Conclusion

I feel like this blog needs a quick wrap up post-


I don't think I will continue with my veganism after this project- I will try to reduce the amount of dairy I eat, but I won't cut it out entirely. I wrestled with putting my desires before animals' quality of life earlier in this blog, and have come to the realization that it is a non-paradigmatic moral problem, because I am disconnected from the wronged party spatially, I am not doing intentional harm, and it is a collective harm (all of us who eat dairy are contributing to the harm). Thus, I have an easier time not facing the moral questions involved.


I want to finish up with a quick summary of what I learned over the course of our lived ethics project.

1. veganism is really hard, unless you give up trying to have a balanced diet
2. oreos, pop tarts, tater tots, and french fries are all vegan
3. the food industry is very non-helpfull when you are trying to figure out where stuff comes from
4. biking is awesome, but it can make your parents worried.

Happy Summer, Everyone!

Itinerary and To-Do list for bike trip

Working on hashing out the details of the bike trip- here's what I've got right now

TO-DO:

get couchsurf reply

adjust derailer

replace rear brake pads

buy stove and cookpots

get boxes for shipping stuff home

pack up and store room

contact Alex about riding

talk with Drewise about riding

pack for trip

print google map bits

create group for everett to edmonds leg

BIKE TRIP ITINERARY!

MAY 17

·         C-Springs to Harstel CO

·         Google maps

·         66mi

MAY 18

·         Harstel  to  Green Mt Reservoir (southern tip)

·         Trans-am 6

·         75mi

MAY 19

·         Green Mt Reservoir to Wildlife Refuge

·         *refill water at willow creek crossing- no night water

·         Trans-am 6

·         82mi

MAY 20

·         Wildlife Refuge to Spring creek/Centenial creek (@ matchline between Riverside and Saratoga)

·         Trans-am 6

·         80mi

MAY 21

·         Spring/Centenial creek to Saratoga to Muddy Creek

·         Stop in Saratoga for food (5 days)

·         Trans-am 6/5

·         90mi

MAY 22

·         Muddy Creek to Hall Creek (just before beaver creek rd)

·         Trans-am 5

·         60mi

MAY 23

·         Hall Creek to Dry Creek (brutis lenmore road, just past Crowheart)

·         Trans-am 5

·         75mi

MAY 24

·         Dry Creek to Buffalo Fork of Snake River

·         Trans-am 5

·         75mi

MAY 25

·         Buffalo fork to Madison

·         Buy food (2 days)

·         Trans-am 5

·         75mi

MAY 26

·         Madison to Cameron

·         Trans-am 5/4

·         75mi

MAY 27

·         Cameron to Dillon

·         Buy food in Dillon (4 days)

·         Trans-am 4

·         83mi

MAY 28

·         Dillon to Big Hole Battlefield Natnl Park (butler creek)

·         Trans-am 4

·         75mi

MAY 29

·         Big Hole to Stevensville

·         Trans-am 4

·         85mi

MAY 30

·         Stevensville to Charlo

·         Trans-am 4/Google maps

·         77mi

MAY 31

·         Charlo to Whitefish

·         Look for couchsurf host

·         Buy food in Whitefish (3 days)

·         Google maps

·         90mi

JUNE 1

·         Whitefish to Peck Gulch Campground (off lake koocanoosa)

·         N-tier 2

·         80mi

JUNE 2

·         Peck Gulch to Bull Lake

·         N-tier 2

·         75mi

JUNE 3

·         Bull Lake to Sandpoint ID

·         Buy food in Sandpoint (4 days)

·         N-tier 2

·         70mi

JUNE 4

·         Sandpoint to Mill Creek

·         N-tier 1

·         66mi

JUNE 5

·         Mill Creek to Columbia river

·         N-tier 1

·         77mi

JUNE 6

·         Columbia river to Bannon Creek (matchline)

·         N-tier 1

·         77mi

JUNE 7

·         Bannon Creek to Omack to Twisp

·         Buy food in Omack (3.5 days)

·         N-tier 1

·         70mi

JUNE 8

·         Twisp to  Newhalem

·         N-tier 1

·         82

JUNE 9

·         Newhalem to Sedro Wolley to Big Lake

·         N-tier 1 / Google maps

·         75 mi

JUNE 10

·         Big Lake to Everett (commercial and 61^st st) to EDMONDS!

·         Depart commercial and 61^st at 3pm. Invite others

·         Google maps

·         65 mi

Dear Marion

Dear Marion, I'm sure that at some point you get tired of reading blogs. So this blog post has very few words, and a lot of lovely pictures.

The End. 

Sincerely, Betsie

1950 miles to Seattle

There are aproximatley 1950 miles between Colorado springs and Seattle. And I will see all of them through the spokes of my bicycle tires on my way home. I leave on the 17th, the day after school gets out, and will be arriving in Seattle on the 10th or 11th of may. Why bike so far? I believe that it forces you to be incredibly present and aware, something we often overlook, simply taking the here and now for granted.

There's something about traveling in our culture that is disorienting and unreal. You just jump from place to place on a plane. It's almost like those little tunnels in video games, where your character goes in and suddenly pops out in a completely different place.

I think that everyone should, at least once, travel under their own power, whether that means walking, biking, horseback riding, (or even uni-cycling, if that's what floats your boat). I believe this way of traveling helps people truly experience the places they visit. Slow travel teaches you that the places you visit are a comprehensive, interwoven set of communities rather than individual, concentrated experiences; they are not dots on a map but a part of the vast and complex system that makes up our reality. I think that Leopold saw this, riding and walking many of the forests he regulated, and studying his woods at home. I think that slow travel is one of the most effective ways, in our fast-paced world, to find that reflective quality within ourselves and reach a true understanding of our environments, whether they are natural, rural, suburban, or urban.

Furthermore, airplane travel is ridiculous (although efficient and appealing). It has a giant carbon footprint. By biking, I am shrinking my carbon footprint. The average airplane produces 48kg carbon per mile, and as the bird flies, it is about 1025 miles from Csprings to Seattle. That's 49200kg of carbon that I will have no part of.

Also, I'm just really stoked to ride that far. It's going to be a facinating experience, and I think it will force me to think a lot, and truly rely on myself. So 1950 miles it is. If you want to look at routes, or plan your own bike trip, I highly recommend adventure cycling association's maps.(http://www.adventurecycling.org/routes/RouteNetwork.pdf)

Technically, this isn't part of my lived ethics project. But I think it's interesting and relevant, so I figured I'd post about it anyways.