Author: admin

Per conversation the other day with Jaymii.

I want a world where Peace is the goal in conflict resolution. I want a world where the power of love is much more enticing than the love of power. I want a world that creates solutions with harmony in mind, “power with,” versus “power over.” A world where People love themselves and know how to accept, celebrate and encourage diversity.

I want Press for this PEACE RIDE. This is news, right? One female, 11,000 miles, 21 states, 3 months, on a little scooter-trying to raise consciousness, promoting Peace. I want to know why this isn’t news-why the news chooses to report on tragedy, conflict, danger, chaos, destruction, Hollywood mega stars, ETC.

I want to know why the Marchers for Peace had ALL kinds of press-me-NONE.

I want to generate a buzzzz about P.E.A.C.E SCOOTER. To collect a billion definitions for the Speak your Peace project, I must reach the public.

I want all the hosts I’ve stayed with, and all myspace friends (who always have time for surveys) to take a few minutes-think about what Peace means to them-and define it on the Wall Of Peace.

I want anti-war organizations and Peace organizations to support me. I’ve written Not in Your Name, Code Pink, CIndy Sheehan, Eva Lowery and many others, numerous times- asking them to put a link to my site or endorse the Ride for Peace. This would help rally people for Crawford, TX and would have helped me find more housing also. They always write me back: “Good Luck, thanks for doing this, have fun!” Like I am on a joyride…..

I want to have people join me for yoga and a Pro Peace Rally at the “finish line” in Crawford, TX on October 13.

I want to thank all the people who have opened their hearts to me and provide immeasurable inspiration. A deep, warm bow to you.

Well, that concludes today’s exercise of positive, intentional manifestion. It feels much better to take a slightly different perspective- to focus on what I would like to have, versus mulling over what I do not. It never hurts to ask, and often in doing so, one can initiate their own empowerment of the situation.

Thank you Jaymii, for this wise, timely lesson.

INVITATION FOR PRO-PEACE RALLY IN CRAWFORD, TX

Twenty One Total. I’m at the last state since I’m headed back towards Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas. Technically the two wheels were in Texas already, even if for just 10 panicky minutes-when I realize they drive fast and furious there. This early morning finds me in Colorado, the last “new” state I will visit.

Yesterday I was in Santa Fe, NM with two of my favorite hosts-Meg and Richard.

You can look forward to a Santa Fe, NM travel blog, but for now I’m trucking along. I’m also really BUSY trying to plan for a Pro Peace Rally in Crawford, TX. This is a big complicated undertaking, harder to do alone while riding, talking to strangers about Peace and blogging. I am not sure if anyone but Daphne and Lil C will be there to meet me, but I’m REALLY okay with that. It’s just a technical finish line, as my whole life is dedicated to working for Peace. It was too hard to determine my ETA until two weeks ago, and an ETA is needed to invite hundreds of people to join you somewhere. 😉 Hopefully people will spread the word for me and I invite you to copy, paste and send forward the Crawford Blog post from Friday to Peace Organizations and friends.

Yesterday was a late start, only rode 270 miles, but I viewed some of the most amazing scenery yet. It was a bustling day, I stopped many times, met many incredible people and picked up a unique gift for Wendy, the roomie taking on all responsibility for my dog. There were quite a few U-turns made, answering to intuition, and this led to many cool meetings. Follow your bliss, fer sure! The wind was the gustiest I’ve ridden yet, up to 40mph gusts that had me on the highway shoulder for brief moments.

The heavy winds affected fuel economy pretty noticeably. I ran out of gas just 4 miles outside of my stopping point. I was traveling state route 10E to La Junta, CO, riding an hour into dark. Not a single car was behind me, and few passed, the whole 65 miles on I was on 10E. I could see the lights of town up ahead when Audre sputtered and shut down. Not only did I need gas, the moment required that I relieve myself as well, which was a tentative prospect. I was very sure that someone would only stop as soon as I met these needs out in the field. Alas, the moment was uninterrupted and moments later Debbie stopped for me.

I had to push Audre 2 blocks up to a house and ask to leave her there while we went to get a gas can. It turned out the man of the house had some gas, although it was for two stroke engines. I put just a splash in, a bit hesitant, and Debbie said she would follow me to the gas station. Four blocks away from the station, Audre sputtered out again. She sure isn’t a easy lady to push around! Debbie and I talked for a bit, it was nice to hear her story and I knew a bigger reason was behind the event timing. I haven’t actually completely run out of gas this whole trip, just came close, and Farmer John back in KS helped me out when I knew it was going to happen. Back then, the next gas station was 60 miles away-a big whopping 180 miles in between stations. It turns out that Debbie never stops to help people, as it can be dangerous to do, at night, as a female traveling alone. It also turns out that this day in time, she had been called forward as an angel to someone else, and Debbie was reveling in the day’s events. She was pretty amazed at the miles I’ve traveled and for my dedication to World Peace. Thank you for helping Debbie, and making sure I got to the motel safely. I wish you the best! Very appropriate to run out of gas on my last week, my last “new” state, and my last 1,000 miles.

I’m headed back to Salina, KS, a 330 mile ride down the country roads. The weather is chilly, with a promise of rain. Time to pull out the rain gear, finish the coffee and roll out! I want to leave you with a picture that moves my heart. This is Meg and Richard in 1969, touring Europe on his Vespa. Thirty eight years later, they own a motorcycle/scooter shop and are still very obviously in love.

I am about to complete an 11,000 mile ride for Peace. Almost 3 months ago, I left from the White House, headed to Crawford, TX, on a  scooter. My route, with just 1,500 miles left, will create a Peace sign on the U.S. Map.   Throughout my travels I have experienced extreme changes, in both climate and culture.  The scenery and people have been spectacular and have opened my eyes. Many have offered many personal stories, food, hugs, homes, and donations. I have ridden in temperatures from 105-40 degrees; ridden in the rain, hail, lightning, and heavy wind.

Perhaps many of you have never ridden a scooter, but trust me, it’s no simple task to ride 11,000 miles on 12 inch wheels going 55 mph.  Nor is it always easy to talk about Peace.

What I have discovered while traveling is a dangerous polarity concerning Peace-in the same vein as “you are for us, or against us.” That polarity can make dialog between strangers very daunting. I made deliberate efforts to leave politics and religion out of the conversation. Instead, I made it fundamental, asking, “what is YOUR vision for our future?” and “how do YOU define Peace?”

My goal is to generate dialog with everyone about Peace. Only an inclusive outreach will allow us to co-create change. I have visited communities with very conservative Bush supporters, but they have taken the time to define Peace with me.  This is a vast country, and an even bigger world. For us to know Peace, we must celebrate our diversity, using it to strengthen the common ground we do share. I have traced a Peace sign onto the US soil to remind us of our common ground, our interconnectivity.

I am opposed to this war and disgusted by this administration’s blatant abuse of my rights.  Three months ago, I reached a point in my life where I could no longer settle to go about my daily life as I knew it. I was absolutely aghast by the level of apathy, fear, and anger that runs rampant in our country.  There will be no Peace in our world, until we all integrate Peace into both the personal and political spheres of our lives.

I was driven to bring awareness to Peace and experiment with a new framework.  I say, “Don’t point one finger, point TWO.”   Point two for Peace. But also point two- as in one at yourself and one at the things you don’t like. How can YOU improve the world? How can YOU make purchasing decisions that don’t support the war-or that better benefit your community? How are YOU accountable for the injustices in our world? Because change, does, truly start with YOU.  There is no time to be apathetic, preoccupied, angry or judgemental. Other movements and revolutions have fizzled. If you want Peace in our world, work with me to embrace the idea of abundance. Change will come when we believe there is enough change to go around.

When I began this journey, I consciously set aside my political beliefs in order to listen more objectively.  At the end of a long journey, I still firmly believe that while we might always have conflict in our world, it will not be solved through war.  The bombing of nations and massacre of our soldiers and theirs has to stop.  My journey has taught me to find strength in differences, friends in strangers, and to envision viable solutions for our future. And to never stop imagining or working for more Peace.

Whether you are anti-war or pro-peace, you, too, are driven by the idea of change.
Please join me, at a pro-peace rally, October 13, 2007, in Crawford, TX.   Join me in demanding both an end to this war and accountability through the impeachment of an abusive President. Let’s demonstrate that change is possible and that, collectively, we are acting up to design a better world.

Peace, Alix B

“In seeking Truth, you have to get both sides to a story.”  
-Walter Kronkite

To my suprise, I keep falling in love with landlocked states; Tulsa, OK, Missoula, MT and Flagstaff, AZ.

Thought I was strictly a coast girl, but am starting to realize I only visit the ocean once or twice a year. Both Flagstaff and Missoula are within reasonable travel distance to the West Coast. My hometown is only four hours ways from the Outer Banks, so it’s easy to get away for a couple of days. I think a week long exodus to the Pacific would substitute nicely. Besides, there would be many things to preoccupy my time in those towns. Flagstaff is easy access to the Colorado River and the Grand Canyon. There is a big emphasis on outdoor recreation- biking, swimming, rock climbing, hiking. I also appreciated that there is a unofficial rule in town to not drive your car at least one day out of the week. That’s a start! It was very bicycle friendly, although surprisingly, no scooter shops. At least there is one 100 miles away in Prescott, AZ. That’s were I met Jim, who had contacted me awhile ago. I’m always grappling for more time in the day, so I didn’t spend anytime at all with him, as I had originally planned. I want to thank Jim for the hearty donation to P.E.A.C.E SCOOT! The drive along Highway 89 and 89A up to Prescott, Sedona, and Flagstaff is absolutely stunning. The dry beiges of southeastern California changed into greens that I wasn’t expecting to see in Arizona. The buttes and mountain peaks are gorgeous and altitude is very high, providing terrific panoramas. It’s a ride to make on two wheels! Especially if you enjoy switchbacks, which I do.

I had some friends in Flagstaff, Katie and Portia, fellow employees from Omega. Their house was very warm, a good sanctuary. Portia had just recently attended a retreat with Thich Nat Han and had some keen insight to offer me. Katie is one of my favorite people in this world. She willingly drove me out to see the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, a first for me. It was a 120 mile trek round trip, the longest time spent in a car in some time! Of course, that’s soon to change since I’m riding home from Texas with Daphne and Lil C! I was a bit jittery in the car and wistful for my scooter when I noticed all the motorcyclists along the route. The nice thing about a car is the stereo system. Katie is my music buddy. She has an amazing voice, mad guitar skills and grew up around a famous musician-her dad. Apparently, one of the Allman brothers said her dad taught him well. Music is a huge part of my friendship with Katie and we kept playing songs for each other, singing loudly along the way. It was fun.

I’ve been cross country seven times and always passed over the Grand Canyon, so I had a lot of anticipation. I wasn’t disappointed, except that we didn’t have much time to stay. That was my fault though, as I had a radio interview scheduled at 2pm on Sunday, which was the only day we could go. Anyhow, we had enough time to see the South Rim, though I understand the North Rim isn’t as touristy. No worries though. I also understand the views are different at each. The South Rim reminded me a lot of the Badlands in South Dakota, one of my favorite places. We were there as the sun was beginning its descent in the sky. This made for terrific lighting, the shadows enhancing the canyon, making the lines really pop out. They would have been bleached out in the mid day sun. A shuttle bus is the only way to pick up some of the trails, so we head over to Kaibab Trail. There was no time to hike all the way down, but we took a good walk. It was the most exercise I’ve had since Seattle, when I walked all around Bumbershoot. The altitude is really high, in Flagstaff its 7,000 feet. The sun had set so we used the camcorder light to navigate the twisty, rocky incline and to avoid donkey poop.

