Click the book to buy your own copy.
Upon meeting Lynette Chiang at the National Bike Rally a couple weeks ago, and seeing such fire in her eyes about her travels and passion for cycling – I knew there was more to it. I picked up her book, The Handsomest Man in Cuba, An Escapade, and opened it up as soon as I got to the airline gate to leave New Mexico. It was almost too hot to concentrate, although the book captured my interest right away. As the airship was taxiing for takeoff, and heat suddenly came out through the air-conditioning vents, I closed the book for a moment. About an hour later, I woke out of a heat exhaustion fainting spell. Once I figured out what happened, I opened the book again and dove about 50 pages in through the flight.
It only took a couple chapters to get that it was a raw account of her first hand traveling experience through a hidden culture. Indeed, there were only a few other moments I needed to put the book down (other than eating and sleeping), to think about a sentence or two and how I relate to it.
I loved the fact that so much of it remained uncensored, that I am compelled to see this place, meet these people and send a postcard to the address in the book. “Thus, Castro is developing a nation of resourceful and intelligent people who excel in their fields, be it hustling or heart surgery. But if there is a stress point in the structure, it is where an individual reaches for the stars but hits his or her head on the low ceiling of communism.”
Through her independent touring, she comes to a connection with making destination in one’s travel plans and spirituality: “I often lapse into circular debates with myself (and whatever unlucky bastard happens to be within earshot) over whether it is possible for one ever truly to arrive.”
And finally, the threads to human social interaction which bind all of us together across the world: “When space, money, and time are compressed, as in a big city, people feel compressed, and the first thing to get squeezed is the ability to give your fellow human the time of day.”
Thank you Lynette; my vigor for traveling with bicycle is renewed.
Check out all the new vendors showing some love for going CAR-FREE!!
Also, the Velomuse Ladies’ Summer Solstice ride is a part of it all!
It doesn't take much to make me chase clouds.
We were graced with few but quality attendance at the National Bike Rally, similar to many other recent conference-type events, likely due to state of economy. No one else from Pittsburgh nor California was present, which meant that I had no partners in crime but had good reason to make new friends and experiment with sharing/exchanging accommodations. The people that did attend; however, represented a good portion of the local cycling community in Albuquerque and nearby Santa Fe and a handful of very dedicated advocates from Washington DC, New York, Texas and Australia.
Unexpectedly, some optimistic and creative attendants leveraged the state of economy – and their unemployed state – to become certified in things that they would normally pay for when employed. While I am also unemployed, I missed the memo about the early arrival necessary for the League (of American Bicyclists) Certified Instructor safety training. Instead, I got to hear about the skills and best practices gleened by Gal From Down Under, Lynette Chiang and Lisa Miles, from Bike Santa Fe, while on many of the group rides organized by New Mexico Touring Society (whose jersey I had the honor of wearing, as I was the first person to register for the rally), at a film screening of Route 66 by Bicycle: Pedaling the Mother Road, and at the closing ceremonies, honoring the late Gail Ryba, whom was the honorary Volunteer of the Year recipient for 2009. Gail is survived by her family, husband Tom Robey and daughter Lynn, and a legacy of bicyclist safety training – as she secured a grant from New Mexico Department of Transportation.
Being an opportunist, I participated in the longest of the road-only options on the two days that I was able to ride in Albuquerque – a 40 mile ride along the Bosque trail, through the Pueblo of Isleta, meeting the Mayor of Belen, returning via Rail Runner train, and then the 100 mile Albuquerque Century – which was the hottest 100 degree ride I have ever experienced! I also got tremendous enthusiasm and support to mountain bike in Santa Fe after the Rally, from Rob and Charlie’s bike shop manager, Steve Newhall, who showed me around the town and trails, loaned me a sweet demo bike, and helped me to return ship my cyclocross bike via FedEx – a feat that was not simple.
It was hot on the plane when we boarded, and the air conditioning was not working, so I promptly passed out (not asleep – passed out) for at least an hour. I was told that I would have strange dreams while in New Mexico, but this was excessive! A couple of things I took home with me, was that I need to travel more with loose plans even if it makes me nervous and I don’t know anyone where I’m going. I would like to get the LCI training, to complement the USA Cycling Coach, Wilderness First Aid, and Leadership Development training I already have. Cyclists from various backgrounds (road, mountain, urban) need to develop a cooperative strategy to ensure access for everyone. I expect to return to Santa Fe to visit my new friends, maybe participate in the Santa Fe century, and do a lot more mountain biking and possibly skill-share some trail advocacy, bike handling/educational clinics for the community. There are more clouds to chase, yet.
Velomuse is hosting an event on June 18th from 6-8pm, as part of the Car Free Fridays campaign: this is for the adventurous woman, racer chic, grocery toting mom, college commuter lady, and bicycle polo playing playing grrl. Tired of the boys’ club? Just interested in a different kind of ride? Trying to find your riding style or encourage someone else to ride? Anything goes… just bring something handmade and gift-wrapped for the craftswap at the end, where we’ll finish a casual, chatting pace cruise around East Liberty, at Tazza D’Oro cafe @1125 North Highland Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA.
*If you are driving to the ride, you can park at the bike shop parking lot where we’ll start, or on the street near the cafe.
** Please feel free to pass on this information to your man-friends, but only women will be allowed to RSVP and participate. This is ours.
See you there!
More information about Velomuse ladies’ events on facebook here.
Update 6/17/10: Bike Pittsburgh interviews Velomuse founder, Eryn Hughes, about this ride and program details., and Michelle Johnson helps us connect the dots in the cycling community.
