Year of Adventure -Part 3 - Bike Tour

With the bike tour in full swing- I am appealing for motivation and have sent the following out to some people via e-mail. So you may have seen it already. Yesterday I was at the Thomas Farm Meeting School and there was someone there from Belfast, Maine since I never went to the Belfast Co-housing community I got the low down from him- sounds great there. It was great connecting with Friends again and being in the White Mountains (I think) is beautiful- so many trees around gives me hope for the world! So below is what I sent out to motivate myself and stay connected with people better through the last part of my year of adventure!

"I have been traveling by bicycle for 7 days today is day 8 and I have come to some hills and realize the importance of some additional motivation and connection to people back home..

Unfortunately there was some devastating news from Ladakh India three days after I got back to the USA- rains resulting in massive flooding, mud slides, and numerous deaths - people went missing under the mud and home and bridges were ruined in the an area that generally recieves no more than 3 inches of rainfall a year. One of the communities I had spent several weeks in and made many friends- now has much damage the bridges they use to get to the main road is now gone. They need help to rebuild their lives (since none were lost thankfully).

So I asked one friend what I could do to help and he said that I could raise donations and then Deb, who works for the International Society for Ecology and Culture in Ladakh said they were setting up a way for people to donate through the website to this particular village. http://www.isec.org.uk/ - that is the great organization I volunteered with in Ladakh- they have been in there for many years.

Here's how you can help:

1. Donate an amount to help rebuild the village of Takmachik for every mile I go-( you can set a dollar maximum for yourself if you want.) Tell me what it is so I can tell myself "if I go another mile that will mean X amount for Takmachik". And then when I stop I will email again and let you know how many miles I went. ( the miles counted will start today day 8 since I only just got an odometer). (Near the end of September).

2. Day with a friend option- Join me for a day or three or more and cycle with me! or just come visit me on tour- I am mapping out my route today for the rest of the journey now that I know about how many miles I go a day- OR let me know if you will be a place and able to host me along they way- I am going through the EAstern coastal states- spending a lot of time in Virginia and North Carolina, but currently in Massachusettes (almost). (yes I know about warm showers and couch surfing sites).

3. Send me a check so I can stay on the road- I don't get a free place to stay every night- I am still figuring that out- organization right!- so I couldn't belive $40 for a campsite one night and $25 is a lot too.. anyway if you have any touring tips for spending less send those my way or any extra cash laying around!

4- Dangle the carrot option- . Lump sum donation for Takmachik- if I make it to Ashville, NC! Tell me how much you will give to ISEC for Takmachik if I make it all the way!

5. Creative option- you tell me what it is!

Now that you are totally inspired email me right back and tell me what you are going to do!"

Thanks!!
Anna Hoekstra
alahoekstra@yahoo.com
(616) 635-7978

Bike tour Begins

The last part of my planned year has begun- a bike tour of farming communities/ or eco-communities from Maine to North Carolina or Georgia or Mexico Or whatever I feel like, Tennessee to Texas was the original plan.

Ladakh was an amazing experience and things got complicated near the end so I ceased to blog- it was costly to be on a slow internet connection all the time and I was busy so there.

I am happy to be back at the blogging thing- but may be difficult to find internet time along the road.

So far I have had two successful biking days and I plan to have a long day tomorrow on the bike but I may also be convinced to stay a while here and bike a half day- my next community is not until Massachusetts. Meanwhile an intentional community conference is happening in Virginia, where I will be in several weeks.. So missing the conference, but know someone who is attending. Hopefully I can catch up with them about what happened. There are a surprising number of communities in Virginia I wonder if the zoning laws/ land prices are lax/ low there - or else the Virginians are especially enlightened people.

DAy one was Fryeburg Maine to Falmouth Maine. Across the whole state of Maine-!! Where my Aunt Barb and Uncle John live. I had a nice shower and dinner out- thanks to them I also had desert- strawberry shortcake.!

The next day (today) my Aunt came with me biking to Brunswick Maine. That was really nice because I would still be out on the road lost probably if she had not come along. Then a few miles outside Brunswick I went on to the Community where I am staying tonight- To Echo Lane I think is the name, based on co-housing idea originating in Denmark.

I have already heard all the nitty gritty details of life in the community and how sometimes the rules can be too much- so I have already learned some valuable lessons about Consensus based decision making versus voting and how creating a process of getting to the option to vote a little faster might be a nicer way of doing things, so I will be keeping this in mind.

well I am very tired and should go to bed now-