That was the big outing in Flagstaff. Otherwise, I slept a lot, did a bunch of writing and good eating. In my days there I had yummy Thai and Indian grub and even did some cooking for four people. I enjoyed being back in a kitchen and was glad my dish didn’t burn! Also part of the rejuvenation was hot tubbing. A certain hotel in town has a great swimming pool and hot tub that’s easy to access. Tiki torches surround the hot tub and they even provide complimentary towels. I just thought it was funny that the only people in the tub were locals. People came and went without any problems. The heat and jets relaxed my stiff muscles and I slumbered hard that night. The local coffee shops made great espresso and provided some interesting characters. I preferred Macy’s but at Late for the Train I met Mike Haverly. I was having a great catch-up conversation with Philip McCaleb until my phone ran out of juice. Mike overheard the conversation and asked how far I had traveled. He was excited because he has thought about making a cross country ride to bring awareness to people with diabilities living below the poverty line. He’s a real character, a survivor with charm and wit! Although he has a physical disability, he rides motorcycles-without modifications. I was totally inspired by our talk and his gusto-I wish him the best! Here is a comment he left on the website. I am posting it to serve as a reminder to not dream-to live out your intentions.

“After meeting you in Flagstaff AZ my wife and I discussed my undertaking a coast 2 coast ride on my ninja to highlight the needs of the disabled. We have decided to dedicate ourselves to making that happen. YOU have been an inspiration. I had been wanting to do my ride for over a year and it somehow always got shifted to the back of the to do closet. Many thanks, many group hugs, and a whole lot of love to you from us! “

Good luck Mike!

I wanted to stay in Flagstaff longer and enjoy the cool town and my lovely friends, but the finish line date is set for October 13, so I’m sticking to a tight schedule. There aren’t a lot of pics in this post, but check out the photo sets on Flickr. I am 200 miles away from Santa Fe. Yesterday I had a big, scary ride through the Indian Reservations. The landscape changed back and forth, from green forests to sprawling desert lands to red rocks and buttes. Many a chief has offered us profound quotes. I wish one chief had said, “Behold the girl who scoots for Peace, she travels our land sowing seeds and must not be run over.” Perhaps then I would be more like a white buffalo than a sitting duck. Which is my way of saying there are some CRAZY drivers on the roads I took. I was going the speed limit, 55-65, but that was apparently 20 miles under par.

Right now I am writing from the Courtyard Marriott. Of course I didn’t stay here but awhile ago I realized these places offer up free wifi and coffee. 😉
Currently talking to a gentlemen named Paul and we are rapping about the monks in Burma. He feels a bit of despair that monks are missing and being beaten. I do as well. I also respect that the monks are demonstrating non violent principles. Revolutions based on non violent principles are always the most successful. I admire that they are seeking out truth and willing to go to the lengths that we see as “extreme.” My thoughts and blessings are with them.

Namaste Alix

http://www.flickr.com/photos/alixbryan/sets/72157602258950101/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/alixbryan/sets/72157602229685783/

Yesterday when my friend Katie got off work, we took a scooter ride up Mount Humphries. The elevation is 9,000 at the look out point-the peak is 13,000. Audre handled two people and the incline really well, bottom speed 35mph. We couldn’t have gone much faster though because of curves. We were able to make it up in time to see the end of sunset. It was a chilly ride back, but we both had look of contentment and sniffly noses when we arrived home. Somedays I don’t sit and do my meditation (gasp)- instead meditating on the vivid scenery I see. Eyes open, soaking it up, shape shifting to become part of it. The peace scoot is my daily meditation in practice I suppose.

Both me and Katie needed that ride-our eyes were glowing afterwards. I hope you see something beautiful today and it shifts your mood, brings hope and peace to your reality. Look for it-it’s there-I promise.

We came home, Katie crashed out and I watched a movie. The Lives of Others. I was completely absorbed by this movie-it is so well written, acted and directed. And it’s a conscious movie viewing experience. Definitely check it out!

From the Wall Of Peace:
“There are [at least] two ways to look at life and the world. We can see the good or the bad, the beautiful or the ugly. Both are there, and what we focus on and choose to see is what brings us feelings of joy or feelings of despair.”

-Lloyd Newell
-offered by Skipix

 This is completely cut and pasted from my inbox:

Many of you know about the non-violent protests in Burma lead by Buddhist monks, nuns and working people. You may have heard that they have been chanting a prayer as they slowly walk the streets and face the guns of the military dictatorship ruling their country.

Below is a translation of the metta sutta prayer. It’s become a global prayer for the people of Burma. Please read the prayer to yourself in support of their historic effort to make change without violence. Not since Gandhi or MLK has the world seen non-violent civil protest on this scale.

The Metta Sutta Prayer

This is the way of those who are skilled and peaceful, who seek the good and follow the path:
May they be able and upright, straightforward, of gentle speech and not proud.
May they be content and easy wherever they are.
May they be unburdened, with their senses calm.
May they be wise and not arrogant.
May they live without desire for the possessions of others.
May they do no harm to any living being.
May all beings be happy.
May they live in safety and joy.

All living beings, whether weak or strong, old or young, man or woman, smart or foolish, healthy or disabled, seen or unseen, near or distant, born or to be born, may they all be happy. Let no one deceive or despise another being, whatever their status. Let no one by anger or hatred wish harm to another.

As parents watch over their children, willing to risk their own lives to protect them, so with a boundless heart may we cherish every living being, bathing the entire world with unobstructed and unconditional loving-kindness. Standing or walking, sitting or lying down, in each moment may we remain mindful of this heart and this way of living in the world.

Namaste-Alix

I want to thanks my hosts in Pasadena-Mike and Jen. They have a wonderful bungalow with two super cute dogs. Between Jen and Mike the bungalow boasts tons of cool collectibles: pinball machines, rally posters, atari, and a tiki mug collection.Jen has the finesse of a certified interior designer, pulling together all the elements to make their home dazzling, yet really cozy. It reflects their lifestyle-and scooters are a big part of that. Mike owns NOHO scooters and he’s busy building up quite an empire. I can tell the shop is a hub in the scene! Mike contacted me awhile back and offered up a space and bike maintenance. My initial assumption of him was wrong-I had pictured a 40+ conservative, tan, L.A. man. I was relieved that he had a wife and that they were so fun. He’s a brilliant guy with a lot of style and a big heart. He’s always fixing up old arcade games; both the house and shop have some. Mike also seems to help a lot of people out. His wife Jen is a perfect complement to him-more outgoing and a wonderful hostess.

All of my hosts have always been really considerate that I am a tourist and want to make sure I see the sights. Honestly-I’m pretty low maintenance. I’m not very star struck, nor am I am big consumer-both of which make L.A. thrive. I was really happy to just make the drive through Hollywood Hills and back down through the canyons-to see that classic sign. Rodeo Drive, Melrose, blah blah-whatever. I’m of the opinion that most of my friends deserve stars on that Hollywood Walk of Fame. Perhaps if I had a lot of money and time I would put on the tourist cap. Otherwise, there was some basic maintenance work to do on Audre. Then I spent Monday evening hanging out with Jen and Mike. My friend Lissa from Oberlin happened to be 2 blocks away from the shop, so she came by for a hug and postcard. The highlight of my trip was meeting Linda, the peace activist who wears something with Peace sign on it everyday, and has since George W. Bush was inaugurated. She gave me a terrifically gaudy pink peace sign necklace that I adore. I came to the realization in my conversation with her that the focus of this Peace mission is to obtain 1 billion definitions-a project I dedicate my life to….

I left for Palm Springs early Tuesday morning. Mike led me out of town and then I had about 70 miles of congested roads ahead. The drive was torture. The smog in Southern California is absolutely disgusting and I’m concerned for its inhabitants-especially growing children. The smog intensified as I got closer to San Bernardino. Audre also started stalling out when I would deaccelerate. The first time it happened, no worries, she started right back up. Then she began stalling out every other light. The beautiful part of the ride was just ahead, down Tim Mateo canyon, through orange groves and out to the desert. I was hesitant to push on though, as the next scooter shop was 500 miles away in Prescott, AZ-through lonely desert roads. Mike confirmed that it would be better to turn back at this point, than get too far away and backtrack anyhow. It took 5 minutes to start Audre after I got off the phone with him. I cautiously drove her back to Pasadena, arriving safely. I was a bit disgruntled and continually reminding myself to accept that traveling yields many suprrises. At least it was better to trek back 70 miles than be stranded in the desert. The traffic on the ride home was truly disgusting and I was disappointed there was no good scenery. I don’t think that emissions control is going to fix CA’s smog problem. People need to stop driving! Or buy scooters! It isn’t like anyone ever gets over 45 mph on strips like that-a scooter would be just fine! By the time I reached Pasadena my nose was bleeding from the smog and my breathing was labored.

The next morning we loaded Audre into the shop truck, which Mike had driven home the night before. I wager that he was thankful I had made it back to his house without incident. I heard that once he had to pick up a helpless girl who was stranded on the same route, but out further by the CA/AZ border. Apparently, she had been ill prepared for the trip, was recklessly riding a 49cc scooter and was halted by the intense wind. Mike’s a nice guy to rescue her from 300 miles away-he didn’t even know her.

Everyone in the shop huddled around her and the diagnostics began. We felt like the compression was fine-and my valves were recently adjusted. The spark also seemed fine and the problem didn’t have classic electric symptoms. Process of elimination left fuel/air; maybe not getting enough air. The petcock and spark plug were changed and the carburetor cleaned. While the mechanic drove her around, I met Gabe. He was interested in purchasing a scooter and was shopping around; the Green Series Italia caught his eye. I spent awhile talking to him-he says I should work for Genuine selling scooters. Riding this scooter for such a distance gives me some strong selling points, fer sure. The SHAD case on my scooter is my “non-corporate giant” bulletin board. Gabe noticed that I have his company’s sticker, Lululemon, pretty funny. It was enjoyable talking to him and other scooterists that came through the shop. Anyhow, it was mid afternoon and I had many miles to travel. I saddled back up the bike and headed for Palm Springs, Take 2.

I drove like I was on a racetrack, having absolutely no patience for the traffic and poisonous air. California is the only state where I’ve seen motorcycles driving in between cars; pretty unsafe since people tend to put their cars into drive and their brains into neutral. All it would take to get crushed is a cell phone driving fool to swerve the slightest bit and bump into a cyclist. On this particular day though, I gave it a gander and was elated by the amount of traffic I put behind me. Not like I recommend risky driving like this, but I also don’t recommend exposure to such thick smog. The nasty stretch was quickly out of the way and I was laughing about how much time I saved.

Mike had helped me plan my route out of L.A. and there was a tricky part where I jumped on the highway, then went down a small dirt hill off the on ramp, down to a service road. The service road itself was in horrible condition, huge chunks of asphalt were missing, but it ran parallel to the highway. I turned around to see another scooterist coming up behind me. This was pretty random, in the middle of the desert, on a road that I thought was my secret.

The sun was setting behind me, so I stopped to watch and bid goodbye to the West Coast. Turning, I noticed a round luminous sliver poking up from behind a hill. In awe, I watched the full Harvest moon rise into the sky. Never in my life have I experienced this conjunction, a setting sun and rising moon. The wind was really starting to whip up, something Mike had warned me about. There were windmills everywhere, to harness electric power, so I figured the wind gusts could probably be a lot worse than they were.

Despite the exhaustion of hard riding and physical irritation from heavy smog-I felt very serene. The desert landscape provided new scenery. It was enchanting- the full moon outlined sparse shrubs dotting the landscape and the hills in the distance. Huge palms were jutting up to meet the many stars that were out. I looked forward to daylight driving the next 350 miles or so through more desert terrain. Traffic picked up as I pulled into the glamorous Hollywood annex of Palm Springs. My host in Atlanta was Tiffany, someone I met years ago at Amma G’s ashram in San Ramone. Her grandmother lives near Palm Springs and it worked out brilliantly that Tiffany just happened to be visiting her. I called Tiffany to let her know I was nearby and she gave me directions to their gated community. We were excited to have a re-convergence, from East to West. Tiffany was really looking forward to showing me the little known bizarre attractions in the area. She told me she had gone shopping for some healthy food and would greet me with some Holy Water. I asked to skip the Holy Water and greet me with a beer instead. And she did. I got the Holy Water on the way out!

