else might be in store for me on my last day in Ann Arbor!

Do you have your own dream or project, and would like some support or collaborative brainstorming about it? Use the green “contact” button above to schedule a free one-hour phone or video call with me!

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Ypsilanti, prison stories, parks, and socks

7/22/22

Today was a very pleasant day.

It was a bit hot and humid for my taste, but I guess that’s true for most of the continental US right now.

I slept later than I had intended, but it felt good to catch up on some much-needed rest.

After an oatmeal breakfast with local maple syrup and fresh strawberries, I headed out to the nearby town of Ypsilanti, mostly because my hosts had told me there was a nice bike path to get there, as well as a co-op in that town. (Those are two of my magic words!)

I found it to be indeed a pleasant bike path, mostly along the river.

I enjoyed a nice lunch, al fresco, from the co-op deli.

Then I turned right back around, to go to the Ann Arbor art fair. I wanted to see the PCAP event at 3:30, where formerly incarcerated people read aloud their poetry and prose, and sometimes also creative writings from other people who are currently incarcerated. There were about seven or eight performers, and I enjoyed all of them.

After that, I found a lush nearby park, and relaxed on a bench for a while.

I took the opportunity to call my mother, whose 80th birthday was today! I felt glad to be able to connect with her, despite our physical distance.

Then I made my way south of town—on the way back to my hosts’ place—to REI, to buy some new socks. I have been wearing my favorite brand and style of socks (Endura Coolmax, which for years I had to order from England) for well over a decade now. My thick toenails have kept poking holes in them, and I have darned these few pairs of socks for years, including these three or four pairs I have with me on this journey. I have been slowly coming to terms with the fact that they are becoming threadbare enough that I really should probably replace them. Sadly, though, that particular style is no longer available. I have been putting off buying new ones, because I am not confident that any other product can live up to these.

But at some point, we have to just take action. So I walked into REI at 8 pm—still light out!—and encountered a dizzying array of socks. I asked an employee for help, but then I ended up doing most of the talking, eventually talking myself into a new pair, with only a small amount of input from her.

These new ones look almost the same as my existing ones, and they are made from recycled plastic, so I feel good about that. (Wool is off the table for me as a vegan, and cotton is not practical since it can get wet and feel cold and miserable.) I will test them out soon, maybe tomorrow. If I like them, I should be able to easily get more, since there are REI stores in most major US cities.

I returned to my hosts’ place just after dark, in time to chat a bit before they turned in. I’ll turn in soon, too, and then tomorrow I’ll head north a bit, to my new hosts’ place. If the weather is good, I hope to also check out the arboretum.

Do you have your own dream or project, and would like some support or collaborative brainstorming about it? Use the green “contact” button above to schedule a free one-hour phone or video call with me!

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Want to support my vision financially? I am in the process of manifesting $50,000 in lieu of a “salary” for the year of this journey. You can make a one-time or monthly contribution, or even become a Fairy Godfunder! (Heartfelt thanks to all my patrons and supporters!)