Trip Log – Day 31 – Kalamazoo, MI to Stevensville, MI

Posted on June 6, 2015 by paulefallon

Kzoo to Benton HarborMiles Today: 65

Miles to Date: 1,796

States to Date: 8

June 5, 2015 – Sunny, 75 degrees

One month on the road! It was great to start it with David Bere, who made sure I got a solid breakfast before we cycled over to Western Michigan University. David showed me around the Sustainability Center where he works and he tuned up my bike. Friday is the day David’s mother makes cookies for the Sustainability team, and we all ate awesome chocolate chip cookies.

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At eleven I met with Mike Way and the Innovation Team at Bronson Healthcare. I have worked with Bronson since 1997 when they began planning the replacement hospital that opened in 2000. Now, Bronson is a national leader in community healthcare, won the 2005 Malcolm Baldridge Award, and continues to lead innovation in wellness and sustainability. We had a great round table discussion about tomorrow.

imagesI enjoyed lunch with my good friend Vickie Nelson, my Kalamazoo counterpart at Diekema Hamann, a local architecture firm with whom I worked on several Bronson projects. Vickie’s life and my own have shared several parallel interests. She has been deeply involved in education and aid work in Guatemala, as I have in Haiti. She is retiring this week and will have more time to devote to that effort.

I didn’t leave Kalamazoo until almost three but wanted to get a few miles under my belt. When I reached Paw Paw, which had a nice little motel, I still had energy, so I kept on. But I was tired by the time I reached Hartford, a farming community that appears to be 100%Mexican. No motels in town, but, happily, an ice cream stand that sold soft serve as well as burritos.

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After a short break and a generous cone, I had renewed energy. As soon as I rose out of the Hartford valley, the vineyards were lush, the lettuce fields thriving, and the air was tinged with a cool breeze. Lake Michigan was near. It was another twenty miles before I passed through Benton Harbor (a desolate place) to reach St. Joseph (a lovely place). I was hoping for vintage lakefront motels, but there were none. So I kept along Lakeshore Drive until I found a Super 8 near the highway. Not exactly a seaside hideaway. Still, it was after 8 p.m., I was tired, and happy for a clean and quiet place to stay.

 

 

 

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Trip Log – Day 30 – Jackson, MI to Kalamazoo, MI

Posted on June 6, 2015 by paulefallon

Jackson to KzooMiles Today: 70

Miles to Date: 1,731

States to Date: 8

June 4, 2015 – Sunny, 75 degrees

I rose early. My warmshowers hosts left me the best sesame seed bread ever to kickstart my day, and I slipped out of their driveway shortly after six. The first twelve miles of my ride was along the Falling Waters Trial, a rail trail through dense woods and past beautiful lakes. I saw only one other cyclist, but a dozen deer. I took a local road from Concord to Albion, riding under a canopy of huge trees with rolling fields beyond me on either side. Albion is a small college town, and the outskirts are littered with offbeat, Modernist houses college professors seem to favor. Unfortunately, the historic downtown is not as interesting. Most of the storefronts are empty and though I craved a local diner for breakfast, my only option was Subway.

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I pedaled on to Marshall, which proved a sharp contrast. Marshall is happening! Why do some towns founder while others thrive? Marshall’s main street is full of stores, both useful and hip. The central fountain is gorgeous, the eclectic nineteenth century architecture impressive. But most important, there are people everywhere. Downtown is the place to go.

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On a whim, I stopped at the American Museum of Magic. Harry Blackstone, a famous magician, set up his summer quarters in nearby Colon, and ever since this area has been the world’s center of magicianship. Every summer over 1,000 magicians convene in Colon to trade secrets (or not) and the American Museum of Magic and its archives contain almost a million artifacts, including a 1584 Book of Sorcery (supposedly used by Shakespeare as a reference for Macbeth) as well as Houdini’s lock box and Penn & Teller’s suits. Since, as one on the text plaques states, “Magicians are paid liars – always trying to convince people something is happening when it’s not”, I enjoyed it all but didn’t take it too seriously.