After eating a huge delicious salad we walked around the neighborhood. Tiffany kept moving me away from shrubs and warning me to stay in the middle of the road and walkways. It turns out that Palm Springs is home to many creepy crawly things-namely black widow spiders, brown recluses, rats, bats, snakes and lizards. I counted 5 black widow webs in her courtyard and I was worried about the Yorkie terrier they had inside. The poisonous creatures gave a whole new meaning to Tiffany’s comment, that, “Palm Springs, it’s where people go to die.” Of course, she meant its mainly a retirement demographic, nonetheless my jumpiness was heightened by the amount of times she jerked me away from the shrubs. Her house was incredibly nice, there were signs of affluence every where. I was unsuspecting- from the outside, all the homes were simple rancher style. The resort seemed empty, there were no signs of life, until the next day, when all I saw where Mexican workers. All the cars were garaged and the design of the homes offered no glimpses inside. It felt very spooky and very private.

We were walking and talking, catching up on events since Atlanta. The conversation switched gears suddenly, when Tiffany commented that, “I seem to take Peace pretty seriously.” She indicated that to engage people in Peace, I need to make it fun. I asked if she reads along with the blog and she said No. I was pretty irritated that she was criticizing my approach to this trip without knowing anything about it. She then mentioned that I should read Abbey Hoffman, because she considers him a genius. While it was pretty neat that he helped orchestrate an exorcism of the Pentagon, and a 120,000 people showed up-I’m not sure that had any lasting results. Anyhow, I tried to explain what my goal is to her. You might not be able measure the direct outcome of two people getting to know one another and discussing Peace. But something is accomplished when we open ourselves up to the idea of Peace and carry it away with us from that meeting. We begin to build it in our everyday lives, which affects the way we treat ourselves and others. Peace is a dangerous idea, and that is worthy of investigation. The Buddhist monk, Thich Nat Han was just allowed recently allowed back into Vietnam, after thirty years of exile. He is a well known teacher of mindfulness, compassion, love, and Peace. Martin Luther King Jr. nominated him for the Nobel Peace Prize. Why would he be considered a threat?

Peace is a dangerous idea. But what is more dangerous is that it has become passe. Tiffany also informed me of this and said that it just doesn’t matter to people as much as it does to me. Now, we had warned one another before meeting that we might be cranky-but I wasn’t expecting her attitude to be quite so negative or demeaning. She joked around that if I wanted this project to have any attention I should host an event called “Strippers for Peace,” or something that would really appeal to my generation’s attention span. None of this was coming off as very funny to me. I realized that Peace might be passe to my generation because we don’t really know War or Peace. Peace is an idea that known through the lens of other generations and probably rejected because there is no personal investment in it. Peace has been taken from our personal lives and placed into a framework that the media and politicians own.

I dealt with her onslaught of criticism for awhile and challenged myself to stay open minded and even tempered. I wasn’t that successful. In fact, I was pretty disappointed that a friend was saying these things to me and she commented that I needed to hear it all, that most of my friends just sugar coat their support for this project. The drama went on into the night.

We headed out to Palm Springs to have a drink and wound up in a bar after hours. Some other bartenders came by and the conversation was one that drunken people have-aggressive, opinionated and sloppy. I was laying low, seething a bit from the earlier conversation and also really exhausted from the ride. I was still blowing blood out my nose and wheezing. I shouldn’t have been out on the town. A guy noticed my shirt, which says “Stop Killing People,” and he yells, “Do you really believe that?” Great. After telling him yes, I do believe that we should stop bombing people to death, it was on. I listened to a tirade of comments, the main one that sticks out in my head was, “when people die, that’s just more water and electricity for us.” I mentioned that it might be better to conserve resources like water, electricity and people.

Of course I asked how they define Peace. Tiffany seemed embarrassed by this whole scenario and gave me a hard time, saying my questions were pointless. I told her if I’m going to listen to a barrage of insults, I might as well interject a few positive questions of my own- nothing gained, nothing lost. The night ended with the four of us on a corner and everyone criticizing my attempts to discuss Peace. Sure, there were numerous ways the dialog could have gone, but I didn’t see anything wrong with having a debate. Tiffany mentioned that I was pretty “aggressive,” to be on a Peace tour. I had commented that people like that guy are boring-which she said was judgemental. ANd I said, “No, um, apathy is pretty boring.” I can make all kinds of Peace in this world and still call people out. Where is there room for accountability in Peace? I think first it starts with an open heart and mind…which allows for us to ask the hard questions and demand justice.

My chops were feeling pretty busted and I couldn’t tell if my eyes had been opened or jaded. There was obviously something to learn from it and in all my travels to date I had not yet experienced this much negativity.

We continued to bicker on the way home. I made a decision to leave the next day, which would create yet another argument-case in point for leaving. I woke up after a poor rest and met her grandmother. She was the nicest person I met in Palm Springs. We chatted while she took the time to make me breakfast. I felt really comfortable around her and it was pleasant to start the day off with her. I told her I was going to leave that day instead of taking the trip to the Salton Sea. Salton Sea is apparently similar to Mad Max Thunderdome. Slab City, at the Southern end of the Salton Sea, used to be a military base. It was demilitarized and has since been inhabited by nomads. There is no running water or electricity, but a village of people now live there. There is a strange culture down there, that consists of artists, druggies, hippies, musicians, tweekers-all living off the grid. Also, there are cave dwellers in the Chocolate Mountains who come down at night to raid people. It’s hard to believe this place exists in America-I had never heard of it. I was also willing to never see it-if it meant 3 hours in a car with Tiffany, bickering like we had the night before. After trying to soothe ruffled feathers, to no avail, and dealing with even more personal attacks-I left for Joshua Tree.

I was so happy to get out of there. It was an exhausting trial. I was bummed that my friend and I acted like stubborn children. I held myself accountable for my own actions and defensiveness and then I just let it go. Joshua Tree wasn’t very far away and it was perfect day for riding. The blue sky stretched out without any clouds and the heat was around 85. Fortunately the wind was pretty tame as well. The curvy climb at the beginning of 29 Palms Hwy was rugged-steep and windy. I found the Joshua Tree Inn and talked with the innkeeper, Kim, for a while. She offered a generous discount, thankfully, so I unloaded the bags into my cute room. Kim considerately offered me her National Park Card so entry into the Joshua Tree was free!

I have waited years to visit the Joshua Trees. They only grow in two places, California and Jerusalem. The trees have such a distinct appearance, that fits perfectly into the desert landscape. The desert was a welcome place for meditation, a place to of solitude and peace. I just barely drove into the park, dusk came quickly. I was now much further East than I had been for thousands of miles. This realization led to simultaneous feelings of joy, sadness and accomplishment. The fifth, and longest part of the Peace sign had just been finished and I was beginning the journey back home, back East. I sat in the desert for a bit, checking out all of the different trees and marveling at their resilience. Joshua Trees only grow an inch a year. I compared this slow growth to the pace of change in our world and once again contemplated, “how do we measure peace, the worth of man, and progress,”-and are these things merely subjective.

Then I went to a strip club. Just kidding.

By the time I left the park it was dark, which showcased the moon and stars. I had not seen this many stars in years. I could hear coyotes in the distance. The setting was very raw and beautiful. The local cafe had a lot of characters. I picked up a free postcard, left one of mine and offered one to the server. She goes, “oh, scootergirl, someone is looking for you.” Which I could only assume to be Tiffany. I went back to the hotel and did some writing while enjoying the courtyard. The night was slightly warm, with refreshing intermittent breezes. I really felt at home in this little hotel and I hung out with the two cats, Sky and Moon. I was on the look out for a particular ghost as well. The JT hotel is where Gram Parsons overdosed and some say his spirit lives there. I never once had a spotting of his ghost, but Tiffany did come around the corner and startle me.

Since it’s already been a long post, I’ll spare all the details. We spent an enjoyable couple of hours in the hotel courtyard, watching the moon and the cats and making jokes. We circumvented the earlier drama-it came up once but there seemed to be no resolution. We both thought we had valid points and no apologies were made. We simply strove to put it behind us and enjoy the Peace of the desert. That was my desert rose, forgiveness happening inside conflict, friendship triumphing over different beliefs. She took me for a ride on some crazy winding roads, with her dark punk music playing, looking for a little bar called Pappy and Harriets. Apparently, you MUST go to this bar if you are in the Joshua Tree. It’s in Pioneer Town, an old Hollywood Annex, where all the Westerns used to be filmed. It was closed, however, by the time we arrived. It was a late night spent cracking jokes and then I left early for Prescott, AZ, a 277 mile haul through more desert.

So it occurred to me today that I ask people to be honest, with themselves and with me. Asking people to define peace is personal. I have the honor of witnessing people open up and share a moment with me. Likewise, I’m going to be honest with you. I’m drained. I rush everywhere! Today I reminded myself to lay in bed for 15 minutes, take 5 minutes to do my meditation and then to groom. Man, I haven’t even shaved my legs in two months. And that might not matter to some people. I never used to shave my legs, but I like too-I like to show off the tatts and muscles-and that’s ok. Busy women just don’t have time for this stuff.

Yesterday was a beautiful ride, clocking in at 280 miles, through VERY windy desert terrain. And honestly, I didn’t want to write a blog, although I did upload and label pictures. Instead, my friend was online and we watched some youtube videos and laughed-many many states apart but still sharing a moment. Here are the links to a couple of the videos that we watched (profanity warning):

http://youtube.com/watch?v=PZGw8zqGRQc

http://youtube.com/watch?v=Mqs9ap3iV-4&mode=related&search=

Anyhow, it was the FIRST time this whole trip that I didn’t ride hard, unpack my stuff and jump to write. I caught myself thinking back a lot yesterday, to all the states I visited 2 months ago and the people I met. Two weeks from today, three months from the start, I will pull into Crawford, TX. Daphne and her daughter Courtney will meet me there. In fact, they are driving from Maine to support P.E.A.C.E SCOOTER -which astonishes me. I’m totally moved that someone I met through this journey is just as inspired as myself-and willing to go the distance. They will drop me off in VA-but I still have to figure out how to get Audre home. I think a trailer will be to expensive to tow her.

I have lots of things to tell you about and plan to catch up on the blog entries, over the next couple of days. I also need to contact some of those Peace making organizations and see if anyone wants to rally with me in Crawford. Any suggestions on that? My good friend Katie is in Flagstaff, AZ, where I’m headed in just a minute. I plan to stay there until Tuesday. Funny how my perspective has changed this trip- Flagstaff is only 155 miles down the road and that seems like cake to me. I keep catching myself saying “Oh, only 2,500 miles left.” Only???!!!!

Right now, I need to stay in the moment, I still have many states to experience and many strangers to meet. So, thats where I am now-in the moment-being honest that it’s hard to stay grounded. Hope you all have a good weekend!

I am the proud mom of a beagle/sheperd mutt extraordinaire-Marco Polo.

Today, he is 5 years old. Although he’s wicked smart, I’m not sure if he uses the internet, but I am thinking of him! In a few weeks, I’ll be walking in the door with a big ‘ol bone for the ‘lil man.

Hey friends. Wow! The Wall of Beliefs has seen more posts in two days than it did in two weeks! That’s great! Help us reach the goal of 1 billion definitions.
I must get some miles behind me, and will update later tonight. Hopefully, I exit California today, after two and a half weeks of adventures. Of course California welcomed P.E.A.C.E SCOOT, but it’s time to say my goodbyes to the Promised Land. The desert views are amazing, right now I am in Joshua Tree. On my way to Palm Springs, to stay with Tiffany, I witnessed the most beautiful thing….

