If you ask me, a bicycle tour is as good a way as any to commemorate a monumental event.
Ryan Bowen would probably agree, as he's bicycling from Los Angeles to Washington DC to mark the election and inauguration of Barack Obama.
The 22-year-old graduate of Occidental College in LA is hoping to interest some other like-minded Obama-supporting bicyclists along the way who might want to join him on the ride into DC.
He told the LA Times that he'd like to have an escort of 50 or more bicyclists by the end of the trip.
“That would be my dream, to roll into Washington with something like that.”
About 4,000 miles
Bowen calls his trip and website “Biking for Obama: The epic journey from LA to DC on the Highway of Hope.”
The Biking for Obama route starts in Los Angeles, follows the southern tier, then heads up the East Coast to Washington DC. The first leg from LA to St. Augustine is 3,159 miles; the second leg is 750 miles to DC.
Phoenix
I'm figuring he's got to average about 80 miles a day to make it to the Inauguration in time; he crossed the Texas border about four days ago.
Bowen set off from Los Angeles on Dec. 2 with sag support from friends, but he's been riding all on his own since Phoenix. That's where he picked up some panniers from a guy he met on bikeforums.com, and left behind his laptop, iPod and other non-essential items.
Explains
The LA Times caught up with him as he was crossing the Continental Divide in New Mexico. He explained his trip:
“Really, it is very complex. I have this passion for knowing where people are at in these desperate times. We are pretty quick to call everything a crisis, but if ever we had one, we are going into one right now.
“So with the cliches of the Obama campaign — not to put it down — but the mantra was change, progress and hope. And so, how can this change and progress and hope happen when everything we read in the news is looking like we are not headed that way?”
You can see pictures read about Bowen's trip at his website. Also, there's contact information if you'd like to join him on any part of the rest of his trip. He's also looking for housing along the way.
Photo at top from Biking for Obama slideshow. Also here's a video from YouTube:
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