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Too bad I was full from my Subway meal, as Marshall is full of great looking places to eat. Still, I couldn’t resist Louie’s, a vintage 1952 bakery on Main Street. The cases were full of great looking stuff, but the entire back wall was filled with racks that I could tell, by sheer volume, held the house specialty. I ordered a nut roll, which Jessica and Wendi insisted on giving me free when they heard about my journey. Within minutes, there were six or eight people in the store, all comparing the virtues and vices of Louie’s nut rolls. As a cyclist who needs to consume many calories a day, I can tell you the virtue of this delicious sweet far exceed any vice.

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The ride along Verona Road into Battle Creek was pleasant. I arrived in time for my 2 p.m. appointment with Don Scherencel, Director of Historic Adventist Village, where I learned about yet another religion birthed in upstate New York’s ‘Burnt over District’, that moved to Battle Creak and has flourished there since the Civil War. Dr. John Harvey Kellogg, health and exercise fanatic who first invented Corn Flakes (though his brother made the famous cereal company) was a Seventh Day Adventist. The Welcome Center is full of Dr. Kellogg’s exercise machines.

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It was four by the time I started my final stretch to Kalamazoo. The map showed 22 miles, mostly along the Kalamazoo Rive. All true. However, the stretch was industrial, heavily trafficked and had little shoulder. Since it was late and I was tired, I took several breaks to stay centered. Luckily, there was a nice bike path for the last eight miles into Kalamazoo.

 

I arrived at my warmshowers host’s house a little late but none the worse. David Bere is a local 20-year-old bicycle enthusiast. Last summer he cycled 6,000 miles through the Northern U.S. and Canada. Now he works at the University of Western Michigan Center for Sustainability and vows “to never own a motorized vehicle.” It was greet to meet a young man of such passion. His mother, a native of Kalamazoo, made an incredible meal for us, and we spent a few hours looking at the photos and maps of David’s trip before heading off to bed.

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Profile Response: John Crawley, Cazenovia, NY

Posted on June 6, 2015 by paulefallon

HWWLT Logo on yellowJohn Cawley opened his unusual home to me as a warmshowers host. The Stone Cottage is a solid Civil War era commercial building with a central entry and two generous rooms. The building sits at the end of Cazenovia’s main street, on the shore of Lake Cazenovia. Some 1950’s additions expanded the structure into a residence. Now the building has five distinctly different rooms. The formal living room, which was originally a law office, contains some of the most beautiful molding I’ve ever seen.

But don’t just visit to see John’s house. John is ten to fifteen years my senior, and during our evening together I came to appreciate his energy, values, and perspective. By the time I left the following morning, I realized that John provides a great model for how we can age with respect for our past and our losses, as well as vigor and meaning for the present and future.

IMG_1903John had a varied career in business, working for Geico and Citibank before eventually becoming expert in municipal finance. He attended eleven different schools growing up, and didn’t want to replicate that experience for his own children, so handled finance for the City of Scranton during their formative years. By the time they were grown, and the promises of local politicians made Scranton’s finances unstable, John moved to smaller cities on Maryland’s eastern shore and eventually came to upstate New York to be near his grown children.

John was married 47 years. His wife developed arthritis that settled in her organs, and eventually crippled their function. It was a long, painful death, accelerated in the end when John’s wife stopped eating. “Religion had nothing to offer me when my wife died. Her suffering defied reason.” So, John bought a Miata, stuffed a backpack in the passenger seat, and toured the West. He hiked Glacier National Park, faced off a Golden Bear in Yosemite, and encountered a mountain lion in Yellowstone. Then he returned to New York, got on match.com and met a wonderful woman, who happened to be his daughter’s neighbor. Now, John’s business cards list kayaking, rowing, hiking biking, sailing, x-country skiing and snowshoeing as his pursuits, and also indicate Miriam Weber as his partner.

While John is physically active in retirement, he’s measured and contemplative in his political, social, and emotional perspectives. John’s years in municipal government allowed him to witness both sides of negotiations, and develop empathy with different points of view. I visited John during the Baltimore riots after the police killed an unarmed Black man. When I expressed surprise that police departments throughout the country didn’t seem to understand how their actions were viewed in the general population, John said, “Police are a closed society, imagesand corrupt. They are going to protect their own. But I wouldn’t want their job.”

John exemplifies how aging offers a more generous view of life. The foibles of human nature are easier to detect and easier to accept. “I have three children, each with families, all doing well. I had a great marriage and now have a second satisfying relationship. I have no regrets.”