Behind me the sun was setting, as I reached the desert. In front of me, the swollen, luminous Harvest Moon was rising. Quite an auspicious arrival.

More to come: LA, the scooter, Palm Springs madness, and Joshua Tree. For now, here is my JT album cover photo!

 

PEACE is: the perfect random shuffle on my iPod.

A conversation with total strangers

Knowing that change is happening

being that change

a 277 mile ride through the desert

 

 

September 24.

A late night passed quickly into an early morning. Bobo, Jen and I chatted late into the night and I fell asleep while finishing up a blog entry. My sleep was deep though, after a long haul down the coast to the Endless Summer Rally, followed by a long drive over to L.A. The bungalow in Pasadena was a fun, cozy spot though and it felt great to sleep on something other than a squeaky hostel bed.

Mike and I headed over to NOHO scooters were I met up with Tammy, my tour guide for the day. Scooting around a new city is the way to tour! Original plan had been to bypass L.A. and go to Long Beach. However, the route over to Joshua Tree would have me puttering through L.A. anyhow, so I accepted NOHO Scooter’s offer to host me. Ultimately, this was a sound decision! Mike, Jen, and Tammy were greats hosts. I’ll write a bit more about that later tonight. (I’m writing from the road) Tammy took me up to Hollywood Hills to snap that classic shot.

They have a mutual friend, also a scooterist, Linda, who is dubbed, “The Angry Hippie,”. She’s really not angry. She is more like a quirky hippie. Since the day that George W. Bush was inaugurated she has worn an item with a Peace sign on it-going on 8 years now! We spent some of the afternoon hanging out and exchanging ideas. I’m really glad we met!

L.A. is over the top but I enjoyed my brief time there. Two things came out of this trip. “Speak your Peace,” was coined. Linda asked me how many people I am trying to reach. That is a question I have wrestled with the whole trip. If you have read along the whole time, you might remember that back in Selma, AL I was reading a MLK book, “The Measure of Man.” Here is an excerpt from that journal entry:

“Some years ago a group of chemists who had a flair for statistics decided to work out the worth of man’s body in terms of the market values for that day. They got together and did a lot of work, and finally they came to this conclusion: The average man has enough fat in him to make about seven bars of soap, enough iron to make a medium-sized nail, enough sugar to fill a shaker, enough lime to whitewash a chicken coop, enough phosphorus for about 2, 220 match tips, and enough magnesium for a dose of magnesia. When all of this was added up in terms of the market values of that day it came to about ninety-eight cents. Now, I guess, since the standards of living are a little higher today, you could get about a dollar ninety-eight for the average man. (and now days that would be about 3.98)”

This is interesting. Think about it. Man’s bodily stuff is worth only 3.98. But can we explain the whole of man in terms of $3.98? Can we explain the artistic genius of Michelangelo or Alex Grey in terms of $3.98? Can we explain the spiritual genius of Martin Luther King, Jr. in $3.98? Can we explain the mystery of the human soul in terms of $3.98? There is something within man that cannot be explained in terms of dollars and cents.

Well, the same questioning is applicable to the mission of P.E.A.C.E SCOOTER. How many people do I want to reach? How do I measure the “worth” of this trip? Do I hold the success against the money spent doing it? How do I even determine the catalytic scale of the trip? Do I ruin it by saying, “Oh, it’s successful if we pull out of Iraq?” or “If George W. Bush defines Peace, it’s is a success.” It’s an accomplishment just to ride 10,000 miles on a scooter-for that matter-8,300 miles. Is not the transformation of one person a “success,’?

But when Linda proposed the question-it all clicked. Remember, the impetus for this trip happened while I was at the John Lennon Instant Karma exhibit, and saw the quote, “If a billion people were thinking about Peace, there would be Peace.” And I thought-that seems easy; why aren’t people doing that; and maybe people don’t have a definition of Peace. Hmmm, I will travel and ask people to visualize and define Peace. Suddenly it was crystal clear, I realized- ONE BILLION definitions of Peace, on this website-that’s what I am seeking. So, game on-forget one million-that’s too trendy-let’s aim high world. Tell everyone you know-and take a moment to leave us your personal definition. What we are creating here is a forum that offers insight to one another’s perspective. We have a common ground-a place to celebrate diversity.

When I talk to people about this trip, I say: “America is great, right, look at all the different cultures and ideologies coursing through the country…but often we separate, create factions based on our differences-let’s step forward and generate dialog about our similarities.” Share your personal idea of Peace and your vision for the future-its a simple, civil way to bring different, new ideas into the light-and hopefully celebrate diversity. Diversity is a strength-not a weakness. Judgement is divisive, acceptance is unifying.

So there it is-Speak your Peace is born and will live past the finish line. I JUST did a google search, and it seems that Speak your Peace has been coined before. Crikey. Well, I’m gonna look into it, guess I should contact them. 😉

I’m headed to the Joshua Tree for all kinds of weird adventures. Tiffany, my hostess in Atlanta, GA is now at the Joshua Tree, so I have a place to stay. Apparently, strange things happen out in the desert-keep you posted!

A deep bow to the new Peace definitions over on the Wall of Beliefs! It’s very nice to meet people and then see their definitions posted. Many warm thanks and blessings to the people sending donations. Please, keep them coming-even $5 is a 225 miles or so of gas!

Photos will be posted soon, but the internet connection here is miserable!

A quote I keep seeing everywhere:

“When the POWER OF LOVE overcomes the LOVE OF POWER, the world will know PEACE.” Jimi Hendrix

September 22. After spending the afternoon meeting people and exploring San Luis Obispo, it was time to hit the road. My destination was Santa Barbara, for the Endless Summer Scooter Rally. Usually, I fail to have good timing meeting up for local scooter rides or rallies. A couple of days ago, Mike from NOHO Scooters contacted me with the rally dates and it seemed feasible. So, off to my first rally! I’ve been hauling down from Berkeley, making the already planned stops along the way, but trying to reach Santa Barbara by Saturday.

I left San Luis Obispo with only a two hour ride ahead, tops. The ride quickly turned from a perfect Southern California sunny day into a rainy mess. I found myself waiting the storm out at a gas station in Los Alamos, for about an hour. Pushing on, down Highway 101, the road began a steep ascent and offered some tight curves. Traffic was much heavier than anticipated, Audrey was full throttle the whole way to keep up. I finally cruised into Santa Barbara, later than planned, and headed over to the hostel. Two hostel in two days. Hostels are great for numerous reasons. Their rates stay the same, whereas hotels jack em up on the weekend. I also enjoy meeting travelers from around the world and its a nice way to get some company. Often, they are located in the downtown hub too, making it easy to get around. Also bonus for a traveler on a budget is the kitchen access. Last thing: they aren’t usually corporate! Of course, they aren’t always as clean as I would like-but they make up for that in character.

Tried locating some rally people but it seemed they were all at a private party over at the Orange Tree Inn. Since I didn’t know anyone yet, I figured it was better not to bust in on a private party. Instead, I enjoyed a long conversation with D., took a long shower, and hit the squeaky bunk bed.

The morning yielded a perfect riding day. Honestly, my first impression was that the route was pretty short. I thought it through and realized, first, it was round trip, second, there were about 50 riders to coordinate. From the second I pulled in, my hesitation slipped away. Before this ride, I wasn’t involved with the scooter community. I had recently given up 9 years of bicycling to ride scooter. So now I’m getting the chance to experience this tightly knit, although immensely kind community. From the first moment everyone was friendly. I expected the kudos for such a long ride, but really appreciated that people wanted to talk about the Purpose of my trip. I don’t really just want to talk about scooters. I’m on a Peace ride, and that work doesn’t ever stop. That’s the beautiful simiplicity of my trip-my intention is to talk to everyone, everywhere and ask them to give Peace a chance.

After an hour of milling around and meeting people, handing out stickers and taking photos, we saddled up. The smell of two cycle smoke was heavy, and for the first time, enjoyable. The group was split up within a few minutes and regrouped in front of a gas station. That’s when I realized I was “that girl” who had no gas in the tank. Fortunately, other people were gassing. Of course, they don’t have a ton of gear to unpack either-but I clocked record time. We proceeded on to the canyons. Group riding was exhilarating, and I loved all the stares in our direction. It’s gorgeous to see all the different colors and models in formation. Santa Barbara is a beautiful town, I had driven in by night, so it was my first view. The canyon ride was quite curvy and as we climbed up the hills, beautiful views opened up. On one side were valleys and then the ocean stretched out on the other. It was hard to point and shoot, but I did some tricky filming while navigating the scooter down curvy roads. There is actually more filming of the rally than pictures……

Our destination was Cold Springs Tavern, a historical landmark. Very cool that within three days I’ve visited two cool landmarks. ( alice’s restaurant) This place is also a classic bikers destination and the place was packed. 200 years ago it used to be a Well’s Fargo Stage Coach Route-a stop for fresh horses, women, supplies and poker games. There was definitely a Wild Wild West feeling in the canyons-like an ambush could be waiting around any corner. Gravel could also be waiting around any corner, but no one went down, fortunately.

The bikers were very friendly and inquisitive about all the scooterists pulling in. I met a lot of characters, it was a really unique place. It’s amazing how many people have ridden this country by bicycle, motorcycle, or scooter. I had the joy of meeting Bobo Vespa and hanging out with him most of the day. He’s done the Cannonball Run before (with Heather, who I almost met in Portland) and tours the country extensively by scoot. Bobo has a great laugh and attitude, he was also attentive from the start, making sure I was welcomed. Mike and the NOHO crew-his wife Jennifer, Tammy, Andy and Aran also found me early on and kept an eye out for me. I took a lot of pictures of and fully enjoyed the whole experience. I showed up at just the right time, one day was enough since I’m on such a tight schedule now.

I’ve been putting some miles behind me again. I rode over to LA with the NOHO crew after the rally-about 100 mile ride. We had a support truck following us, so I unloaded my gear. It was a rush to take the long ride on a “naked bike.” Mike and Bodo took the lead, on 250cc’s, but I kept up with them really well. Everyone complimented the Buddy’s swiftness for such a low CC. It was probably the first freedom ride I’ve had yet-no heavy gear, no maps and no worrying about traffic since we had 2 support vehicles following us. This route was very scenic too, zooming down canyons with a pretty turquoise lake to the right and puffy clouds in the sky. I’ve been fortunate to see new parts of CA this time out West. Riding into LA was very painless. We dropped the bikes off at the shop and ate some authentic Mexican. I was pretty jazzed from such a great ride- It had been a long, but rowdy day for everyone.

Mike and Jen are hosting me and Bobo at their snazzy bungalow. Bobo and I explored the unique collectibles in every room and talked with Jennifer for hours-both of them keeping the conversation going while I blog(ged). It’s interesting to be around old school scooterists and hear talk about their past rides and characters around the scene. Bobo, too has ridden for a cause, he helped raise money to get service dogs for the blind. He’s heading back to Maryland early Monday morning-I plan on seeing him once I get back to the East Coast-he’s a classy character. My plan is to explore LA, do some riding and sightseeing. Tuesday puts me en route to Joshua Tree.

All and all, an action packed day. I’m gonna grab some zzzz’s
I coined the term “Speak your Peace” today. Speak your Peace is now the official name of the ongoing Peace Project. I want to collect one billion definitions of Peace. Even when my ride stops, the Peace website will stay up. I bought the server for 2 years, but I’ll find away to keep it running!
Please, leave your personal definition of Peace up on the Wall of Beliefs. Speak your Peace!

OH! Now the fifth piece of the Peace sign is complete.The outer circle on the left side is done! Peace is being put on the map!

