Day 13

I am forever grateful for the many road angels we have stumbled across along the road. I am writing from the computer of another Warm Showers contact, Mike, who lives in Mentor Ohio. We left the Ithaca Ecovillage on Tuesday morning, and after a week of many miles, we decided to take a day of rest in this home to regroup and rest our weary muscles. Literally as we rode up to Mike's driveway last night, it began to pour. This was the first rain we have seen in 13 days! Everyone I've spoken with in New York and Pennsylvania have commented on how dry the end of the summer has been, but I'm glad we have not yet had to deal with any wet roads. In fact, it has been hotter than expected. Wednesday reached 85 degrees at 2:30pm, and as we pulled into Erie, PA at 7pm Thursday evening, it was still 89 degrees! The entire left side of my body is much darker than my right. Gautier says it "looks like someone has spread Nutella" all over my shoulder. I have decided to title this Thursday as the day of Revenge of Emily's bicycle. I had a total of 4 flats in one day. The first occurred not 6 miles from camp, and we destroyed the connection between the tube and valve stem of my only 2 spare tubes while furiously attempting to inflate them. We were 30 miles from the nearest bike shop located in Jackson, NY (incidentally, the hometown of Lucille Ball), and by 11am, it appeared that we would have to spend another night in Little Valley, NY. But, after a few minutes of 'thumbing it', a sweet woman named Dawn picked us up in her truck and drove us to the bike shop. She rescued a similar couple of bicyclists earlier in the summer.

We spoke a lot about the Amish farmers in the area, and noticed a Cargill tower on the side of the freeway. After talking with Dawn about the local agriculture, we learned that Cargill purchased the plant from Agway 5-8 years prior (no doubt during a large shopping spree of many other seed and agricultural companies). Most of upstate New York consisted of corn field after corn field. There must be more cows in upstate NY as there are people in New York City. I can only imagine how much people food could be produced if this land were not dedicated to pasture and cropland to raise dairy cows. Do we really need to drink so much milk? I saw a sign on a barn which pictured several happy calves telling me to "drink more milk!" Yet, are these calves really happy that we drink what their mothers make for them? I love cheese, and it is difficult for me to give it up from my diet, but even I must admit that it disagrees with my digestive system. Are humans truly meant to drink the milk of another animal, especially after our nursing years? So much agriculture in Vermont and New York depends on the dairy industry, but much of this is subsidized by the government, anyway. However, it will take much change for farmers who have grown up raising cows to switch to vegetables.

It has been difficult for me to stick to the journaling along the trip. I am so tired after 75 miles of biking that all I want to do at the end of the day is set up the tent, cook dinner, and pass out. It has also been tough to stop and interview folks at restaurants and grocery stores. First of all, we are always on a tight schedule, with the intent to quickly run into a store, grab any necessary supplies, and jump back on the bike to make it to our evening's destination. Secondly, the more I see of the country, the more I realize that simply talking to people will not change much. So what if I talk to people in front of a super Wal-Mart and preach about rising fuel prices, higher food cost, the dangers of GMO and highly processed foods, and how it is affecting our global economic and environmental health? After a long day of biking, it is easier to run into the first store we see, buy the first brand of bread (it is sooooo difficult to find even a whole grain bread variety without high fructose corn syrup!), and just eat. Likewise, with sprawling suburbs designed to be navigated by motorized vehicles, it is easier and cheaper for the average U.S. citizen to drive to the nearest super market, whether it be Wal-Mart or Shaw's, and purchase all that one needs in one location. Our entire society has been built around such a fossil-fuel powered economy, and I do not see much changing before oil prices rise to a ridiculous amount or before oil reserves disappear completely.

In fact, we passed through an entire county in upstate NY plastered with pro-Wal-Mart development signs. I have a hard time imagining why anyone would like to see such a store in town, but Gautier reminded me that I am not from this area, and how could I know how people perceive what Wal-Mart will do for their economy. But, do these people really know, either? We have passed so many abandoned mall and plaza lots, with debris-filled parking lots and depressed, empty store windows. After speaking with Mike, who grew up in the home in which he currently lives, I have a better understanding of suburban sprawl. Unlike many people who moved out of Cleveland to towns like Mentor (according to Mike, much of the movement occurred in the 60s when many white people moved out of the city to avoid the increasing African American population), Mike has watched suburbia build up around him. He hates it, describing the town as spoiled by commercialization. The only reason he remains is because it is an easy commute to his job in the city. Plans to build a new Super Wal-Mart, despite the protests of town citizens, will most likely go through because the town is too weak monetarily to fight back a lawsuit from the corporation. How can any small town fight back? Are we doomed to live in sprawling suburbs where there is nothing to do but shop, go to the movies, or go out to eat? I certainly hope not.

There is some hope yet, I think. Despite the acres and acres of grape (which go to Welches', if not to the few local wineries), corn, and soybean fields we have witnessed in the miles across Pennsylvania and Ohio, there have been plentiful roadside veggies stands where one can purchase a yellow squash and zucchini (on the honor system, mind you) for 50 cents. I spoke with a few folks at a roadside produce stand, who at least had some conception of how tastier fresh vegetables can be. One woman was not too concerned about food security, citing the year-round availability of produce grown in tropical countries which can be easily shipped to this country. Another pair of shoppers who moved from Russia 12 years ago appreciated the local produce in the summer, reminiscent of the days when they grew their own, but also mentioned Wal-Mart as a common source of inexpensive food.

After visiting the Ithaca Ecovillage, where their 10 acre CSA farm feeds 1000 people during the growing season, I was full of hope. But, Ithaca is a "progressive" city. (I place progressive in quotations because I am learning that it is an extremely relative term....what really IS progressive? What IS sustainable? A grad student studying the ecovillage, Prudance, made a good point that one can only judge an action to be progressive by looking in the past. One can never know if one is acting progressively in the present.) However, such food production is possible because 160 people have designed their entire living space around the idea of purchasing local products and supporting the local economy. It is much more difficult to infiltrate a town like Mentor with farms and farmer's markets when Wal-Mart already has plans to take over, and where it is easier and safer to drive in a car than to walk or bike. So, as we prepare to bike out of Ohio and into Indiana and Illinois, I hope I do not become completely depressed by the miles of GMO corn fields we are bound to see. I question what one person can do. Is it enough to talk to people? Should I simply set up a sustainable homestead and hope that others will eventually see the light, or should I rabble-rouse until I loose my voice? I hope to find more answers along the way. There are many more miles to go......
Until next time,
Emily and Gautier