How will we live tomorrow?

“Would you like another beer or some ice cream?”

Since I am not travelling to badger people, I only ask my question once. I figured that John didn’t want to answer directly. Our discussion continued, ranging from the environment to the presidential election to the virtues of rowing on Lake Cazenovia. But the more I thought about John’s answer, the more I liked it. That two of my favorite things will still be available for me to want, and to have, tomorrow.

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Trip Log – Day 29 – Dearborn, MI to Jackson, MI

Posted on June 5, 2015 by paulefallon

Dearborn to JacksonMiles Today: 74

Miles to Date: 1,661

States visited to date: 8

June 3, 2015 – Sunny, 75 degrees

Today was easy riding: up at 5:30 a.m., out shortly after six, with only short breaks until I reached Jackson just after one. I pedaled a few miles along Tireman Road, the line between Dearborn and Detroit; a world of stability on one side, a world of chaos on the other. Hines Drive out of the city was closed to cars; I shared the wide, pleasant road with only a handful of other cyclists. Even after the Ann Arbor Trail merge, traffic was light and the shoulder solid. Plymouth is a beautiful town with a graceful fountain in its center. Instead of seeking out University of Michigan intelligentsia in Ann Arbor I stopped by a skateboard park and talked with the board guys. After several miles of wide highway, the road narrowed to country proportions in Jackson County. Farmland rose around me like bed sheets drying on the line. Main Street in Grass Lake is lined with elegant old houses. The tall grass outside the aptly named town billowed in the soft crosswind like waves in a shallow sea.

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I spent the afternoon writing. Around five I pedaled through Jackson, past Allegiance Healthcare where I did some consulting two years ago. On that trip I dragged my companions away from highway chain restaurants to explore downtown, which was a shadow if its glory. This trip downtown is a construction zone as the city’s replacing core infrastructure. I guess I’ll have to come back in a few years to see if the massive project spurs rejuvenation.

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I spent a relaxing evening with my warmshowers host family. The sun doesn’t set until past nine this time of year in Michigan. After dinner, Scott, his neighbor Jeff and I drank beer on the deck while their children ran between the backyards. We kept talking after we moved inside and Scott’s wife Karen joined us. It was past eleven when I crawled into the cozy bed tucked under the stairs in the dark and quiet basement.

A shout out to my niece Isabelle who texted me to say I should add how many states I have visited to my header – which I did. Great idea, Izzy.

 

 

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Profile Response – Patricia Hoffman, Executive Director Oneida Foundation Oneida, NY

Posted on June 5, 2015 by paulefallon

HWWLT Logo on yellowThe Oneida Community was by many measures the most successful of all the nineteenth century Utopian communities. John Noyes and his followers were chased out of Putney, VT due to their beliefs in sharing not only work, lodging, and resources, but also marriage. The Perfectionists, as they called themselves, arrived in New York State’s ‘Burned-over District’ of revival fervor, and established the Oneida Community. Between 1848 and 1880 they built the Oneida Community Mansion House, established a thriving silverware manufactory, and grew to several hundred members. Like many Utopian communities, they were unable to survive the death of their founder, though Oneida Limited was established as the resulting business in 1880 and thrived for over one hundred years.

A non-profit organization was formed in 1987 to acquire the site from Oneida Ltd to oversee the historically significant Oneida Community Mansion House and with the company’s help, established an endowment early on. I met with Patricia Hoffman, Oneida Community Mansion House Executive Director, to learn about the community and the lessons it offers about how we will live tomorrow.

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Ms.Hoffman explained that sites like this are experiencing a decline in the numbers of visitors, changing demographics, the impact of technology and for the last several years, a general decline in the economy.  It is fortunate that the Mansion House contains residential apartments, overnight lodging, and banquet and meeting space to offset less than robust museum revenues.  To ensure the site remains relevant into the future, the fifteen-member board of trustees recently voted to focus on becoming an educational resource for historic preservation.  Ms. Hoffman sees this as a logical extension of the Oneida Community ideal of changing directions whenever necessary to keep moving forward.