Dear Mom:

I’m a little crazy. Not sure where I acquired my lust for adrenaline? You and Dad seem a tad more conservative than me. Perhaps you should have consumed more chamomile tea during pregnancy. You might not want to read any more of this entry, by the way. I broke our rule, a couple of times this trip, actually, and I rode in the dark. What follows below is the account of this!

September 21. Since I knew Santa Cruz pretty well, I decided to find a new spot for coffee. Coffee houses are one of the places I where I talk about the project. I get access to a wide variety of people and a sense of a city’s “pulse.” I wound up at Ugly Mug’s, about 5 miles outside Santa Cruz. And it’s a whole other world there. I really enjoyed both the coffee and the space. Had fantastic conversations with people and typed for about 3 hours. Then it was time to get to San Luis Obispo. Of course I was leaving later than planned-but this blogging stuff takes up some time!

The route was still undecided from the moment I got on Highway 1-which would split in 12 miles. Highway 101 had been recommended to me by several people. My original plan was to ride along the Coastline as long as I could. We just don’t have a road like Highway 1 on the East Coast. This is where our country ends. It’s breath taking and thrilling to ride, even in a car. So I decided to do it. There are tons of switchbacks, curves with 15mph turns. The lanes are small and if there are few guard rails-even those look incompetent from a scooter viewpoint. I trudged along in traffic for a bit, inhaling exhaust. Then I sped along crazily in traffic, actually pulling over and calling people while waiting for it to subside a little.

I would be driving in the dark. But that was ok. I still had 3 hours of light left to work with. I also had secured a reservation at a hostel in San Luis Obispo and they told me checking in late was fine. Eventually Hwy 1 became 2 lanes and the curves started. For whatever reason, my bike was not balanced. I tried numerous things short of repacking the saddlebags over completely. In places the wind was gustier than others. Of course I stopped to take many pictures, and since I can’t type long today, I’m gonna post a bunch of ’em here, the rest are on my flickr account.

It was the most fantastic, meditative ride I could take. How I considered, for a second, any other route, I do not know. It’s harrowing. You must be safe. You must watch out for crazy drivers. And you must watch out for the edge-as it plummets down hundreds of feet to a rocky ocean. You must know how to ride a bike and handle wind while taking extreme curves. But the view will reward you, seduce you, make you smile huge under that helmet. If you are in it to ride. If you are in a hurry-don’t bother.

Google maps UNDERESTIMATED the time by about 2 hours. Then add some time for me, because I rode in the dark. And it started raining. I rode over tight curves on careening cliffs, with wet roads, in the dark. It was amazing! It was one of the first times I rode at night and felt no fear. I don not know why the human mind takes a fear and runs with it, or becomes so easily conditioned; but I am de-programming these fears. Of course, I don’t think you should ride this road at night. I saw NO motorcycles at night and very few cars. I did however see 2 ambulances. Stopping for gas, the clerk warned me to be careful. There had been a double fatality two hours before. The road was warm with death. That could have freaked me out. There weren’t even places to stop if I had wanted, other than pullouts along the road. Basically, I rode 110 miles in the dark. Mainly at an average speed of 25 miles per hour. I was cold, wet and WIDE EYED when I reached the hostel. I eventually went to sleep- feeling like a bad-ass. Just won’t ever do it again-I promise, MOM.

I’ve spent the day in San Luis Obispo and I love it here. Here is a link to an article about SLO’s stand against corporate takeover. It indicates that smart, conscientious citizens inhabit SLO and that despite some differences they want to make this a good city to live for all.

Heading to Santa Barbara now, to meet up with some people at the Endless Summer Rally. Tomorrow I will ride back to L.A. with the NOHO scooter gang. This is exciting and means I can throw away the map for once and just enjoy the ride!

Here’s the pics!

September 19, continued….

The wind was blowing heavy, hopefully blowin’ some change our way-but it mainly seemed to be blowing trash around. Near San Leandro, my directions blew away. The route was so detailed that I actually stopped to look for them-but soon submitted to the fierce wind. It was a fun ride, through parts of California that I had never seen before. On this Peace ride, I try really hard to avoid highways, even 101 since it has mostly been 2-3 lane past Willits. The culture in each town is worth experiencing. Before I started the trip, a scooterist wrote me to say, “If you can’t wave to anyone on their front porch, you might have found yourself on a highway.” This is the rule I try to stick to, and some days I wrestle with the frustration of knowing my route is taking me 3 hours out of the way. But, I recognize that this is the way to reach the most people.

Traffic here in California is ridiculous, not just the sheer volume, but also people drive horribly. They are very squirrely-unpredictable. The plan had been to take the San Mateo bridge, as I felt empowered from my bridge crossings in the Bay Area. Bad news though, with the wind gusts, so I circumvented the Bay-eventually winding up in Menlo Park.

So, here’s where I tell you about the Fabulous Funki B&B in Menlo Park. I had a room booked there, through the owners, Dawn and Amanda.

When you pull up, your hostesses Dawn and Amanda will greet you. Their cat Pete will even come outside to say “Hi.” This will be the initial second when you, the weary traveler, realize you’re in heaven. And the thing about heaven is that all the details are perfect and yummy.

It’s best to visit their B&B if you like to be pampered and have no problem receiving. See, one thing I am working on is receiving, I have no problem giving. So, a visit at this B&B might even provide you with a personal transformation. Mine was learning to say thank you. I said it so many times that it also became my personal mantra!

Audre was unsaddled and the bags were carried up. Every need I had was somehow predicted and accommodated before I opened my big mouth. Psychic hostesses? A scrumptious dinner of mung beans and quinoa was ready. Jared, a neighbor in their lovely community, popped his head in-because it was game time. Forget the cable channels that most hotels offer. Bah! These ladies will take you out on the town for some real action! Amanda is captain of the ITP softball team. ITP=Institute of Transpersonal Psychology. Dawn introduced me to many people and we grabbed seats on the bleachers. Quite a few people said, “Hey-ya-you’re the Peace Pilgrim.” Which, was a twist on the ol’ standy “Scootergirl,” but there is already a grandma Peace Pilgrim-a personal heroine. Dawn has done a notable job sending out links to the website! (hint, hint people!)

Most team members have names from the Psych Canon on their jerseys. Truly a humorous bunch, but it definitley ups the ante on name recollection-always a challenge for me! The game was an hour, which flew by. I am quite confident they are all better at their Psych practice than they are at softball. But, it was clear that everyone was having a good time-even the ump-and so was I.

Me and Dawn spent time in the bleachers talking about community. Before running a B&B, Dawn and Amanda worked at Omega. Omega is where I first experienced community-even with its annoyingly invasive hippie moments-there was good community there. Dawn was excited to have put down roots on the West Coast and emphasized the importance of creating community for happiness. That’s what was happening at the ball game-playing and community. Funny enough, I’ve had a couple of personal Peace definitions that center around “watching my kids play ball.” My mom has community through church whereas I create extended community around personal interests-yoga, gardening, cooking, spirituality, politics. Our talk gave me a tinge of excitement-looking forward to returning home to Charlottesville after 3 months on the road. Community events are the threads that keeps us cohesive and allow us to co-create better personal and social environments. I might even get a softball team going if there isn’t any already! Amanda has a lot of finesse on organizing sponsors, so that info was helpful.

The action was far from over. The team was heading over to Dan Browns, a sponsor and the local watering hole. Chris, aka C. Jung, has a lot of toys-an Apple phone and a Mini Cooper. Now, you know how I feel about “cages,” but this one is worthy! It was a nice ride over and we just chit chatted about toys and driving. At the bar though, Chris brought up his dissertation topic, which is about Peace and uses memes for perspective. I love memes-the Don Beck and Claire Graves models for upward human development. I learned about this model through Ken Wilber, a philosopher who teaches the Integral Model, a model that I want to get my Master’s in.
In fact, a lot of the personal writing/research for this trip utilizes the Spiral Dynamics model. So I was totally excited to have this chat with him and hope we stay in touch. It was also cool that the Peace ride was so well understood and received. A few of us were sitting around talking when Aneel suggested I get off my but and play pool with them. Forget ESPN, it was time to play!

It was one of those nights were my game was on-but that’s something I celebrate more than anticipate. Mainly it helped that my partner Jared was Paul Newman’s stunt double in the Color of Money. It was great to meet everyone-I had a nice night out! We headed back to the B&B and I got to explore my accommodations.
All of my gear was placed in my room and towels laid out. The bed was absolutely delicious, I slumbered deeply. The B&B feels fantastic, a lot of love and thought has gone into this Sanctuary. There are two kitties for petting, even though I’m allergic, I do like cool cats.

We sat up that night, in front of the beautiful shrine Dawn created, drinking tea and talking. It was so comforting to be in their company. They sensed my need for nurturing. I had some ginger tea mixed with throat comfort tea, because my voice has been off lately. Below is the tea station where visitors can rifle through the varieteas and dress up their cup with goodies.

The living room, adjacent to the tea room,doubles as a yoga studio. Dawn leads Kundalini Yoga classes three times a week. She is also pursuing her Master’s at ITP and will graduate in June. Unfortunately, I didn’t time my visit well enough to take a Kundalini class. Dawn was a huge influence in my life three years ago when I started my practice.

I love the light that fills the space. The next morning, now September 20, provided better riding weather. My morning started off nicely with coffee on the balcony, amidst the pretty plants and even a lime tree. Then, when I wouldn’t expect things to get any better- Amanda served us breakfast. I was able to take care of some errands- like my camera issue, thankfully! I had been bummed that I bought local, in accordance with my buy local policy, but Crutchfield is coming through for me! Yay!

Dawn pulled her Jersey mom on me when I protested all the goodness they were offering me. There was a wee little squabble about accepting the money she raised for me. I lost. Thank you D&A.

Somewhere in the day, they made me watch the stand up comedy about Hot Pockets. I recommend this funny gem for a good chuckle. Amanda set out shining up her already shiny bike and installing saddlebags. I also gave Audre some shining-which looked amazing! There was a group ride planned, with Jared, Natalia, and the three of us. The plan was to escort me out to the Coast, and then I would ride alone down to Santa Cruz. April from Scoot magazine wasn’t interviewing me in Santa Cruz at 7pm, so we had a nice leisurely ride lined up.

I was more than impressed to see Natalia, 6 months pregnant, show up for the ride. That means that Jerry had three people on his motorcycle! I was the only scooterist, but had no problem keeping up with the pace. There was only 5 minutes of town traffic and then we headed for the hills. The road wound through redwood forests, where the temperature dropped some, and then ran smack into the Pacific Coast-the end of America! Along the way, before passing through La Honda, we stopped for coffee and pie at the infamous Alice’s Restaurant!

Jared and Natalia turned back home after coffee. Dawn and Amanda led me to the Coast, where we said our goodbyes. That was full service B&B treatment. Let’s review: dinner, softball game, pool and drinks, women’s circle tea time, heavenly bed/shower, fundraising, breakfast, organic coffee, two sweet cats, scoot detailing, laughs, community, and an escort out to the Coast. DELICIOUS!
This is were I break it ya. It’s an oasis-a Hidden Garden. A night at their casbah requires personal invite. The B&B is not open to the general public! 😉

I am some how blessed enough to have made it in!

Daphne asked, “Let me get this straight…you only stayed one night at the place where people pamper you -and the longer at the others?”
Yes, but it was just right. It was good just the way it happened. Right now, I am now earnestly keeping to the time table that I came up with in Berkeley.
Thank you D&A for opening the B&B to a Peace Pilgrim-Scootergirl and thanks to the ITP crew!

