Pictures from the trip
| "I think [bicycling] has done more to emancipate women than anything else in the world. It gives women a feeling of freedom and self-reliance. I stand and rejoice every time I see a woman ride by on a wheel...the picture of free, untrammeled womanhood." --Susan B. Anthony |
| "Don't let them make you settle into the pattern of the Town. It's what they'll try to do, but don't let them. We only live once, Ellen, don't waste your life." (Lilly to Ellen in The Green Bay Tree) -- Louis Bromfield |
| A Woman's Year-Long 50th Birthday Celebration |
| I'm turning 50, and I'm celebrating by taking a year to bicycle around the country. And I'm inviting you to join the party! |
In July, 2008, I will embark on a year-long fiftieth birthday celebration that I call the
BANAL tour. It’s my crusade to Banish Artificial Notions About Life. Those are the
myths we accept as truth because we grew up with them ambient in our culture, myths
such as “You can’t expect to do everything you dream of,” “It’s dangerous to be alone
far from home,” “You can’t trust strangers,” “You’re too old to ________” (fill in the
blank), and “A responsible adult has a regular full-time job, a car, and a house.”
As Ellen Goodman wrote in The Boston Globe, “Normal is getting dressed in clothes
that you buy for work and driving through traffic in a car that you are still paying for,
in order to get to the job you need to pay for the clothes and the car and the house you
leave vacant all day so you can afford to live in it.” (Huh? Why?)
During the BANAL tour, I will confront some of these myths as I travel and
accomplish a few of my dreams. The backbone of the adventure will be a 13,000-mile
self-supported bicycle tour around the perimeter of the United States. Along the way I
will stand at the southernmost point of the country, climb to three state high points,
touch all four coasts (the north coast is along the Great Lakes), and visit five National
Parks. I will meet everyday people in American small towns and play the tourist at
numerous quirky roadside attractions. Over the winter I’d like to backpack the 1400-
mile Florida Trail. The trip will end in July, 2009, when I bicycle into my Ohio
hometown on my fiftieth birthday.
Well, that was the original plan, anyway. Things have not come together as well as I’d
hoped, and as my departure day looms ever closer, I find that the funds I have
available for this trip fall far short of the amount required. (I estimate expenses at $1
per mile, a total of $13,000.) Planning for a Florida Trail hike turns out to be a
complicated project for someone traveling the country on a bicycle. It would involve
storing my bike, shipping my backpack, bus and taxi rides, applying for and receiving
(where?) various permits and letters. I’m not convinced that the hike is worth the extra
pressure this time around, but I’m not eliminating the possibility.
I’ve been planning this party for a long time, so instead of giving it all up for lack of
funds, I’ve decided to just start riding and see how far I can get. If I camp instead of
using motels, I can ride farther. If I cook instead of eating in restaurants, I can ride
farther. If I pick up odd jobs along the way, I can ride farther. So follow along with
my blog and see how I do. Help me celebrate the beginning of the second half-century
of my life!
BANAL tour. It’s my crusade to Banish Artificial Notions About Life. Those are the
myths we accept as truth because we grew up with them ambient in our culture, myths
such as “You can’t expect to do everything you dream of,” “It’s dangerous to be alone
far from home,” “You can’t trust strangers,” “You’re too old to ________” (fill in the
blank), and “A responsible adult has a regular full-time job, a car, and a house.”
As Ellen Goodman wrote in The Boston Globe, “Normal is getting dressed in clothes
that you buy for work and driving through traffic in a car that you are still paying for,
in order to get to the job you need to pay for the clothes and the car and the house you
leave vacant all day so you can afford to live in it.” (Huh? Why?)
During the BANAL tour, I will confront some of these myths as I travel and
accomplish a few of my dreams. The backbone of the adventure will be a 13,000-mile
self-supported bicycle tour around the perimeter of the United States. Along the way I
will stand at the southernmost point of the country, climb to three state high points,
touch all four coasts (the north coast is along the Great Lakes), and visit five National
Parks. I will meet everyday people in American small towns and play the tourist at
numerous quirky roadside attractions. Over the winter I’d like to backpack the 1400-
mile Florida Trail. The trip will end in July, 2009, when I bicycle into my Ohio
hometown on my fiftieth birthday.
Well, that was the original plan, anyway. Things have not come together as well as I’d
hoped, and as my departure day looms ever closer, I find that the funds I have
available for this trip fall far short of the amount required. (I estimate expenses at $1
per mile, a total of $13,000.) Planning for a Florida Trail hike turns out to be a
complicated project for someone traveling the country on a bicycle. It would involve
storing my bike, shipping my backpack, bus and taxi rides, applying for and receiving
(where?) various permits and letters. I’m not convinced that the hike is worth the extra
pressure this time around, but I’m not eliminating the possibility.
I’ve been planning this party for a long time, so instead of giving it all up for lack of
funds, I’ve decided to just start riding and see how far I can get. If I camp instead of
using motels, I can ride farther. If I cook instead of eating in restaurants, I can ride
farther. If I pick up odd jobs along the way, I can ride farther. So follow along with
my blog and see how I do. Help me celebrate the beginning of the second half-century
of my life!
Copyright 2008 Nancy Shepherd
| Help make the dream possible! |
| "When man invented the bicycle he reached the peak of his attainments. Here was a machine of precision and balance for the convenience of man. And (unlike subsequent inventions for man's convenience) the more he used it, the fitter his body became. Here, for once, was a product of man's brain that was entirely beneficial to those who used it, and of no harm or irritation to others. Progress should have stopped when man invented the bicycle." -- Elizabeth West |
Shop in my store
| Thanks to Orrville Cycling for their support! |