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Pedaling a message
Local women seek change in trek across United States
Herald Staff Writer
Photo by Photos courtesy of Remy Franklin
Durangoans Kelly Graves, left, and Lucy Richards, right, flank fellow Trek to Re-Energize America riders Anne Caroline Franklin, Nathalie Bertoncin, Remington Franklin and Paul Baker after they arrive at the White House on July 26.
Click image to enlarge
Graves and Richards pedal through Colorado in June.
Kelly Anne Graves and Lucy Richards have since returned to school - Richards to Stanford University, Graves to the University of Sussex in Brighton, England, and then to the University of Ghana in Accra. Before leaving for university, they stopped by the Herald to discuss their parts in The Trek to Re-Energize America, a 45-day, eight-state, 2,000-mile trip in June and July.
We weren't always passive observers or perfect diplomats, but we tried not to preach.
- Kelly Anne Graves
The bicyclists talked to people along the way and to their state representatives in Washington about the climate and energy issues. Richards and Graves were received by U.S. Rep. John Salazar, D-Manassa.
"It was our intention to be respectful, open-minded and knowledge-seeking when dealing with such sensitive issues," Graves said of their approach to discussing issues with residents along the route. "We weren't always passive observers or perfect diplomats, but we tried not to preach. Overall, I'd say we ran into far more people than not who agreed with us or at least with some of the qualms we have with unsustainable living."
Richards found people open to them although not always ready to debate issues.
"They didn't always agree or even want to engage in discussion, but at least they'd listen," Richards said. "They were receptive to what we had to say - not because they agreed or wanted to hear our perspective, but because we had ridden our bikes so far."
Richards recalled people in Louisville, Ky., who had given up their cars and commuted by bicycle. One was a young man named Barry Zalph, who had founded Bicycling for Louisville.
Graves and Richards, starting the trek from Boone just east of Pueblo with one other rider, linked with like-minded thinkers along the way until the group numbered seven as it cleared Missouri. The two Durangoans put up with 90-degree heat, flat tires, lightning storms and the monotony of the unwavering Midwest landscape as part of pedaling 2,000 miles and crossing eight states.
"We tried to stay on small highways," Graves said.
The game plan called for traveling 50 to 60 miles a day - covering ground during cooler morning hours but starting conversations about their key issues with people they met along the way. The travelers avoided buzzwords and drew people into conversation by asking about their impressions of what is happening in the fields of energy and climate change and how they would remedy situations.
All encounters with locals didn't involve discussing issues. In a later blog, Graves recalled an elderly man on a Kansas highway who stopped to give Richards and her each a $1 bill.
"We ended up listening to an in-detail narration of his family's dating history and the fact he is the best oatmeal cook in all of Kansas," Graves wrote.
Their group arrived in Washington on July 26, ending 45 days on the road. Richards and Graves met Salazar the following day while other riders visited their legislators.
"Congressman Salazar was very generous with his time," Richards said. "We talked mostly about the Complete Streets Act that requires cities to build infrastructure for various forms of transportation when building a new road. They would be required to provide for bicyclists and pedestrians in addition to cars."
Salazar, who liked the health benefits derived from "active" transportation but was uneasy about costs, overall was noncommittal, Richards said.
Richards and Graves found that the people they met along the way - in spite of their stands on climate or their politics - were hospitable. They often opened their homes to the travelers, feeding them and putting them up for the night.
"They didn't share our views sometimes, but they shared their homes," Graves said.
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