The evening ride along the Coast meant the wind was picking up, but it didn’t really phase me. I zoomed into town with 15 min. to spare. Along the route I snapped some photos and reminisced. I used to spend a lot of time in Santa Cruz, and had not been there in 10 years, so there were lots of good memories in my head!
Later that night I met April at the Saturn Cafe and we spent a few hours together. She was really fun company-easy to talk to and very wise! I am probably a rambling nightmare to interview, but look for it in the November issue of Scoot Magazine. We were wrapping up our conversation when Le Tigre’s song “Peace Now!” came on! Rock on!

The last post I really had time to write was back on September 11. P.E.A.C.E SCOOTER has since experienced quite a few escapades. I’ll bring ya along through a day to day abbreviated version of the events.

September 11. Original plan, disappear into the Redwoods for some meditation and camping. Instead, I opted for a night in Eureka, pushing very quickly through the Redwood/Coastal route to arrive just as the sun set. I felt very free and happy,the drive was perfect in every way; my mindset correlated with a freedom gained from blogging early that day.

Usually I visit the old growth Redwood forests around Crescent City, so I thought, “hey, try a new spot.” This way I could spend some time in both Eureka and Arcata. I found a cheap KOA, set up the tent before it was totally dark and headed into Eureka. Not much was really going on but I grabbed a fine beer at the local Lost Coast Brewery, chatted with some people and used up some free wi-fi. I had discovered that Northern Cali is remarkably devoid of wireless, more so than any other places I’ve visited. That night I met some characters outside a convenience store and was reminded how many transients visit Humboldt County. The next day I would meet even more drifters when I headed into Arcata, a vector on the Peace map.

September 12. I started the day off with a long steamy shower, (no pics there for you) not sure how long it would be until the next one. I was enjoying camping and cooking up all my goodies on the stove. The delicious Co-op in town was my first stop. The North Coast Co-op is at I & 8th Streets, which can be easily remembered if you say, “I ate.” Anyhow, they have one of the best Co-ops I’ve visited, and everyone in town seems to shop there. I followed the cue of the lady next to me and began sampling the green curry tofu and the vegan mashed potatoes. We struck up conversation and it turns out that Harmony works for the City Council. Throughout the day I also made the acquaintance of a Purple Fairy, Dragon, Lotus and PacMan. Anyhow, she informed me about the radical city regulations that limit the amount of corporations in their county. I was thoroughly impressed-didn’t see any big corps until the edges of town, they are mainly in Eureka. (which is 10 miles away) Honestly, Arcata operates on its own time zone. It’s a bubble. I spent a couple of hours outside the co-op, before meandering over to the town square. Locals and transients alike flock to both of these places.

People watching was at an all time high, I was so completely amused. I met a lady who works for Google maps and I offered her some suggestive comments to improve the map service. One question I had- “What happened to those COMPLETELY MISNAMED STREETS FROM SEATTLE TO PORTLAND?” Being that I’ve used their service extensively, I felt entitled.

Then I approached Robin because he had a VW Bus with two hi-tech monitors and a satellite antenna. He told me a lot of info. about the city and local happenings. As I write this, Robin just left a definition of Peace on the website! Thank you Robin for sharing that with the world! Chuck from Seattle had just pulled into town, so I left Robin and drove back down to Eureka. Chuck was on his way back to Seattle from San Fran, cruising the Coast on his Vespa with some friends. A biker sat down to talk with us and joked that in comparison, he felt kinda slack for riding his big bike such a short distance. I said my final goodbyes to Chuck, leaving quickly since I was determined to reach the Avenue of the Giants, a 32 mile stretch of redwoods along Hwy 101. Oh my Goddess. The drive was astounding. My mouth was constantly open, with the expression, “wow, ” echoing over and over. Right at dusk I pulled into the Burlington Campground. It wasn’t my original choice, but this wound up being a good arrangement. There were more people around and even firewood for sale. The Redwood Umbrella covered me as nightfell. I stoked up a good fire, cooked some beans on it and had a fantastic slumber. The spot I choose had a massive tree with a seat in it, like a huge Ewok throne. The next day I meditated in the massive tree and was really happy about my decision to stay in the Humboldt State Park.

September 13. Awhile back the community updates on zaadz.com had posted a blip about P.E.A.C.E SCOOTER. That post has put me in touch with some fine people! Liz Lovejoy (what a great name) had contacted me for a free meal in Ukiah, CA. My friend Oneida had also just called to tell me she was in Latonville. I was under the impression Liz would come first, but it turned out Latonville was actually the next town. I set out totally excited that random fortune would allow me see my good friend-who had moved to Maui last year. She was on the mainland for Earth Dance. Postponing my date with Liz until Friday also meant that I could attend their Pro Peace Rally in front of the courthouse. Everything was quite serendipitous. I saddled up and headed down the Avenue of the Giants. There was a little coffee shop outside of the campground. It seemed very nice. There was a world map up with pins to mark where you were visiting from. Since VA was all filled up with pins, I stuck a pin in the middle of the compass (since I’m from everywhere) and then stuck a Peace Postcard up on the ocean. Just then I noticed the owner staring at me.
“Oh, would it be ok for me to leave this postcard up? I’m putting Peace on the Map, my route around America creates a Peace sign, so I thought it would be cute to put that map on your map.”
(and that is cute)
“Well, you already did, so why ask?”
(fair enough)
“Yes, well I realized that might have been presumptuous, so I apologize. (taking down the Postcard.) Is it OK to leave one up here?”
NO ANSWER. NO EYE CONTACT.
Loudly. “Did I offend you sir?”
“No, I just don’t know you and I don’t want to get to know you, or talk to you.”
“Oh, well, I see your sign says this place ‘Is the best espresso on the West Coast’, but, it’s obviously not the friendliest!”
No comment. I threw the peace sign, a hard gesture to make at the moment, and left.

A guy from the Netherlands watched the whole exchange and joined me outside. We talked with two girls on a road trip from the East Coast. That put my morning back into good shape. I pumped some Mc-KOS and headed down the Coast to meet Oneida and her friends. Pulling into Latonville, I was shocked by the amount of hippies everywhere. Also shocked that despite the massive festival happening, the coffeeshop and health food store refused to extend their hours. The coffee shop closed at 1pm. While that’s ridiculous, I kinda respected their convictions.

I pulled up to the entrance to Earth Dance and started telling my whole story. Earth Dance, which I wrote about, is a three day Festival to unite humans, heal the planet, promote consciousness and provide a good electronic soundtrack for all that Peace work. They were totally in support of my trip, and also wary because hundreds of hippies were lined up trying to sneak in or score a free ticket. My friends came out to the gate and signed me up for their work crew. They were building a Sky Lodge, which was a huge tepee structure where 13 grandmother tribal elders held seats throughout the conference. It was a very cool space, designed to honor the bridge between ascendants and descendants. Audre was left at the front gate to ensure I was really leaving the next day. The couldn’t seem to fathom that I was just there to see my friends and camp for a night. The festival sounded amazing, but I didn’t have the money or time to stay for it all. The grounds were empty except for performers, arriving vendors and crew. The scene was bubbling with playfulness and really casual. I had some great conversations with people and then got on the Whale Bus. That’s Jason’s ride. A big charter bus painted like the ocean, once used for a Save the Whales non profit. I took to calling it the Aquarium. I was hanging with the Inspirates, an improv troupe. Hours flew past as we played improv games and laughed hysterically. Jason and Matthew together bought me some “Wing Bling,” so now my thoughts can fly! Thalen, an InsPirate, makes beautiful gold wings that attach to your glasses and now I have my wings! I went to sleep around 4am and was awoken by the incoming festival traffic. The gates had opened at 8am and people were piling in-I had NO idea how big this festival is. I am definitely going to it next year.

September 14. I left Earth Dance by noon, heading on to Ukiah. En route I visited Willits, a tiny town. There I met Malachi, a local artist. He resembled an elf from Lord of the Rings. There was a sadness in his eyes and he told me some personal stuff that just happened. He took a postcard from me, we hugged, and I went to leave. He ran up to me and told me where one of his murals was located in town. He said, “I’ve thought about it, and that mural is how I define Peace.” Below is the picture of Malachi’s peace.

I pulled into Ukiah just in time to attend the Peace Rally. Driving up to the courthouse I saw a pretty sizeable group holding various signs, like, “WHEN THE POWER OF LOVE OVERCOMES THE LOVE OF POWER, THE WORLD WILL KNOW PEACE,” and HONK IF YOU WANT PEACE. There were LOTS of honks. Everyone in attendance was so kind and all very enthusiastic about my peace ride. I was invited to do a radio show interview this coming Sunday-it will be archived online-and I’ll let you know soon. Liz and a big crew invited me to their Code Pink meeting. This was a good chance to meet everyone and have some good political conversation. We talked about impeachment and how to mobilize participation at Peace Rallies. One of the gentlemen there is a teacher. He mentioned that it would be a great assignment to have his class define peace. I hope they do! Look forward to the definitions! Liz, her daughter, and another woman were flying out to D.C. for the March on Washington the next day. This made me excited. I was thinking how the Peace Marchers were in D.C. and that they might get to meet someone I just met while on my Peace Ride. Chills! We all headed our separate ways and I made it to Santa Rosa that night.

September 15. I jumped up ready to go and excited to see my Omega tribe in San Fransisco. Traffic on 101, on a Saturday, had become very miserable. I followed along side the Highway via service roads for awhile. San Fran was only 60 miles away or something, but it felt dangerous to travel 101 in the wind and traffic. Besides, I had never seen this part of the country, so I wound up taking a 3 hour detour through Marin County and Muir Woods. Really, exceptionally beautiful parts of CA! At 4pm. I pulled over to do a Prayer for Peace and join in the Global Ohm, here is a pic of what was right in front of me! See, I fully support the notion that when enough energy is directed towards change, change happens. I rode windy roads that snaked around plummeting cliffs with the ocean crashing below. This ride relaxed me incredibly, more so than plugging through traffic, a mindset necessary for passing over the Golden Gate Bridge. The two miles with zippy traffic on 101 brought me to attention and then the bridge loomed before me. Of course, it was windy, and there was a lot of traffic, but the ride passed without incident. It was a pretty fast commute-didn’t get to see too much scenery because I was focused on the road. Definitely want to thank the message boards over on modernbuddy.com, modernvespa.com, and the flcsc.com for documenting details about traveling the bridges. My visit in the Bay area gave me the chance to take two big bridges, Golden Gate and the bay Bridge. I like the metaphor, crossing bridges and I kept that close to me while riding the Bay Bridge-the more challenging of the two. I threw a triumphant fist in the air as I crossed the Golden Gate, took a picture and then met up with my friend Julie.

Julie is always a fun person to visit and I’ve had the pleasure of knowing her three years now. She’s a study in contradictions, young and wise, feisty and sentimental, guarded and open- I call her the Holistic Carnie. She never ceases to bust my ovaries, but at the same time she takes good care of me-thank jules. She shares an apartment with 5 very interesting people in a prime spot, the Lower Haight. It was a community neighborhood and I didn’t feel overwhelmed by the big city in the slightest. We went out dancing on Saturday night, at the SOMA. The scene was very surreal and I had a chance to play, talk and dance with my fellow Omegans. Around 4am I took a cab home, after declining a woman’s invitation to take me home. It was very flattering though.

September 16. Julie and I were laying around in a slight coma, after a long night and a big breakfast- when Allison stopped by. She’s another feisty rabble rouser that I adore and who I worked with last year at Omega. We used to do dress up themes when we worked together at Omega, riding around on golf carts and setting up class rooms. Probably my favorite theme was Beach Day, when it was raining and we decided we might as well wear bathing suits if we were going to work out in the rain all day-and our Bonnie and Clyde theme rocked also. She got us moving and we headed to Zeitgest for a Bloody Mary. My old boss had told me to go here and he didn’t steer me wrong. It’s a biker bar-bikes off all sorts. The courtyard was slammed for an afternoon! The bartender bought my drink and showcased a sticker behind the bar. We met a bunch of people there and the conversations delved into all spectrums. One of the tamer questions that went around the table was, “What invention would you create?” I was pleasantly surprised by the answers-almost every hypothetical invention discussed a way to better the environment or reverse the “seemingly hostile brutal nature of man.” Brilliant. I was trying to do some recording, but was almost kicked out because they like to keep a low profile. Julie went to work at the Noc-Noc Bar, me and Allison visited her. There I typed up an extensive P.E.A.C.E SCOOTER update to send out in mass mailing.

