First, and most importantly, we’d like acknowledge Steve Norwick and his family and keep them both in our thoughts and close to our hearts. Professor Norwick, an educator of nearly 40 years, a member of the Environmental Studies Faculty at Sonoma State and an avid bicyclist was the victim of a hit and run while riding his bike to meet friends for breakfast in Penngrove, CA on the morning of June 8, 2012. He has been in a coma since the accident. Out of respect for Mr. Norwick we have decided to dedicate the rest of FoodCycle’s cross-country ride to him, in the hope that he and his family make it through this very difficult time.
We’ve been getting up early these past few weeks to try to beat the heat. After an 86 mile day in near 100 degree heat we took the advice of our host Brian in Quincy, IL who bluntly stated “Are you stupid? This is the Mississippi River Valley and it’s June. It gets hot at 10am, heats up till 3 and then bakes from 4-7.” A little tough love never hurt I suppose. Though by now we are well away from the Mississippi, we’ve taken his words to heart, waking most mornings by 5am with the intent of moving by 6am. The early days have made for the indescribable beauty and solitude that comes with an empty road in the early morning. We now try, though not always successfully, to be off of our bikes by 2pm and in a shaded or air-conditioned locale, if we’re afforded such an opportunity.
We’re just beginning our push through Kansas now, after a handful of days spent off the bike and exploring Lawrence, Kansas, or as I like to think of it: Berkeley of the Midwest. Missouri proved to be far more than either Leah or I expected, lush and intact-with rolling hills that awoke our slumbering legs apparently lacking endurance after over 1,000 miles of flat terrain.
From here we’ll continue on towards the Colorado line, then the climbing begins-as will some visits with dear friends and schools in the area. We’ve traveled over 2,300 miles and seen 11 states, in the next 2,000 miles we’ll be in just 4 more states, the scale and depth of what still awaits has not fully sunk in yet.
We’re working with our editor to have new footage uploaded on our website soon to fill in the large gaps in our documentation of this trip, when it’s available you can view it at http://www.foodcycleus.com.