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The shared economic and religious endeavors of the original community are gone; the current residents don’t have any formal cooperative arrangement. However, the boundaries between the shared spaces and private spaces are blurred, and Ms. Hoffman believes, “The energy from when the community was here permeates everything. Those values pass through generations.”

What can we learn from Oneida Community about ‘How will we live tomorrow?’

“One of the most important legacies of the Oneida Community was the creation and development of Oneida Community Ltd. which went on to become Oneida Ltd., one of the first social welfare companies in America.” Oneida Limited offered health care, stock ownership, and other ways for employees to be actively engaged in the company well before others. In the early 1900’s the company was expanding. They subdivided their land to create plots for workers to build houses. They built schools, parks, even the first company golf course in America. But Oneida was never a company town, like Pullman or Bethlehem. In the 1920’s the executives took pay cuts to avoid laying off workers. “They were trying to make money, but never at the expense of the employees, ever.”

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Trip Log – Day 28 – Dearborn, MI to Dearborn, MI

Posted on June 3, 2015 by paulefallon

Dearborn DayMiles Today: 0

Miles to Date: 1,587

June 2, 2015 – Sunny, 65 degrees

 

My first rest day! I slept like a baby in Bill Basse’s old bedroom; I am getting very good at a different bed every night. My friend Bob Basse had set up a meeting with the Director of Public Information and the Sustainability Director of the City of Dearborn, where we talked about tomorrow.

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Bob and I spent the afternoon on the Rouge Ford Factory Tour, where F150 pick-ups roll off the line every 60 seconds. The plant, built in 2000, is the latest addition to the famous River Rouge Assembly plant that Henry Ford opened in 1924. Whereas 100,000 people worked at River Rouge in the 1920’s, today it takes only 1000 people to assemble an F150. True, many components have been outsourced, but still, the degree of automation is impressive. Surprisingly, the most automated parts of the process as the most precise ones. Windshields are attached without human intervention; the bed is fixed to the cab mechanically; while people still snap in place interior finish panels in place.

I didn’t leave with the impression that we will all be replaced by robots so much as the realization that the amount of planning required to make those 1000 floor workers efficient is phenomenal. The logistics of material flow and coordination of parts is a wonder of this factory that’s not on display.

IMG_2110We got home late afternoon and enjoyed our leftover Middle Eastern food, took a few hours of downtime, and then took along walk through lovely Dearborn, including a stop at the local Middle Eastern supermarket and an incredible macaroon for dessert. I was in bed before nine, recharging to hit the road again.

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Profile Response: David Gibson Family Slingerlands, NY

Posted on June 3, 2015 by paulefallon

HWWLT Logo on yellowDavid Gibson and I are fraternity brothers, though we hadn’t seen each other in over thirty years. During that time he served five years in the U.S. Army in East Germany before the wall fell, went to business school, worked for Corning Glass, started his own company producing specialty radiographic lens, built it into a industry leader, and sold it two years ago. He’s searching for the next act in his life, though he’s not at liberty to join my cycling adventure since David and his wife Chris have four-year-old twins, in addition to eight other children and several grandchildren from earlier marriages and adoption. Chris and David are devout Mormons, and their commitment to family is evident everywhere in their large house where they can accommodate any and all extended family.

Chris, David, three of their children, and I enjoyed a barbeque on the deck overlooking their forty acres of woods on a Saturday evening. During dinner, David asked each in turn “How we will live tomorrow?”

Kadance and Austin, the four-yeaIMG_1868r-old play masters replied: “Play games, after breakfast… and play on our dirt pile!”

Bryson, a fifteen-year-old high school student said: “Technological advances will control what happens. It will be better in a lot of ways, but if you’re stuck in the past, no.”

Christine responded: “I have two thoughts. My optimistic view is that medical advances are coming rapidly. Things that our parents suffered, and our grandparents died from, won’t even be on our children’s radar screen. My fear is that the number of restrictive laws passed because one kid in one place got injured will continue to grow. We’ll sap our spontaneity and energy because we contain our actions to protect against people who did stupid stuff. Life is not going to get happier with all of these restrictions.”

Later in the evening, when Bryson was playing video games, he chimed in with another response that is both prescient and intriguing: “We are going to download our consciousness and live forever.”