September 17. Crossing Bridges. I felt ready for the Bay Bridge, thanks to the detailed instructions on the First and Last Chance Scooter Club in Oakland. I jumped on the highway at 3:15, which was a good time to cross. Traffic was heavy, so no one could speed ridiculously dangerously. It was just a loooooong bridge. Right as I thought it was ending, we went through a tunnel and then bam, more bridge. I felt pretty dam tough as I came off that bridge unscathed. Once in Berkeley, I chatted with a very cool Peacenik lady who gave a $4 bill with Cindy Sheehan’s face on it. Then I met my hostess, Hannah at the Buffalo Exchange and somehow put her on my fully packed scooter I don’t think I will ever do that again, but it worked for 10 blocks. That night I had some chillin time with her and her super great roomate Greg.

September 18. An early nights sleep and late morning rise meant I was well rested. I had many days of busy work while in the Bay area, contacting many people; sending out letters, making phone calls and such. With laundry and most of my errands done, I had time to goof off with Hannah. That night we headed into the city for one last night of play time with Julie and Mikey. We went over the Bay Bridge, West Bound, and I was glad not to need that route back-it’s on the upper deck, more windy. Scary if done at the wrong time of day. That night I met a lot of cool people, talked about the peace project quite a bit. In fact, I was beginning to lose my voice from all the conversing over the weekend.

September 19. Meant to get an earlier start, but once again, it had been a late night. I took a long ride around Berkeley before heading out. It’s a great little city, very progressive and positive. I was searching for the people living in oak trees.

They have chained themselves to trees that might be torn down to build a stadium. A nice lady I met on Monday had told me about this cause. I never found them, but I did notice there is a People’s Park where its okay for transients to live. It’s a big hobo camp, but clean and pretty. It was turning out to be the windiest day I have yet experienced on the road, interfering with my travel time. I wasn’t too worried however, because Dawn and Amanda are really cool ladies. My plan was to cross the San Mateo bridge over the bay, into Palo Alto. But it was WAY to windy-in fact my directions flew away early in the ride. However, it was a nice cruise, only 64 miles away, but took about 4 hours total. 😉

Stay tuned for the rest of the story to unfold. Right now I am heading to San Luis Opisbo, staying for the night and then hoping to catch a rally in Santa Barbara, my first rally ever!

PAZ Y AMOR-alix

I arrived to San Francisco after a really gorgeous drive down Hwy 101, stopping to camp in the redwoods and to visit a Peace Festival. There are an abundance of friends here in the Bay area, most of who I used to work with at Omega. Back then, in addition to free classes, room and food-we made anywhere from $50-$150 a week. Slim living, but we had everything we needed and access to some of the best teachers in the world. It’s great to see my friends doing well for themselves and also nice that they are generously helping me out.

So, the past couple of days I’ve taken advantage of free housing, using the time to do some evaluating-my finances, the amount of miles left, and a feasible date for the finish. Well, the finances are null at this point, I have 3,500 miles to go, and will arrive Crawford, TX on October 13.

The arrival has extra days buffered in, also. I’ve been buckling down and contacting a lot of organizations and press, hoping to generate attention about the Peace Ride. It’s been a lot of busy work, so I’ve fallen behind on updates. Many thanks to those people who have responded to the fund raising letter I sent out, with encouragement and donations. (It’s posted at the bottom of the page for your reading pleasure.) One of the GENIUS responses to my solicitation was Crystal of girlbike.com.

As a gift, she made me a scooter seat cover and shipped it to Fargo, ND.

I’ve been rocking the bedazzling peace sign scooter seat cover (say that 3x fast) ever since. Crystal has a nice business creating made-to-order “totally fantabulous” seat covers. For her part in helping out P.E.A.C.E SCOOTER, she has decided to make a limited-edition version of the scooter seat cover that she gifted me. She has made 10 peace-sign scooter seat covers, for any scooter model that she typically makes scooter covers for, and (drumroll) 50% of those 10 sales go straight towards my tipjar to help cover expenses. Now, folks, that’s incredible for all parties involved!
For more info, and to find out how to order, go to scooterseatcovers.com.

Thanks so much Crystal-and let the sales begin!
More updates coming up!

Fund raising letter: (feel free to cut and paste to send ahead)

Dear Friends and Family,

I am sending out a brief update to let you know about the Peace mission.
P.E.A.C.E SCOOTER has been on the road 9 weeks today. The goal is to put Peace on the map, and along the way, ask Americans to visualize and define peace. To date, I have covered more than 7, 500 miles-experiencing communities across our country and talking to thousands of Americans about their beliefs. The ride has been one of endurance and inspiration. I have experienced drastic changes in both climate and culture; challenging my own limits and also pushing beyond social dogmas. It is a life defining experience to create a common ground with strangers that allows us to discuss transformation, community, and Peace-despite religious and political backgrounds. Back in July, I left my job and home, driven by the message that if each and everyone of us can personally define peace, we will begin to create more Peace in our world. With joy and determination I have shared the stories of others with you, through www.peacescooter.com. I am extending the invitation to you and your friends to participate in the online forum, by offering us your definition of peace. The forum was created to showcase our perspectives, a place where we can utilize diversity and appreciate the beliefs of strangers.

P.E.A.C.E Scooter still has 3,500 miles before the Peace sign is complete. I will arrive, at the “finish line,” Crawford, TX, on October 13, less than a month away. I also extend an invitation to join me that day for a pro-peace demonstration.

I am reaching out to you because I really need your support and show of solidarity. I, alone, do not have the resources to complete the trip. Many people have kindly offered me their homes, meals and helped to raise some donations. P.E.A.C.E Scooter is a grassroots demonstration that needs funding to stay on the road. I rely on community resources and networks. Even the smallest donation helps, and can be made through the website, under the link, “donations.” The journey has taken a few weeks longer than originally planned, and as of October 1, my rent is due-with no income to send home a check. There are also expenses like gas, food and lodging.

I do need your help to generate awareness about the Peace project, please help me contact people-organizations, friends, radio, newspapers, TV stations. I have created a huge social mobilization project and want to reach as many people as possible! Many anti-war organizations endorsed the Peace Marchers-helping them get funding, press and places to stay. Please help P.E.A.C.E Scooter get the same amount of recognition and assistance, as it has achieved the same scope and vision-promoting peace-and at a level where life, politics, spirituality and art intersect. I have poured my life into this cause.

Thank You for following along and offering your support. I am honored by the conversations that people share with me daily. All across our vast country people are building bridges with me. You are helping to bring light, awareness and hope into our world and consciously embracing the need for change. This is our commitment, in positive language- to plant seeds that dissolve hatred, suspicion and apathy. To revel in living. To create Peace. To foster community. To be the change we wish to see in the world.

Peace
Alix Bryan

So there I was, traveling down Highway 101, having many adventures and enjoying the majestic redwood forests, when my friend Oneida called. She is a dear friend I met last year through some unusual circumstances, back in Oberlin, OH. I have been to visit her in Maui, where she has been living since last summer. Well it turns out that my route down Highway 101 was getting ready to run right past a Peace Festival in Mendocino County, and she was there with a bunch of her Maui friends.   The hub location for Earth Dance was at the Black Oak Ranch, a place I have wanted to visit since I was 16-home to Wavy Gravy and many of the Grateful Dead, Merry Prankster families. All in all, it was turning out to be a very serendipitous experience. At this point, I was already “thankful,” that I broke down way back in Circle, MT because a lot of good twists have happened in the itinerary.

From Arcata, CA down to Mendocino County the roads were speckled with transients hitch hiking down to the festival. I pulled into the little town to grab gas and people were everywhere, lazily hanging out and chatting. The festival didn’t start until the next day, but my friends were there on crew, setting up, so I decided to talk my way in. After a lot of explaining my situation, my friends came down to the gate and escorted me back to their camp. Security held on the the scooter to make sure I wasn’t scamming my way into 3 days of incredible music. Everyone and their grandmother was trying to sneak in, but security was very supportive once they found out about my Peace mission. I also don’t have 3 days to stay for music, so they relaxed a bit and provided me with some yummy dinner and lot of water on my way out.

 

I spent the next 16 hours playing with the Maui tribe, catching up with my friend, and meeting the many beautiful freaks attending the festival. Right now I am headed off to cross the Golden Gate bridge, so I’ll just post about Earth Dance and the intention behind it. Today is a very active day in the world, between the synchronized OM and Prayer for Peace, as well as the huge war protest in D.C. Just want to let everyone know about the events happening and hopefully at some point you can close your eyes today and say a prayer for peace-or even better-join in the OM at 4pm.

 

These words are simply cut and pasted from the Earth Dance 2007 website. “The H2Om project will attempt to create the world’s largest synchronized global Om, which will take place on Saturday September 15th during the Earthdance international peace event. Earthdance, the Global Dance Festival for Peace, has grown to become the world’s largest simultaneous music and dance event, uniting over 350 locations in 60 countries. Every year, in alignment with the International Day of Peace, over 200,000 people unite in dance, with hundreds of thousands more joining online, in support of global peace and humanitarian aims. The defining moment of the Earthdance event is the synchronized “Prayer for Peace”, played at every location at the same time.

This year, the Earthdance “Prayer for Peace” will be followed by a unified global Om, as people across the world synchronize their voices with the intention of healing the Earth’s waters. To increase cohesiveness and provide a single, specific point of focus for the global community, the “Prayer for Peace” will be immediately followed by the recording of a fundamental tone (the specific human frequency of 125hz), which will serve as a foundation for people to tune into.”

 

“We are one global family
All colors, All races
One world united.
We dance for peace and the healing of our planet Earth
Peace for all nations.
Peace for our communities.
And peace within ourselves.
As we join all dance floors across the world,
let us connect heart to heart.
Through our diversity we recognize Unity.
Through our compassion we recognize Peace.
Our love is the power to transform our world
Let us send it out
NOW…”

Yes. Today I was pulled over for speeding. The cop said, “Whoah, you drove that thing all the way here from Virginia?”
“Why, yes, sir. That’s 6,800 miles and I haven’t gotten a ticket yet. I hope this won’t be the first.”
He ran my license and let me go.
My speed?
35 mph.
Man, you lose points if you get a speeding ticket for 35 mph.
I asked for a picture of him and he said no-so I got the car driving off.

A number of emergency. A day of remembering.

People often say that we have never been more unified than after 9.11. I guess that depends on “who,” you were. As I recall, “we,” began placing a magnifying glass on people who were “different.” Remember that?

Remember. Six years ago I was waking up and sipping coffee when a friend called us to say that the Pentagon had been hit. It was a school day, but we were late, entranced and shocked by the images shown on TV. Walking into class, I realized most people were only catching wind of the attacks. Within two hours, most of our student body were huddling in the auditorium. As a political science student, I participated in discussions of this travesty for years to come-even taking a “Homeland Security and Terrorism” class my senior year. I woke up thinking of that moment today, as most Americans are, in some way, reflecting on where they were September 11, 2001.

