Blog

Day 55: Spent the morning getting things ready for our arrival in the Lone Star State. Crossed the Texas border late afternoon, rolling into the town of Paris 28 miles later. Rode in the 30s yet again today. Whatever happened to that warm Texas weather? The state, of course, is governed by Rick “Oops” Perry, a prominent Keystone XL booster. Should make for an interesting final two weeks of the ride.

If you haven’t already seen this powerful video documenting the dirty truth about tar sands oil extraction, please do: http://tinyurl.com/79zzgpj. Outraged yet?

Day 54: Falling snow delayed our morning departure for a few hours, but still got in 66 miles. Another cold ride day, in the 30s, with numerous hills and strong cross winds, making it particularly tough for Ron with his anything-but-aerodynamic bike trailer. Rolled up to the Atoka County Times for a quick photo, then stopped in for an interview with The Antlers American a little further down the road. Reaching countless hearts and minds with our message, one small town at a time.

Check out this exciting news from Bloomberg New Energy Finance showing that for the first time ever, renewables have surpassed fossil fuels in new power-plant investments:  http://tinyurl.com/c7g5bef.

Day 53: Hit the road at sunrise, and made the 100 miles (plus three) we set out to pedal today. 30s, overcast, and rolling hills all day, but otherwise a great day for riding with a wide shoulder and very little Sunday traffic. Ron’s day was made more challenging by a bent rim and slowly degrading wheel on his bike trailer, but he toughed it out.

Checking into the motel in Coalgate, OK (named after coal mining activity and the site of a mining camp), started talking with a guy in line in front of me, who told me folks around here support oil pipelines, until I told him we were riding to block a tar sands pipeline. That shifted the conversation rather dramatically. It ended with him asking why we weren’t in the electric car age already and wishing us luck with our mission.

Walked across the street to grab some dinner at a local diner in Coalgate (pop: 2,000). As dessert was arriving, a woman with a camera and notepad approached our booth (word travels fast in small towns). Wanda Utterback with the Coalgate Record-Register proceeded to conduct the most thorough interview of the journey to date. She was also a real joy to meet. Hoping the piece she writes opens a lot of eyes to the Keystone XL nightmare. Looking forward to hopefully meeting some OK landowners along the proposed pipeline route before leaving the state tomorrow.

On the more bad news front, 2010 global carbon emissions show the biggest jump ever recorded: http://tinyurl.com/c2vbxss.

Day 52: Woke up this morning to a driving rain which lasted most of the day. First rainout of the ride. Happy with decision to hunker down rather than chance it with cars and trucks in low visibility conditions. Will need a 100-mile ride day tomorrow to beat the coming snowstorm, so will be hitting the road at first light.

One of Big Oil’s worst nightmares – that Alberta’s tar sands will become landlocked – just came one step closer to reality. In a very promising development, Reuters reports that 60 aboriginal groups in Canada have formed a united front to ban all exports of tar sands crude oil through their territories, which cover the entire coastline of British Columbia: http://tinyurl.com/7zcxmky. Americans need to know that fighting Keystone XL here will not be not enough. We must also support our brothers and sisters north of the border. Only by coming together as one human family can we end this inhumane practice.

Day 51: After treating us to breakfast, my friend Wayne Walker shuttled us back to District Bicycles in downtown Stillwater, where Bobby met us early to repair Ron’s bike (and replace a tube on my trike) at next to no charge. While waiting, got dialed in at the Aspen Coffee Company for a free mocha (thanks, guys), then dialed up the News Press, which came down to the store for an interview. Here’s part one of their two part piece: http://tinyurl.com/7my8nlu. If you find yourself in Stillwater, OK, drop into District Bicycles. Bobby & Crystal are building real community, one bike at a time.

The 30 mile ride to Cushing, OK was cold and overcast. We were greeted on the edge of town by a large, roadside pipeline display declaring Cushing as the “Pipeline Crossroads of the World.” In town, dialed the editor of the local paper to pitch the ride, only to be told, “You do realize our paper is pro-Keystone pipeline,” to which I responded, “You do report both sides of the story, right?” That gave him pause, but not enough to want to do an interview. So we went in search of the Keystone XL Cushing Delivery Center (where TransCanada wants to hook up their existing pipeline to their hoped for Cushing to Houston link).