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The next morning, Chris came into the playroom where Austin and I were deep in Legos, and told her son it was time to put on his shoes to get ready for church. “But mom! You said, how will we live tomorrow?” Chris and I laughed, but I appreciated how the little boy took my question to a whole different level – his answer to play all day as not just hopeful, but defining.

Nevertheless, Austin put his shoes on, and we all attended the LDS church service in Latham, NY. Since people of faith are focused on tomorrow, I’m interested in attending a variety of services during my trip. It seemed particularly appropriate to attend a Mormon service while in upstate New York, where so many American religious and utopian groups, including the Mormons, were founded in the nineteenth century.

This Sunday the focus of the service was on Mormon prophets and how they guide individual behavior. Mormons have a lay ministry, and two members of the congregation gave the inspirational talks. Dara Blanchette told a story of having a third ear piercing and then hearing the prophet’s advice to wear only two earrings. She decided to let that piercing close over. “In a world that has grown more chaotic, it is our role to be models of grace and refinement.” Austin Peterson, an IT guy, said, “When I go to Google with a question, I get a discussion board with a variety of answers and opinions. Having a prophet is like having a search engine run by God. The answers may not be popular, but they are definitive.”

imgres-2Two things struck me about the service. First, that this religion is both real and relevant. Although it references ancient texts like the Bible, The Book of Mormon is much newer, at least in its translation. The prophets are actual men, alive today, and not the historical figures that define most traditional Christianity. The mash-up of ancient history, recent history and present-day direction make the church seem alive. Second, this religion provides a lot of answers. It must be comforting to many to believe in something so comprehensive and definitive. From an LDS perspective, tomorrow seems both positive and manageable.

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In addition to hosting me, David provided this written response to my question

How will we live tomorrow?

With the number of people in the middle class growing from 1.8 billion in 2009 to a projected 3.2 billion in 2020 and 4.9 billion in 2030 (http://www.oecdobserver.org/news/fullstory.php/aid/3681/An_emerging_middle_class.html) the strains on the World’s material resources will be forced to the forefront. We (the larger, world “we”) cannot all live like Americans have been used to. Unfortunately through the ubiquity of American media that high level of consumption, and even the portrayal of a false higher level as standard, a desire and expectation in much of the world.

But I have considerable hope. In the US there seems to be a growing and persistent move towards not needing to own as much. This is evidenced in the growth of the sharing economy including companies like Airbnb, Uber, Lyft, SnapGoods, Getaround, Neighborgoods, and theDressList. It can also be seen in the very rapid growth of makerspaces, the adoption of temporary digital-book distribution, and to me the unexpected disinterest of many youth in getting a driver’s license as soon as they are eligible.

I hope we can become conscious of the difference between needs and desires. And over time our desires not be so material based.

There is a long way to go. But it seems a good start.

David Gibson, Husband, Father, Entrepreneur, Slingerlands, New York

 

 

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Trip Log – Day 27 – Elmore, OH to Dearborn, MI

Posted on June 2, 2015 by paulefallon

150601Elmore OH to Dearborn MIMiles Today: 78

Miles to Date: 1,587

June 1, 2015 – Overcast and windy, 55 degrees

 

Days with 4,000 vertical feet of elevation rise are physically exhausting. Days with 400 feet of vertical elevation rise are just tedious. The trip from Elmore, OH to Dearborn, MI is so flat the only times I downshifted was to climb overpasses.

IMG_2090 The few creeks I crossed were full of muddy water from yesterday’s torrents

 

 

 

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Some houses sat only inches above flooded yards.

 

 

 

IMG_2091I chuckled at Brewthrough, the most literal drive-through coffee and beer place I’ve ever seen.

 

 

 

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Toledo was the saddest collection of aging industry and neighborhood neglect I’ve passed through to date.

 

 

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Michigan didn’t offer a welcome sign, just long stretches of wide highway with marginal shoulder, thought I enjoyed the cool machine that turns old concrete into new aggregate and filters fine and course aggregate in one process.

 

IMG_2096I also had to stop to ponder this sign: would I really get my hair cut there?

Off my bike, of course, the people were terrific. The owner of Fino’s Resaturant on Monroe, MI insisted on buying my lunch. Virginia and Marietta, two elderly women having afternoon coffee at the McDonald’s in Lincoln Park were baffled by my journey. They went outside and studied my bicycle, incredulous that it would carry me so far.