I just want to ask that as a human race, we learn to experience unity without tragedy. Without fear pushing us towards one another. “Point two fingers” is my personal framework. That means before I hoot and holler about Republicans, Democrats, conservatives, our corrupt political system, big business, consumer whores, extremists, and close minded people in general, I point one finger at them and one at myself. This allows me to question, “What can I do? What changes can I make?” “What is my role in this?” And often times, doing so creates a deliberate patience to see both sides. To me, that’s what a “WE” space is all about. We might not agree, but we are giving each other a chance to be heard. See, I don’t like feeling like a victim-feeling powerless and fearful just isn’t my cup of tea.

If I ran around pointing one finger all the time, I would pretty much be blaming someone else all the time, which pretty much means I would be a victim all the time. And I’m not having it. We are all accountable for the decisions we make. Thing is, it’s hard to step forward and speak out. It’s safer in numbers. Once 9.11 hit, we adopted a “For Us or Against Us,” mentality that only further squelched free speech and dissent. Remember? And if you think back far enough, you will recall that the first partriots, our founding fathers, were actually dissenters. If you haven’t noticed, my perspective out here on the road is to show you what your fellow Americans are thinking. To create a forum where we can celebrate diversity

I would like to tell you about the two major sentiments I have come across while traveling. The first; total support for the war because otherwise, terrorists will again wreak havoc on our soil. It’s based on fear of another 9.11. It’s based on retribution and a classic protective instinct. Most people who tell me this viewpoint overlook that theoretically, Homeland Security was put in place to prevent a reoccurring attack of that proportion. At least, I think that’s why I now willing acquiesce my time in line at the airport and my civilian rights to privacy. They also overlook that in this war, we haven’t really wiped out anything other than our own soldiers and the next generation of Iraqi’s.

“We need to destroy those countries in interest of national security”
“We have to finish this off or else those countries will see our withdraw as a sign of defeat”
“Look at 9.11, we had to go to war to stop the growing terrorist threat.”

And, quite honestly, yes, we were all stunned. And we identified with one another through that grief. Eyes locked in line at a store and exchanged support. Money poured in .(though, Remember- the Red Cross was charged with fraud for its management) I was stunned not just because we lost two beacons that stood tall as financial lighthouses, but by the SHEER LOSS OF LIFE. No matter who engineered it. Lives were lost. And lives are still being lost in this war. I suspect that Iraqi’s are bound together by the same feeling of unity under our attacks as we were by Al-Q’s attacks.

The other sentiment I hear is that 9.11 is a fraud. On this trip, I hear it ALL THE TIME. I mean, seriously, every place I go, people tell me they don’t believe the attacks were engineered by terrorist cells alone-that the elite parts of our government assisted. And like it or not, I am presenting to you the beliefs of your fellow Americans. Most big events I attend have at least two people holding up signs that 9.11 was a fraud, and designed as a catalyst for this war, and to create unprecedented executive and legislative powers. There are now quite a few documentaries and books out about the subject, and I encourage you to educate yourself on the topic.
And yes, some of the funding that created the devastation, can be traced back to the U.S. Government. Like it or not. It might have been a plan back in the 80’s that obviously backfired, but the government funded ol’ “Al-Q.” Remember? Just that fact is what makes remembering so damn confusing. International Relations just ain’t easy, huh?

This sentiment, too, originates from a place of fear and frustration. It’s what binds the two opposing viewpoints-fear. When our people doubt their government this much-what does that mean? And before you call them crazy-you should know people everywhere think this. Someone you share a laugh with over coffee or take lunch with at work. For years I have heard these whispers of disbelief-and they are only growing louder. Which means the people are less confident in their government. Holding up a sign and shouting it was a fraud just doesn’t solve it, though. That fear is running deep in our country like a tumor. And those people with signs are looking for unity so they can operate on the tumor.

So, today when I hear “Remember, 9.11” I become confused. I wonder how to resolve things like a terrorist attack through King’s principles of non-violence. I recognize how tricky it is. I wonder how we could have avoided war by utilizing principles of non violence. It would be a whole new approach to foreign policy, but hey, these are new times. If we all stopped holding onto the fear that separates us, maybe we could envision solutions.

9.11.
Let it now be a number of emergence. We need help. Help to find our way out of these dark times, through the muddled issues that prevent equality and justice FOR ALL.

I plead to you that we might find unity together as a nation without it taking a tragedy.
Remember. The ONE TRUTH I KNOW WITHOUT A DOUBT- BLESSINGS AND HONOR TO THOSE WHO DIED IN 9.11 AND THOSE WHO RISKED THEIR LIVES AT GROUND ZERO. Thank you for being fearless.

Remember. Last year, at Omega, we had a 24 hour fire in honor of the lives lost. It was a very special time. I held the honor of last hour shift as fire keeper. I clearly recall the early morning sun and tender, sleepy faces that joined hands with me and said a prayer. I am remembering that unity, all of us present at the ceremony for different reasons, but taking the time to say a prayer for the brave-and to be brave ourselves.

So, I pulled into Crescent City a few minutes ago. I’ve been trying to type this up while chairs and tables were pulled out from under me. As I pulled into California and saw signs for the Redwoods, Ani Difranco was playing on the iPod- her cover of “This Land is Our Land.” And it really just hit me how much I love this country. And so tonight, I’m going “walking through the redwood forest.” I’m loosing the internet and going to meditate in those majestic forests-the Cathedral of trees. I hope you join me today, in envisioning a better future. It’s also a new moon today, a good time to be introspective and state your personal intentions for the next month.

I also thought of Ani D’s poem, Self-Evident, about the WTC disaster, so I’m going to paste it here. Like it or not. It’s another perspective. Try to just appreciate that we designed this country for people to have freedom of perspective.
I love you-Alix

Self Evident, by Ani Difranco
yes,
us people are just poems
we’re 90% metaphor
with a leanness of meaning
approaching hyper-distillation
and once upon a time
we were moonshine
rushing down the throat of a giraffe
yes, rushing down the long hallway
despite what the p.a. announcement says
yes, rushing down the long stairs
with the whiskey of eternity
fermented and distilled
to eighteen minutes
burning down our throats
down the hall
down the stairs
in a building so tall
that it will always be there
yes, it’s part of a pair
there on the bow of Noah’s ark
the most prestigious couple
just kickin back parked
against a perfectly blue sky
on a morning beatific
in its Indian summer breeze
on the day that America
fell to its knees
after strutting around for a century
without saying thank you
or please

and the shock was subsonic
and the smoke was deafening
between the setup and the punch line
cuz we were all on time for work that day
we all boarded that plane for to fly
and then while the fires were raging
we all climbed up on the windowsill
and then we all held hands
and jumped into the sky

and every borough looked up when it heard the first blast
and then every dumb action movie was summarily surpassed
and the exodus uptown by foot and motorcar
looked more like war than anything I’ve seen so far
so far
so far
so fierce and ingenious
a poetic specter so far gone
that every jackass newscaster was struck dumb and stumbling
over ‘oh my god’ and ‘this is unbelievable’ and on and on
and I’ll tell you what, while we’re at it
you can keep the pentagon
keep the propaganda
keep each and every TV
that’s been trying to convince me
to participate
in some prep school punk’s plan to perpetuate retribution
perpetuate retribution
even as the blue toxic smoke of our lesson in retribution
is still hanging in the air
and there’s ash on our shoes
and there’s ash in our hair
and there’s a fine silt on every mantle
from hell’s kitchen to Brooklyn
and the streets are full of stories
sudden twists and near misses
and soon every open bar is crammed to the rafters
with tales of narrowly averted disasters
and the whiskey is flowin
like never before
as all over the country
folks just shake their heads
and pour

so here’s a toast to all the folks who live in Palestine
Afghanistan
Iraq

El Salvador

here’s a toast to the folks living on the pine ridge reservation
under the stone cold gaze of mt. Rushmore

here’s a toast to all those nurses and doctors
who daily provide women with a choice
who stand down a threat the size of Oklahoma City
just to listen to a young woman’s voice

here’s a toast to all the folks on death row right now
awaiting the executioner’s guillotine
who are shackled there with dread and can only escape into their heads
to find peace in the form of a dream

cuz take away our playstations
and we are a third world nation
under the thumb of some blue blood royal son
who stole the oval office and that phony election
I mean
it don’t take a weatherman
to look around and see the weather
Jeb said he’d deliver Florida, folks
and boy did he ever

and we hold these truths to be self evident:
#1 George W. Bush is not president
#2 America is not a true democracy
#3 the media is not fooling me
cuz I am a poem heeding hyper-distillation
I’ve got no room for a lie so verbose
I’m looking out over my whole human family
and I’m raising my glass in a toast

here’s to our last drink of fossil fuels
let us vow to get off of this sauce
shoo away the swarms of commuter planes
and find that train ticket we lost
cuz once upon a time the line followed the river
and peeked into all the backyards
and the laundry was waving
the graffiti was teasing us
from brick walls and bridges
we were rolling over ridges
through valleys
under stars
I dream of touring like Duke Ellington
in my own railroad car
I dream of waiting on the tall blonde wooden benches
in a grand station aglow with grace
and then standing out on the platform
and feeling the air on my face

give back the night its distant whistle
give the darkness back its soul
give the big oil companies the finger finally
and relearn how to rock-n-roll
yes, the lessons are all around us and a change is waiting there
so it’s time to pick through the rubble, clean the streets
and clear the air
get our government to pull its big dick out of the sand
of someone else’s desert
put it back in its pants
and quit the hypocritical chants of
freedom forever

cuz when one lone phone rang
in two thousand and one
at ten after nine
on nine one one
which is the number we all called
when that lone phone rang right off the wall
right off our desk and down the long hall
down the long stairs
in a building so tall
that the whole world turned
just to watch it fall

and while we’re at it
remember the first time around?
the bomb?
the Ryder truck?
the parking garage?
the princess that didn’t even feel the pea?
remember joking around in our apartment on avenue D?

can you imagine how many paper coffee cups would have to change their design
following a fantastical reversal of the New York skyline?!

it was a joke, of course
it was a joke
at the time
and that was just a few years ago
so let the record show
that the FBI was all over that case
that the plot was obvious and in everybody’s face
and scoping that scene
religiously
the CIA
or is it KGB?
committing countless crimes against humanity
with this kind of eventuality
as its excuse
for abuse after expensive abuse
and it didn’t have a clue
look, another window to see through
way up here
on the 104th floor
look
another key
another door
10% literal
90% metaphor
3000 some poems disguised as people
on an almost too perfect day
must be more than poems
in some asshole’s passion play
so now it’s your job
and it’s my job
to make it that way
to make sure they didn’t die in vain
sshhhhhh….
baby listen
hear the train?

Last night I walked on the beach and saw a Pacific sunset. It’s the first time I’ve glimpsed the Ocean all summer. I scribed “Peace” in the sand, feeling renewed, baptized by the Ocean.

When the rays were just disappearing, I located a camp ground. My neighbors were pleasant Canadians, who looked surprises when me and Audrey pulled in. Turns out that Tanis just became a recent Vino owner, so she was excited to see how you can load one up! I cooked up some dried stuff, did some typing while loud gospel music drifted through the campground. It was a good night camping, no massive thunderstorms like the last time.

Love the morning ritual of my French Press and today I cooked grits. Erika packed me up with some Stumptown beans, roasted in Portland. There’s a bunch of camping ahead, a lot easier on the West Coast. I’ve anticipated this beautiful drive down Highway 101 for months! I’ve now been on the road 2 full months and there is only 3, 600 miles left. Today I should make good enough time to see the Redwood Cathedrals!

Well, there is a lot happening in the world. The Peace Marchers are arriving into D.C. In fact, with the time difference they probably already have. They were on my mind first thing today. I offer them a very deep bow for the pilgrimage they have made. They have walked over 3,000 miles in loving service-marching with the belief that we will create a world of peace and non violence. I understand an epic journey and fully recognize that their crew have endured many obstacles since hitting the road May 21. Congratulations!

Be the change you wish to see in the World! Pointing two fingers from the West Coastline proper-Alix