This took us miles down country roads into a massive labyrinth of oil tank farms stretching as far as the eye could see. With the stench of gas permeating the air, we pedaled through one of the world’s largest oil storage facilities, reported to hold up to 5 to 10 percent of total U.S. crude inventory. We may or may not have found the precise hook-in point for Keystone XL (there were no signs to indicate either way), but the locale fit the description we had been given, there were what looked like 36″ sections of pipe stacked up, and a surveyor was doing work on newly graded ground. Upon finding our way out of the take farm maze, we rolled further down the road, encountering more aggressive drivers in one afternoon than I’ve encountered in my entire life (really hoping that’s an anomaly). 61 miles later, rolled into the little town of Stroud just before dark, in a cold, drizzling mist.

Day 50: Today was a day for rest and recuperation, devoted mostly to uploading more videos to the Ride for Renewables YouTube channel:  http://www.youtube.com/user/RenewableRider. Many thanks my friends, Wayne & Leslie Walker, for hosting us in their home and for nourishing us with good food and drink. Tomorrow it’s back on the road. Check out this article documenting all the truckloads of pipe already being delivered across the border and stockpiled in the U.S: http://tinyurl.com/cel7fcf.

Day 49: After saying goodbye to my new friends at the Motel 6, rolled down the road to a local diner for breakfast, where I called The Ponca City News. They sent out a reporter to do a brief story on the ride: http://tinyurl.com/767fmj4. Over breakfast, a family sitting near me queried me about the trike and why I was riding. An older gentleman, Bill Stieber, asked most of the questions. Despite our different perspectives on the Keystone XL issue, he seemed to respect the effort I was making. As I was leaving, Bill approached me to hand me a piece of paper with his name and number written on it. He told me if I ran into any trouble down the road to call him and he would be there. This noble act by a total “stranger” gave me peace of mind knowing that someone had my back. This is just the kind of working together despite our differences that America needs to embrace, and that those clowns running Congress can’t seem to grasp. Maybe it’s time for OccupyCongress.

On my way out of town, passed an oil refinery that could soon be pumping tar sands oil, if Keystone XL is not blocked. A little further down the road, got a call from Ron that his derailleur hanger had snapped, putting him out of commission, but a quick call to District Bicycles in Stillwater, run by Bobby & Crystal Wintle, bailed him out. Despite having only opened their doors a week ago, Bobby voluntarily drove 8 miles to retrieve Ron and bring his bike back to the shop for repairs. As this was happening, I finished slogging out the 43 miles to Stillwater, where we decided to call it an early day.

Waiting for my friend, Wayne Walker, to pick us up and shuttle us to his home for a good night’s sleep, we walked down the street to grab a bite to eat at Boomerang Diner, where the manager, Scott Bainbridge, bought us both lunch upon hearing why we were riding.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: one of the things I love the most about the American people are their great big hearts.

Day 48: . There’s something about getting an early start on the day that makes riding so much easier. The 75 miles to Ponca City, OK today felt almost effortless. Called all the Wichita, KS media outlets early before setting out, with a few friendly bites. Down the road, stopped in for interviews with the Winfield Daily Courier, Arkansas City Traveler, KOSK radio, and KAKE TV before crossing the Oklahoma border around mid afternoon. Four states down and two to go. Lots of engaging conversations along the way, with more feathered friend sightings. Did an interview with the Newkirk Herald Journal en route to Ponca City, where I decided to call it a night. Ron drove ahead today to drop off the support vehicle in Oklahoma and is riding back up to meet me somewhere on the road tomorrow. He industriously rigged up his road bike with a trailer so he can ride with me the rest of the way to the Texas Gulf Coast. Really looking forward to his company. The Ride for Renewables is about to double in size.

Speaking of media, this weekend my hometown newspaper, the Daily Camera, ran an op-ed (http://tinyurl.com/c8xdrd7) I wrote about the incredibly unhelpful and premature declarations of Keystone XL’s demise from environmental groups. Their wishful claims don’t jive with reality here on the ground, or with TransCanada’s own predictions. The worse part is how easily they let President Obama off the hook. Since when did we start giving presidents a pass on making tough decisions until after Election Day? The President owes the American people an up or down decision on Keystone XL.