I arrived in leafy Dearborn just after six. My friend Bob Basse was in front of his family home, with his brother Bill and their neighbor, Housalla ElMoussa. I wanted to visit Dearborn to explore the Muslim influx, which was everywhere evident on Middlepointe Street.

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Bob took me out to Al Ameer, the best Middle Eastern food I’ve ever had. We ordered all sorts of dishes and brought enough leftovers home for a second meal tomorrow.

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1000+ Followers

Posted on June 1, 2015 by paulefallon

I want to thank all my readers of http://www.theawkwardpose.com and http://www.howwillwelivetomorrow.com – this weekend I surpassed the 1,000 follower mark. Running two blogs is an imperfect science, but for those who are confused, here is the difference. Feel free to follow one, or both!

HWWLT Logo on yellowwww.howwillwelivetomorrow.com is the blog for my current project – cycling to the 48 contiguous United States to ask people the question, “How will we live tomorrow?” This blog includes a daily Trip Log of my cycling adventures as well as all of the responses that people give along the way. Some responses are aggregated into weekly lists. More detailed responses are profiled in dedicated posts. I’m pretty good about keeping my Trip Log only a day or two behind my experience. Profile Responses are not as current, but are posted in the order I meet people. Right now I am in Michigan, and still posting profiles from New York!

awkward_pose_1[1]-001www.theawkwardpose.com is my original and ongoing blog. It contains all my social commentaries and posts about yoga, Haiti, and cycling. It will continue to be the archive for all of my writing. I also post the Trip Logs of my current project to this blog, but not the responses, since I don’t write them.

 

When my cycling trip ends in 2016, http://www.howwillwelivetomorrow.com will be retired; http://www.theawkwardpose.com will keep on and on…

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Trip Log – Day 26 –Norwalk, OH to Elmore, OH

Posted on June 1, 2015 by paulefallon

150531 Norwalk OH to Elmore OHMiles Today: 44

Miles to Date: 1,509

May 31, 2015 – Rain and wind, 50 degrees

 

After more than three weeks of ducking rain, my weather luck finally ran out. I slept for eleven hours in Cathy and Don Mayles’ quiet basement, and enjoyed a huge breakfast with them before heading out in a light mist about 11 a.m. Before I left they described that a friend whose son died young but donated his organs is tracking where people see this poster on trucks. If you find one, let me know and I’ll pass the news on to Cathy and Don.

IMG_2086The mist dissipated after I stopped by CVS for provisions, so I was hopeful for an easy ride. The stretch to Monroeville was uneventful. The rain picked up by the time I reached the decision point on the east side of town – side roads or U.S. 20. I decided to stick to the main road, which had a wide shoulder and little traffic. This proved a good decision to Bellevue, as the rain picked up and the wind started blowing hard from the northeast. I weighed all the good attributes of my ride – short distance, flat terrain, good pavement – against the rain and decided I was doing pretty well.

Beyond Bellevue I encountered some highway engineers idea of good design – a wide rumble strip down the shoulder that forced me to ride inside the white line. There was so little traffic on the four-lane road that most vehicles gave me a wide berth but a few came awfully close. Then the wind picked up hard and the rain came down harder. A few cross-gusts made my bike shiver, and for the first time on the trip I felt insecure. Once anxiety descends the chance for mishap grows, so I kept a steady focus and recalled my friend Dave Gibson’s wisdom, “You won’t always have fun, but you’ll always feel alive” I certainly felt alive, trying to keep my Surly stable against the thirty to forty mile an hour winds.

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Fortunately, the next town, Clyde, had a McDonald’s where I could pull off the road for a few hours and watch the storm from indoors. When I entered the dining room, a group of bikers also seeking respite from the storm said, “Whoa, we thought we had it hard.” The rain slowed down eventually. I left after five and rode the last twenty miles to Elmore, all on one of Ohio’s great rail trails, in a list mist. The wind was still strong, but there were no other vehicles to avoid.

I arrived at my host’s home about 7:30 p.m. After a warm shower, Gordon served an incredible meal: appetizers and matzo soup, ham loaf with beets and salad, fresh pineapple and blueberries for dessert. We talked until ten and then I slept well under the big down comforter on his guest bed.

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